d's delights- cooking and crafts

My latest new recipe is a minestrone that originally came from my Taste of Home Cookbook.   I used to pour over ToH magazines looking for new and interesting recipes.   I still have them… though I don’t really know why because I’m sure all the things I’d like are on the internet now!  This turned out really good, and it is packed with vegetables and flavor.   Perfect for the kind of November weather we’ve been having here lately.   (It’s currently grey, spitting and ugly snow and is VERY cold!) The original recipe can be found here . Here is what I did to change it up. My changes are in red ·          2 cups coarsely chopped onions   (about 2-3 white onions) ·          1 cup sliced celery (about 2-3 stalks) ·          1/4 cup minced fresh parsley   (I didn’t use parsley… didn’t have any) ·    ...

Smoked Sausage, Potatoes and Green Beans This is not a new, innovative combination by any means, but I thought for my blog’s sake… and for posterity, I guess, that I should write down how I make my version of it. First, I used to make this in the crock pot.   That’s how I originally got the recipe.   That method basically consisted of layering potatoes, sliced smoked sausage, and green beans in the crock pot with some garlic powder for seasoning each layer.   I started making this skillet version when I wasn’t very good at thinking far enough ahead to put everything in the pot in the morning!   I found I liked it better this way because of the flavors that the skillet brought out, and the time it took to make it.   I also made some additions: Paprika and (real) Garlic.   Ingredients: Cooking Oil (once or twice around the pan) 1-2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped or minced. 4-5 Small- Medium Potatoes, skinned and sliced. 1 package of smoked sausage...

Haricots Frites... and Herbed Green Beans I originally got the inspiration for these beans from Rachael Ray, and then really just wound up doing my own thing and making them my own way- totally different from the original recipe. Here’s the original (from Rachael Ray Get Real page 41) Haricot Frites (A fancy term for Green Beans) Thin Green Beans A Light Oil (Like Sesame, Peanut, Walnut) Sesame Seeds Blanche the beans, or steam them.   ( Blanche means to cook them, then quickly cool them…or something to that effect) Pat the beans dry on a paper towel. Heat the pan, add some oil (“A couple times around the pan”, as RR would say)   Add the beans until they are charred and hot (3-4 Minutes) Sprinkle in some sesame seeds and stir around for another 30 seconds or so.   Add some Sea Salt and Pepper. Now, how I make these green beans is hardly any way close to how Rachael Ray said to make them… Pretty much it’s just the act of sautéing them that I still do. ...