I whip out this dish when I crave Chili Con Carne, but am all out of ground meat. And since this version is just as hearty, I don’t miss it. The beans are the star here and I use whichever I have on hand—kidney, pinto, black, or a combination of these—it doesn’t matter. (Kidney beans
I prefer making quick-fix recipes, but chili is one of my exceptions. Though it only takes about 20 minutes for all the elements in any chili to cook through, a long simmering time is essential–to allow time for the beans to break down and thicken the sauce. This recipe as written has a mildly spicy
I love classic American beef stew but sometimes I crave something similar but a little less heavy; something beefy without the stick-to-your-ribs potatoes and carrots. That’s when I think of this meat stew known as Ropa Vieja. I serve it over hot white rice but if you drain off some of the sauce, you can also
When I was in grade school, my favorite lunch was canned tomato soup accompanied by an American cheese sandwich on wheat bread, cold or grilled. It’s still one of my favorite meals but as I got older, canned soup just didn’t do it for me. Classic tomato soup only requires a few ingredients and doesn’t
Recently a friend at work brought me a bagful of lovely green tomatoes from his backyard garden. I went in search of some recipe ideas for my newfound treasure and came up with two. One is fried green tomatoes and the other is this soup which has become a new favorite in my “simple but
Winter is coming…and one of my favorite things to do on a cold day is dive into a bowl of steaming hot soup with silky broth and hearty vegetables. The seasoned broth and beans make this dish tasty enough to serve as is, but I like to eat it with tortilla chips on the side
This is one of my favorite “last-minute” meals. This flavorful soup doesn’t require exotic ingredients nor does it need long slow simmering. It can go from stove to table in about 30 minutes and it tastes even better reheated for lunch the next day. For a heartier dish, you can throw in a can of
I started making my own soups a couple of years ago and I’m pretty sure I’ll never buy canned soup again. This one is not only warm and tasty, it’s a good way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken. Some tortilla soup recipes feature corn or black beans which definitely gives the dish a heartier
Technically, it takes only about 20 minutes for all the elements of this dish to cook through, but the long simmering time allows the beans to break down, which serves to thicken the chili. This chili is very spicy , so if you can’t handle too much heat, try discarding the white membrane of the
When I was a kid, the only mushrooms I’d ever eaten were canned or jarred in a tasteless brine, cut up in little bits that I occasionally tossed into tomato sauce and served over spaghetti. One night at a restaurant, I sampled my first fresh mushroom and that was it — I fell in love.
I grew up in a diverse neighborhood in New York City, and as it happens, many of my friends and relatives are of full or partial Puerto Rican descent. As a result, I’ve been fortunate enough to have enjoyed some really delicious Puerto Rican dishes. I’m still learning but I’ve been able to get a few of them down pat.
