Bean & Onion Salad

Yes, I know I haven't posted for a while...alot things going on....but back to work. Now that it is summer
this very simple recipe,  will be a great addition to any get together.

Ingredients:

1 pound green and/or yellow beans
1/4 cup bottled red wine vinigrette
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 tsp salt
2 plum tomatoes, each cut into 6 wedges
1/2 cup thin sliced red onion

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, trim ends of beans, then add to boiling water. Cook until
    tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine vinigrette, dill and salt. Add tomato, onion, and cooled beans. Toss
    until evenly coated.

***6 servings

Butter Bean Salad

Found this recipe in a magazine and was anxious to try it. It works great as side dish, and for pot luck contribution.

Ingredients:

1 cucumber, peeled and finely diced
1 cup red onion, finely diced
1 can (15 oz) whole kernal corn, drained
1 cup cilantro leaves
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 ground cayenne pepper
1 & 1/2 tbl fresh lime juice
2 cans ( 15 oz ea) butter beans drained
2 tsp black pepper
salt to taste

Directions:

Combine all all, cover and chill until ready to serve.

Chicken and Beans Soup

This soup is so easy and satisfying too. It doesn't take much effort to put together, but is sure to please.

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless chicken tenders
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (15.5 ounce) cannellini beans (don't drain)
2 tbl chicken broth
2 tbl sundried, julienne cut, sun dried tomatoes
2 tbl cornstarch
1/4 cup water
2 tsp fresh basil, cut up, or 3/4 tsp of dried basil

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Preheat a large saucepan on medium high heat for 2-3 minutes
2. Coat chicken with a non-stick cooking spray, then sprinkle with basil, salt, and pepper. Place in saucepan and stir 2 minutes to brown chicken.
3. Stir in the cannellini beans, broth, and sun dried tomatoes. Combine cornstarch and water until blended, and add to mixture in pan. Stir constantly and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, and serve.

Mother's Hoppin' John

My Mother makes this dish every New Year's Eve. She says it's good luck to eat it at midnight. She always make enough to serve as a side dish with our big dinner on New Year's Day...and, since I like it so much, of course she makes enough for me to take home too. So I have good luck for a few more days.

Ingredients:

2 cans blackeyed peas
4 thick slices bacon, cut into 1/2 " pieces
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
a generous DASH each of: cayenne pepper and black pepper
3 cups of cooked rice

Directions:

1. Cook bacon in saucepan until browned. Add onion, green pepper, and garlic. Saute until onion is tender.
2. Add beans and carefully stir in rice, salt and the 2 peppers....simmer until flavors are blended (just a few minutes).

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!