And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to be full. Psalms 78:24-25

February 17, 2009

Supper Tonight: Boston Baked Beans, Macaroni & Cheese, & Coleslaw

Boston Baked Beans
2 pounds white beans (northern or navy beans)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 onion, peeled and chopped
4 to 6 oz of raw bacon, chopped
Soak the beans overnight in plenty of tap water. Or, you can bring them to a boil on the stove and then turn them off, cover them and let them sit for an hour or two. After the initial preparation boil your beans on the back of the stove for about half an hour. They won't be perfectly soft, but they will be almost soft. Drain off the cooking water. In a very large casserole (4-quart) combine the semi-cooked beans, salt, dry mustard, molasses, sugar and chopped bacon. Add enough hot water to barely come to the top of the beans. Put a lid on the casserole, or tin foil. Bake the beans at 300° for about 5 to 7 hours. They will be tender, fragrant and delicious.
The cooked beans may be frozen in two cup portions to substitute for canned baked beans or canned pork'n'beans in any recipe. They make a good main dish, or a side dish for a large crowd. This recipe serves about 16.
Another way to cook this, good in the summertime, is to use a crock pot. Boil the soaked beans for half an hour, as directed above. Then, instead of combining everything in a casserole, combine them in the crock pot instead. Put the lid on the Crock Pot after you've mixed everything up in it, and cook it on High for about 3 or 4 hours, or on low for 6 or 8 hours. You can put a folded dish towel on top of the lid if your crock pot doesn't get quite hot enough to cook beans normally. The dish towel helps maintain a temperature hot enough to just barely simmer the beans.

3 or 4 cups of shredded cabbage
1 carrot, shredded
1/4 cup minced onion (optional)
1/2 cup mayonnaise1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
The cabbage is best thinly sliced into shreds with a sharp knife. Cut the cabbage in half, remove the core, and slice it across the bias, into thin strips. You can shred it in a food processor if you prefer, but it won't be as good. The carrot and onion can be shredded on a cheese shredder, or put them into the food processor too. Mix the vegetables in a large bowl with the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. You cna use both the vinegar and lemon juice because it gives the slaw a pleasant flavor. You could substitute 2 tablespoons of either vinegar or lemon juice, and still come up with a tasty product. This makes about 8 servings.
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The mac & cheese, is from a box. I know, a convienece food, but it is cheaper to make it this way instead of from scratch. A box of mac & cheese costs me $0.40.

Once again, these recipes come from Hillbilly Housewife.

1 comment:

Maria said...

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