Brazilian Bean Stew

Jan here with a delicious, savory dish. I can't believe I haven't shared this one yet!

I got this recipe from my son's friend, Eddie, who got it from his great-grandmother. Don't you love "hand me down" recipes?

As I was researching this recipe - just to give us a bit of background - I found that this is the national dish of Brazil! It's roots are a little iffy. Most people attribute it to the African slaves brought to Brazil in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, but there is some evidence that it originated in northern Portugal.

But wherever it was started, it has been made by people in Brazil for centuries.

Why is it so popular?

The biggest reason is because it's inexpensive. Beans and pork. Those are the main ingredients.

And then there's this: it's the most delicious bean stew (or soup) I've ever had.

This simple stew is traditionally made with Black Beans. The Portuguese name for it is Feijoada  (from feijao, which is Portuguese for bean.) But Eddie's version was made with white beans. Personal preference? Probably. I never asked him. But the white bean version is the one that has its roots in northern Portugal.

By the way, if you're wondering why the Portuguese names are so important: Portuguese is the language spoken in Brazil. 

This stew is perfect for using up leftovers! (Maybe that's another reason why it's so popular!)

Feijoada, or Brazilian Bean Stew

ingredients:

Beans (about 3 cups cooked)

Bacon, ham, smoked sausage (about 2 cups total) You can also use ham hocks, leftover ham from dinner, etc. Cut all of the meat into bite-size pieces.

1/4 cup diced onion

1 garlic clove, minced

3 bay leaves

4 cups broth - I used a combination of chicken and ham broth

pepper to taste (you won't need any more salt!)

If you are missing one of the ingredients, don't worry! This is a very forgiving recipe!

Dice and cook the bacon in a large stock pot over medium heat (I use my 8-quart.) When it's cooked most of the way, drain most of the grease, then add the diced onions. Cook and stir until the onions are soft, then add the garlic. When the garlic is fragrant, add the rest of the meat.

Let the meat cook until it's almost burned. You want it to be caramelized and delicious.

Add the broth, stirring and scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pot.

(I pushed the meat and onions to the side to show you the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.)

Add the beans and bay leaves, then let the stew simmer and thicken. At this point, I put mine in my slow cooker so I could forget it for the rest of the afternoon.

Serve over rice, with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice on top. It's traditionally served with oranges on the side.

Seriously, this is a delicious dish! And so versatile! I used canned beans because I was short on time, but you can also cook dry beans from scratch. You can use black beans, or great northerns like I did, or even pinto or red beans.

The meat can be anything you have. I'd like to try it with chicken sometime.

Or leave out the meat! Use the flavorings to make a savory bean dish.

Enjoy!

In other news, our weather changed again. We had a lovely autumn week last week, but then yesterday the temperatures started plummeting. Now it feels like November again!

How are things at your house?

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.

Soupy Pinto Beans with Ham

Missy Tippens

I don't know about y'all, but sometimes I crave something wholesome that reminds me of childhood. For me, it's pinto beans and cornbread, something my dad loved and made often. He always used canned beans (Luck's). But when I got a craving on Sunday, I had plenty of time and decided to use a bag of dried beans.

I used the method of boiling for two minutes, then taking the pot off the burner and letting the beans sit for an hour. Then I rinsed them and put in a Dutch oven.

I also added our leftover Christmas ham and ham bone (Honey Baked), onion and enough water to cover it all well. I like my beans soupy!

I let everything simmer for a couple of hours. Then I seasoned it with homemade seasoning salt.

The meal was exactly what I was craving! Filling and yummy and reminding me of home. And the pot of beans gave us several meals this week. We finished it off last night with grilled cheese sandwiches (another comfort food in my household).

I'm sure I'll want beans or bean soup again soon. I have a bag of dried navy beans just waiting. :)

P.S. Be sure to check out my newly re-designed website!

www.missytippens.com

Greens and Beans and New Year's Good Luck!

Missy Tippens

How many of you eat greens and black eyed peas for good luck on New Year's Day? My family always did that while I was growing up, so I usually try to do the same to keep up that tradition.

