Archives for December 2010

Don’t the best recipes have stories?  Today’s offering was given to me by my dear friend Carolyn.  I met Carolyn during the summer of 1985.  She was a Seafarer Sailing Stud who took me under her wing.  I was a Seafarer Neophyte who jumped ship, or should I say jumped Scott, and came back to Seafarer as an Assistant Head Counselor in 1987 with Carolyn as Head Counselor of the Camp IV Gophers.  In 1989, Carolyn, Ann (who is now my sis-in-law), sweet Harriet, and I were Head Counselors together in 1989.  Before we began our stint as the best HC’s ever, Carolyn, Ann, and I (Harriet was not involved in our poor judgment) were rightly chastised by Captain Judy.

Carolyn also introduced me to Macon and her Fudge Pie.  I lived in Macon and Paul’s guest apartment for three weeks before returning to Seafarer as a Head Counselor one last time in the summer of 1991 along with my Cute Motorboating Guy who I married at the end of that summer.  But, I digress.  During these three weeks, I watched Macon mother her boys, love her husband, and was rightly chastised by Macon and her husband for a bit too much PDA on the back porch one night when CMG dropped me off.

But this recipe goes back even further.  It reminds me of my Grandmother.  Elma Stevens was only 4’11” before osteoporosis compressed her vertebra, decreased her height, and gave her that characteristic hump.  Though small in stature, she was a powerhouse of a woman.  With a master’s degree, she faithfully served alongside her husband in church after church.  I’m sure I was rightly chastised by my Grandmother, although the memory escapes me at the moment.

Rather, what I remember is pot roast, shortbread,  biscuits, and a Fudge Pie that was so rich, I could barely eat more than a couple of bites.  When I tasted Macon’s Fudge Pie, it took me back.

Macon’s Fudge Pie

1 refrigerated

1 stick melted butter

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

3 T. cocoa

1 t. vanilla

1/4-1/3 cup flour

Mix butter and all other ingredients together.  Dump in pie crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for ~ 25 minutes, but it may take longer.  Watch the crust and bake it until the middle doesn’t jiggle.

So, thanks Carolyn!  And, if you, or any of your  girlfriends, are battling breast cancer right now, you’ll be sure and want to head over to Carolyn’s blog.  She’s sharing her journey with beauty and authenticity.

Also, any recipes with a story, not necessarily involving chastisement, around your household? I’d love to hear them!

If you give a gal some Black Bean Soup, she’s gonna want some cornbread to go with it.

This recipe comes by way of Martha, one of my very first friends in C-ville.  She was a direct answer to prayer nearly 14 years ago.  Together we’ve walked, run, eaten nothing but protein, eaten everything but protein, homeschooled, scrapbooked, Mary Kayed, shared recipes, shared hairstyles, and always shared hearts.  This is the gal who told me I might have issues when I agreed to host a slew of pastors, wives, and children at my home only days after giving birth to #5, but rather than leave me stranded with my issues, she fixed the biggest batch of pasta and delivered it to my doorstep so that all I had to do was toss some chicken on the grill and call it a meal.

During another season of life, Martha and another dear friend, Susan, shared the cooking. Each week we would make a big batch of something and then divvy it out between our three families.  Out of that season, I’ve gotten such recipes as Prairie Corn Chowder and Chicken Pot Pie, which I will also share.  But, tonight is about CORNBREAD.

This cornbread is SO easy.  It’s not made of sprouted wheat or ground wheat, or ground corn.  So, my green-smoothie-girl friends, you’re gonna want to pass this one by.  It’s simple comfort food and goes great with Black Bean Soup.

Comfort Cornbread

2 cups Bisquick

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup sugar (Martha’s recipe called for 3/4 cup of sugar, but I prefer it a little less sweet.)

1 cup melted butter

1 cup buttermilk  (If you don’t have buttermilk, just measure out  cup of milk and add a little bit of lemon juice or vinegar.  Let it sit for a couple of minutes, and you have buttermilk.)

