I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

vegetables

Perfect No-Soak Instant Pot Black Beans

These Perfect No-Soak Instant Pot Black Beans are a must make because they are so easy and they come out so tender. You’ll love that you don’t have to soak them. Perfect for Taco Tuesday or Cinco de Mayo parties!

Post Contains Affiliate Links. Read my full disclosure HERE

These No-Soak Instant Pot Black Beans are made every week in my house. My whole family loves them because the beans are so incredibly tender. And, you’ll love that you don’t have to soak them over night. Just pour dried beans into the pot and in about an hour and a half, you’ll have the most incredible black beans. 

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Healthy & Hearty Mushroom Stew

Mushroom Stew

Bring on 2015 and a fresh start!

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I love the new year. It’s a chance to start over. To resolve to better yourself. And if you don’t like to make resolutions then just enjoy that you are just getting closer and closer to warmer weather, which is what I live for.

This year I’ve resolved to eat ‘smarter’. I am on a mission to be more conscious about what I eat and how much. I’ve lost a lot of weight over the last year and I would like to loose another 15 or pounds before our wedding in June. But even aside from that I want to be more careful about what I put into my body and be more considerate regarding how it could potentially negatively effect how my body feels.

We’re about 2 weeks into the new year and so far so good. I have my moments when I eat a cookie but then I try to balance the sweet out with more paleo meals or salads. I’m just hoping to keep this up and settle in on something that feels good and is good for me.

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Lately, I’ve noticed that I keep seeing an old New York Times article getting shared and shared over and over again on Facebook. I think it has to do with the New Year as people are looking for some insight to a better life in the new year.

The article talks of how the people on these Greek island live significantly longer than most people, it’s known as “The Island Where People Forget to Die”. People are reaching their 80’s, 90’s and even to 100 at a greater rate than the rest of the world. They are not immune to cancer and other illnesses exactly, but if the are living longer than other cultures before getting ill.

They live their lives at a different pace than the rest of the world. They enjoy slower days that are filled with friends and families while they tend to their gardens and livestock. The food that they harvest is the focal point of the meals. Fruits, vegetables, and beans are diet staples, as well as goat and fish. Rich olive oils and red wine are, of course, enjoyed as well.

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But if you don’t live on Ikaria and want you experience some of their cooking yourself then get the Ikaria: Lessons on Food, Life, and Longevity from the Greek Island Where People Forget to Die cookbook by Diane Kochilas. Kochila divides her time between New York and Irakia, her family’s ancestral island. She has first hand experience cooking the foods native to the famous Greek island. She has foraged for mushrooms, dried vegetables, and made cheese, which she has made into incredible meals.

This cookbook shares the foods of the people living on Ikaria in a creative way by mixing in story telling with the recipes. And photos too!! The recipes are focused on Mezedes, which are small plates that are perfect for snacking while catching up with a friend, salads, soups, beans and legumes, meats, and fish. There are some sweet treats in there too. (I swear that one day I’ll make Loukoumades!)

There were so many recipes that I tagged to make but the one that first jumped out to me was the Mushroom Stew as I wanted something comforting for the cold weather. It was a perfect pick!

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The stew is easy to prep, I think it took me just a few minutes to cut up the onions and while they were cooking I sliced kale into very thin ribbons. And as that was cooking I sliced the mushrooms. Super simple.

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The recipe calls for red wine but if you don’t want to use it or have it on hand then feel free to substitute in beef broth. Skip the wine and it will be a great Whole 30 meal. Yum!

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The Mushroom Stew is healthy and hearty. It’s rich tasting but not rich for you. The flavors are earthy and it has great texture. It’s great served with mashed potatoes, rice, freekeh, or crusty bread. Just be sure to have something to absorb the flavorful broth.

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Embrace the ingredients, recipes, and lifestyle of the people Ikaria and you’ll live a long and happy life. Oh, so you can’t take midday naps? Well, at least make this amazing Mushroom Stew! Enjoy!