Okay, so this year I admit we went out to eat on January 1st! I was too lazy to cook. haha However, we did eat our good luck meal on the 2nd.

First, I sautéed some green and red peppers and chopped up leftover HoneyBaked ham. (I would have used onions but we have a family member who can't eat them.)

Then I dumped in a bag of frozen field peas and a bag of frozen collards. And followed up with about 3/4 of a box of chicken broth.

I simmered them until hubby got home, which ended up being about an hour. It takes at least 30 minutes for the peas to get tender.

It made a nice soup! You could also thicken it up and make it more like a stew, but I didn't want to add calories. I also served these new grapes I recently discovered. They really do taste like cotton candy to my daughter and me! (Hubby didn't agree.) However, once you eat a few, you don't really notice any more--and I decided I like regular grapes better. Still, it was fun for something different!

I also wanted to share these gorgeous chocolates my daughter-in-law got me! She bought them at a store in downtown Duluth, Georgia, called The Chocolaterie. They make them there. Almost too pretty to eat!! ALMOST. Because the box is nearly empty now. ;)

www.missytippens.com

In Keeping with the Soup Theme...

Missy Tippens

It is FINALLY cool enough in Georgia to eat soup! :) So yesterday, I made bean soup.

Talk about a low cost meal! About $3 for the beans, $3 for the smoked sausage, plus probably less than a dollar for the vegetables. I think the batch will probably make about 8-10 servings.

I used a bag of dried soup beans with 15 different varieties!

Sorry it came out sideways!

This particular mix was Cajun flavored and came with a seasoning packet.

On Wednesday night, I put the beans in my Dutch oven and soaked them all night. The next day, I poured off that water and added 8 cups of fresh water.

Then I simmered them for about 2 hours. Be sure to turn down the temp to very low to simmer in a Dutch oven. I had mine a little too high and the water boiled over (creating a starchy mess).

After the 2 hours, I put some olive oil in a skillet and sautéed a chopped onion, chopped garlic, two chopped carrots and a package of Butterball smoked turkey sausage (cut into bite sized pieces). Once everything started to caramelize a bit, I added it to the soup pot along with half of the seasoning packet (I didn't want it too spicy).

I simmered 30 more minutes or so until beans were tender. I was supposed to add some lemon juice but forgot. I did add a little salt to my bowl because I like beans to be salty. (According to my taste buds, there are just some things--like beef, potatoes and beans--that should be a little on the salty side!) :)

This turned out so good! Very healthy with all the fiber. As much as I love summer and warm weather, I have to admit it's nice to enjoy soup again. :)

www.missytippens.com

My New Instant Pot®

Missy Tippens


I got a new "toy" for Christmas! (I probably shouldn't sound so surprised. I might have told Santa exactly what I wanted. In fact, I may have even ordered it myself and told my husband I had made his shopping easy.) :)

I received the Instant Pot ® electric pressure cooker and love it! I've made bean soup in it twice already. And I think I'm going to use it tonight to make chicken.

I'm not going to try to share the exact recipe I used for bean soup, because I was playing with the settings and trying different things each time I made it. You'd have to test different recipes to find out what works for you.

I used half of a bag of dried 15-bean soup each time I made it. The bag is the kind that comes with a seasoning mix. I didn't use the seasoning, though. Most recipes I looked at had you throw that away and use your own spices.

The first time I made the soup, I used a small pack of boneless pork ribs to add flavor and chunks of meat. I first pressure-cooked the meat because it was still a bit frozen. Then I pre-cooked the beans using a short round of pressure cooking. Then I cooked both together to finish cooking the beans. Because I wasn't sure which settings to use, the soup was done at this point, before I ever got to add the chopped carrots and onions. So it wasn't a fail so much as a test run that didn't quite work out as planned. :) Still very tasty!

The second time, I only had some thick-sliced ham lunch meat and a couple of slices of bacon to add. But I changed up my method and was able to sauté the carrots, onion and meats before adding in the pre-cooked beans and water. With this method, I did the final cook on the chili/soup setting and all went as planned.

However, everyone liked the first soup better! So I think having the fattier meat added a lot of flavor. I also think I'll use chicken or vegetable broth next time instead of water for additional flavor.

