Rory's Carbonara

This is a favorite around here ...

My husband Rory made this recipe up when he was studying at University. Every Friday night he would have this carbonara and a bottle of wine for dinner ....

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I love it because it is equally as easy as it is yummy. I keep most of these things in my house so usually just have to buy the bacon if I haven't got any in the freezer.

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We had it last night ... needed something I could cook without thinking. You Mom's know how that goes right ? Sick kid ... long day ... what to do for dinner ?!?! Plus, Jono said he would like to have bacon for dinner ... perfect meal for all of us !!

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The Recipe ....

Ingredients:

• bacon - roughly 250g (1/2 lb) - chopped
• 1 onion - chopped
• garlic - slivered ( you can put as little or as much as you like. I use a whole head of garlic when I make this but we are HEAVY on the garlic eaters !! )
• fresh rosemary - 1 or 2 sprigs
• pasta - I like vermicelli or thin spaghetti. Rory likes fettucine. The kids like spirals.
• parmesan cheese

Put water on to boil. Cook pasta. (when finished, drain and run under a bit of cold water so it doesn't stick together)

While pasta is cooking. Put a bit of olive oil in a frying pan - or you can leave it out if your bacon makes lots of grease. Cook bacon 'til almost done ( we like it crispy but you can do it to your desired taste ! ) Add garlic and chopped rosemary. Cook 'til garlic is just starting to brown. Add onion. Cook 'til soft.

Put pasta back in pan (or in serving dish). Add bacon mixture. Add parmesan cheese. We probably add a cup - at least. Mix to coat. Serve with salad and nice bread.

Rory has been known to add black olives and/or sliced mushrooms to this dish as well.

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EVERYONE in our little family LOVES this meal ! No complaints !

Posting Old and Not Necessarily Extrememly Healthy Recipes ...

Since I don't have my simple beauty blog open to the public anymore, I thought it might be a good idea to re-post the recipes from there to here. I know they do not necessarily comply with the "EXTREMELY HEALTHY" part of this blog but they definitely comply with the "DELICIOUS" part so let's call it good ! I'll be posting over the next couple of days and I am hoping to start up my MENU PLAN MONDAY posts again starting on Monday !!! How 'bout you, Khris ? You ready to start that up again !? I've missed seeing what is on the menu at your place ... Ok ... I was going to post the first recipe in this post but I think I'll give it it's own ...

Vegetarian Curry

I was watching my favorite cooking show the other day (America's Test Kitchen) and they made the yummiest looking vegetarian curry. So I pulled out my notebook and a pen and wrote down what they did as they did it. We made it last night and it was amazing! Enjoy!

Vegetarian Curry

1 or 2 T curry powder
1 T garam masala
Oil
1 med onion, chopped
3 or 4 medium potatoes
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 serrano chili, seeded and finely diced
1 T fresh ginger, grated fine
1 T tomato paste
1/2 head of cauliflower, in bite sized pieces
14 oz. can of diced or crushed tomatoes, run through a blender (I guess you could sub tomato sauce)
1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1 t salt
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1/4 c. heavy cream

Toast the curry powder and the garam masala in a dry pan on high heat for a minute or two until it smokes. Remove from pan and set aside.
Heat some oil over medium heat and add the onions and potatoes. Let fry for about 10 minutes until they get some nice color.
Add in a little more oil. Throw in the ginger, garlic, chili, tomato paste and the toasted spices. Let the spices bloom for a bit in the oil then add in the cauliflower. Made sure the cauliflower gets coated with the spices. Add in the blended tomatoes, about 3/4 cup of water (more or less depending on how much sauce you like and how thick you prefer it to be), the chick peas, and the salt.
Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat until the veggies are done.
Add the frozen peas and the cream.
Take off heat.
Done.

Serving suggestions: Serve with basmati rice and your favorite chutneys or relishes. We had sag paneer and nan with our curry and rice.

A Wee Bonnie Wrap ....

We have wraps quite a bit around here.
This was was particularly yummy so I thought I'd post it.

All I did was cook some basmati and wild rice. Chopped up fresh coriander ( cilantro ), tomatoes, black olives, purple cabbage, spring onion. Add to rice. Add a can of black beans. Add some lime juice. This is yummy to eat just like that.

But I cooked some chicken as well.
Chopped up and added some chipoltle chili powder and cooked in fry pan.

For the wrap. Used flour tortillas. Added avocado, shredded cheese and a bit of sour cream.

Toasted in sandwich press.

YUMMMY !

Links in Side Bar

Hey Everyone ...

I've added "Links to Some Favorite Recipes" in the side bar for easier access to old recipes. Eventually I will have every recipe on here linked but I got tired of linking today !! So ... I'll finish that up later ... Just wanted to let you know so you could make use of my eye crossing work ! ha ha.

