It’s the time of year when we think of feasting at backyard cookouts, picnics down at the lake, or my favorite, out in the woods. I also crave the great summer salads you can make with the bounty of produce available this time of year.
Here is one of my favorite bean recipes, kind of. Use your own judgement, and taste and adjust before you cook, because I’m estimating ingredients here. I just usually wing it. Fortunately, beans are really easy to adjust to taste before you cook.
2 each 22 oz cans Bush’s Steakhouse Grillin beans
1 16 oz can of chili kidney beans
1 15 oz can of black beans
1/2 pound thick cut bacon, cooked
1 pound burger, browned well
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
1/4 cup HP sauce
3 tbs tomato paste
3/4 cup ketchup
splash of apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
molasses to taste, approx 1/4 cup
copious amount of good smoked paprika
Kinder’s taco blend with lime and ancho chili, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
additional hot stuff, if you like it. Jalapeños, chili flakes, etc. Do you!
Mix all ingredients and cook 4-6 hours in a slow cooker, or in a disposable pan on a smoker for a few hours.
To start us on salads, here’s a link to an old favorite of mine. I’ve loved it for years. Very unique, and very tasty as well.
https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/recipe/no-cook-apple-and-fennel-slaw-1/56505eb2fbec5b3134745a1c
I used to have a recipe I loved from the Tupelo Honey chain of restaurants for their beet salad . It was a long time ago, and they don’t make it anymore. I haven’t found anything similar at all when I search.
There was raw beets, thinly sliced, onions, garlic, and a marinade of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, some soy sauce, and maybe orange juice, as well as salt and pepper, and probably other things I don’t remember.
You refrigerated it and stirred daily for several days before serving. I sure wish I still had that recipe. Not only was it awesome on its own, but I put a cup or so of it on every salad I made, and I loved that too.
As always, I am still really into all fermented foods and would love having new recipes to try. If you’re curious about fermented foods, check out cultured food life.com for a ton of information on why it’s so good for you, and recipes as well.