"Refried" Beans
2 cups dried beans, pinto or red
4 large onions
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
2 teaspoons salt
Inspect beans and discard those that are broken or discolored. Be careful to remove all stones. Wash thoroughly under running water. Put in a four quart pressure cooker or a heavy pan with lid. Cover with plenty of water. Bring to a boil and turn off heat. Let sit, covered, for one hour. If pressurizing, leave just enough water to cover the beans. Peel and coarsely cut onions and add to beans. Bring up to full pressure, turn down to maintain pressure and cook for 20 minutes. Let pressure fall naturally. If you prefer not to pressurize, cook covered until tender, which usually takes two or more hours. You will want very tender beans, so don't undercook. Transfer cooked beans to a mixer bowl and mix with the electric mixer until fairly smooth. Add cream cheese and salt. Serve with tortilla chips as a dip or use as a filling for burritos. Delicious with Whole Wheat Tortillas (recipe is on the vegan page). Note: There is very good vegan "cream cheese" on the market that could be substituted for the dairy variety.
Tommie Sue Burchard |
Cottage Cheese Loaf
2 large cartons cottage cheese
3 eggs
1 1/2 envelopes onion soup mix
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
4 cups cubed seven grain bread (fresh)
2 tablespoons corn oil
Mix all ingredients together. Bake in a 9x13 inch pan for one hour at 350 degrees F. Cut in squares to serve.
Tommie Sue Burchard |
| Polenta, Puente-style
Polenta (Cornmeal Mush)
2 cups yellow cornmeal
2 quarts water
2 teaspoons salt
There are three different ways to cook polenta, or cornmeal mush. First, you can add the cornmeal to boiling water very slowly and stir it constantly until it thickens or you can mix the cornmeal with a small amount of the water, heat the remaining water, and pour the cornmeal/water mixture into the boiling water, stirring constantly until it thickens. Third, you can put the cornmeal in cold water, bring it to a boil while stirring constantly and keep stirring until it thickens. The trick is to keep stirring since it will lump in a heartbeat. Once it has thickened, turn the heat very low, cover, and let it cook for 20 minutes. During that time, prepare:
Sauce
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 quart tomatoes
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons potato starch
Small amount of water
"Saute" the onion and garlic in the water until soft. Add all ingredients except the potato starch and simmer for 15 minutes. Mix the potato starch with water and stir into the sauce. Allow to cook until the other ingredients are ready.
Yummy Layer (guard this from snitchers)
1 can pitted ripe olives, sliced
2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, sliced
Put 1/2 the polenta (cornmeal mush) in a 9x13 inch pan. Cover with half the sauce. Put the sliced cream cheese on top of the sauce and cover with the sliced ripe olives. Top with the rest of the polenta and finish it off with the rest of the sauce. At this point, either allow it to cool, cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or heat until bubbly in a 350 degree F oven. If refrigerating, allow it to come to room temperature before heating.
Tommie Sue Burchard |
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