Bean and Bacon (optional) Soup

I know what you're thinking, but no. Unfortunately, this is not the recipe for that famous red and white can.

It is, however, a quick and easy recipe that can be amended with ease to your tastes. Add bacon. Forget the bacon. Add carrots. Maybe celery. Add a bit of vegetable or chicken broth if you desire.

Though I'm not a big fan of cannellini beans, there were two cans in our pantry, and it seemed a shame to let them sit there going to waste. So, we toasted the remainder of a three-day old cornbread, tossed up a pot of soup, and we're full.

Scan your cupboards for other ingredients such as corn, even green chilies would taste fine in this multi-tasking soup.

Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light.

3 slices of bacon, chopped (optional for vegetarians)
1 cup of chopped onion
1 Tablespoon of chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of dry mustard powder
1 1/2 cups of water
1 Tablespoon of dark molasses
1 Tablespoon of red wine vinegar
2 15-ounce cans of cannellini beans, or other white beans - DRAINED
1 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes with onions and garlic - UNDRAINED

 If including bacon, cook over medium-high heat until it is crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan, set aside. Reserve 2 teaspoons of bacon drippings in a sauce pan.

If going vegetarian, use 2-3 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil.

Over medium-high heat, combine onions in oil or drippings. Add chili powder and dry mustard, stir well, saute for three minutes. Stir in bacon and all remaining ingredients, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for seven minutes.

Remove the pan from heat. The original recipe calls for partially mashing some of the beans, but I did not feel this was necessary. To each his or her own.

Bon appetit!

Easy Four Day Refrigerator Pickles

If you find yourself with a bounty of little cucumbers, make pickles! So easy to toss together, put into the refrigerator, and then in four days, enjoy. From the 2008 Cooking Light Annual Recipes book, page 217.

6 cups of thinly sliced pickling cucumbers (about two pounds)
2 cups white onion, sliced thin
1 1/2 cups of white vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon of celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon of ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, freshly ground
4 garlic cloves, sliced very thin


For even more details and photos, visit my step-by-step tutorial:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Refrigerator-Pickles/ 

In a large glass bowl, layer three cups of sliced cucumbers.
Top with one cup of sliced onions.
Repeat.

In a small saucepan, combine 1 and 1/2 cups of white vinegar.
Stir in the remaining eight ingredients, whisk or stir well.
Bring to a boil, allow to cook for one minute.

Pour over the cucumber / onion mixture and allow to cool.
Cover and chill for at least four days.

Yield: 7 cups (serving size = 1/4 cup)

May be stored in the refrigerator for up to one month. If they last that long.