Three Bean Cassoulet

I don't know whether I would call this a stew or a solid entree, but whatever it was, it was good! I really did not think I would like it, I made it just because it would be cheap, but it was sooooo good! I ate it with a crusty roll and a spoon as my utensils and loved every moment if it.

Need MORE reasons to make this dish?
-its good for you! Very high in fiber and protein and counts as 2 or 3 veggie servings if you eat an entree size portion
-super easy. Chop. Mix. Bake, mixing occasionally.
-freezes well. I froze the leftovers in individual portions and microwave them for a great quick lunch
-Did I mention it is cheap and delicious? It cost about $5 to make 5-6 dinners that I loved!
-It makes an entry for Legume Love Affair

Three Bean Cassoulet

• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) stewed tomatoes
• 1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15-1/2 ounces) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) butter beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup finely chopped carrots
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme- I didn't have, so I used oregano
  
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

In an ungreased 3-qt. baking dish (I used a 9x13 pan), combine all ingredients. Cover and bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf.

One more thing...

So I mentioned how I spent this weekend so far sick and writing a memo, but I neglected to mention that I got roped into watching part of a soccer game on TV. As the boy and I were watching, he tried to explain how this one coach starts off very poorly with each team he coaches, but he does get better.

Insert law school commentary that ran through my head in rapid-fire:
-I don't know about in England, but here in the US his request to get a guaranteed multi-year contract, so that he can improve, would have to be signed and in writing or else it would violate the statute of frauds (See e.g. Elizabeth Arden)
- well wait, the restatement and the UCC both require a signed writing for contracts over a year (correct me if I am wrong, I have not reviewed my contracts outline yet), and Dell did not sign the warranty for my lovely yellow laptop. This is probably OK because I bet it is on Dell letterhead which counts as a signature.
-Would my Dell purchase fall under the UCC (products) or common law restatements (if it is a service) (See e.g. Princess Cruises). Do I have a seperate contract for the warranty as from the purchase of the computer, or is it all one?

I told the basic gist of this to the boy. His response "Ya...but the coach isn't in the US."
Sometimes you need a clear, non-law school head to make the connections seem so silly.

This happened to me the other day when riding the metro, but I will save that fun diatribe for another day. Hint: It's a tort theory based on being a common carrier!

M&M Cookies

My weekend thus far has included being sick, writing a memo and being slightly less sick. Oh for it to be winter break. I'm especially looking forward to winter break because 2 days after my last final, my friends are hosting a Christmakkah party! I love the holidays! Good food, fun, and finally spending quality times with friends!

Perhaps I will bring these cookies to the holiday party. Joelen is hosting a cookie swap, and I think these would be perfect. They are M&M cookies from sophistimom. They are so simple and yet good. I made these at the boy's apartment, meaning without the help of an electric mixer of any sort. I put the boy and his friend to work beating the butter and sugar with just a wooden spoon. It took a while, but that is what manual labor is for. The making of the cookies with no kitchen gadgets is really a testimony to their true ease.

M&M Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks room temperature butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
1 regular package (2 ounces or 55g) M&M candies

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. With an electric mixer, cream the butter on high until smooth and light, about 2 minutes. Next add the sugar and continue beating until light in color and fluffy. With the speed on low, add eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Beat until smooth.
4. Turn off the mixer and scrape down sides of bowl. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
6. Scoop out dough by 2 tablespoonfuls and place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Press 5-8 M&M’s on each ball of dough. Flatten each ball of dough slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until barely golden brown on the edges.
7. Remove from oven and let rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

Kind of in a hurry to finish up my torts outline, so this will be quick. I got this recipe from the Tuesdays with Dorie group and it is delicious. Was a huge hit. I describe them as kitchen sink cookies because they are the 3 best cookies mashed together (PB, oatmeal and chocolate chip, yum!). I was even able to freeze these and just bring to room temp or microwave to have a dessert in an instant.

Tips: Don't overcook. About 12 minutes is perfect. I baked them in cold balls without flattening so that they didn't become any thinner then they needed to. Any more and they tended to get hard and too crispy for my tastes. Also, I liked adding a few peanuts to the top to add to the peanut butter look and taste.

3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup peanut butter--I used chunky and would do so in the future as well.
1 cup sugar
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 1/2 cups store-bought chocolate chips or chunks

Whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, spices and salt.

