Instant Pot Refried Beans

We love fresh, homemade refried beans but it used to be a full day ordeal. After getting our Instant Pot a couple years ago, we started trying various bean recipes. We are really pleased with the flavor and texture of this version and it's now our go-to recipe. Using the Instant Pot, we can whip them up anytime since they only take about 90 minutes start-to-finish. These beans are delicious as a side, in nachos, tacos or burritos. Photo from The Spruce Eats - a favorite recipe blog and inspiration behind the recipe.

3 cups dried pinto beans

10 cups water
6 slices bacon (Applegate Farms No-Sugar Sunday Bacon is our favorite)
1 cup onion (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 Tablespoon chile powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher sea salt (plus more later to taste)

Rinse beans, check for pebbles and set aside.

Turn Instant Pot to saute mode and add bacon. Cook until done to your liking and set aside. Bacon can be used for something else - like BLTs or in another soup.

In the bacon grease, add diced onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic, chile powder, cumin, oregano and salt and saute until fragrant but don't let the garlic burn. 

Turn off saute mode and add beans with 10 cups of water. Secure cover and use manual mode high pressure for 45 minutes. 

Once done, let steam naturally vent for 20 minutes. Meanwhile set a large colander over a heat safe bowl. 

Once done steaming, strain beans through colander and reserve liquid. Add beans back to pot and puree using an immersion blender. Use reserved liquid as needed for desired consistency. Taste and add more salt as needed.

Campfire Beans

A favorite summer BBQ at home or while camping out includes our Campfire Beans. Adapted from a couple of Boston Baked Beans recipes, this version has become our tried and true favorite. Enjoy them with your other favorite BBQ dishes and remember to make plenty as they are even better on day two!

2 cans organic navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 package Applegate Farms Sunday's Best Bacon (8 oz), chopped
1 Sweet Onion, finely diced
3 Tablespoons molasses (organic blackstrap is our favorite)
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup ketchup (Portland's Ketchup Company organic) 
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 cup Brown Sugar
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Layer beans, bacon and onion in a 9x9 baking dish.

Cook molasses, salt, dry mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire, brown sugar and pepper in a small saucepan until boiling. Pour over beans. 

Cover with foil, bake 4 hours. Enjoy!!

Shakshuka with Feta

Shakshuka is one of our favorite indulgences and we enjoy it at any meal. On a cool crisp morning camping in our Airstream, or for a light dinner paired with Naan and a good beer. And if you want some fun conversation to accompany your meal, look up the origins. At least five countries claim the dish - once you try it you will know why. This is our favorite version, straight from the NY Times. Cheers!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
⅛ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes with juices, coarsely chopped
¾ teaspoon salt, more as needed
¼ teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)
6 large eggs
Chopped cilantro, for serving
Hot sauce, for serving

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook gently until very soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes; stir in cumin, paprika and cayenne, and cook 1 minute. Pour in tomatoes and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; simmer until tomatoes have thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in crumbled feta.

Gently crack eggs into skillet over tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until eggs are just set, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with hot sauce.

Pro Tip: If you are making enough for leftovers, crack only the eggs you plan on eating into the pan before baking. Then save the veggies + feta for the next day and add new eggs. Otherwise you can carefully transport the eggs into a container and reheat but it takes a bit of effort. :) 

Spicy Thai Beef Salad

This salad is our favorite fast weeknight meal. We found it on popsugar.com and make it on a regular basis. You can swap out the steak for chicken, shrimp or leave it vegetarian. 

1/3 cup jasmine rice, dry
1 pound top sirloin steak
1 small head romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
1/4 medium red onion, sliced
1/2 cup of cilantro leaves

For the dressing:
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 or 2 Thai chili peppers, chopped

In a large pot, combine 2/3 cup water and 1/3 cup jasmine rice, and bring to a rolling boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, remove from the heat, and after 5 minutes, fluff the rice with a fork.

Set your oven to broil, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for your steak. With the oven door slightly open, broil your steak for 12 minutes, then flip the steak and broil for another 5 minutes. Make sure that the juices run clear once you stick a fork into the steak to ensure it has cooked through.