Bon

PS ... I've got three recipes coming this week. A Risotto, A Wrap and A YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY Potato and Leek Soup ! So ... check back soon !!

Naan

This was sooooo easy.
I wasn't convinced until it came out of the oven but now ... totally convinced !!

I found this recipe at Souvlaki For The Soul.
I'm sure I've mentioned that blog here before, right ?
Anyway ...
He got the recipe from a great site called Anjum's Food.

I am going to repost the recipe here ... only because when I'm in a hurry I like to make one stop ... not be clicking all over world-wide-webdom !

Here's it is ... as posted on Anjum's Food.

250g plain flour
2 tbs. vegetable oil
110-130 ml milk
1 tbs. butter, melted for serving
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Nigella seeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, chopped garlic and fresh coriander or a mixture of healthy pumpkin and sunflower seeds

Sift together dry ingredients. Mix together the milk and oil.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquids.

Slowly mix together the dough by working from the centre and incorporating the flour from the edges of the “well” so that you have a smooth, soft dough. Knead well for 8-10 minutes, adding a little flour if the dough is too sticky.

Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea-towel and leave in a warm place to double in size, at least an hour. Then punch out and form into 5 balls.

Preheat the grill to its highest setting and put a heavy baking pan on the upper shelf.

Meanwhile, start to roll out the naan into tear drop or oval shapes. Sprinkle over the topping and press into the dough. Place the naan on the hot baking sheet and grill until there are nice brown spots on the surface, around 1-2 minutes. Brush with butter and serve hot.

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Ok ... this is me again.

I was a bit worried as there is no yeast in the recipe.

BUT ... I'm not a good baker and I rarely make bread without the assistance of my breadmaker, so what do I know about it, really ?

But, the recipe is right. No yeast necessary.

Also ... it said to leave it an hour and it should double in size.

I left it a good hour and a half ... maybe longer, and while I didn't measure before hand, I'm sure that little ball of dough was the EXACT same size as when I finished kneading it !

Rory and I were set to make pappadams as a backup but didn't need to ...

These are perfect, easy, DELICIOUS and will be made time and time again in this household !

Rory made a yummy Madras Beef Curry tonight.

That recipe is up next !!

Madras Beef Curry

This recipe came from Taste.com.au

Rory halved the amount of chilli powder this time as it was quite hot last time !

2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chilli powder (optional) - we only used 1/2 tsp this time
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1kg chuck steak, cut into 2.5cm cubes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef stock
steamed basmati rice, raita and mint leaves, to serve (we skipped the mint leaves)

Combine coriander, cumin, turmeric, pepper, chilli, garlic, ginger and lemon juice in a bowl to form a paste. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add half the beef. Cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining oil and beef.

Reduce heat to medium. Add spice paste. Cook for 1 minute. Return beef to saucepan. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, or until meat is coated with paste. Add tomato paste and stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until beef is tender.

Remove lid. Cook, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes, or until sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. Serve with rice and raita. Top with mint leaves.

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And this is the recipe for the Cucumber Raita. It made heaps.
I will only use a small yoghurt next time !!

Natural yoghurt - 500 ml
1 Lebanese cucumber - diced
1 tsp cumin
Pinch Salt
Fresh Coriander

Whisk the yoghurt.
Add the cucumber, salt and cumin powder.
Mix well with the chopped coriander leaves.

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Served as well with Naan ... homemade ! ( our first attempt !! ) You can find that recipe here.

Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Basil, Olives and Fresh Mozzarella

I tried a wonderful new recipe for dinner tonight. It was fresh and perfect for a hot summer night. It seemed a little strange at first, because the sauce isn't cooked at all, but it is absolutely delicious!

Here it is. Enjoy.

Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Basil, Olives and Fresh Mozzarella

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes (about 6), chopped

3/4 pound salted fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch cubes, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups chopped fresh basil

1/2 cup halved and pitted black olives (I used Kalamata olives.)

4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1 pound spaghetti

1/2 cup olive oil (This may not look like enough, but it's plenty.)

3 cloves garlic, minced (I used eight!)

DIRECTIONS

In a large glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes with the mozzarella, basil, olives, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes. Drain,, add to the tomato mixture, and toss.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan over moderately low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Pour the oil over the pasta and toss again.

I didn't toss the pasta and tomato mixture together. I left them separate so that when we have leftovers, we can heat the pasta and still have the fresh tomato topping. Therefore, when I served it, I heaped a generous bunch of the tomato mixture on top of the pasta. Don't forget to dig to the bottom to dip out some of the vinegar for the pasta.

Homemade Mac-N-Cheese

Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Cook pasta according to directions on package.

Melt butter in large saucepan. Blend in flour. Wisk in milk.

Cook at medium heat until thick.

Add salt and pepper and 2 cups cheese.

Stir to melt.

