The Official MWGL forums cooking club???

OK shall we say a deadline 2 weeks from today to get working on this?

The first theme is: cannelloni or black beans as an ingredient.
 
I'm serving some leftover black bean soup this weekend out of the freezer. It was uninspiring fresh, so I don't think it'll be any better thawed, and was maybe the greyest think I've ever eaten. I'll try to dress it up, and there will be fresh baked bread, but still.
 
jbj said:
OK shall we say a deadline 2 weeks from today to get working on this?

The first theme is: cannelloni or black beans as an ingredient.
Click to expand...
I'm in. I'll do cannellini. I'm tired of black beans.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: jbj
OK, so I checked and it turns out "cannellini" is another kind of bean, not pasta. :grin:

I'll try to come up with something within the time frame. Probably not this weekend though, because it is too cold to go to the grocery store.
 
I’ll forget if I don’t post now. Uses black beans.
BCA902A8-8AC8-4165-A7FB-CADBBD340AE3.jpeg


Chili
  • 2 lb lean Ground Beef, (90/10 or 93/7)
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste Note: I do not add salt.
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 30 oz kidney beans, two 15oz cans, drained and rinsed
  • 30 oz diced tomatoes, with their juice
  • 10 oz diced tomatoes and green chilis, with their juice
  • 30 oz tomato sauce

Note: When buying the canned ingredients the way they are packaged may equate to a couple more ounces here or there. It’s ok, don’t worry about being exact, use the contents in the can.


  1. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and sauté beef until it releases fat (4-5 minutes), breaking it up with a spatula. Note: Remove from heat tilt pan and let fat drain to the side and remove it.
  2. Add onion to the skillet and sauté until tender (4-5 minutes). Add minced garlic and seasonings: cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, salt and pepper. Cook another 30 seconds stirring constantly. Transfer to a 6 Qt slow cooker. Note: Before dumping into crock pot pour this in with the meat you just drained the fat from. Stir it in and cook it in together a couple minutes. You’ll see how the spices and onions get happy with the meat. Then put it in the crock pot.
  3. Add remaining ingredients into the slow cooker: rinsed and drained beans, diced tomatoes with their juice, diced tomatoes and green chilis with juice and tomato sauce. Stir to combine and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Season to taste if desired and serve warm
NOTE: be sure to rinse both the black and kidney beans and drain the excess water off well. Do not rush crockpot cooking time.
 
Lerxst said:
If you don't use those on the regular, how'd you wind up with so many cans?


Edit: now that I have a keyboard to type on

Cannellini beans.
This is a dish that an old school eye-talian fellow used to make for his guys at a paper recycling plant I did some work at. It's super easy and tastes great w/ some fresh crusty bread.

Cook some penne or rigatoni; you will pull it from the heat just before it gets al dente
While the pasta is cooking, saute some rough chopped onion & finely minced garlic in olive oil. Toss in some leafy green towards the end; spinach, kale, basil, whatever you like.
Mash up one can of beans w/ the liquid from the can
Drain the pasta but reserve the water
Combine the mashed beans, another can of drained beans, pasta & the sauteed veg in your pasta pot
Add back the pasta water till you get your desired consistency
Season as you like
Click to expand...

Put spinach on grocery list, already have everything else. Are you done cooking at this point or, do you put it in the oven?
 
Bob411 said:
Put spinach on grocery list, already have everything else. Are you done cooking at this point or, do you put it in the oven?
Click to expand...

It's pretty much ready...the carry over heat of the pasta water added back should warm the whole beans up but if not you just turn the burner back on. I put the pot back on the burner while I'm putting the dish together & usually put the pasta and beans in first, so there's some residual heat there too.
 
I did a black bean soup. Used this recipe as a template: https://www.loveandlemons.com/black-bean-soup-recipe/

Gotta say, I wasn’t enthusiastic about this ingredient, but was trying to be open-minded. And Mrs. Roach and Momma Roach weren’t exactly bubbly with enthusiasm either - but we all loved it. Superb depth of flavor to the dish, and creamy texture. I used chipotle paste instead of chipotles en adobo, and the chipotle flavor provided a warm, delicious foundation. Perfect for a chilly February night.

