While we’re not normally believers in smothering vegetables in sauces to make them more appealing to kids, here’s a recipe we do approve of. It takes green beans and, without covering them up, augments their flavor in a delicious way. The recipe is super-easy too.
We first provided this recipe on one of our other sites, RealFoodTraveler.com and knew it would be perfect for Everyone Around the Table too. The recipe is courtesy of Fischer & Wieser Specialty Foods, Inc. The family-owned and operated business is located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Their best-known product, The Original Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce is how the business really gained popularity (pour a little over cream cheese and you have the easiest ever appetizer to spread on crackers). The owners, Case Fischer and Mark Wieser started selling jams and jellies in their store, Das Peach Haus(R), made from peaches grown in the orchard out back – the very same ones Mark Wieser grew up with on the family land. Fischer & Wieser Specialty Foods, Inc. has expanded to more than 150 products that are distributed throughout the U.S., Mexico, Canada and beyond. You can buy their products at www.Jelly.com as well as in many larger grocery stores and smaller independent stores, and on Amazon.com.
Seville Orange Green Beans shown served with turkey roulade and focaccia bread.
Seville Orange Green Beans
Ingredients: Salt 1 lb. fresh string beans, stem ends removed 6 slices of bacon Fischer & Wieser Seville Orange & Fennel Marmalade (available on their website and through this link on Amazon.)
Instructions: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 TBS of salt.
Add the string beans and cook for 4 minutes or until the beans are cooked but still crunchy.
Drain and then place the string beans in a cold bath of water. This will stop the cooking process and allow the green beans to retain their bright green color.
Dice the raw bacon. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook it until it’s crispy, about 10-12 minutes. Remove the cooked bacon from the pan but leave the bacon fat.
Add the cooked green beans to the pan with the bacon fat and stir to coat, cooking the beans in the fat. After sauteeing for about 3-4 minutes, add 1/2 a jar of Seville Orange & Fennel Marmalade from Fischer & Wieser. Add a pinch of salt.
We’ve been trying to eat more vegetable-centric meals. When we decided to do this, I was intimidated. I’m a major carnivore and couldn’t believe vegetarian meals could be as delicious as a steak, a burger, or tacos, for instance. So the first place I went looking for ideas was among my notebook of family recipes. Turns out, there were a lot of recipes in there that my mom and grandma had made that either are vegetarian or could easily be because meat was just an ingredient in the dish. Here’s one of the recipes that my family loved when I made it recently. It’s hearty, very healthy and full of flavor. And it’s great leftover too.
Yellow Squash & Garbanzo Beans Over Cracked Wheat
Ingredients: 4 small yellow squash, sometimes called “crooked neck squash” 1/2 white or yellow onion (your preference) 2 14-oz can crushed tomatoes 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp allspice 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup olive oil One can garbonzo beans, drained 2 cups cracked wheat, also known as “bulger” wheat 4 cups water 1 chicken bouillion cube
Instructions: Cut the squash into cubes. Chop the onion. Drizzle the olive oil in a large skillet or large flatbottom pan with sides at least two inches deep. At the same time, in a large pot like you would use to make rice, heat the water with the boullion cube until it’s boiling and the cube is completely dissolved. Pour in the wheat and stir, cooking per the directions on the package.
Meanwhile, saute the onion and squash in the olive oil until both are getting softened. Sprinkle the cinnamon, allspice, pepper and salt over the squash and onion and stir to combine a little. Add the tomatoes and stir, cooking until the squash is tender but not mushy. Add the garbanzo beans and stir, cooking until everything is heated through. Serve the squash mixture over the bulger wheat, adding salt and pepper to taste.
I’m just going to say it: this soup is going to ruin you for all other tomato soups going forward in your life. My mom made this soup for me when I was growing up, after years of having your typical tomato soup. The simple additions to a basic can of soup takes it to a whole new level. Your kids will love this take as much as you will. It’s great with a grilled cheese sandwich (tips on that below).
Tomato Cream Cheese Soup Recipe
Makes 2 bowls or 4 cups of soup
Ingredients: 2 TBS butter 1/4 of a medium size onion, chopped 6 oz. cream cheese, cut into smaller pieces and softened at room temperature 2 cans condensed tomato soup 1 cup whole milk 1/8 tsp garlic salt 1/8 tsp paprika (optional) 1/4 tsp dried basil
Instructions: In a medium-to-large, high-sided pot, melt 2 TBS butter and saute the onion until softened but not browned. Stir in the cream cheese until it starts to soften even more. Gradually stir in the soup and milk. Immediately add in the spices. Using a hand mixer or immersion blender, blend all the ingredients until it’s smooth and thick. Heat through but do not let it boil.
