Sweet and Spicy French Beans

I'm always trying to get Dr. Sweetpea to eat a ton of vegetables on a daily basis. Most of the time, I'll make a huge salad and we'll both devour it before our actual meal. Other times, I try to make a side dish with only vegetables.

I recently bought a huge bag of French Greenbeans from Costco and I saw there was a recipe on the back of the bag and decided to give it a try.  Dr. Sweetpea was skeptical at first but as soon as I started making this dish, he kept coming back into the kitchen asking what smelled so good. It only took one bite for Dr. Sweetpea's eyes to light up since it was super tasty. This is definitely going in our regular rotation.

Sweet and Spicy French Beans

(Source: Pure Fresh LLC)

1 pound organic french beans

1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 red bell pepper sliced in thin strips

2 shallots sliced thin

1 tablespoon cooking oil

Cook french beans in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and place in an ice bath to prevent further cooking. Drain well and dry with paper towels. Make the sauce by combining  soy sauce, brown sugar and crushed red pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add shallots and red pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Turn heat up to medium high and add french beans. Saute until beans start to blister and brown. Add the sauce tot he pan and toss well to evenly coat. 

Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread

Dr. Sweetpea loves Cinnamon Raisin Bread. Whenever I go grocery shopping, I always end up coming home with two loaves because he'll toast a few slices in the morning and walk out the door eating them. Since my goal this year was to be more comfortable with yeast doughs, I decided to try making it at home. The recipe is a little intimidating at first, but I swear it's not as hard as it seems. I mean, for someone that's making this bread for the first time, it turned out AMAZING!! In fact, Dr. Sweetpea no longer asks that I buy Cinnamon Raisin Bread from the grocery store since mine is soooooooo much better. This is definitely something I'll be making on a weekly basis.

Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread

(Source: Cooks Country)

Cinnamon Sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

5 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Bread

1 1/2 cups milk, heated to 110 degrees

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons melted

3 large egg yolks

4 1/4 cups all ­purpose flour, plus more as needed

1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) rapid ­rise yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup raisins

For the cinnamon sugar: Combine ingredients in small bowl, breaking up clumps. Cover tightly with plastic wrap.

For the bread: Spray large bowl with cooking spray. Whisk milk, melted butter, and yolks in large liquid measuring cup. Mix 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar, yeast, sugar, flour, and salt in large bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn mixer to low and slowly add milk mixture. After dough comes together, increase speed to medium and mix until dough is smooth and comes away from sides of bowl, 5 to 6 minutes. (If dough seems too sticky, add up to 1/4 cup more flour during kneading.) Turn dough out onto unfloured counter and knead raisins in by hand until evenly distributed. Knead to form smooth, round ball. Transfer dough to greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (Do not place in warm oven, or sugar in dough will melt.)

Spray 9 by 5­inch loaf pan with cooking spray. On lightly floured surface, press dough into 20 by 8­inch rectangle, with short side facing you. Using spray bottle, lightly and evenly spray dough with water. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar over dough, leaving 2­inch border along top edge. Lightly spray cinnamon sugar with water until damp but not wet. Starting at edge nearest you, roll up dough, then pinch seam and ends closed. Place loaf seam side down in prepared pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until 1 inch above rim of pan, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt remaining tablespoon butter and brush over top of dough. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar and bake until top is deep brown and center of bread registers 185 to 190 degrees on instant­read thermometer, 45 to 60 minutes. Turn bread out onto rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Slice as desired. (Bread can be kept in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

Easy Meat Sauce

I'm a huge fan of making a big ole pot of meat sauce during the weekend and freezing them so we have an easy weeknight meal. I tried this recipe from Cooks Country and it was absolutely devine! Incredibly easy to make and it freezes well too. Dr. Sweetpea said this is the best meat sauce he has had outside of the restaurants that we go to. Definitely a keeper for us!

