Beans, barley, and tomatoes is something new to me at least. I’ve never heard of barley prior to my quest for dried beans and I think I’m hooked! This dish is easy to prep, cook, and clean (trust me I do that too!) and it’ll make a great packed lunch for the next day, saving that money for more important things.
Serve with some steamed broccoli and cauliflower and you got yourself a dinner worth sitting down for. This dish is a great replacement for standard rice and or pasta. If you are looking for something new to try that is cheap and healthy, this is it.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup dried barley pearls
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 cup black beans
- 1/2 cup green onion
- 1/2 cup onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup garlic
- 3 cups vegetable broth
METHOD:
In a deep skillet or sauce pot add oil, garlic, and garlic. After about 5 minutes add the black beans, tomatoes, barley, and the vegetable broth then bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir occasionally.
After 40 minutes, add the green onions, salt, and pepper then continue simmering for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and serve.
SERVINGS: 4
You ask and I deliver Jason, here you go! Lasagna… With the weather cooling it’s time to break out that oven and put a nice smell in the house. This meal is good for 6-8 servings, if you do 6 I won’t tell, so be sure open up your stomachs and enjoy this mash of tomato sauce, pasta, and three cheeses. Be sure to leave your requests and any tips or tricks are always welcomed in the comments.
Lasagna
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 box of no boil lasagna noodles (16 pieces)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 jars of tomato sauce (48 ounces)
- 1 15 ounce ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 2 eggs
- 1 table parsley
- 1/2 salt
- 1/2 pepper
- 1 dash nutmeg
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brown the ground beef on a skillet and drain the juice. In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Mix until blended.
In a 9 x 13 glass baking pan, pour 1 cup of tomato sauce and cover the bottom. Lay 4 pasta noodles down and make sure they overlap a little bit. Put 1/3 cheese mixture and 1/3 meat in a nice layer. Repeat starting with another layer of tomato sauce and continue until you are out of pasta. The top layer should just be tomato sauce and pasta. Add some additional parmesan cheese on top.
Cover with a sheet of foil (shiny side down) and bake for 60 minutes, remove the foil for the final 10 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool for 15 minutes and serve.
I’ve made it my own goal in my cooking career to make as much as I can from scratch. Once I figured out how to make the following recipes, I realized I could never buy them from the store again. There comes a point where convenience should not sacrifice the quality. These, along with a few other easy to make items, certainly require quality over convenience!
Salsa and Guacamole
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 Avocado’s
- 2 Lemon
- 2 tablespoon Garlic
- 1/2 cup diced Onions
- 2 tomatoes diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh Cilantro
- 2 dashes salt
- 2 dashes pepper
EQUIPMENT:
- Two mixing bowls
- A measuring spoon and cup
- A fork
METHOD:
We’ll start with the guacamole so get one of the mixing bowls and your fork ready. Cut and scoop out the insides (throw away the pit) of the avocados and place it in the bowl. Add 1/4 cup diced onions, juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 tablespoon cilantro, 1 tablespoon of garlic, 1 dash of salt, and 1 dash of pepper. Now mix up with your fork until the guacamole looks as chunky as you desire. And you are done, yeah that simple!
Salsa follows the same method. Combine juice of 1 lemon, all the diced tomato’s, 1/4 cup diced onions, 1/2 tablespoon cilantro, 1 tablespoon of garlic, 1 dash of salt, and 1 dash of pepper. Mix trying to only smash up a few of the tomatoes. If you like it thin, smash up more tomatoes. Chill and serve.
We all need a break from the classic tomato sauce which is why I am sharing my classic pasta sauces with you. This pasta sauce is very basic and should be made with fresh ingredients for the best flavor. The combination of tomato, onion, balsamic vinegar, pepper, and garlic is the key to the flavor, but, add something new and see how it turns out! Just make sure you share your thoughts, ideas, or tweaks for this sauce in the comments below.
[print_link] Tomato and Meat Sauce with Pasta
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 4 medium tomatoes
- 1 green bell paper (sliced)
- 1/2 cup green onion (sliced)
- 4 garlic cloves (mashed and minced)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp basil
- 4 servings of noodles
- 1 lb ground beef
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350, then cut tomatoes into 1/4 inch width slices. Lay in a single layer on a sheet pan and drizzle olive oil, sprinkle salt, and sprinkle pepper over the exposed side of the tomatoes. Place tomatoes into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, which is a perfect time to start cooking the pasta!
In a skillet about 5 minutes before tomatoes finish in the oven, brown the ground beef with some oil. Add the green peppers, garlic, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Once tomatoes are done, remove from the oven and add to the skillet your beef. Mash the tomatoes down a bit with your spoon and then add the basil, thyme, and green onions. Continue cooking for another 5 or so minutes, transfer to a bowl of tasty noodles, then finish with a nice drizzle balsamic vinegar over the top and serve.