Grilled Cheese Sandwich Tips:
1. Use a sourdough bread 2. Spread a thin layer of butter on one side of each slice. 3. Then spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on top of the butter. Yes, really!
This will create a delicious, golden brown, toasty side.
We’re raiding the pantry a lot these days (I can’t help but giggle at “pantry raid”). In that way, this pandemic has been helpful in getting us to save money by “shopping” our freezer and cupboards. The other day, I found a can of garbanzo beans and some frozen shrimp. A slightly unlikely combo, I created an absolutely delicious and totally easy main dish Mediterranean Shrimp and Garbanzo Bean Salad.
I wish I had a cooking surface this big! A skillet, griddle, or grill can easily be used to cook the shrimp. Photo by Pixabay.
Chilled Shrimp and Garbanzo Bean Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
1 can garbanzo beans, drained 1 lb. frozen shrimp, shells off 1 cucumber (preferably an English cucumber because it has fewer seeds, diced 1 pint cherry tomatoes or 1 large tomato, diced.
Dressing:
6 TBS olive oil 3 TBS fresh lemon juice (could sub lime juice, red wine vinegar, or rice wine vinegar) 2 TBS (approximately) fresh parsley, diced up (see trick below) 1 TBS fresh cilantro (optional), diced
Slice cherry or grape tomatoes in half, or dice a regular tomato for use in this salad. Photo by Pixabay.
Method
Place the garbanzo beans, tomatoes and cucumbers in a serving bowl.
Saute the shrimp in a little olive oil until they turn pink. Remove from the pan and add to the salad bowl.
Mix the dressing and pour SOME over the salad. Toss the mixture to coat. Serve the dressing on the table in case someone wants to add more. Serve with salt and pepper for people to add as they wish.
The unused dressing will keep in the fridge for a few days.
Variations: 1. Add other vegetables like diced onion, shredded carrot, diced celery, red/yellow/or orange peppers, or spinach. You can certainly add salad greens too. You can also switch out white beans for garbanzos, or even use both for extra protein.
2. Add a little Feta cheese or Goat cheese to amp up the Mediterranean flavor. If you aren’t sure your fellow diners would enjoy either one, serve it at the table for them to add. If you add either one before serving, the acid in the juice or vinegar will start to break down the cheese a little, helping it “spread” around a little, becoming part of the dressing which can be wonderful.
3. Serve without salad greens but spoon the mixture over a bed of rice, couscous, bulgar wheat, yellow lentils or any other grain or legume you like. The salad is also good served with skillet-warmed pita bread.
Tip for chopping herbs: I learned this from Martha Stewart – put the herbs in a cup, like a measuring cup or even just a drinking cup. Point your kitchen sheers in the cup and start snipping away. This way, everything gets cut but you don’t have any flying, or fleeing bits of herb to chase down as you chop.
The finished dish with an herby dressing. Sub/add your own choice of veggies or bases to make this entree salad your own. Photo by E.A.T.
“Worst Cook in America.” Now, THAT’s a loaded title! Even if you win, do you lose? Take a look at this exclusive interview our sister blog did with a Colorado woman. Why did she go on the show? Have her cooking abilities changed since she was on? Let’s find out.
What must it be like to go on TV, in front of the world, and compete as one of the “worst cooks in America”? We found out when we interviewed Bridget Praytor, from Colorado Springs, who is a contestant on the 2020 season of Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America. Bridget is a volley ball coach and single mom of five kids, ages 6-13 (including identical twins). It’s one thing to know, among family and friends, that you don’t cook well, but to go on TV about it? Let’s find out why Bridget did it and what the experience has been like.
Meet Colorado’s own Bridget Praytor, contestant on Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America. Photo courtesy Food Network.
InGoodTasteDenver: What made you want to enter this competition? Bridget Praytor: I went on a date with a man who loved cooking and told me how his daughter and him loved to watch a show called Worst Cooks in America together on the Food Network. I came home and told my 13 year old daughter that there was a show called Worst Cooks. She laughed and said, “maybe you can learn how to cook.”
IGTD: What was the process for entering the competition? BP: I applied last January with a cooking demonstration and then got a call a week before filming in New York asking if I was still interested. Then got the call I was definitely invited on the show two days before flying out.
IGTD: How long ago did you start filming? BP: The show was filmed in March 2019.
