Baked Beans–vegetarian

These baked beans are a little different from your usual Boston Baked Beans.  Not as sweet and no meat, but really good.  I never realized how LONG they took to cook until I had actually started to cook them.  5 hours!!!  So if you have some spare time on your hands–they are definitely worth it.  I adapted this recipes by taking all the things I liked from several recipes.
INGREDIENTS
about 1 lb of dry navy beans (4 cups of beans after soaking overnight)
1/2 large onion chopped
1/2 cup broccoli slaw or chopped celery
1 — (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
2 tsp dry mustard
2 Tbls. molasses
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cummin
1 clove garlic chopped
1 Tabls brown sugar
salt and pepper

Start by soaking dry beans overnight.  When soaked, remove any debris and skins and rinse well.  Place in pot and cover with water.  Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes.    After cooking transfer beans to casserole dish but keep liquid for later. 
In separate pot, saute onion, broccoli slaw  just until tender in about 1 Tbls. oil.  Add tomatoes, spices, brown sugar and molasses.  Add 1 1/4 cup of reserved liquid to that.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Pour into casserole dish and stir with the beans.  Bake at 300F degrees for 5 hrs.  Check beans after each hour and if necessary add more water to keep moist.  Serve hot!!!
  *Christine*

Penne with Greens and Beans

Penne with Greens and Beans is a healthy, low-fat pasta dish.

Ingredients:
1 box uncooked Penne Rigate
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken broth
1 pound fresh collard, turnip or mustard greens, washed, trimmed and cut into large bite-sized pieces
1 (28 ounces) can diced tomatoes
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans (or any other white beans)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pan.
2. Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes; cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth; bring to boil.
3. Add greens; return to boil. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, uncovered, until greens are just crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Add can of diced tomatoes with juice to the pan; cook for 5 minutes and add beans; stir gently and cook for 1 minute until beans are heated.
4. Add greens and beans mixture to pasta; toss to coat.Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Top with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

This is a wonderful pasta dish that is Low in fat and loaded with fiber. It is a quick and easy dinner meal for my family and the kids love this dish, they always ask for more. I love adding beans to pasta dishes for added protein and I really enjoy the smooth texture of cannellini beans. For those who don’t know what Cannellini beans are; they are a white kidney bean. If you can’t find cannellini beans you could use great northern beans or navy beans. Also, you can use spinach or kale to replace the collard greens; any dark leafy greens would go great in this recipe.

This dish is healthy and delicious and they kids don’t even realize they are eating greens:)

*Camala*