Beat the butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating only until blended. Mix in the chips. If you have the time, cover and chill the dough for about 2 hours or for up to one day.

Preheat oven to 350 and line cookie sheets w/ parchment.

If the dough is not chilled, drop rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the baking sheets. If the dough is chilled, scoop up rounded tablespoons, roll the balls between your palms and place them 2 inches apart on the sheets.

Bake for 11 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 7 minutes. The cookies should be golden and just firm around the edges. Lift the cookies onto cooling racks with a wide metal spatula - they'll firm as they cool.

Easy Banana Roll Ups

Forgive me for my drool. These little wraps may not look all that impressive, but man are they good. They are closely derived from a recipe I learned back in highschool. One of my good friend's dad ran a BBQ biz on the side, and one day he needed some extra help, so my friends and I became day labor. I learned so much that day from how to make rocking, fresh cut french fries, a seafood boil and these lovely wraps. At the BBQ I think we used hershey bars instead of chocolate chips, and we did them on a griddle type surface, but the yumminess from that day stuck with me.

These could NOT be easier. 4 ingredients (3 if you don't count the cooking spray). About 5 minutes of work. Easy Peasy and so great tasting. The Boy loves these, which makes me happy because they are a way to sneak a banana into a less than vitamin filled diet.

Easy Banana Roll Ups
2 servings

1 large banana
2 handfuls chocolate chips
1 large or 2 small flour tortillas
cooking spray

1. Slice bananas on a diagonal. Lay banana slices in an even line about 1/3 of the way into the tortilla (like you would for a burrito or taco). Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Roll like a burrito ( fold in the top and bottom and then roll sideways).
2. Heat a skillet to medium, medium high. Spray with the cooking spray. Add the roll up, seam side down. Cook a minute or 2, until golden brown. Turn and repeat until browned all over and chocolate has melted.

Blueberry Muffins

If you are like some of my dear friends and you don't like the romantic stuff, I suggest just skipping to the bottom for the recipe (it's worth it!). These muffins were a gift. For the boy. For...our four year anniversary...FOUR YEARS. Take that in for a moment. You may be shocked at the dating for four years part, but I think most people are shocked by the fact that my gift to him for the occasion was... a pan of blueberry muffins?

But it was more than blueberry muffins. The weekend before, he had been over at my place, and, as is the norm, Food Network was on in the background. It was some Paula Deen special and she was making blueberry muffins. The boy started drooling and commenting about how he hadn't had blueberry muffins in ages and how he used to love them.

And, while we had agreed not to get each other gifts (paying an obscene amount for school each year takes a toll on your wallet), I could not help but whip up a batch to show him that I cared. Cue the sappy music.

His reaction? He loved them. He devoured them. My reaction? I'll just keep 2 of them for myself, he'll never realize it was a batch of 16 ;)

They really were good. I decided to hold back a handful of the berries when mixing and then top each muffin with a few so that some stayed at the very top to make them pretty. And they were both pretty and delicious.

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans.

2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, yogurt, and milk.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in all but a handful of the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

4. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top. Sprinkle the remaining berries on top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

Apple Dumplings

Ok, so I admit the ingredients in this one sound a little weird. Ok, more than a LITTLE weird. Sprite? Crescent rolls? Oh what did I get my self into? But I first saw a version of this recipe over on Pioneer Woman Cooks, and then Rachaelf Ray mag had another version, so I HAD to try it. Wow...it was actully pretty good. More than pretty good, it was great. Not great for my arteries, but that's what the run the next afternoon is for. So enjoy it, but make it up to your heart later.

Despite the odd list of ingredients, these babies end up sweet and tender, not at all sour like the sprite/mountain dew would suggest. The apples tenderize and are covered in what becomes an almost apple flavored caramel sauce. Definately worth a try!

Apple Dumplings
flour for dusting
1 can (of 8) crescent rolls
1 large apple cut into 8 wedges
1 stick butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon.
3/4 cup Mountain Dew (I used sprite because it was on hand. worked fine)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. On a surface dusted with flour, unfold the rolls. Place an apple wedge on the wide edge of each piece of dough and roll up; place the dumplings in an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter with the sugar and cinnamon over medium heat; stir in the Mountain Dew. Pour the mixture on the dumplings. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes; remove the foil and bake 15 minutes longer.