IGTD: Not many people want to own up to being a really bad cook – in what ways do you think you are one?
BP: One of the things I learned while being on the show is that there are a lot of home cooks that can make a meal, but have never really learned how to make food that is restaurant quality. Going into this show, my kids just wanted me to make it past the first week because they have never seen me cook other than using the microwave – except for eggs and frozen cookies. Also, I learned real fast that I was clueless when it came to flavor profiles or pairing flavors.
IGTD: Would you say you lack the skills but really want to cook better? Or you just don’t really have the interest? BP: In my life, I have always being so busy focusing on school, which I graduated with a BS in Business Management at 19 from Utah State, traveling around the US climbing the ranks in corporate America, competing in sports or raising 5 kids as a single parent, that I have never felt that I could add one more thing to my life. I would love to learn how to cook family budget-friendly meals in a supportive, fun, engaging way.
IGTD: What was your cooking background, i.e., did you cook with a relative growing up who was great or terrible? BP: Growing up I was a year-round athlete and took classes. I was able to move out at 15, graduate high school early and lived off the dollar menu, ramen or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
IGTD: How have you gotten through life so far without being a good cook? BP: I’m so proud of my kids for all contributing to our family meals. My kids are involved with so many sports, school and community events, that we are constantly busy. On weekends we go to Sams Club or Costco and buy lots of fruits and vegetables as well as prepped meals for the week.
IGTD: What’s the worst thing or biggest disaster that ever happened to you in the kitchen? BP: Going into the show, I wouldn’t say I was the worst cook. But just with moving out at such a young age and trying to balance life, being a single parent of five amazing kids, and having always been on such a tight budget, when it comes to different types of food or preparing it, I am clueless.
IGTD: What’s it like being in a competition overseen by Anne Burrell and Alton Brown who really, really know what they are doing? Is it intimidating to be a “bad cook” being judged by these really good cooks? BP: The first episode was really stressful because no one wants to go home first. When I was in the bottom two, the moment that cameras stopped rolling, a wave of emotion came over me. The producers had to remind me this was just food and a comedy because I felt so guilty leaving my kids and being judged at something I knew so little about. After that I made up my mind to focus and just be grateful instead of feeling like it was a competition.
IGTD: How do you think you compared in “badness,” to the other contestants at the start of the show? BP: So, walking into the show, I was intimidated because I felt like the other contestants had exposure to a lot of different foods through going out, their partners or parents cooking for them. However, I’m so thankful for Mike Jones and Ryan Grovey who, I believe, were just as clueless as me.
IGTD: Do you feel like you learned a lot on the show, and will this knowledge make you want to keep improving and keep cooking? BP: I am incredibly grateful for what Alton Brown and Chef Anne taught me on the show. However, since everything was so new, I felt like every cook – I was focused on retaining the knowledge to just stay out of the bottom two.
IGTD: With more knowledge under your belt, what’s your favorite thing to cook successfully now? BP: Since I have been home in the last nine months, other than the microwave, I have cooked scrambled eggs three times.
IGTD: Obviously you know the outcome of the show but we don’t – yet. So, win or lose, what does it mean to you to have been on a Food Network show? BP: I am incredibly grateful that Food Network selected me for an experience of a lifetime. I met so many great personalities on the show that I would love to cook with again. As a mom I think it would be incredible to have a show where amazing kid chefs come and teach me and past recruits family-friendly, quick meals starting with the basics and having a lot of fun in the kitchen.
IGTD: A lack of ability in one area usually means you’re really good in other areas. What are some things you think you’re really good at, since cooking isn’t one of them? BP: I would say that I am really great at living out my personal mission statement. Everyday is a successful day if I am around someone I love (including my friends or family), do something that makes me feel alive, make an association that makes me laugh and create a memory with a family member, friend or stranger.
The cast and contestants of Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America.
Back in 2014, we interviewed another Colorado contestant from a different Food Network Show, David Bondarchuck, of the Holiday Baking Championship. Find out what it was like for him. Colorado also had a contestant on Chopped. Listen to the podcast interview with Chef Shahin on our sister site, RealFoodTraveler.com. And read our interview with Daphne Brogdon, one of the most popular posts on E.A.T.!
Whenever bananas start to get a little brown in our house, my husband always says, “Looks like we need to make banana bread.” Which means, I need to make banana bread. My Mom used to make fantastic banana bread but she always made it by hand which was kind of an ordeal – all that banana mashing and mixing. I found an easier way to make it, putting my own spin on it. My family loved it so we dubbed it Mama’s Best Banana Bread.
