Category: vegetarian

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Gluten-Free Lemon-Coconut Bonbons

Today I made some no bake coconut bonbons. These are gluten-free. I found a recipe at My Incredible Recipes and as many of us do and changed it up a bit to make Tiffany’s birthday bonbons.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Coconut Bonbons

The original recipe for No Bake Coconut Snowballs can be found here:

No Bake Coconut Snowballs

Gluten-Free Lemon Coconut Bonbons

Use the ingredients for the recipe for No-Bake Coconut Snowballs and add about 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice and a teaspoon of vanilla flavoring to the original recipe. I put everything into the food processor and processed. I then made balls and refrigerated them. I dipped them in white chocolate ( 1 melted about 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips) and put back on my parchment paper and I put it in the freezer for a few minutes. Enjoy!

 

Gluten-Free Chocolate Coconut Bonbons

Make a second batch and add only vanilla flavoring to the batch. Make the balls and refrigerate until firm. Now dip them in semi-sweet chocolate (melt 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips) and place on the parchment paper and back in the refrigerator until set.

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

 

Gluten-Free Lemon Coconut Bonbons

 

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Lawrence’s Homemade Salsa

To say my husband likes salsa is an understatement. He has been known to eat a half gallon of salsa all by himself in one week. He can eat salsa on almost anything! Anyone who knows him knows his love for salsa and nachos. Chips are an excuse to eat more salsa. We have salsa making parties where the whole family gets involved chopping onions, tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro. It’s a happy day for the whole family when Lawrence decides to make salsa. Today I am going to share Lawrence’s salsa recipe that he developed from lots of salsa making!

Small Batch Salsa

4 cups chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 Tablespoons fresh jalapeno pepper

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1/2 cup of lime juice

 

Big Batch of Salsa

4 quarts chopped tomatoes

4 cups chopped onions

1/4 cup chopped fresh jalapeno peppers

2 cups cilantro chopped

2 cups lime juice

Whichever batch you make you just chop all the veggies and mix in a bowl. Then dig in. Or wait a bit It only gets better and better.

By the way, did you notice my amazing bowl? A gift from my dear friend Betty!

 

 

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Mixed Veggie Casserole

In 1980 when I was a new bride and a college student at Freed-Hardeman College I was part of the Preachers’ Wives’ Club. We had a cookbook and it included a recipe very similar to this one. I have long since lost it but I have tried to re-create the recipe here.

20-24 oz. frozen mixed veggies (steam in the bag) Steamed according to package directions

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup onion chopped

2 cups crushed crackers (Ritz or Saltines) Ritz crackers probably add more flavor but I use whatever I have on hand.

1/2 cup butter

 

Steam veggies, mix together in a large bowl veggies, mayo, cheese, and onion. Spread in buttered 13X9 pan. Crush crackers mix with melted butter and sprinkle on top. Bake 350° for 30 minutes.

The picture below doesn’t do it justice. It is a creamy colorful dish. I wish I had taken a picture of the inside!

 

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Skillet Pizza Crusts

Skillet Pizza Crusts

In the early 1990’s I started making skillet pizza crusts. They became a favorite and a part of my “once a month cooking” recipes. This is a nice thing to do with a group or your family because you can talk and visit as you work together to chop the veggies or just make your own pizza. When I am ready to assemble I preheat the oven, chop some veggies, set out a jar of pizza or pasta sauce, and set out the pepperoni and cheese. You CAN make them all yourself if you wish but it is more fun to let each person make their own. Call the group in a few at a time to assemble their pizza just the way they like it.  If you have a large group you may want to use parchment paper on your baking sheet and write each person’s name on it so that their pizzas do not get mixed up. My baking sheets hold 4 on each one. I can usually bake on both racks. They each take 10-15 minutes to bake. I bake them until the cheese is melted.

Here is my recipe for Skillet Pizza Crusts. I usually get 10 individual crusts from each recipe.

3 packages or Tablespoons of yeast

1 teaspoon of sugar

3/4 cup of water (105°-115°)

3 cups all-purpose flour ( I like to use a mixture of wheat and white)

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of additional water

2 Tablespoons oil

cooking spray

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a 2 cup measuring cup; let stand 5 minutes. Combine the yeast mixture, flour, and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring until well blended. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 5 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and turn your dough to grease the top. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. Punch down and knead lightly. Divide your dough into small pieces. I usually just pinch off a small blob of dough (my grandma used to “pinch” biscuits as she called it). I roll these out one at a time and use a small saucer as a pattern to cut around. This will make the crusts a bit more uniform. They will still change shape a bit but no problem they taste great. I cook them on the stove in my iron skillet medium heat, 1-2 minutes on each side. When they slightly start to brown I flip them and cook the other side.  Cool on wire racks and then either freeze them or use them.

