I remember my dad always making beans. Marine Corp beans, he would call them. He and my mother loved them. It was usually navy beans, ham hock and onions. I hated those frickin things. Gag. The only time I ever really liked beans, was if they were the sweet baked beans, or refried bean, or if they were in chili. Then one day I tasted my friend Diana’s beans. She brought in a big ol crock pot of them into the office. I wanted to hug that crock pot…..and Diana too. Hahahah. I kinda hung around the crock pot, hoping there would be some left at the end of the day. Diana, you make the best beans in the world. After reading this post, I bet you’re thinking “Hmmm, I should make Betty some beans”…….right? 🙂

She puts some kind of magic in her beans, and mine aren’t as good as hers. But I must say, these beans I made, are pretty tasty. I think my dad would have even liked them….they sure taste better than Marine Corp beans.

Crock Pot Spicy Pinto Beans

1 pound bag of dry pinto beans
5 cups of water
1 chicken or beef bouillon cube
1 cup salsa (your favorite kind)
1 tsp onion powder
3 fresh garlic cloves
2 fresh jalapeno peppers (I used red fresno chiles and green jalapenos)
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1/2 – 1 cup diced ham or a ham bone
1 tsp black pepper
salt to taste, once beans have cooked for awhile
minced onion and cilantro for garnish

Rinse beans thoroughly and drain. Dump into a crock pot along with everything else. Turn crock pot on low and let it cook for 8 hours.

Now, how easy is that…..seriously! When you’re ready to serve, just top with some minced onion and cilantro and maybe a nice hot tortilla. I actually like my beans over rice.

Notes:
– Prior to cooking, I don’t soak my beans over night. I just don’t feel it’s necessary.
– If you don’t have any leftover ham or a ham bone, add more bacon. Yep, you heard me..more bacon.
– Sometimes I add some chorizo to the beans. YUM.

Ready for a really yummy breakfast or brunch meal? This is super easy to put together and your family and friends will love it. Everyone likes tater tots, right?

I have another tater tot dinner recipe that I will post soon. That one’s good too. But how about this breakfast version for the weekend?

You just gotta make it. You will see that one of the ingredients is sour cream. I didn’t have any, but I did have some green onion dip and I used that. YUM! Ok, ready?

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

1  lb. frozen tater tots
1  1/2 cup cheddar cheese
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 lb. breakfast sausage, and/or chorizo
4 slices bacon, minced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350. Cook the sausage and bacon. Drain the grease. Dump the meat mixture into a buttered baking dish. Add the frozen tots and cheese and mix together. Spread it all out evenly.

In a bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, garlic powder, salt and sour cream together. Pour it all over the sausage and tot mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

I have an orange obsession. Yep, I surely do.  I love the flavor of orange….I love the smell of oranges….I would wear an orange scented cologne if there was one. 🙂 Sometimes, I even grate some orange rind and sprinkle it on my ice cream. Then there is the combo of orange and chocolate. That’s a whole different story!

These orange scones are the best. Crumbly, moist, intensely ORANGE. They are the easiest and most perfectness of scones! Is perfectness a word? I like it.

You don’t need a mixer. You just need a bowl and a big spoon. Wait till you smell them baking away in the oven. ohhhhhhhh, my.

If you are not as into oranges as I am, by all means use lime or lemon zest. Those are good too. Yes, yes….I’ve tried those too. Or, you could leave out the citrus zest altogether and add some berries. YUM!

Orange Sour Cream Scones

1  3/4 cup flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
5 Tblsp butter, sliced and cold
1/4 cup sour cream
zest of 1 medium sized orange
1/2 cup orange juice

Heat oven to 400 deg.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir in the zest. Add the butter slices and using a fork or your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly. Stir in the orange juice and sour cream until blended but don’t overmix!

Dump it out onto a floured surface and form it into a mound about an inch thick. Cut into 4-6 wedges. Sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Tops should be just lightly browned.

Optional: Once scones have cooled, drizzle with orange glaze (powdered sugar and a couple drops of orange juice)

 It was a beautiful sunny day and I was outside  picking berries. Ohhh, that is just not true at all.  Truth is, I picked up a bag of frozen mixed berries from the grocery store. But I wish I was picking my own berries. The problem is, I would probably be eating them as quick as I was picking. I love berries……blue berries, blackberries, boysenberries, strawberries, raspberries, huckleberries……I love them all!

I love to make homemade ice cream with berries, or to eat them just plain……or slightly sugared on top of vanilla ice cream. Dammit, I love berries. This time, I decided to make a berry crumble. I had some frozen peaches on hand, so I threw those in there too. Peaches and berries go really well together. Did you know? If you make this, you’ll find out!

Mixed Berry Crumble

Preheat oven to 350.

Filling:
4 cups of frozen mixed berries
1  tsp lemon juice
1 Tblsp flour (2 Tblsp if you like a thicker filling)
1/2 cup sugar

In a bowl, toss together the berries, lemon juice, flour and sugar. Dump the mixture into a buttered 9×9 baking dish. Prepare the topping, below:

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) cut into cubes
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)

In a bowl, mix together the flour, oats, sugars and cinnamon. Add the butter cubes and with your fingers, smoosh the butter and dry ingredients together until it’s all crumbly. Sprinkle the topping all over the fruit mixture. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until your fruit is bubbling hot.
Serve with a big ol scoop of ice cream on the side. M-mmm-mm

You can also do this in individual baking dishes, so that everyone gets their very own dessert and they don’t have to share!

It’s another day of windy, rainy weather here in southern Cali. It’s my favorite kind of day and as you know, I love to make  soup on a day like this! Todays soup has red potatoes, Italian kale, tomato and rice. If you are a vegetarian, stop there….the soup is really flavorful and yummy. But if you need something a little meaty, you can add whatever meat you have on hand. I happened to have some jalapeno bratwurst so that is what I added. Soup is one of those things that you can just add whatever you want and it’s quick to throw together. So, whether it’s raining or not, and you are looking for a quick soup, try this and slurp slurp. But don’t make that slurping noise…ewwww, gross.  I hate that. 🙂

Potato Kale Soup with Rice
serves 2

1 bunch of Italian kale (regular kale works too, but the kale you see pictured, is super tender)
2 small red potatoes, cut into chunks
1 clove of fresh garlic
2 Tblsp butter
1  14oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup cooked rice
1 sausage link, sliced (bratwurst, Italian, etc) OPTIONAL
1 bouillon cube (veggie or chicken)

In a medium sized soup pot, melt the butter and add the garlic. Chop the kale into small pieces and saute in the butter garlic mixture. Add the tomatoes, sausage, bouillon cube. Fill the tomato can with water and add to the pot. Add salt and black pepper, to taste.  Allow to cook until the potatoes are tender. Add the cooked rice. Serve with some hot crusty bread and you’re good to go. You may want to make a double batch because the soup is even better the next day.

Is that simple or what!