At the end of a long week I just want quiet, slippers, a few NCIS episodes, my mister, the boys asleep, and a bowl of comfort food. Yes, I said a bowl. I think most comfort foods are probably comfort foods because they are bowl worthy. Bowl worthy: sitting cross-legged on a roomy couch, flannels on, slippers kicked up, wrapped in a blanket, holding a bowl filled with warm food you eat with a spoon.
Delicacies that you could easily put in this category: paella, macaroni and cheese, chicken and rice, or this bowl of white beans with all the extras. I’m very thankful for the beautiful photography of Jessica over at How Sweet Eats for making a bowl of legumes look exciting. I wanted to try it. Knowing me, I tweaked it and added some of my own. People have asked if it turned out well and I said yes – grab a spoon!
White Beans & Greens with Fried Egg and Avocado
Recipe Type: Beans
Cuisine: Dinner
Author: kd316
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Serves: 8
Classy legumes filled with other comforting tastes
Ingredients
1/4 lb bacon, chopped
1/2 large onion, diced
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp sweet Spanish paprika
1 box chicken broth
water to cover the beans
1 lb great northern beans (soaked overnight)
3 parmesan cheese rinds, diced
1 bunch kale, chopped
1 bunch spinach, chopped (just the leaves)
Instructions
In a big pot, fry up the bacon
Saute onions in bacon grease
Add spices and sauté for a few minutes until aromatic
Add in broth, water, and beans and parmesan rinds
Bring to boil, cover, and simmer until beans are done, about 80 minutes.
Take a potato masher and mash some of the beans. Add in the greens and cook for about another 15 minutes with the lid off.
Fry an egg. Chop and avocado. Add them to the top of a big steaming bowl of beans.
I’m watching The Chew right now and they are doing a Tex-Mex party show with a vignette revolving the avocado. I have not always been an avocado fan. There was a time when I wouldn’t eat it. I don’t know when that changed, but believe me, my husband knows there are three favorite foods in my brain:
Delicious baked gooey macaroni and cheese (blue box will do in a pinch, but I really want the gooey stuff).
A delicious steak. This means the freshest piece of meat, cooked medium, and preferably cooked either by my husband (in house) or my brother (on the grill).
And guacamole. Not fancy quac – 5 in gredient guac. That’s all you need to make the perfect guacamole.
Bring in one of the best food blogs around – Jenna at EatLiveRun and the Super Bowl. Husband and I chose to watch the game at home this year and then I forgot about the time change and it was a boring game. The best part of the whole evening was the guacamole.
What you need: perfectly ripe avocados. These are hard to find. Wal-Mart always lets me down even though they are cheap. Mostly I find them at Kroger or Whole Foods. If you are going to use them ASAP – then you want them with a slight give to them. Just pushable. If you are going to use them tomorrow = then buy them firm. You do not want them mushy. They will be brown. Listen…do NOT buy them MUSHY! Kosher or Sea Salt. Don’t use the table salt. How long has your table salt been on your table. Salt loses its flavor. Use kosher salt or sea salt. It brings out the amazing buttery goodness of the avocado. Limes. Don’t buy the lime juice in a bottle. Just go buy little limes that have juice in them. You can have liven your finished product up with some of the lime zest. You don’t get that from a bottle. Cilantro. Bright fresh green cilantro. A little goes a long way. You can always add more. Red Onion. Same with the cilantro – you don’t want a lot. You want the main star to be the avocado, not the red onion.
What to do when the weather prevents you from getting to the grocery store like you had planned? Alter your menu for the week!
I’ve talked before about cutting back on our family’s food budget, so I’m looking forward to the challenge. My husband works hard to provide for our family. I want to be able to make nice meals for when we have company, showing the extravagant hospitality of our loving Father (not to put forth rich food, but not wanting just to slap something together either), and I want to make healthy but not expensive meals for our family.
Monday: Last night was the storm of sleet. So, we are unable to get out to the grocery store today. So, going with what we have here at the house. Chicken Salad salads and Heath Bar Blondies by ELR.
Tuesday: We are going to Longhorn’s with a gift card from friends. Can’t wait for a date night!
Wednesday: This delicious parmesan white bean stew from How Sweet It Is.
Thursday: Turkey Bacon, Pancakes for brinner.
Friday: I’m taking dinner to my friend and her family and the main part will be this Italian Chicken and Rice casserole – slightly tweaked. We’ll see how the finished product turns out.
Saturday: we will for sure have some leftovers that we will be eating
Sunday: again, leftovers or sandwiches or brinner or brunch.
Muffins are a danger on our home. They are so easy to pick up, slather a butter of some sort on, eat for a snack, or three snacks.
I whipped these up in no time flat. In fact, it was a crazy weekend. I was attending a women’s conference in town that weekend, and wanted to leave some thing for the men in our home to eat on while I was away. Isn’t that nice? Really, I wanted to eat them too.
So, what better thing to do than to whisk up some banana muffins. And to make them healthier and easier to eat these are actually small bites of healthy goodness.
I tweaked the recipe from Heather, my neighbor and blogger of delicious recipes. My husband and older boy loved these and they are perfect for young kids because of their healthy benefits.
Coconut Oil Banana Nut Mini Muffins
Recipe Type: Muffins
Cuisine: Breakfast
Author: kd316
Prep time:
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Serves: 24 mini muffins
Easy, healthy banana muffins
Ingredients
3 bananas, mashed (I use the brown ones that I’ve frozen – thaw them, and mash them)
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup raw honey
1 egg
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 T baking powder
scant 1/8 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
Mix together the dry ingredients.
Mix together the wet ingredients.
Combine together.
Fill mini muffin pan (sprayed with cooking spray) 3/4 full.
Food is such a way to minister to people. Especially the lonely.
The widows. The lonely. The Shut-ins. How do we interact with these people on a regular basis? I have to admit I fail at this miserably – but I desire to get better at it. One way we did this as a family recently is by taking cookies to some widows on Valentine’s Day. I wanted to make some cookies and then deliver them. I knew the boys would bring a smile to their faces (I was right on that account) and cookies are always delicious!
I read some invaluable posts by my friend Brian Croft over at Practical Shepherding. I won’t re-hash them here, but encourage you to go read these:
There are more at his site – just go search widows and you will get many posts to read and implement. Brian and his wife, Cara, have years of experience living this out – not just writing down ideas.
One way that I’m going to be doing this is by writing letters. I’ve asked my husband to get a list of the widows in the church and each week I want to write to one widow, pray for her by name, and if the time allows, visit her with my children and husband. Visiting widows is very out of my comfort zone. Aging is something that is hard and makes us examine our own mortality and the end of our lives. It is also hard to know how long to stay, what to say, how to sit there with them if they aren’t coherent, or if they are really sick. But, Jesus said to go to the sick and minister to the widows. And I also know from years of experience – ministry is not easy. But, still needs to be done.
Buttercream Cookies
Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: Cookie
Author: kd316 adapted by Eat Live Run
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Delicious cake like cookie with buttercream frosting
Ingredients
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2/3 stick of unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk with 1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp kosher salt
Frosting;
1 stick unsalted butter
2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
milk or heavy cream to your consistency likeness
2 drops red food coloring
Instructions
Combine dry ingredients
Cream wet ingredients.
Spoon onto greased baking sheet to make BIG cookies (should get 8)
Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes or until done.
Let cool
Make buttercream. Pipe unto cookies.
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Here is a simple cookie recipe that you can use as you minister to widows in your church. A plate of cookies is always good. If for some reason they can’t eat them, they most likely have caretakers and they will enjoy them!
How do you care for the widows in your church or community? Enjoy the cookies!
