SERVES 4 (change servings and units)
Ingredients
8 ounces elbow macaroni
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 dash black pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (8oz)
Directions
1 Cook macaroni according to package directions.
2 In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour, salt and pepper; slowly add milk.
3 Cook and stir until bubbly.
4 Stir in cheese until melted.
5 Drain macaroni; add to cheese sauce; stir to coat.
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons margarine
2 cloves garlic — finely chopped
1 medium green onion — chopped
2/3 cup couscous — uncooked
1 1/3 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons fresh basil — chopped
or
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme — chopped
or
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Melt margarine in 2 quart nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Cook garlic and onion in margarine 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and salt; heat to boiling. Stir in couscous; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in basil, thyme, and cheese.
Ingredients
1 16-ounce loaf of Italian bread or French bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
1 heaping tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Method
Method 1 – Toasted
1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 Cut the bread in half, horizontally. Mix the butter, garlic, and parsley together in a small bowl. Spread butter mixture over the the two bread halves. Place on a sturdy baking pan (one that can handle high temperatures, not a cookie sheet) and heat in the oven for 10 minutes.
3 Remove pan from oven. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over bread if you want. Return to oven on the highest rack. Broil on high heat for 2-3 minutes until the edges of the bread begin to toast and the cheese (if you are using cheese) bubbles. Watch very carefully while broiling. The bread can easily go from un-toasted to burnt.
4 Remove from oven, let cool a minute. Remove from pan and make 1-inch thick slices. Serve immediately.
Method 2 – Soft
Preheat oven to 350°F. Make the butter, garlic, parsley mixture as above. Make 1-inch thick slices into the bread, but do not go all the way through, just to the bottom crust. Put a teaspoon or two of the butter mixture between each slice. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and heat for 15 minutes in the oven.
Ingredients
* 2 1/2 cups of dry pinto beans (about 1 lb or 450gm)
* 3 quarts of water
* 1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
* 2 Tbsp pork lard, bacon fat, or olive oil (for vegetarian option)
* 1/4 cup water
* Salt to taste
* Cheddar cheese (optional)
Method
1 Rinse the beans in water and remove any small stones, pieces of dirt, or bad beans.
2 Cook the beans in water.
Pressure Cooker method Put beans into a 4 quart pressure cooker with a 15 lb weight. Fill up the pressure cooker with water, up to the line that indicates the capacity for the pot. Cook for 30-35 minutes – until the beans are soft and the skins are barely breaking open.
Regular method Put beans into a pot and cover beans with at least 3 inches of water – about 3 quarts for 2 1/2 cups of dry beans. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer, covered, for about 2 1/2 hours. The cooking time will vary depending on the batch of beans you have. The beans are done when they are soft and the skin is just beginning to break open.
Strain the beans from the cooking water.
3 Add the onions and lard/fat/oil to a wide, sturdy (not with a flimsy stick-free lining) frying pan on medium high heat. Cook onions until translucent. (Note the onions are optional, you can skip them if you want.) Add the strained beans and about a 1/4 cup of water to the pan. Using a potato masher, mash the beans in the pan, while you are cooking them, until they are a rough purée. Add more water if necessary to keep the fried beans from getting too dried out. Add salt to taste. Add a few slices of cheddar cheese, or some (1/2 cup) grated cheddar cheese if you want. When beans are heated through (and optional cheese melted) the beans are ready to serve.
Note that many recipes call for soaking the beans overnight and discarding the soaking liquid. We don’t. We discard the cooking liquid and just add some water back into the frying pan when we are frying the beans.
Ingredients
* 4 garlic cloves, minced and then mashed
* 2 15-oz cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
* 2/3 cup of tahini (roasted, not raw)
* 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon of salt
* Pine nuts (toasted) and parsley (chopped) for garnish
Method
1 In a food processor, combine the mashed garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add salt, starting at a half a teaspoon, to taste.
2 Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley.
Serve with crackers, raw dip vegetables such as carrots or celery, or with pita bread. You can cut the pita bread into thin triangles, brush with olive oil and toast for 10 minutes in a 400°F oven to make pita chips with which to serve the hummus.
Makes about 3 cups.