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!!

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!

Slow Roasted Salmon with Grapefruit Avocado Salsa

When we camp, we love to eat like locals based upon our destination. When camping near Cape Perpetua, Oregon last year, we wanted to try a new seafood recipe and decided to use up steelhead from the freezer. We found this recipe from Portland Monthly Magazine and loved it! The citrus flavor infused perfectly in the fish. We served it with Lemon Smashed Potatoes and DePonte Cellars Melon.

• 1 pound salmon fillet
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large grapefruit
• 2 meyer lemons
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the salsa:

• 1 large grapefruit
• 1 small firm but ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 large jalapeño chili, seeded and minced
• 3 Tbs. minced red onion
• 2 Tbs. minced fresh cilantro
• 1 Tbs. fresh lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees.  Cut the top and bottom off the grapefruit and one of the lemons and slice into rounds about 1/4-inch thick.  Lay the fruit on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and top with the salmon fillet.  Zest the remaining meyer lemon over the top of the fillet drizzle with the olive oil and season with the salt and pepper.  Roast the salmon for 25-30 minutes until the fish is opaque and slightly firm to the touch.

Meanwhile, using a sharp knife, cut off the peel and all of the white pith from all around the grapefruit. Working over a small bowl, use the knife to cut between the membranes to release the grapefruit segments into the bowl. Squeeze the juice from the membranes into the bowl. Remove the grapefruit segments from the bowl and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces, then return them to the bowl. Gently mix in the avocado, jalapeño, onion, cilantro and lime juice. Season the salsa with salt and pepper.

Pad Cashew Nut Stir Fry

Pad Cashew Nut is our go-to stir fry anytime we crave Thai. This version comes from an international food blog and it is delicious! We typically add prawns but you can keep it vegetarian, add tofu, chicken or whatever you crave. It's another very fast and easy stir fry that you can quickly throw together on a week night.

3 Tbsp cooking oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 Tbsp Thai roasted chili paste (you can find this in Asian markets)

1 ½ Tbsp fish sauce

1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1 Tbsp sugar

20 medium sized peeled prawns

3 small sized sweet peppers (red or yellow), cut in large dices

1 medium sized white onion, cut into medium slices

2 spring/green onions, cut into 1 inch long slices

1 cup roasted cashew nuts

2 cups jasmine rice

Dry cracked chili (for spicy food lovers)

Cook Jasmine rice first, so when the dish is ready, the rice is ready too.

Prepare the sauce in advance too. Mix the Thai roasted chili paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, white vinegar and sugar. 

Set a frying pan or wok on a stove on medium heat, and add cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add minced garlic, and stir the garlic until it is a golden brown color, about 1-2 minutes. Add the sauce mixture, stirring until ingredients are well combined and have a thick sauce texture.

Add prawns to the sauce, stir and cook them for about 4 minutes. Don't overcook the prawns!

Add the sweet peppers and white onions and mix well. Quickly cook the vegetables, so they are still crunchy.

Turn off the heat, and add spring/green onion and cashew nuts. Stir all the ingredients until they are well combined.

Serve with steamed jasmine rice. It's fantastic with Tom Kha Soup too!

For spicy food lovers, you can sprinkle dry chili on top of the dish and enjoy.

Tom Kha Soup (Thai Coconut Milk Soup)

Tom Kha soup is one of our favorites of all time. It takes me back to college where a warm soup was the perfect remedy to a rainy Oregon day. There are many variations, depending upon which Thai restaurant you visit. This recipe is adapted from a top rated version by Sunset magazine and serves 2-3. We often pair it with a Pad Cashew nut stir fry and a really good beer. It is so easy and quick to make, much faster than waiting for take out at the local Thai restaurant!


1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk
1 can (14 oz.) chicken or vegetable broth
6 quarter-size slices fresh ginger
1 stalk fresh lemongrass, cut in 1-2 inch pieces so you can easily 'fish' it out later
1 cup sliced yellow onion
1 cup sliced button or crimini mushrooms

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Thai chili paste
1/4 cup fresh Thai basil leaves
1/4 cup fresh cilantro

You can add chicken or shrimp depending on your preference. 

• 1 pound boned, skinned chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1-in. chunks
• 16-20 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

In a medium saucepan, combine coconut milk, broth, ginger, and lemongrass and bring to boil over high heat. Add onion, mushrooms, tomatoes lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chili paste. (Add chicken or shrimp here too). Reduce heat and simmer 5 to 10 minutes. If using chicken or shrimp, cook until firm and opaque.  

Discard lemongrass with a slotted spoon. Garnish servings with basil and cilantro.

Coconut Chana Saag

The only thing better than eating food is reading about it. As a big fan of Isa Chandra Moskowitz, I could not wait to devour new latest cookbook, "Isa Does It" and sure enough there is much inspiration contained within. Isa has created a Coconut Chana Saag that delights all of one's senses. Made with basmati or brown rice, and white wine if you are at my house, you are in for a TREAT!





Ingredients:

2 Tbsp refined coconut oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 Tbsp mild curry powder (I use Penzey's sweet curry powder)

Several grinds (or pinches) of freshly ground black paper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp anise or crushed fennel seeds
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cumin1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 24-ounce can whole tomatoes (or use fresh with a splash of water)
2 15-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
8 ounces of baby kale
1 14-ounce can of coconut milk
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice 

For serving:
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Mango Chutney (store bought)

Heat the coconut oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute for about 7 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the garlic and ginger, and saute until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the curry powder, salt, pepper, anise seeds, garam masala, cumin, and cayenne and mix well. Allow the spices to roast for about a minute.

Add the tomato juice from the can, and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze. (or use fresh tomatoes and add a splash of water to deglaze) Add the tomatoes from the can, squishing them with your fingers or mashing with a wooden spoon. Add the chickpeas and mix well. Cover the pot and increase the heat to medium-high. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the kale and stir until wilted, and then simmer for about 5 minutes more.

Add the coconut milk and lime juice and heat through. Taste for seasoning. Allow to sit for 10-20 minutes (if possible), so that the flavors can mingle. It tastes even better the next day. Serve over basmati rice and add fresh cilantro and chutney, if desired.