Remodeling This Life

Here is a yummy and too simple to be true recipe for White Bean Salad.

2 16 oz. cans white beans drained and rinsed
handful of cilantro
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup kalamata olives (still very yummy without)
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lemon squeezed

I made up this recipe myself and just eyeballed the amounts for my family of 4 from stuff I had around the house for a quick, simple, yummy dinner to enjoy on a hot summer night. I drained and rinsed the beans, rinsed and chopped the veggies, tossed everything together, and drizzled the lemon and olive oil over the top then sprinkled on some pepper and let chill for about an hour. Delicious! You could also serve with pita slices.

I found this recipe in my Real Simple magazine this week and it looked so yummy and sounded so easy, I had to try it out. I had most of the ingredients at home already and I improvised where necessary so that I wouldn’t have to go to the store and buy more stuff for it.

The recipe in it’s entirety is as follows but I’ll make notes where I changed things up to suit what we had in the kitchen

1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced - *** I didn’t use carrots because I didn’t like the sound of carrots in my chili
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, including liquid
Kosher salt and pepper
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained - **I didn’t have chickpeas. I dared to be different and threw in a can of black beans instead
1 15.5-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts, chopped
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Crusty bread (optional)

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and their liquid, 2 cups water, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Add the chickpeas and beans and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Combine the garlic, pine nuts, parsley, the remaining olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl.

Divide the chili among individual bowls and top with the pesto. Serve with the bread, if desired.

Shortcut: Instead of chopping the garlic, pine nuts, and parsley by hand, pulse them in a food processor before adding the oil. ***Note - I have a stash of jars of pesto in my cupboard so I just used that instead of making my own. Way easier and convenient since I had it. If I didn’t have it, I’d have given making my own a shot.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

***I served it with crusty bread with chunks of garlic in it and it was sooo good. Hubby couldn’t believe how yummy it all smelled and raved about it a few times. I guess I should try new recipes more often.

Enjoy!

I’ve shared this recipe before but wanted to share it again because I made it over the weekend. I was visiting my mom and thought it would be nice to bake for her. It turned out as tasty as ever but didn’t look quite as pretty as usual. I think it’s because she doesn’t have one of these and I had to peel and slice by hand. She also didn’t have confectioners sugar to sprinkle on top.

Anyway, on with the recipe! And I must give a shout out to my best bud who gave me this recipe and hooked me on it. Thanks girl, you know who you are!

Apple Pie Cake

Serves 8 * Prep time: 45 minutes* Total Time: 2 hours

2 cups flour
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
5 pounds tart apples, such as Granny smith (about 12)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Note: A springform pan works best for this recipe. All you have to do is release the sides to remove the cake from the pan. Or use a 9-inch round baking pan, with sides at least 3 inches high.

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Using an electric mixer or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the mixture forms pea-size pieces. Press two-thirds of the mixture onto bottom and 1 inch up the side of a 9-inch springform pan.

2. Preheat oven to 350. Peel the apples, cut into thin slices, and place in a bowl. Pour off any accumulated liquid. Toss the apple slices with the remaining teaspoon cinnamon and the lemon juice, and put them in the prepared pan, pressing down gently as you pack them in (they will mound above the edge of the pan). Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top.

3.Put the pan on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and let the cake cool in the pan to set. Serve at room temperature.

**Serving suggestion– Dust the top of the cake with confectioners’ sugar. Also, a scoop of vanilla ice cream goes perfect with this.

And a photo of the not as lovely as usual one I made a few days ago

So you can see all those yummy layers of apples and want to run right out and buy a bag to make this yourself, here’s a shot of one my daughter eating this a couple years ago. I still can’t believe she was ever that little *sniff*

So, go on! Go buy everything you need and make this! You NEED to! You won’t be sorry!