Cowboy Beans

Cowboy Beans was a favorite 4-H picnic recipe when I was working. Easy to do for a crowd or for your family, in any quantity. The combination of different types of beans and sweet/sour mixture of vinegar, catsup and brown sugar mades a tasty addition to a summer or winter meal.
Here's a recipe for a family-sized preparation.

Cowboy Beans 

2 cans wax beans, drained
2 cans kidney beans, drained

This recipe works well in a large quantity
in a roaster oven. 

2 cans green beans, drained
2 cans pork & beans, drained
1 pound bacon (or less), sliced
2 onions, chopped
2 cups catsup
⅓ cup vinegar
1 cup brown sugar (some recipes call for more brown sugar, I've reduced it)

Directions: Saute together bacon and onion. Add (with bacon grease) to the mixture of all beans. Mix together catsup, vinegar, and brown sugar, then add to bean mixture. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or 250 for 3 hours.

A Favorite Community Meal

Last week was another Community LinC meal, the community meal that our volunteer organization provides twice monthly to anyone who wants to come for food, fellowship, and faith-based connections. This menu of bbq shredded chicken sandwiches, pasta salad, cowboy beans and assorted desserts was my favorite so far! We were preparing for a crowd, but these recipes are easy ones to prepare at home also.

Barbecue Shredded Chicken

Our preparations included 40 pounds of chicken, but we were serving about 120 plates. There are no exact measurements for this preparation.
Chicken breasts - remove visible fat and cut into thirds, layer in slow cooker, roaster or casserole pan
add a layer of sliced onions
cover with barbecue sauce
Bake at 350 degrees for 2-3 hours, until done (chicken internal temperature should be 165 degrees)  and tender. In a slow cooker that would be about 5-6 hours. Shred and serve on buns.

Diners are greeted with a smile
and a plate of hot food.

Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is easy to make in large or small amounts  

The great thing about pasta salad is it is so versatile. You can include what ingredients you like for the preparation. For our Community LinC meals we used tri-colored rotoni pasta, sliced olives, diced bell peppers,  chopped red onions, chopped carrots and chopped celery. Italian salad dressing from the bottle was mixed with the pasta and vegetables - instant pasta salad!

The littlest helper enjoys a taste

Here's another recipe for Pasta Salad that I made for a church funeral dinner last week. The dressing is a little different for this, mixing mayonnaise with Italian salad dressing to made a creamier dressing. The cherry tomatoes made a colorful salad.

Italian Pasta Salad

1 ½ cup uncooked spiral pasta

1 ½ cups halved cherry tomatoes

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

½ cup chopped sweet red pepper

½ cup chopped green pepper

3 Tablespoons thinly sliced green onions

1 cup zesty Italian salad dressing

¾ cup mayonnaise

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

⅓ cup cubed provolone cheese

1 can (2-¼ oz) sliced ripe olives, drained

Directions: Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse with cold water and drain. Place in a large bowl; add vegetables. Whisk together the salad dressing and mayonnaise until well blended. Add cheeses and dressing to pasta mixture and gently stir in. Refrigerate a few hours before serving.  

Salsa - the New Catsup

Several years ago Salsa overtook Catsup as the number one selling condiment in the U.S. We all like some sort of salsa, and there are many, many different types ranging from sweet fruit salsas to very spicy pepper mixtures. Most popular salsa recipes are based on chopped tomatoes with a variety of peppers added for heat.
Last week I attended a food preservation workshop by K-State Research and Extension that was very helpful and interesting. The session included hands-on chopping, cooking and canning as well as instruction by a K-State food specialist. We all came home with new recipes and a few jars of product.

One thing to remember about home canning is that it is not the time to be creative! Use USDA approved recipes; ingredient substitutions can vary the acidity level which would affect the preservation method to use. Most tomato and fruit products can be water bath processed, which I think is the easiest. A big pot or the traditional blue enamal canner filled with enough water to cover the jars and other basic equipment is all that is needed. The recipes from USDA and land-grant Universities like K-State have been tested to be safe for this method. Making up your own salsa recipe to water bath process is too risky. You could pressure can it, but you might find the tomato and pepper products overcooked and too soft for you preference. Another option is to freeze the salsa. Be sure to allow headspace for expansion in the jars and use freezer quality containers for best results.
Here's the recipe that was used in the workshop:

Fiesta Salsa (4 pints)

7 cups chopped, seeded, peeled, cored tomatoes
2 cups chopped, seeded, peeled cucumbers
2 cups chopped and seeded banana peppers
1 cup sliced green onion
½ cup chopped, peeled, roasted Anaheim peppers
½ cup chopped jalapeño peppers
¼ cup minced cilantro
3 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh marjoram
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup cider vinegar or bottled lemon juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
Procedure:
Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pot. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process in boiling-water canner according to recommended methods. Processing time for pints is 20 minutes for altitudes above 1000 feet (Greenwood County is just above that).

My recipe alterations due to personal tastes and
ingredients on hand made me decide to freeze this
batch of salsa. I can taste the goodness of
next winter's soups already!

A good source for information on how to process foods by water-bath or pressure and also for freezing or drying is K-State's Research and Extension's Rapid Response website:http://www.rrc.ksu.edu/p.aspx?tabid=18. In fact, I have this site bookmarked on my computer as a resource for many questions.

My favorite recipe for Fresh Salsa is also from a K-State source, the Fix it Fresh collection of recipes. It isn't suitable for canning but is quick to fix and very tasty!

Fresh Salsa with Black Beans (8 servings)

½ cup corn, fresh cut off the cob or frozen

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes (or a can of good-brand diced tomatoes)

½ cup diced onion

½ cup diced green sweet bell pepper

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 cloves chopped garlic

½ cup picante sauce

Instructions:

If using fresh corn, cook it as desired. If using frozen corn, let it thaw. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or more to allow flavors to blend. Serve cold with low fat baked tortilla chops of with baked potatoes or baked meat, fish or chicken. Cover and refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours. 

BLT Chopped Salad

Recipes are often passed down from one generation to another. I'm lucky to have a daughter that shares my love of food, and cooking, so often recipes are passed 'up', from her to me. We adapted this recipe she'd found on Pinterest for a Saturday lunch last weekend when I was visiting her. It was easy to make and we did a few changes according to what was in the refrigerator. (I think the secret to the tasty flavor is the bacon!)

BLT Chopped Salad

Ingredients (for 2 servings)                                                

2 cups assorted lettuce and fresh spinach, chopped
8 or so grape tomatoes
2 slices thick-cut bacon, fried and crumbled
½ cup sweet corn (we used frozen)
1 avocado, chopped (you could reduce this some, but what do you do with part of an avocado left?)
2 oz. feta, crumbled

Dressing:
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1 lime, juiced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions: In a large bowl, combine salad ingredients except bacon and feta; toss together. Combine dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Toss to coat. Divide into serving bowls; top with crumbled bacon and feta.

Here's my salad garden at home - on my deck!