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!

Marinated Tomatoes

As Summer nears an end, one should always reserve a few tomatoes for marinating. Quick and easy to fix, they pop into the refrigerator in no time, marinating while the rest of dinner is prepared.

Originally posted in Country Magazine, I swear this is the same recipe used by a former co-worker's mother for a company dinner. The tomatoes didn't last long, and everyone complimented Mrs. Crawford's dish, so much so, that she ended up printing the recipe (along with her fabulous cheese ball to which I would later become addicted) for many of the employees.

Grab a few tomatoes from the garden, or head for your local Farmer's Market early for the big ones. A large casserole dish is perfect for the marinating process. Simply cover with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

• 3 large fresh tomatoes, sliced on the thick side
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt (optional use = 1/2 tsp. or none at all)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 to 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 2 Tablespoons onion, finely minced (make 'em pretty, they will stand out)
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, finely minced
•  1 Tablespoon fresh basil, finely minced, or 1 teaspoon dried basil

Place sliced tomatoes in a large dish such as a rectangular casserole dish. Mix all remaining ingredients in a container with a lid, cover and mix well. Pour over tomato slices, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours. 

Print several recipe cards. They are going to ask for them. Bon appetit!

Multi-Purpose Marinara Sauce

Oh, the magic of the smells floating through your house when a big pot of this wonderful Marinara sauce is on the stove top.

The longer it simmers, the more intense the flavor, and the thicker it becomes, making it a wonderful sauce in that you decide what the end result will be. Marinara sauce is so versatile. Dip mozzarella sticks into a hot pool of it, and you'll melt like the cheese that would taste great on top of it.

Pour it over a bed of pasta, doll it up further for use as a pizza sauce, there are so many things you can do with it.

Easily adapted if you wish to vary from the given recipe, so please, by all means, have fun with it. Add capers, add mushrooms, olives if you desire. Add more onion, less onion,
no onion. This is your sauce. Let's get started!


For a detailed, step-by-step tutorial with full instructions and a lot of pictures, please
see my Instructable: MULTI-PURPOSE MARINARA SAUCE.

• 3 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 cups of chopped yellow onion (usually about 3 medium-ish onions)
• 3 Tablespoons of minced / diced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of dried basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds (crushed, if you prefer)
• 2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (not apple cider, not white)
• 2 cups of fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (no, you can't tell, and it's better for you)
• 3 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes (you may use salt free if you wish to reduce sodium)