Pour in cooked pasta. Mix well and serve.

You can make this fairly healthy by using lowfat milk, and lowfat cheese.

Use whole wheat past for an even healthier dish!

Menu Plan Monday - Khrista - Edition 22 (really 23...)

So, last week I was on top of things and planned my menu ahead of time. Like on Friday, when I'm usually scrambling around Sunday evening! BUT...I forgot to post it! ha! I even had it all ready to post, and just never did...I'm going to include it at the end of this post!This weeks links:
Grilled Vegetable Muffuletta(Racheal Ray Magazine)
Orange Chicken and Rice - Found through Food Gawker
My Oh Mahi, That's a Good Fish Taco(Racheal Ray Magazine)
Homemade Shells & Cheese with a salad from our CSA share! Yipee! (recipe to follow) Moved from last week.
Pork Baby Back Ribs - Jamie at Home...awesome episode on Food TV. I want to live at Jamie's house! I love his herb garden and his organic, irreverent, and practical way of cooking! Love this show!
Last weeks menu:

A Replacement

So, with the disappearance of my favorite, though only recently discovered, food blog resource, I've been directed to a replacement ... of the few that have popped up since Tastespotting disappeared, this is my favorite.

FOOD GAWKER
I even love the name !!

I've already found some great stuff ... including this article on 20 whole grains to cook and eat ...

As for my menu plans ... I won't be posting one until mid August. I'll explain why later. Maybe.

In the mean time ... how about some ideas from those of you who have been a bit quiet around the beans blog for a while ... :)

This is soooo sad !!!

Tastespotting is gone !!! I just discovered this site and now it is gone !!!

If you go there now all you will see is the note above.

Total Bummer !

No Menu

And my grocery budget is reflecting it.

Ugh.

I just could NOT get a menu done this week !

Lots of reasons that I won't go into.

I will be back on track next week ... I hope !

Menu Plan Monday - Khrista - Edition 21

Monday's meal was inspired by the newest issue of Clean Eating Magazine. I did not make Ratatouille last week, so I need to use the veggies before they go bad.
I was looking over the menu from last month and discovered that we did not have Kung Pao Chicken a single time! It was time to put it on the menu again! :o)
Cajun-Spiced Tilapia again...this time on the grill! Yay, for SUMMER! :o)
The seasoned Edamame & Beans recipe came from a prior issue of Clean Eating Magazine. My friend raves about this easy side dish, so we had to give it a try!

Reposting ...

... this here on the Beans Blog because I've made my other blog private and people have asked for this recipe !!

This was so delicious that Jono told me he "loves this kind of meal" and gave me a big hug right there at the dinner table !!

It's a crock pot recipe that I got from Chick In The Kitchen. Her recipe calls for ground turkey but I used ground beef. I made a few other changes too so I'll post the way I made it here. You can check her recipe out and make it her way, my way or even your own way ! That's the great thing about cooking !!

I decided to try making focaccia bread too. It was soooo good ! I've never made it before. Don't know why ! The recipe for it is the next page over from the recipe I use almost every week to make pizza dough in my bread maker !!! Anyway, I'll be making it again, that's for sure !

Focaccia
(recipe from the book that came with my bread maker)

Water ~ 250ml
Olive Oil ~ 2 TBLS
Salt ~ 1 tsp
Sugar ~ 2 tsps
Flour ~ 3 cups
Yeast ~ 2 tsps

Add ingredients to bread maker in order listed and use the 'dough' setting.

Press dough into a lightly greased pan. I used baking paper.

Cover and stand in warm area for 30 min or til doubled in size. (I always fill the sink with hot water and stand my doughs on top of that to make it warm ... works well)

Remove cover, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with rock salt.

Bake in pre-heated oven 200C (400F) for 30 (mine only took 20 minutes) minutes or until golden brown.

Slow Cooker Meatballs

(see Chick in the Kitchen for original recipe using turkey)

2 lb. (1kg) lean ground beef ( mince )
1 egg
1/4 c. fine, plain breadcrumbs
a big handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
garlic chives ~ chopped
2 tbls (?) fresh oregano, finely chopped
ground black pepper to taste (about 6 turns of the grinder)
2 (500ml each) jars of your favorite pasta sauce ~ I used an extra garlic one

Add all ingredients — except for the sauce — to a large bowl, and mix with your hands until well-combined.

Roll meat into golf ball-sized balls, and layer into the bottom of your slow cooker. Pour the jar of sauce over the meatballs so they are completely covered.

Place lid on your slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 hours.

Serve on top of pasta of your choice ~ I used vermicelli.

And of course, I served it with the yummy focaccia bread !!! Mmmm Mmmm good !!!

***EDITED THURSDAY ***
I wanted to join in Sandra's Slow Cooking Thursday !
This is such a yummy recipe !!!
Come back after you've tried it and let me know what you think !!

