Heirloom Bean and Ham Soup

 

This is Wintertime hearty soup!

It is so easy to mix up a pot of soup these days. No recipe needed…
Just buy a bean mix, add a few spices, herbs, ginger, onions, cubes of ham, broth and as a final touch, pureed fire roasted tomatoes.  I love thickened soups, so I always add a small amount of quinoa. Usually it is just one-fourth cup.

This cooked on high for two hours and low for about 4 hours.  This is an old Crock Pot so it does not heat as hot as the newer fancy slow cookers.

This is after all day simmering

I found this large bag at a warehouse

Picked and rinsed well

I did a pre-boil with ginger to remove some of the toot power and the package also stated the mix would foam a bit. After boiling, drain and add drained beans to Crock Pot with spices and broth. 

Add the quinoa during the last half hour of cooking.

Isn’t it nice you can scan the can and find where the tomatoes were grown?

And of course I also baked some sweet potatoes in the skin

 

Now eating left-overs

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© 2015 http://retiredwithnoregrets.blogspot.com/

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Cake - Gluten Free

We mostly use slow cooker and Crock Pot synonymously…. One is  generic and one is brand.  They come in all sizes and with extras.  I prefer the simple ones… just put the food in and turn it on low or high or keep it warm.

I have bought at least 3 of the larger ones and then donated or given away.  Recently I sold one in a garage sale for $5.  Actually it was marked $10, but one lady switched the price and wanted to argue, so I let her have the crockpot for $5.  Hoping she finds good use of it though..

The actual crock pot that was used today is a few years old and my favorite.

Back to the cake… I saw a crock pot regular cake in my news feed and decided to keep the link.  This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen them, but with this cold weather, I was getting restless and I still have a few boxes of mixes left over from the holidays.

I only had one vanilla cake mix, so decided to use it. Beware all gluten free cake mixes aren’t the same, so some may need less liquid.  Always start with the water after everything else is mixed.

Now on to making the cake..

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I modified the recipe using a gluten free cake mix, plus more spices and less water. I also reduced the topping to reduce the calories to almost 50 percent.  This version is moist and delicious. The original version that I modified Slow Cooker Pumpkin Cake

 

Slow-Cooker Pumpkin Cake - Gluten Free

 

Ingredients

 

Cake

1 box (15 oz.) Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix (used liveGfree)

1 cup canned pumpkin (used Libby’s)

3 tbsp water (reduced the amount of water)

1/3 cup grapeseed oil

4 large eggs (used extra large)

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, plus 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp vanilla powder, 1/2 tsp ginger powder and 1 pinch ground nutmeg

 

Frosting

3 tbsp lemon frosting warmed (used Duncan Hines Creamy Lemon Supreme)

 

Procedure

1. Spray or grease your Crockpot generously

 

2. Beat all of the wet ingredients, except water until fluffy, gradually beat in the combined dry ingredients, until mixed.  Gradually add water by tablespoons until desired consistency is reached.

 

 

3. Pour batter into your Crockpot; replace cover and cook 2 hours or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cover and allow cooling 10 minutes.

 

Use a rubber spatula to loosen the edges and shake it gently to make sure is is loosened.

Turn out onto a serving plate, bottom side down. 

 

 

 When cake has cooled sufficiently drizzle with frosting

 

 

Cut and serve at room temperature.

 

Servings: 16

 

Nutrition (per serving): 179 calories, 6.4g total fat, 1.4g monounsaturated fat, 3.6g polyunsaturated fat, 0g trans fatty acids, 0g trans-monoenoic fatty acids, <1g alpha linolenic acid, <1g saturated fat, 52.9mg cholesterol, 25mg sodium, 28.4mg calcium, 51.8mg potassium, 27.1g carbohydrates, 1.2g fiber, 26g net carbohydrates, 12.9g sugar, 2.4g protein.

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© 2015 http://retiredwithnoregrets.blogspot.com/

Cold Weather equals Brown Beans with Cubed Ham AND Corn Muffins -Gluten-Free Option

As soon as it begins to get cold,  I begin thinking about how long before Spring. Actually December and January tend to be the coldest months.  Or maybe by February, it just doesn’t seem so cold

Remember that song intro “I’m a little bit country…”.  Well, I am cooking Country!


It took me a while to create a really good gluten-free corn muffin.  Now, I modify by what extra ingredients I want to add. This version comes out very light and fluffy, almost like a cake muffin. I posted my first version on Better Recipes: Gluten Free Corn Muffins. I have a holiday themed corn muffin: Holiday Corn Muffins GF and a spicy corn muffin: Spicy Salsa Corn Muffins.  The Spicy corn muffins can use red or green salsa.  I have used Cilantro and regular red in the mild to medium range.

Corn muffins and a pot of brown beans go hand in hand for weekend dinner.  It can be hard for  “empty nesters” to cook a small amount of beans, so most often too much gets cooked. 

Canned beans are great in a pinch, but that pot of real cooked beans has the best taste.  I always cook more than can be eaten in a few meals, so some gets frozen for later.  It is nice to then have a meal simply by either microwaving or heating on low about 30 minutes on the stove top.

Beans  and corn muffins provides a complete protein.

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Gluten-Free Corn Muffins II

Ingredients

1/2 cup stone ground yellow corn meal

1/2 cup fine corn flour (or Maseca)

1/3 cup 0% fat Greek Yogurt (used FAGE)

1/4 cup fine non-fat dry milk

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

2 Tbsp oil

1/3 cup water or more as needed

Procedure

Mix all ingredients thoroughly with a wire whisk or hand mixer.  If batter is too thick, add water 1 tablespoon at a time.  If too loose, add another tablespoon of Maseca.

Spray a 6 cup muffin pan with an oil spray

Divide batter among the 6 cups

Bake at 350 F oven until browned around the edges and top begins to brown (about 30 minutes).

Servings: 6

Yield: Makes 6 full-sized corn muffins

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 148 calories, 6.1g total fat, 3.8g monounsaturated fat, <1g polyunsaturated fat, 1g saturated fat, 36.3mg cholesterol, 18.4g carbohydrates, <1g fiber, 17.7g net carbohydrates, 3.2g sugar, <1g fructose, <1g galactose, <1g glucose, <1g sucrose, <1g maltose, 205.1mg sodium, 158.6mg potassium, 5.7g protein, 138.2mg calcium, 191.6IU vitamin a, <1mg vitamin b6, <1mcg vitamin b12, <1mg vitamin c, 2.9IU vitamin d, <1mg vitamin e, 2.8mcg vitamin k, 1.3mg iron, <1g lysine, 5.6mcg selenium, <1mg thiamin, <1mg zinc.

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a best guestimate recipe  --- a general listing of ingredients

Large Crockpot (slow cooker)

4 cups brown beans washed picked and soaked for 2 hours.

Spices

2 tbsp dehydrated onion

1 tbsp Dehydrated herb & Garlic mix

2 tbsp Turbinado (raw) sugar

1 tbsp ginger - a must for no toot beans

2 tbsp Cajun spice (low-sodium)

1 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp red pepper sauce (used Trappey’s)

2 cups cooked ham, cubed or cut into bite sized pieces

Place beans and spices in the Crockpot, covered with 4 cups hot water.

Cook beans on high for 1 hour, reduce  to low for 1 hour.  Check for seasoning and doneness.  If beans are tender, add 1 cup ketchup and 1 cup hot water, warmed ham cubes and additional seasonings to taste.. Stir to mix all ingredients.

Keep setting on low for another hour or additional time before ready to eat.

Serve up in bowls with corn muffins.  Serve corn muffin on side or on top of beans

This makes  8 to 10 large servings