Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Bacon

Thinking this would be a nice side for my continuous "thanksgiving", I bought the goods. And while I didn't intend to deviate from the original recipe, I did. There was supposed to be a cider vinegar addition at the end but I got discombobulated after adding the bacon too early.

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Bacon
from Cooking Club, Oct/Nov 2010
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8 bacon slices (8 oz.), chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
4 c sliced onions (2-3 large)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 lb fresh green beans

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until crisp, stirring frequently. Drain on paper towels.


Discard drippings from skillet; wipe clean with paper towels.

Heat oil in same skillet over medium heat until hot.


Cook onions, salt and pepper, covered 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat as necessary. Uncover, cook 5 minutes or until light golden brown and very tender, stirring frequently.

I started the onions and cooked them covered for 10 minutes, then added the salt and pepper before cooking continued another 5 minutes.

Cook beans in large pot of lightly salted water 6-8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain well.

My beans were cooked in a 4.5-quart saucepan.

Just before serving, heat onions, and beans in large skillet over medium-high heat until heated through, stirring frequently.


Transfer to a platter and serve.



This was good even though I didn't do the recipe exactly as written. But if you think about it, onions and bacon with crisp-tender green beans? How could that be bad? It wasn't bad, but it still wasn't as good as the Green Beans with Shallots and Walnut Oil. I couldn't help make the comparison. Maybe if I'd used the cider vinegar it would've been as good? Maybe one day we'll find out.

Cost:

• bacon: $1.42
• olive oil: $0.44
• onions: $0.93
• fresh green beans: $3.06

Total: $5.85 or about $0.73 for each of 8 servings.

Safeway Corn Bread

Safeway Corn Bread
adapted from the package
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1 c corn meal
1 c flour
4 tbsp baking powder
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c milk
1/4 melted butter

Sift flour with sugar, baking powder and salt.

I opted to just stir it all together with a fork.

Stir in corn meal.


Oh man, I forgot the sugar in the earlier step. I'll get that in now.


Beat eggs slightly, add milk and melted butter.

To minimize the number of bowls I'd have to wash, I melted the butter in a bowl, then stirred in milk, and then added to eggs before beating them into the milky butter.

Combine with dry ingredients, stirring only until moist.


Pour into buttered 9x9x2-inch pan.

The directions didn't say to spread the batter out but I did anyway.

Bake at 425°F for 20-25 minutes.



That seemed like a LOT of baking powder but for whatever reason it didn't become more cakey than I remember the Albers recipe being. Is that because of the additional egg? Does a single egg counter the effect of so much more baking powder? It must!

No matter the science behind what and how this shit happens, this recipe is a good one. The bread is slightly cakey, not excessively crumbly or sweet. I like this one. And I found it on the back of a bag. Is it perfect? It does use butter instead of oil, but you tell me.

Cost:

• corn meal: $0.26
• flour: $0.08
• sugar: $0.24
• eggs: $0.33
• milk: $0.49
• butter: $0.20

Total: $1.60 or about $0.13 for each of twelve little servings.

Spiced Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

Because the pork tenderloins I bought at Costco come in packs of two, I needed another tenderloin recipe pretty quick after making the first one. This one calls for things I generally have on-hand anyway so there was no special purchases at the store; that's a win for me especially if it turns out to be tasty.

Spiced Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
from Cooking Club, Fall 2012
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2 tsp packed light brown sugar
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 1-lb pork tenderloin
2 tsp canola oil
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c water
1 1/2 tsp hot sauce, such as Frank's

Heat oven to 350°F.

Combine brown sugar, sage, thyme, pepper and salt in a small bowl.


Rub over pork, pressing to adhere.


Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot.


Cook pork 4 minutes or until browned on all sides; place on foil-lined small rimmed baking sheet. Reserve skillet with drippings.


Bake 15-20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145-150°F. Cover loosely with foil.

My tenderloin went from 66.2°F to 146.1°F in 18 minutes.

Let stand 10 minutes; thinly slice.


Meanwhile, heat reserved skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add vinegar, water and hot sauce; bring to a boil.


Boil 3 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of skillet. Serve over pork.


Well, well! This tenderloin turned out marvelously! But with a simple dry rub and balsamic vinegar, that isn't really all that surprising, is it? Plus it reminds me of this tenderloin, but with a little more pizzazz and a little less velvet. Done in just about 45 minutes, I'll be sure to keep this one in mind the next time I'm in a tenderloin mood. And I bet it's fairly inexpensive. Let's see.

Cost:

• light brown sugar: $0.01
• pork tenderloin: $3.96
• canola oil: $0.19
• balsamic vinegar: $0.67

Total: $4.83 and rounding up to $5 to consider dry spices, that makes each of three servings about $1.67.

Pasta with Smoky Angry Tomato Sauce

Smoky angry tomato sauce? Hell yeah, bring it! I plowed ahead with the original specified quantity of eight ounces of rigatoni and substituted two 14-oz cans of diced tomatoes for the 28-oz can of whole tomatoes. Maybe I still have more to learn, but the idea of crushing whole tomatoes with the back of a spoon as the sauce cooks was not a dream of mine.

Pasta with Smoky Angry Tomato Sauce
adapted from Cooking Club
click to print

12 oz. rigatoni or penne (tube-shaped pasta)
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4-1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta; drain.

Get the salted water to a raging boil; add rigatoni and start checking it for doneness after 6 minutes. The package said to cook 14 to 16 minutes; mine was ready after 7 minutes and 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently.


Add onion; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until beginning to soften, stirring occasionally.


Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook and stir 30 seconds or until fragrant.


Stir in tomatoes, salt and pepper; cook 10 to 12 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.


Stir in pasta. Serve sprinkled with cheese.



And then because it was saucier than I prefer, I cooked the remaining 4 ounces of rigatoni and stirred that into what was left in the skillet. The pasta:sauce ratio was much more my speed.


With an increase in pasta, the sauce didn't turn out very angry. Consider upping the pepper even if using only eight ounces of rigatoni. Very clean tasting, which I think reflects nicely how simple food with only a handful of ingredients can be so good. The dish is subtly smoky from the bacon and I think next time I'll crank it up a notch by using fire-roasted tomatoes.

If you don't cook pasta twice, this is easily done in 30 minutes.

Cost:

• rigatoni: $0.99
• bacon: $1.13
• onion: $0.31
• garlic: $0.20
• diced tomatoes: $0.96
• Parmesan cheese: $1.08

Total: $4.67 or about $1.17 for each of four servings.