Just when I thought I couldn't love my crockpot any more...

On Sunday a lady at church was giving away pinto beans, so I took a bag to see what I could do with them. After the Thanksgiving 2007 incident (you all remember, Andrew Cobabe tried to do Meredith in, by telling her to release a nozzle to get some pressure out and it exploded!) I am terrified of pressure cookers so I thought refried beans were out of the question. I looked it up online just to see and I found the EASIEST and TASTIEST refried bean recipe ever!!!

3 cups pinto beans, rinsed
9 cups water
season to taste, here is what I used: I can diced green chili's, garlic salt, ground cumin, and chili powder.

Cook on high for 8 hours. Drain beans and reserve liquid. Beat beans on low with a hand mixer adding liquid to achieve desired texture. Serves 15. And there you have refried beans minus the effort!

The Amazing Feat I Will Be Attempting Tonight....COOKING!

Aren't you all so proud of me?! I'm actually posting...on a cooking blog! (these are the things I do to avoid studying...) So I was craving Oregano's Alfredo The Dark and have spent the last half hour trying to bootleg a copy of their recipe. Here's the closest I could get. I do believe you should try it all with me! The picture looks scrumptious-no?


Alfredo The Dark

1T oil

2 cloves of garlic, diced

1/2 of a medium onion, diced

1 chicken breast, diced

1 cup prepared alfredo sauce (you could make your own)

1 cup milk

1 chipotle pepper, diced, with 1 T adobo sauce (you can buy these in a can at most grocery stores)

1 T maple syrup

2 1/2 cups cooked penne (you can use whatever pasta you want)

cilantro for a garnish

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat, adding garlic and onions. Saute until translucent, then add chicken and brown. Reduce heat and add alfredo sauce and milk. Add chipotle, adobo, and maple syrup. Reduce sauce until it is the consistency that you prefer. Serve over pasta and garnish with cilantro.

Pot luck

Today was potluck at Head Start. I made my Easy Cheesy Soup. It was a hit. Here's the recipe.

3 or 4 potatoes--baked and diced ahead of time. I do these in the microwave.

Put potatoes, one can cream of chicken soup, one can cheddar cheese soup, half a big hunk of velveeta (diced), two bags of california mix frozen vegetables with a couple of squares of chicken bullion all in a big crock pot. Add a little water (1 cup or so) over the mix. Put on high for just a couple of hours and it's hot and delicious.

I was rainy and cold today so it was the perfect dish.

Happy eating, Mom

Quick Pioneer Stew

I tried this stew at a stake women's conference last weekend. It was so yummy!

2 cans kidney beans - drained
1 (14 1/2 oz) can beef broth
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can whole corn, undrained
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 to 3 cups cooked wheat berries (really this depends on how much you can sneak in the stew without your family noticing...)
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 to 1 lb ground beef, browned
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder

In skillet cook ground beef, chopped onion, green pepper until meat is browned. Drain off fat. Add meat mixture to corn tomatoes beans, and wheat berries. Add chili powder and salt to taste. Simmer for 20 minutes
Then combine 1 tbsp flour with 2 tbsp cold water, stir into stew. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add cheese to the top just before serving. Serves 8.