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Healthy & Hearty Mushroom Stew

Makes 4 generous servings

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds (750 grams) mixed mushrooms, such as white button, oyster, boletus, porcini, chanterelles, portobellos,
  • 1/4 Cup Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 large red onions, coarsely shopped (yields approximately 2 Cups)
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1-2 pounds sweet greens, such as chard, spinach sweet dandelions, sweet sorrel, kale, and/or wile fennel  (optional)
  • 1/2 Cup dry red wine, or beef broth
  • 1 Cup chopped canned tomatoes
  • 3  Tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • pinch of ground allspice
  • 3 or 4 sprigs fresh or dried oregano
  • 3 sprigs fresh or dried thyme
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Process

  1. Slice the mushrooms, into 1/4″ thick slices, as needed, depending on the size of the mushroom.
  2. In a very large, wide pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
  3. Add the onion once the oil is shimmery. Cook until translucent and soft, about 6 minutes. Stir a bit so they don’t brown.
  4. Add the greens, and cook for about 8-10 minutes until they are wilted.
  5. Add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes to soften. Add the red wine and bring to a boil.
  6. Add the canned tomatoes, red wine vinegar, bay leaves, all spice, oregano, and the salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, until everything is tender.
  8. Enjoy with rice, mashed potatoes, freekeh, quinoa, or slices of toasted bread that has been drizzled with olive oil. A glass of red wine doesn’t hurt either!

Sourced from Ikaria: Lessons on Food, Life, and Longevity from the Greek Island Where People Forget to Die

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While I received this complimentary cookbook for review, all opinions are my own.

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Dinner in 20: Pasta with Veggies and Cream Sauce

I have not been the mood to do anything lately. Well, that is not true. I want to scrapbook all day, every day. I just don’t feel right not being able to be creative. Thinking about how far behind I am working on Project Life makes me want to break out in hives. I left off at week 12… it is now week 26. kill me. And no, I don’t have to continue, but I want to. When I work at it I feel good, I really enjoy it. So I just need to get set up for it, and find some time, and I’ll feel like myself again.

 

 

Being so disinterested in cooking I have been gravitating towards quick fix dinners. Salads have been gracing our table a lot lately but this Pasta with Veggies and Cream Sauce dish was a big winner. I had just restocked the fridge and pantry from moving so I didn’t have to run out last minute to grab something. I love when that happens. I also love Philadelphia Cooking Cream. We use a lot of this to add to pasta dishes, casseroles, or on eggs. It adds a lot of flavor to dishes easily. I’m not singing their praises because they are sponsoring me, I just really like the cooking creams. Man I would love to be sponsored by them, that would be so cool since we go through so much of this stuff. Ha!

Pasta with Veggies and Cream Sauce

Serves 6

Ingredients

Process

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to directions for al dente pasta.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, saute the red pepper and mushrooms together in the olive oil. Cook until the vegetables are tender.
  3. Add the cooking cream to the vegetables and mix together until fully incorporated.
  4. Add the cooking cream onto the pasta when you serve it.

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive. 

Roasted Broccoli- The perfect side

The thing I miss most about our old apartment is our little yard with grill. We had to ditch all the behind for this new place but the one thing we would not give up was grilled broccoli. Since we no longer have a grill we have been roasting it. Sometimes you just need to improvise and change things up to make one of your favorite foods stay with you.  And since we had a gas grill (don’t judge, I have no patience to heat coal up on a nightly basis) I can’t tell the difference. Bliss.

 

I swear that grilled/roasted broccoli is life changing. I had it at a BBQ for the first time and I swear the world stopped for a moment and everything went into slow-mo around me as I inhaled a plate of it. Screw the steak, give me grilled broccoli. Roasting it produces the same crunchy bits on the floral part of the broccoli. The stalk still has some bite to it as well that makes you shudder at the thought of steaming broccoli ever again (unless you downed it in cheese). I’ve had it with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled over it once I’ve taken it out of the oven but swear the best way is just to have it with some lemon juice on it. I love lemon juice on it so I use 1/2 a lemon but you can adjust to your own taste, as well as the amount of juice that comes out of the lemon.

 

Roasted Broccoli

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

  • 2 large crowns of broccoli
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional
  • 1 lemon

Process

  1. Preheat the oven to 375. Place a rack just above the center of the oven.
  2. Trim 1/4″ off the bottom stalk of the broccoli. Cut the broccoli into tree like segments.
  3. Add the broccoli to a large bowl. Drizzle the olive oil over the broccoli pieces, mix to coat. Evenly sprinkle the salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper evenly over the broccoli, mix to coat.
  4. Evenly spread the broccoli on a baking sheet.
  5. Roast for 20 minutes, mixing at least once at the half way point.
  6. When you remove the broccoli from the oven, squeeze 1/4-1/2 the lemon over the broccoli immediately.