Meanwhile, slice and chop all your vegetables, then prepare the dressing. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a mason jar, shake well, then pour into a large bowl.

Remove the steak from the oven, cover with aluminum foil, and let it rest for 5 minutes. Slice your steak into cubes or thin slices, and add the steak to the large bowl with the dressing. Mix well until all the dressing covers everything. Then add the cucumbers, red onions, tomato, and romaine; mix well, and serve into bowls.

Serve 1/3 cup cooked jasmine rice on the side, or mix the rice into your salad bowl.

Top off your salad with fresh cilantro leaves, and enjoy.

Chicken Tenders

These chicken tenders came into our life in a quest to find more recipes that our kid would like. The recipe comes from the 2Teaspoons blog and are so good that we all enjoy them. 
We serve them with ketchup or sweet chili sauce.

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• ¾ cup flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• splash of milk
• dash of salt and pepper
• 
  

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a wire rack inside a baking sheet. Spray rack with cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in a skillet over low heat. Add breadcrumbs and slowly stir until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
3. Set up breading station by putting three shallow bowls on counter. Fill first bowl with egg and milk, second bowl with flour, and third bowl with breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.
4. Cut chicken in to bite-sized pieces. Dunk chicken in egg mixture bowl, then flour bowl, then shake off excess. Place chicken back into egg mixture bowl, then roll in breadcrumb bowl, coating thoroughly. Press breadcrumbs into chicken and place on a wire wrack.
5. Once all chicken pieces are breaded, spray chicken with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked (internal temperature of 165 degrees). Let rest for 5 minutes.
6. Serve straight up or with your favorite dipping sauce!

These can be made gluten free with GF flour and panko breadcrumbs.

Black Bean and Avocado Tacos with Cumin-Lime Dressing

A favorite local blog is Dishing Up The Dirt from Tumbleweed Farm in Hood River. Everything we've tried has been great, especially these tacos. They are a camping staple for a hot July summer dinner paired with an Oregon IPA.

4 corn tortillas

1/2 TBS olive oil

1 14.5 oz can of organic black beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium sized avocado, chopped into small cubes

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

2 cups, shredded red cabbage

1 small red onion, diced

1/4 cup cilantro, diced

For the dressing

Juice from 1 lime

1 TBS olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 TBS pure maple syrup

pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Whisk all ingredients together and set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat add a little olive oil. Add jalapeño pepper and saute for about 1 minute. Add black beans and cook until just heated through. (About 3 minutes) Remove from heat and place beans in a bowl.

In the same skillet add a little more oil and add the tortillas and cook for a couple of minutes on each side, (or until they turn slightly brown)

Combine the beans with the cabbage, cilantro, onion, and avocado. Drizzle with cumin-lime dressing. Top each tortilla with a healthy portion of bean mixture and enjoy!

Smashed Lemon Potatoes

These potatoes are refreshing and incredibly simple. They come from the guru Ruth Reichl and are delicious with seafood, especially slow roasted salmon with grapefruit and jalapeño avocado salsa. 

• 2 pounds baby potatoes
• 3 cups chicken stock
• Zest of 1 lemon (in thick strips)
• 2 cloves garlic
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Parmesan, for grating

Preheat oven to 400F.

Put the potatoes in a wide-based saucepan, add chicken stock, lemon zest and garlic (the stock may not cover the potatoes fully, that’s OK). Bring to the boil, cover and cook for 8 minutes.

Drain potatoes, picking out the lemon zest and saving it for later.

Oil an oven tray generously. Gently flatten each potato. I found the best method was to flatten them on a chopping board using the base of a small saucepan, but you could use the side of a chef’s knife or a rolling pin. Flattening them on the oven tray is possible, but the oil makes the surface slippery and the potatoes tend to dart around the tray when you try to flatten them.

With the smashed potatoes on the oven tray, drizzle them with olive oil and lay the reserved lemon zest in between the potatoes. Roast for 40 minutes, until the potatoes are crisp, golden and irresistible.

Sprinkle with sea salt and finely grate parmesan over the top.