The beauty of the Instant Pot is that you don't have to pre-soak the beans. You can do a short cook with the beans by themselves to soften them. Then add them to the recipe as already pre-soaked. I've also heard from Pam Hillman that she was able to make soup using frozen chicken breasts. That's one of the reasons I wanted this! I never seem to remember to thaw out meats in time for dinner.

I've loved my pot so far! I look forward to playing with it some more. I'm sure I'll be sharing recipes in the future.

www.missytippens.com

Wintertime Bean Soup

This is a rerun post, but it is so perfect for this week. Bean soup is a staple at our house for these cold winter evenings. There's nothing like that homey-salty-warming aroma as the soup cooks in the crock pot all day long!

Another reason why this recipe is appropriate for this week is that the long-awaited release of "Hannah's Choice" is imminent!

You can order Hannah's Choice here (BarnesandNoble.com) or
here (Amazon.com)

I love this series, The Journey to Pleasant Prairie. It was born out of a quest to understand why my family was no longer Amish, and that quest opened a lot of doors and will provide fodder for many stories to come!

So as we celebrate the pending release (January 19th!), settle back and enjoy this post from a few years ago:

The western view from our house at 3 pm. Nearly sunset.

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” 
― Edith Sitwell

It is the turn of the year. The days are short, the evenings dark and long.

In our part of the world, the sun rises in the southeast, skims the rooftops of the houses to our south, and sets behind the Hills in the southwest. 

The mid-afternoon light throws long shadows as we explore the shore of Sylvan Lake - the summer playground deserted this time of year.

By 5:00, Orion starts his journey across the southern sky and the shades are drawn against the cold night outside.

This is the time for soup and homemade bread - food that warms the belly and the spirit.

Today's soup is bean soup. Not a fancy dish, but nothing tastes better on a cold winter night.

I have no recipe for this soup - it would be like asking for a recipe for scrambled eggs! It's been a wintertime staple in my family since long before I was born.

The main ingredient is beans. 

I always use Navy Beans, or small white beans, but you can use your favorite.

Now don't turn up your nose at the lowly bean! Just check out this nutritional powerhouse:

Beans are a good source of

1) Protein

2) Complex carbohydrates

3) Fiber - both soluble and insoluble

4) Calcium

5) Potassium

6) Folate (a B vitamin)

It's easy to prepare the beans for cooking. Start the night before by soaking two cups of beans in about a gallon of water mixed with two tablespoons vinegar. If you have hard water (water with a lot of minerals in it), use filtered or distilled water for soaking and cooking your beans.

Why the vinegar? It helps reduce that gassy side effect beans can have.

The next morning, drain and rinse the beans thoroughly. Now they're ready to use.

Beans take a long time to cook and they absorb a lot of water, so give yourself plenty of time. I always use my slow cooker, but you can also cook them on top of the stove over low heat (be sure to stir them occasionally). Either way, check the beans every couple hours to make sure they haven't cooked dry.

I use broth instead of water to cook my bean soup - it adds flavor as well as nutrition. Today I'm using ham broth and chicken broth (about six cups for two cups of dry beans), but you can also use vegetable broth, leftover water from boiling potatoes, or whatever you might have on hand.

Always add onions to your soup, again for flavor and nutrition, but from there on the soup is very versatile.

We have leftover ham from Christmas in the refrigerator, so I diced up about a cup of that and added it in. You can also add carrots or potatoes (or both). Some people add in mashed potatoes.

Let the soup cook for a good 10 to 12 hours in the slow cooker - maybe four to six hours on the stove.

Taste your soup before adding salt and pepper - if you've used ham or ham broth, you'll probably have enough salt already.

If you add salt, wait until the very end of cooking to put it in. (Salt keeps the fiber in the beans from breaking down while cooking.) 

Serve your soup with fruit or veggies, and lots of crackers.

My husband likes these little gems - he calls them "fabulous crackers" - but I like regular saltines.

Remember I said this soup has been a family staple for years? While doing some research for my next book, I found out that for the 18th century Amish in Pennsylvania (my grandparents six and seven generations ago...), bean soup was a Sunday tradition.