To assemble pizzas:

Preheat oven 350 °. Put the crusts on a baking sheet. Spread each crust with sauce. Put on toppings and sprinkle with cheese. Bake in the oven until hot and bubbly, usually 10-15 minutes.

Some of our favorite toppings:

Artichokes – canned, chopped

Green onions chopped

Mushrooms fresh or canned

Spinach fresh is best

Bell peppers – we especially like the colored ones

Pepperoni

Mozzarella cheese

You may wish to make your pizza a Hawaiian, veggie, or sausage or whatever your favorite may be.

If you have leftover crusts freeze them. They are great to use for tostadas, or just with melted cheese. Either way, they are economical to make and a lot of fun and they disappear rather quickly!

Let me know if you have any questions! Happy Cooking!

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Cooking Beans

I grew up cooking beans. They were a regular part of our diet. A pot of beans and a few green onions with a tomato make a wonderful meal. These would be picked from our garden right out the back door.

When asked how to cook beans or asked for a recipe to cook beans I am often surprised. Beans have always been a part of my diet. I never knew there was a recipe for cooking beans.

So here are a few ways I have tried cooking beans:

Take a package of beans from your favorite grocery store or buy your dried beans in bulk. There are many kinds of beans and they can be used in so many wonderful ways. My family’s favorite is what West Virginians call brown beans. What are brown beans? Pinto beans. I also cook white beans and occasionally butter beans.

1. First, look the beans.
What are you looking for? Many times you will find small rocks or clumps of dirt or debris in the beans. Once you have looked your beans then rinse them.

2. Soak the Beans.
To soak the beans place them in a pan of water. The water should be at least 2-3 inches over the beans. Why? Beans increase in volume as they absorb the water. There are a few ways you can soak these.

  • place the beans in a covered pot of water overnight (at least 2-3 inches above the level of the beans). In the morning either drain the water and add fresh or use the same water and begin to simmer on the stove-top until done.
  •  or you may place the beans in a covered pot of water and do a quick soak by cooking until they are boiling for 2-3 minutes and then turning off and covering for one hour. There are two thoughts about what to do next. Drain the water and add fresh or keep the water and simmer on your stove until done. You can tell they are tender by taste or you may want to put one or two on a spoon and blow on it and the skin will split when done.
  • Slow cooking. You may place the clean rinsed beans in your Crock-pot or you may do this step after either of the previous steps. Or you may look, rinse, and then place them in the Crock-pot on low. I usually do this the night before and they are ready by morning to be seasoned and eaten or used in a recipe. You might want to start them on low in the morning if they are to be eaten for your evening meal.
  • Instant Pots are really popular right now. I am still experimenting with cooking beans in the Instant Pot. I have washed the beans and added them to the InstaPot without soaking them. I added my liquid and chopped ham and used the manual setting and cooked for 50 minutes and let it slowly release. I finished seasoning the beans. They were delicious and ready to eat in 1 hour.
  • SEE Donna King’s comment below on salt brine soaking for beans. She shares the how-tos and the science of softer skins.

 

Most of my life I used one of the first two ways of soaking the beans and cooking beans. In recent years I discovered how easy it is to cook beans with the use of the Crock-pot.

Now after your beans are done you may season them. (With the exception of using a ham bone or ham to season your beans,  I would add this as it cooks) For me, this is not an exact science. I tend to add a small amount of cumin, chili powder, onions, or onion flakes, sometimes small pieces of chopped green bell pepper and/or cilantro, garlic, salt, and pepper. Start with small amounts and season to taste.

WARNING: Make sure if you are going to use tomatoes in your beans or bean recipes, that you do not add them until the beans are completely done or your beans will not get tender!

There. Now you know how I cook beans. Brown beans are one of our favorite meals with cornbread and a slice of onion or tomato. They are also a great addition to many recipes like taco salad, taco meat mixture, bean burritos, chili, etc. So add some beans to your diet for nutritional and financial benefits!
If you have any more questions about how to cook beans please let me know.