Cooking As Of Late

Friday night, after a long week of work, we had friends coming for dinner, and the list grew as my husband invited more. It's all good.

Being short on time, energy, creativity and ingredients, I dug back into the cooking archive of my gray matter and unearthed an old favorite...Burger, Bean Bake...a recipe from my cousin when she was first married (tweaked a little because I lost the recipe somewhere along the line). I served it with cornbread and a huge salad:

Burger Bean Bake

1 # Lean Ground Beef
1 Can Baked Beans, any seasoning combo
1 Can Green Beans, drained
1 Can Dark Red Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1 Large Onion, diced
2 Stalks Celery, diced
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Green Pepper, diced

Sauce:

1 Cup Ketchup
1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 Cup Spicy Brown Mustard
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 T Italian Seasoning
1 T Dried Parsley
1 t Chili Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large frying pan, brown ground beef. Add onion, celery, gr pepper, garlic - saute five minutes.

Add baked beans, green beans and kidney beans to beef mixture and combine.

Combine all ingredients for sauce and pour over bean/beef mixture, combining well. Pour into large, buttered casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly.

Salad

Lettuce (any kind you prefer)
tomatoes
green onion
celery
carrot
Kalamata olives
sliced goat cheese
freshly cracked pepper

As it turned out, the dinner guests were all men and the hearty burger bean bake was a great hit. As I looked down the 13' bar in my kitchen and watched them all with heads bent over their plates, grunting noises of appreciation, I realized once again what I am called to do in this world...feed people.