The Amish in those days didn't drive buggies, or wagons, or carriages to church. They walked.

It could be a six mile walk to the house where the Sabbath Meeting was being held, and before the families would start the long walk home in the afternoon, they were given a meal - something simple, warm, filling and cheap. Bean soup.

I can just imagine a log home filled to the brim with Amish families, some of them still grieving loved ones they had lost on the long journey across the Atlantic in ships called the "Charming Nancy" and "Love and Unity". Old men with gray beards, women in their bonnets and capes, children with cheeks rosy from the cold outside and the heat inside the house...and all day long smelling the fragrance from the big kettle of bean soup simmering on the hearth.

And you thought you had a hard time concentrating on the sermon!

Bean Soup via Bean Soup Mix!!!!

So this takes awhile because, well.... it's beans and they take some time, but it's so easy peasy as to be ridiculous and the family loved, loved, loved it...

I bought the soup mix somewhere. Zarpentine's Farm Market, maybe? Or somewhere in my travels, scouting out sweet settings for books. There's nothing like playoff time and cold winter Sundays to have soup brewing... bread baking.... and a cozy nap by the fireplace is never a bad thing!

This was what was left of the glorious spiral ham we had last night with a bunch of us here...

Yup. A hank of bone and bits and pieces... But I grabbed me a plateful of pieces to use for the soup. "Waste not, want not...." Use it up, make it do, wear it out!

And we tuck the beans/pea/mix into water and simmer for 30 minutes:

Then we add the meat, I threw in four home-grown chopped carrots, the seasoning mix (a little Cajun/Tex/Mex blend in the packet) and two cans of diced tomatoes. If I'd had time, I'd have canned my own tomatoes this year, but I'd have had to PLANT them first.

Oops.

Okay, back to soup:

Uncle Art Eichas grew these bad boys.... and they have that wonderful taste and texture of real carrots, not grown in sand or water. Whole different ball game when they have to fight for supremacy in real top soil!

We simmer for a while....

Oh my stars, the entire house is scented of some kind of sweet, red Kohl's Candle in the dining room.... and a spicy, herbed scent of bean soup in the kitchen.

This is part of why I love winter. One pot meals, extra writing time, peace and quiet. Around here there is nothing akin to peace and quiet in the summer.... which I LOVE but.... I love this, too.

All is calm. All is bright. And I've got a blanket.!!!

Chili with a Twist

Let's face it. Texans love their chili. But sometimes, you just gotta switch things up. Though that doesn't mean we have to do without our chili.

I stumbled onto a white bean chili recipe a few years ago and fell in love. I haven't made it for a while. So imagine my surprise when my meat and potato boy asked me why I hadn't fixed it lately.

So, being a good mom and all, I did.

Now there are two ways you can do this. The quick and easy way, or the longer, drawn-out way. This time, I did the easy way.

Here's what you're going to need:

• 4 - 14 1/2 oz. cans navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 - 14 1/2 oz. cans chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon ground white pepper (you can use black, white just makes it invisible)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (secret ingredient)
• 5 cups chopped cooked chicken (grocery store rotisserie chickens are great for this)
• 2 - 4 oz cans chopped green chilies (remember, they're not hot)
• 1 tsp. salt

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.

 

Add chilies, 3 cans of broth, and seasonings. Stir together, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes to let the spices incorporate.

 

Now, add your beans, chicken, and the last can of broth.

Put the lid back on and simmer for 1 hour.

Serve alone, or top with sour cream, cheese, green onions, or whatever you like.



 

Sans the sour cream, you've got a lean, healthy meal.

 

Now for the real low-down. AKA, the long version. I had a whole chicken in the freezer, so I boiled it up. I not only used the meat, but the broth as well, making it very cost effective.

 

You can also use dried beans. Soak them overnight. Drain. Then put them in a dutch oven with 3 cans of chicken broth, the chopped onion, garlic, pepper, oregano, cumin, and cloves. Bring to a boil; cover; reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours or until beans are tender. Then add the last can of chicken broth, the chicken, green chilies, 1 cup of water, and the salt.