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive. 

Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry

This month has just flown by! I can’t believe it is already the end of December, and reveal day for Secret Recipe Club!!! For this month I was given Sarah’s blog, A Taste of Home Cooking. Price is always active in enjoying what I make but more often than not I just cook and he goes with the flow. This time, I decided that he should be able to pick the recipe off of Sarah’s blog. So he scrolled through the several years of posting to find something that we could make together. In the end the Chicken Sriracha Stir Fry recipe won out.

 

 

We are both big fans of stir fry’s so this was a great pick for us from Sarah’s blog. Plus it’s very affordable since the majority of the recipe is vegetables. We could have gone with chicken or even tofu, which is so super inexpensive, but we treated ourselves with the shrimp since it was on sale. The marinade and sauce were so flavorful from the Sriracha. I love the spice it provides to a dish, so it being used heavily in this recipe was great for me. In fact, I increased the original amount used since we like it so much, but you can scale it back for what ever you prefer. Just like the fact that I love fish sauce so I used that instead of the oyster sauce in the original recipe- just use what is prefect for you and make this your special stir fry.

 

 

The key with any cooking endeavor is to be prepared, but it’s so much more important with something like a stir fry. The longest part of any stir fry meal is the prep. The cooking time is so fast that you can’t try to juggle cutting things as you go. Take your time in the beginning and set up you mise en place for a successful, and fun, cooking experience.

 

Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry

*Serves 4-6*

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound of raw, peeled, deveined shrimp 31-35
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 green pepper, cut into thin strips
  • 10 oz of sliced mushrooms
  • 1/2 pound of  green beans, trim ends off
  • 4 tablespoons cooking oil, I prefer House of Tsang’s Wok Oil
  • 2 tablespoons ginger, grated
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • rice or noodles, angel hair pasta works just fine

Marinade for shrimp:

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon dry sherry
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 teaspoons Sriracha

Sauce for Stir Fry

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup fish sauce

Process

  1. Prepare the marinade for the shrimp in a medium sized bowl.  Coat the shrimp for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.
  2. In a separate bowl, prepare the sauce for the stir fry by mixing together the cornstarch, water, Sriracha, soy sauce, fish sauce, and ginger.
  3. In a large wok heat 1 tablespoon of wok oil over high heat, add the onions and green pepper strips. Stir-fry for 5 minutes or until the onuions are translucent and the pepper is tender. Remove to a large bowl.
  4. Let the wok get back up to temperature, then add another 1 tablespoon of wok oil. Add the green beans. After 3 minutes, add 1/4 cup of water and cover for another 3-5 minutes. Once the green beans are tender add them to the bowl of vegetables.
  5. Again, heat the wok back up and add 1 tablespoon of wok oil, then add the mushrooms. Stir fry until they are cooked and soft.
  6. Wipe wok out with wet paper towels. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon wok oil over high heat. Once hot, add the ginger and garlic; after a few seconds, add marinated shrimp. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until shrimp is fully cooked.
  7. Add the rice or noodles to the wok and then pour the sauce in. Mix to prevent sticking and to fully incorporate the sauce into the rice or noodles. Add the vegetables back to the wok just to mix together.

Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry PDF

Secret Recipe Club

Check out my previous Secret Recipe Club Posts:

November: Vegetable Enchiladas

October: Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Check out the rest of the reveal day posts!

Vegetable Enchiladas with Easy Homemade Sauce

These Vegetable Enchiladas are packed of flavor from the colorful vegetable filling and an easy homemade enchilada sauce that will knock your socks off!

Original post from 11/28/11, pictures updated 1/16/19

Post Contains Affiliate Links. Read my full disclosure HERE 

I love making healthy comfort food. It makes enjoying a big filling meal, less guilt inducing. Cozy without the conflict, which is perfect for me.

Really, who doesn’t love hearty meals!?!? I want to enjoy them, but I don’t want it to impact my waist line. Sure, salads are crave-able, but really, let’s focus on what we really want: some yummy enchiladas! 

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