8 oz. creamed corn

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Mix it all together.  Bake in a 9 X 13 pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Can’t get easier than that!  So now, when you give a gal some Black Bean Soup, you’ll have some CORNBREAD to go with it!

The first time I made this sensational soup, college girls from our church came over for a Christmas Exam Break. We always wanted our home to be a “home away from home” for students, singles, and young-marrieds who needed a bit of family.  So, with exams looming, we gave these girlies a Finley Family Fun Night complete with sugar-cookie decorating and the Grinch.

Tomorrow we’re home-churching with some dear families, several who kept the “six” when we went after the “one” last October/November.  I’m making this soup to add to the bounty for an afternoon meal.  As one of the kids said, “With bacon and black beans, Mr. Williamson will love it.”

So, whether you have hungry college students coming over or Mr. Williamson to feed, pull out a smaller vat than you needed for Sam’s Vegetable Soup, and make a batch of the BEST Black Bean Soup.

10 slices of bacon, finely chopped (You can use turkey bacon, free-range bacon, whatever kind of bacon you like EXCEPT pre-cooked bacon)

2 medium onions, finely chopped

6 garlic cloves (To keep it simple, I use Spice World’s Minced Chopped Garlic with 1 t. = 1 garlic clove)

1 (14 1/2 oz.) can chicken broth, or your equivalent of homemade chicken broth or chicken broth from a cube

2 (14 1/2 0z) cups petit diced chopped tomatoes.  You can chop your own tomatoes, if you like

2 T. ketchup

2 t. Worcestershire Sauce

1 T. chili powder

4 (15 1/2 oz) cans of black beans, drained but not rinsed.  OR, if your clan is not thrilled with black beans, make it a combo of black beans and corn

Salt and Pepper

1 bunch of fresh cilantro

1/2 lime

Garnish – scallions, sour cream, sharp cheddar

• Chop and cook the bacon.  While the bacon is cooking, chop your onions and add them to the pot.  Once the onions are translucent, add the garlic and cook for one minute.  You don’t want to overcook your garlic.
• You can choose to drain the onion/bacon mixture, or if you’re not so inclined, just add in your chicken broth followed by tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire, and chili powder.
• Gently stir in the black beans or combination of black beans and corn
• Bring to a boil and the lower heat to a simmer for ten minutes.
• During this ten minutes, chop the cilantro and squeeze 1/2 of the lime
• After ten minutes, season the soup with salt and pepper, stir the cilantro into the soup and cook for ~ five minutes or until thickened.
• Stir in the lime juice.
• By this time college students and neighborhood children have gathered on your doorstep.  Let them into your house and get them busy grating cheese, chopping scallions, and putting sour cream in a serving bowl since you do not want to serve sour cream out of the container.
• Serve it up,  letting each one garnish to his or her heart’s content!

Now, I will tell you, the BEST Black Bean Soup is fabulous with cornbread.  Tomorrow I’ll give you my favorite EASY cornbread recipe that came from one of my very first C-ville friends.

For the next week, or so, check in daily for Finley Family Recipes, favorites that show up on our menu year after year and are in large enough increments to feed our family.  For the first installment, I present Sam’s Vegetable Soup.  No, it’s not named after anyone named Sam, unless Sam Walton counts.  Rather, it’s a recipe that results in a huge vat of soup made from ingredients purchased at Sam’s Club.  This one makes so much, that even our family has plenty left over to freeze.  Be sure you have a huge vat before you get started. Here ya go!

Sam’s Vegetable Soup

1 package of stew beef (about 3 pounds)

1 T. olive oil

8 bay leaves

4 T. salt

4 t. oregano

2 t. marjoram

1 t. pepper

1 large package of mixed frozen vegetables (5 lb.)

1 6 lb. 6 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

6 cups of peeled cubed potatoes

4 cups of sliced celery

2 cups of chopped onion

2 1/2 cans (from crushed tomatoes) of water

• Cut stew beef into bite-sized pieces and brown in olive oil while chopping vegetables
• Add remaining ingredients.
• Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 30 minutes or much, much longer.

Serve with crusty bread and you are set to go!