 

In some ways, I think the long version tastes a little bit better, but time is usually of the essence. Besides, the store I was at didn't have dried navy beans and I wasn't about to make another trip.

 

That's all right. No one complained. Well, I take that back. The youngest one complained. He doesn't like white bean chili. He had cereal instead. Ah, well. His loss.

 

So are you a long or short version kind of cook? Or does it depend on the situation?

Wintertime Bean Soup

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” 

― Edith Sitwell

It is the end of the year. The days are short, the evenings dark and long.

In our part of the world, the sun rises in the southeast, skims the rooftops of the houses to our south, and sets behind the Hills in the southwest. 

The mid-afternoon light throws long shadows as we explore the shore of Sylvan Lake - the summer playground deserted this time of year.

By 5:00, Orion starts his journey across the southern sky and the shades are drawn against the cold night outside.

This is the time for soup and homemade bread - food that warms the belly and the spirit.

Today's soup is bean soup. Not a fancy dish, but nothing tastes better on a cold winter night.

I have no recipe for this soup - it would be like asking for a recipe for scrambled eggs! It's been a wintertime staple in my family since long before I was born.

The main ingredient is beans. 

I always use Navy Beans, or small white beans, but you can use your favorite.

Now don't turn up your nose at the lowly bean! Just check out this nutritional powerhouse:

Beans are a good source of

1) Protein

2) Complex carbohydrates

3) Fiber - both soluble and insoluble

4) Calcium

5) Potassium

6) Folate (a B vitamin)

...and they come in all colors and shapes...

It's easy to prepare the beans for cooking. Start the night before by soaking two cups of beans in about a gallon of water mixed with two tablespoons vinegar. If you have hard water (water with a lot of minerals in it), use filtered or distilled water for soaking and cooking your beans.

Why the vinegar? It helps reduce that gassy side effect beans can have.

The next morning, drain and rinse the beans thoroughly. Now they're ready to use.

Beans take a long time to cook and they absorb a lot of water, so give yourself plenty of time. I always use my slow cooker, but you can also cook them on top of the stove over low heat (be sure to stir them occasionally). Either way, check the beans every couple hours to make sure they haven't cooked dry.

I use broth instead of water to cook my bean soup - it adds flavor as well as nutrition. Today I'm using ham broth and chicken broth (about six cups for two cups of beans), but you can also use vegetable broth, leftover water from boiling potatoes, or whatever you might have on hand.

Always add onions to your soup, again for flavor and nutrition, but from there on the soup is very versatile.

We have leftover ham from Christmas in the refrigerator, so I diced up about a cup of that and added it in. You can also add carrots or potatoes (or both). Some people add in mashed potatoes.

Let the soup cook for a good 10 to 12 hours in the slow cooker - maybe four to six hours on the stove.

Taste your soup before adding salt and pepper - if you've used ham or ham broth, you'll probably have enough salt already.

If you add salt, wait until the very end of cooking to put it in. (Salt keeps the fiber in the beans from breaking down while cooking.) 

Serve your soup with fruit or veggies, and lots of crackers.

My husband likes these little gems - he calls them "fabulous crackers" - but I like regular saltines.

I also make cornbread to have with the soup...

...and of course, cornbread needs honey.

Remember I said this soup has been a family staple for years? While doing some research for my next book, I found out that for the 18th century Amish in Pennsylvania (my grandparents six and seven generations ago...), bean soup was a Sunday tradition.

The Amish in those days didn't drive buggies, or wagons, or carriages to church. They walked.

It could be a six mile walk to the house where the Sabbath Meeting was being held, and before the families would start the long walk home in the afternoon, they were given a meal - something simple, warm, filling and cheap. Bean soup.

I can just imagine a log home filled to the brim with Amish families, some of them still grieving loved ones they had lost on the long journey across the Atlantic in ships called the "Charming Nancy" and "Love and Unity". Old men with gray beards, women in their bonnets and capes, children with cheeks rosy from the cold outside and the heat inside the house...and all day long smelling the fragrance from the big kettle of bean soup simmering on the hearth.

And you thought you had a hard time concentrating on the sermon!