Mama’s Best Banana Bread slices beautifully. It’s also great toasted and spread with butter.
Mama’s Best Banana Bread
Makes two loaves (halve recipe if you only have 3 ripe bananas)
Ingredients:
6 ripe bananas (brown spotted on the peel and soft on the inside but still edible)* 3/4 cup sugar 1 cup safflower oil or coconut oil 4 eggs Pinch of salt 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1 3/4 cup unbleached white flour 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional) or you can sub chocolate chips or do half walnuts and half chips
*If you don’t want to have to hop to it and make banana bread every time a few start to go brown, you can freeze them in a plastic zipper bag in sets of three (to make one loaf, cutting this recipe in half). But the trick is to freeze them when they are still rather firm. Go too far into overripeness and, when you go to thaw them, they turn to brown goo in the bag. So. Gross. There’s a fine line between perfect to freeze and too old so try to catch them at the point at which you’d still eat them.
Method: 1. Put the bananas in a Cuisineart and blend them until they are mush.
2. Add all of the other in order. You can pour all but the two flours through the feed tube, keeping the machine running.
3. Take the lid off to pour in the flours. The only reason I don’t pour them through the feed tube is that they tend to overflow the small cylinder. But if you’re more talented than I am and can make it happen, go for it!
4. Keep the motor running until everything is blended, stopping to scrape down the edges if you need to, with a spatula.
5. Also using the spatula, add the nuts and/or chocolate chips at this point just to mix them in. The Cuisineart might chop them up which you don’t want.
6. Pour the batter into two bread loaf pans that you’ve sprayed with nonstick spray.
7. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Then rotate the pans around and bake for another 30 minutes. Check for doneness by sticking a table knife in the center and pulling it out. If it comes out clean, you’re done! If it comes out with batter on it, cook it two minutes more and check again. It will continue baking a little more for a few minutes after taking it out.
8. Remove the baking pans from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Then turn them over and shake them a little. The loaves should come right out. Turn them right side up and let them cool completely before cutting into them. But when you do, use a serrated bread knife which will result in tidy slices that aren’t falling apart.
9. If you can resist the urge, the banana bread will taste even better the next day.
Be sure to let the bread cool completely before slicing into with a serrated bread knife. I’m not sure why one loaf split like that. Do you? Let me know. Of course, it didn’t effect the flavor at all. It just looks a little weird. But that’s par for the course when I’m cooking – because I’m a real person cooking real food in a real kitchen, just like you.
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My daughter asked if I’d make chicken enchiladas for her. Sure, I said, except that I only had white flour tortillas (not the traditional corn), and I wanted to add beans for a little more protein and bulk. They were going to be something of an enchilada and something of a burrito. Thus, Chicken Enchiritos were born – and were delicious!
Chicken Enchiritos all baked and melty, ready to serve up.
Everyone Around the Table Chicken Enchiritos
Serves 6
Ingredients:
Approximately 1 cup cooked chicken, diced * 1 can refried beans (could be black refries too, per your preference) Approximately 2 cups shredded Mexican Blend cheese or just cheddar or Monterrey Jack 1 can Enchilada Sauce Small flour tortillas
Mix the diced chicken and refried beans together in a bowl.
Place a tortilla on a cutting board and place a large spoonful of the chicken and beans mixture lengthwise, toward one end of the tortilla. Note, this is not the typical enchilada method which has one heating the sauce in a skillet and dipping the corn tortilla in on both sides before filling.
Sprinkle a little cheese over the mixture.
Roll the tortilla starting at the chicken/beans/cheese end and place it seam side down in the pan.
Continue filling and rolling the tortillas, placing them right next to each other in the pan. It’s okay to squish them in a little bit. And you may have to put a couple going the other direction depending on the size of your tortillas.
When the pan is filled, slowly drizzle the can of Enchilada sauce over the rolls, trying to cover them completely. If they didn’t get covered evenly, chances are, there’s some pooled between the rolls. Spoon that out and drizzle it over any bare parts.
Sprinkle cheese over the whole thing. Cover it loosely with aluminum foil.
Sprinkle the Chicken Enchiritos with cheese just before baking.
Bake with foil on for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil and rotate the pan, baking for another 20 minutes. The cheese on top should be melted and the Enchiritos should be heated through.
Serve them with sour cream and avocado. Do it up even more with diced tomatoes and red onion and cilantro.
*We’d made two baked chickens one Sunday and froze one, after taking it apart.
Serve Chicken Enchiritos with guacamole and sour cream.
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