Simple Italian Style Meat Sauce

(Source: Cooks Country)

4 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and broken into rough pieces

1 slice hearty white sandwich bread, torn into quarters

2 tablespoons whole milk

Salt and pepper

1 pound 85 percent lean ground beef

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, chopped fine

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 (14.5­ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained with 1/4 cup juice reserved

1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried

1 (28­ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Process mushrooms in food processor until finely chopped, about 8 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed; transfer to bowl. Add bread, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to now­empty processor and process until paste forms, about 8 pulses. Add beef and pulse until mixture is well combined, about 6 pulses.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium­high heat until just smoking. Add onion and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are browned and dark bits form on pan bottom, 6 to 12 minutes. Stir in garlic, tomato paste, and pepper flakes; cook until fragrant and tomato paste starts to brown, about 1 minute. Add reserved tomato juice and 2 teaspoons oregano (if using dried, add full amount), scraping up any browned bits. Add meat mixture and cook, breaking meat into small pieces with spoon, until beef loses its raw color, 2 to 4 minutes, making sure that meat does not brown.

Stir in crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low and gently simmer until sauce has thickened and flavors have blended, about 30 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and remaining 1 teaspoon oregano; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Carnitas

After moving to Houston, Dr. Sweetpea and I have been eating a ton Carnitas. If we end up moving away after training, I'm definitely going to miss the top notch Tex Mex restaurants here. Anyway, back to the Carnitas, they are addicting and absolutely life changing. We already spent way too much money eating at various restaurants in the area, so I decided to make Carnitas at home. Dr. Sweetpea looked at me very cynically when I told him I'm making Carnitas for dinner. In fact, I'm pretty positive he had a backup plan just in case I messed it up. I saved about 10 different recipes and decided to make the recipe from Epicurious since there were so many wonderful reviews. This recipe is so easy to make but sooooo flavorful. While I was cooking the Carnitas, Dr. Sweetpea kept coming back into the kitchen saying that it smelled wonderful. After the Carnitas were done, Dr. Sweetpea took the first bite and his eyes got BIG, because he was blown away by how tasty they were. The Carnitas were so tender, flavorful, and as good as what we ate at restaurants. This is our go-to recipe for Carnitas at home now.

Carnitas

(Source: Epicurious)

4 pounds fatty pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces

3 cups water

1 medium white onion, thinly sliced

1/2 orange, cut into 2 pieces

1/4 cup pork lard or vegetable oil

8 garlic cloves, peeled

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican, crumbled

2 teaspoons fine salt, or 4 teaspoons kosher salt

Put all the ingredients in a wide 6-to 7-quart heavy pot (don't worry if the pork is not completely covered) and bring the water to a boil, skimming the surface as necessary. Lower the heat and simmer vigorously, stirring occasionally, until the pork is fork-tender and the liquid has completely evaporated,  1 1/2 to 2 hours. Discard the orange pieces and bay leaves. If the liquid hasn't evaporated after 2 hours, transfer the pork pieces to a bowl and let the liquid continue to bubble away, stirring often, until it has.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Transfer the pork and fat to an ovenproof dish, if necessary, and brown the pork, uncovered, in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes. There's no need to stir.

Carnitas keeps in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Note: If you want to make half a batch, cut the amount of pork, salt, and oregano in half, but use the same amount of the remaining ingredients and water. You will need to use a slightly smaller pot.

Southern Cafeteria Style Cod

I'm actually really bummed that I didn't make this Southern Cafeteria Style Cod for dinner sooner! I had the recipe in my file for several months, but nothing really sparked my interest. Then one day, when Dr. Sweetpea texted me from work saying that he'll be home sooner than expected, I was in a rush to have dinner ready by the time he got home and decided to try this cod recipe because it's so easy. After Dr. Sweetpea got home and took one bite, all I heard was silence because he was too busy devouring his food. He reminded me to keep this cod recipe in my back pocket because it was delicious! 

Southern Cafeteria Style Cod

(Source: Miami Herald)

2 pounds cod filets

3 tablespoons butter, melted, divided

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup unflavored breadcrumbs

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, beat together 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter with the lemon juice, mayonnaise, garlic and onion powder and paprika. Coat a non­reactive baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange fish in the pan. Spread the mayonnaise and spice mixture onto the fish as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly on top. Drizzle with the remaining butter.

Bake 20 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork and top is golden.