Spicy and Sweet Baked Beans

I follow a number of great blogs, food and otherwise. If you have a minute, take a look at some of my favorites...they are right over there, listed on the right-hand side of this page.

One of my favorite food blogs is The Wicked Noodle. Kristy, the writer, has a wonderful take on the day-to-day ups and downs, challenges and small triumphs we all face, and she makes some really great food in the process. Check her out. These beans are her recipe, and they are delish - just like I suspect all of her recipes are.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 chipotle chiles, canned in adobo sauce 
• 2 (28-ounce) cans baked beans, both drained of liquid on top of can after first opening

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 300°.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots; sauté 4 minutes or until golden. Add cumin and garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato puree and oil, and cook for 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add honey and the next 5 ingredients (through chiles). Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Combine beans and shallot mixture in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 300° for 1 hour or until thick and bubbly.

Source: The Wicked Noodle

I wasn't terribly prepared when I made these beans. And these were some important beans - I was serving them at our first official party in our new home. Despite my scrambling and frantic measuring, they came out wonderfully...and they were a huge, spicy hit! So much so...that I neglected to get a photo.  But, they look like you expect baked beans would look and Kristy has some nice shots on her page is you really need to see them.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

My good friend Debi turned me on to quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) some time ago, and I'm glad she did. I love anything - like orzo, rice or couscous - that you can doctor up with just about anything you have on hand. It makes for a quick, easy side dish that goes with just about any meal.

This salad is from the back of the Archer Farms quinoa package and had a great smokey, southwestern flavor.  It has definitely made into the rotation!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 C chicken stock
• 1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15.5 oz) can sweet corn, drained
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 C cilantro, chopped
• 3 Tbsp. lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped

Method:

1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions, using stock in place of water.
2. Whisk cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, cumin, and chipotle in bottom of large bowl to combine.
3. Gently fold in beans, corn, and red bell pepper.
4. Stir in cooked quinoa. Toss to combine.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve warm or chilled.

One of the best parts of this salad was how good it was for lunch the next day.