Bread

Have I mentioned how much I love my bread machine?

Oh yeah, that's because I hate it!!!

Aidan and I decided to make bread yesterday. Here is our brilliant result:


These really don't show all of the horror that was our "bread"


So, in the middle of Aidan's nap I realize that we are not going to have fresh bread for dinner.

So I pulled up the french bread post and started over. It turned out great!!



I will definitely make it again. Next time I will cut the recipe in half because it is too big for my mixer, but it still turned out great. Mine wasn't quite as crusty as hers looks.. maybe I needed to cook it longer or something.. we'll see. Thanks for the great recipe.

I'm In Love and You Will Be Too !

This is the coolest site !!!

You have got to check it out !

I warn you though ... if you put it in your google reader like I did ... you will have heaps to read !

And you will find some really cool blogs !

Like I have !

TASTESPOTTING

Click the word above ... go on, you know you want to !!

Then come back and tell me what you think !

Menu Plan Monday - Khrista - Edition 20

I missed last weeks menu planning due to the holiday...back on track now:Links to recipes:

• Pioneer Woman's "Crash Hot Potatoes."Which are actually from Australian food writer Jill Dupleix.
• Grilled Ratatouille Salad from Vegetarian Times magazine.

• Vietnamese Vermicelli with Grilled Beef

Inspired ...

As promised ... here are the two recipes for the yummy meal we had Sunday night.

They are both from The Inspired Vegetarian by Christine Ingram

I served them as the main dishes ... not eating meat right now.

Stuffed Mushrooms ( the adapted by Bonnie version )

I used:
6 big mushrooms
olive oil
garlic
fresh parsley
fresh breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 180C or 350F

Take the stalks out of the mushrooms. Don't throw them out. Put the mushrooms in a pan with baking paper on the bottom.

Heat a bit of oil and briefly fry the garlic. It called for 2 cloves, use what you fancy.

In a bowl, mix the breadcrumbs (I used two pieces of bread ... chopped in my food processor), parsley (3 tbls), and chopped mushroom stalks. Add garlic, salt and pepper and 1 tbls oil.

Fill mushrooms with mixture. I then poured a bit more oil on top as it seemed a bit too dry.

Cover with baking paper. Bake 15/20 minutes ~ depending on size of mushrooms.

Remove paper at last five minutes to brown the tops ... I also added a bit of feta cheese before I put them back in for these last five minutes !

Italian Roast Peppers

4 small red peppers, halved, cored and seeded
2-3 tbls capers ~ I used baby capers so I didn't need to chop as the recipe called for
10 - 12 black olives, pitted and chopped
garlic, finely chopped
50 - 75 g mozarella
25 - 50 g fresh breadcrumbs ( I used two pieces of bread )
1/2 cup white wine
3 tbls olive oil
1 tsp finely chopped fresh mint
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 180 C / 375 F.

Place the peppers tightly in a dish - lined with baking paper of course.

In a bowl, mix capers, olives, garlic, mozzarella and breadcrumbs. Pour onto the peppers.

Pour wine and olive oil (I mixed them first) on top.

Sprinkle with herbs and pepper.

Bake 30 - 40 minutes until the topping is crisp and golden brown.

I checked mine after 20 minutes and it was already crisp and golden brown but the peppers weren't cooked. So .. I covered it with tin foil for the remainder of the cooking time ! I might start out with the tin foil on top next time and then take it off towards the end !

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - Edition 22

Mondays come around so quickly !
Do they for you too ?
Here's the menu for this week ...





Friday we had pizza.

Good pizza.

Of course, the pizza we eat around here is always good.

That's a problem ! A big problem ... :)






Saturday we did a BBQ.

We all had something different.

You can read about it and get my yummy fish recipe here.







Last night, Sunday, we had the yummiest dinner.

Tried two new recipes and made that great focaccia bread.

I'll be posting the new recipes tomorrow.

You'll want to check back to see these:
1. Italian Roast Peppers
2. Stuffed Mushrooms

I'm having the leftovers for lunch ... at least I hope I am.

I wonder if Rory took them to work ??





Tonight, Monday, we are having a new recipe out of this book.

It's called Persian Minted Onion Soup and it looks delish.

I'll post the recipe later in the week if it's as good as it looks !

I'm also making the rest of the focaccia. Last night, in an effort to reduce our bread intake, I only baked half the loaf.





Tuesday and Wednesday we will be trying two more new recipes.

Tues ~ Spinach and Cannellini Beans
Wed ~ Balti Style Cauliflower with Tomatoes.

This is a great book ! I got Sunday's recipes out of it too !

As for Thursday, I don't have anything planned.

We'll see what happens ...


PS ... I'm having some spacing issues with this post. Driving me too crazy trying to fix 'em so I'm not going to !!