Sometimes Simple, Sometimes Grand, Always Declicious
It’s no secret that I love my oven. Breads, cakes, casseroles you name it. So many tasty foods were just meant to be placed into that insulated metal box and heated to 350 degrees. Unfortunately, higher outside temps and oven use don’t always mix, so as springtime weather comes to a close, I find myself looking for alternative ways to create dishes that don’t involve baking.
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First off, I want to give a heart felt thank you for all the incredible comments and emails that people sent with regards to Alex. The fact that you took the time to share your experiences, support and love really touched my heart. I was especially stirred by the tribute that my friend Julie from Willow Bird Baking did over at her site. If you haven’t had a chance to stop by and check it out, you should definitely do so. Her class of 7th graders is one amazing clan of kids. I had a hard time seeing clearly through all my blubbering and tears, but I know it involved teenage boys dressed in pink and a rainbow tribute from the entire class to Alex. THIS is why the internet is so incredibly amazing. People you’ve never even met can lift your spirit and make a difference in your life with the single touch of a button. Thank you so very much.
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Football lovers rejoice! The Super Bowl is almost here. I don’t know about you, but I look forward to the big game. On top of the fact that its arrival ushers out the long, cold month of January (it’s only 31 days, but I swear it feels twice that long), I also find that it provides me with an excuse to create some seriously satiating appetizers.
I’ve been toying with the idea of a bean dip for some time now. While there’s always freedom to experiment with flavors, a couple of requirements were necessary for this endeavor straight out of the gate:
Well, get ready, because I achieved all three goals and scored a two-point conversion in the process with the bonus addition of protein-charged beans to the mix. The final result is flavorful football fare that will leave you and your guests filled and content.
Kick off your Super Bowl party right by cooking up a couple slices of fresh-cut bacon. When the bacon is crisp and hot, remove it from the pan and chop. Reserving a teaspoon or two of the grease, slide your heat dial to medium and drop in a bit of diced onion and fresh garlic.
Sear it up for a minute or two and then toss in a can of rinsed and drained cannellini beans.
Swirl around the pan for a couple moments allowing them the opportunity to heat up. Dial the heat back down to medium low and stir in a bit of sour cream (light is ok), mayo, and one of the two chopped bacon slices. Transfer the hot mixture to a food processor and spin until smooth.
Finally, drop in a few handfuls of pepper jack cheese, a pinch or two of Parmesan and a few choice flavor enhancers including oregano, Worcestershire and hot pepper (to taste). Add salt if needed and sprinkle the remaining chopped bacon and a little green onion over the top.
Even if your team doesn’t make it to the big game this year, you can be assured that between the clever commercials and the over-abundance of pigskin-dedicated fare, you’ll finish the evening with a satiated appetite and, if you’re lucky, a coveted Super Bowl win.
And if not, there’s always next year.
This post is being shared over at MSN’s Kitchen Cookoff. Be sure to drop by and show a little love!
Yield: About 2 Cups of Dip
Total Time: 25 min
2 Slices Bacon
1/4 Onion Chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 15 Oz. Cannellini Beans, Rinsed and Drained
1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
3/4 Cup Shredded Pepper Jack
3 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp Worcestershire
1/4 tsp Oregano
A Few Drops Hot Pepper, to Taste
Optional Garnish: 1 Green Onion, Chopped
Cook up the two bacon slices until crisped and brown. Pull out and chop.
Reserve a teaspoon or two of the grease and on medium heat, brown up the onion and garlic.
Add in the beans and stir around for a minute or two to heat them up.
Turn the heat down to medium low and add in the broth, sour cream, mayo and one of the chopped bacon slices.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Pour back into the pan and add in the cheeses, Worcestershire, oregano and hot pepper. Add salt if needed.
Garnish with the remaining bacon and a chopped green onion. Serve with crudités and pita chips and/or a hunky loaf of fresh baked bread.
Have you ever bought one of those packs of beans from the grocery store? You know the ones, they have 17 different flavors of legume in the assortment and a recipe for the same old soup on the back every time you pick it up.
Well, I just so happened to have one such bag gracing the inside of my pantry a few weeks back that was bellowing at me to eat it. Being the adventuresome food blogger that I am, I decided to veer away from the bean sack’s dinner plans and instead attempt to create a dish of my own. It would be a chili dish. And while I was at it, I resolved to make it a chicken based chili. And if I was going to use chicken, why not take it one step further and make the base be something other than tomatoes. I was on fire; the inspirational juices were flowing like a glass of cool water on a hot summer day.
I threw in a little of this, and a bit of that. The steam was rising and the water was bubbling. All I needed was my witches hat, a wart and a good cackle, and I would have been concocting one seriously wicked witches brew. When the smoke cleared and the spoon was laid to rest, what remained was one seriously delicious white chicken chili.
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When I was a child I hated beans. No wait, let me rephrase that. Not just hated, despised. On nights when beans were served, my mom would make my brother and me sit at the table until we finished every last bean on our plates and sometimes we’d sit there for hours. We didn’t have a dog to help in our demise and the cat was as turned off by the whole ordeal as we were so she was no assistance in the bean disposal department. My brother eventually developed this ingenious idea to declare an “emergency bathroom break” immediately after taking a huge bite of said round nuggets and would magically come back with a cleansed palate. I still owe my brother one for his shrewd method of bean extraction.
I’m not sure what happened between childhood and today, but at some point in time, unbeknownst to me, my palate adapted, ate a bean, and declared it good. Now I suddenly find myself cooking with beans on a weekly basis and dare I say, enjoying it. Fortunately two of my three kiddos enjoy the beans with me. One, Nicholas, does not. Life experience has taught me that forcing a bean despiser hater to eat beans does absolutely nothing for expanding the palate and only causes said child to have a sore bum from spending too much time seated at the table with no dog for assistance. So, for now, I allow Nicholas to bypass the beans in the hopes that one day, he too will declare beans good.
And so, this soup is in honor of beans. Plain and simple. There aren’t many bells and whistles in the recipe. Just what it takes to highlight my gratitude for a sometimes under acknowledged, non-meat, healthy as all get out, protein source that with time and appreciation, I have truly come to enjoy.
Grab your bowl and let’s cook up some Simply Bean Soup.
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