Okay, it isn’t the most photogenic dish. :grin:

8BC5CB0A-4DE9-4DD8-81C7-79EB96CD5DA5.jpeg
 
I reheated my frozen black bean soup tonight, too. It was decent, even though it was underwhelming in it's original iteration. I jazzed it up with some water and better than bouillon (no thawed stock on hand), some avocado, and a very sharp cheddar. I realize now it would have benefited with a little hit of citrus, but it was acceptable as is, and the fresh baked bread was crusty and delicious.
 
jbj said:
I'm a bit inebriated so this might be a stupid idea but an idea it is. Apart from Mrs JBJ (who likes to cook but isn't too fussed about digging deeper than cooking recipes she likes) and a pal in work (who's more into baking) that I share recipes and ideas with, no one I know cooks which sucks.

Would anyone be up for a cooking club?

Every week, fortnight or month depending on what people were up for we would have a recipe / ingredient / theme / cuisine for us to all try then we could share photos, our thoughts, any suggestions for tweaks etc..
Click to expand...
SCOTTISH BLOKE INEBRIATED.....NEWS AT 11!!!
 
DdBob said:
SCOTTISH BLOKE INEBRIATED.....NEWS AT 11!!!
Click to expand...

:bigg:

my cousin from Belfast is visiting for the football and staying with me.

Me, him and Lola walked down to one of my locals so he could see my dad before heading to the game.

I'm driving him to the airport at 4am and spending the day prepping for tomorrow's interview so not going to the game and not drinking.

You should have seen the look I got in the pub on a match day when I asked for a diet coke :bigg::cheers:
 
Not great, not horrible for a first try. Wanted some meat, thought pork sausage would work, knew I had some, forgot we threw it out with other stuff when freezer door didn't shut. So, Italian sausage. I think a more stuff, less noodles ratio would help.
IMG_20220206_122448598.jpg
 
Bob411 said:
Not great, not horrible for a first try. Wanted some meat, thought pork sausage would work, knew I had some, forgot we threw it out with other stuff when freezer door didn't shut. So, Italian sausage. I think a more stuff, less noodles ratio would help.
View attachment 72161
Click to expand...

Typically it would be prepared more like a stew or soup consistency, bowl meal with brothy liquid to sop up with the bread
 
IMG_20220209_165131406.jpg


Tuesday? snapped this pic on my phone, haven't had both time and a signal since. Since my past water was long gone, I tried Swanson's chicken broth. Wife and I both made it through one bowl but, didn't want seconds. I really did like the mashed beans, bean liquid, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and tiny amount of pasta water mixture. Next time wife makes lasagna, I'm going to make that mix again and try substituting it for the spaghetti sauce at one end and half spaghetti half mix in the middle.
 
Last edited:
West African Chicken Peanut Stew

2-3 pounds chicken thighs
3 Tbs vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced (I did thin half moon shaped slices)
3 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 pounds sweet potato, peeled and cubed, about 2 inch cubes
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes (I could only find 28 oz cans so I went with 1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes)
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup roasted peanuts (I used unsalted since I wasn't sure how salty things would be. Turned out you could probably get away with salted since I added salt later)
1 Tbs ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne
salt and black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (coriander)

Brown the chicken in the vegetable oil. Do it in batches so as not too crowd the pan. I used bone in skin on thighs and browned them whole. More on that later. Set chicken aside.
Saute onions 3-4 minutes scraping up the chicken fond. Add ginger and garlic 1-2 minutes. Add sweet potatoes and stir to combine.
Add chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, peanut butter, peanuts, ground coriander and cayenne. Stir to combine.
Add the whole thighs, bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 60 minutes. Sweet potatoes should be soft but not mush. Chicken should be close too falling off the bone.
Remove the thighs, remove skin and bones and shred the chicken. Return chicken to the stew.

Here's the fun part. It's supposed to be peppery. Grind as much black pepper as you think you can stand. I did 100 turns from my pepper grinder at a medium grind and it was nice. Taste as you go.

Eat as a stew or serve over rice.
It is very peanutty.

20220212_170851.jpg
20220212_170858.jpg

Yes I got lazy and didn't wipe the bowl for the pic. I was hungry.
 
I like satay, I like pepper, I'm definitely giving this a go.

Not got round to my cook yet, going to do taco soup but we've been away and Mrs JBJ meal plans so it'll get done on Thursday. :thu:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top