Bean a la King

When my sister and niece came to visit last May, I got a special introduction to baby likes and dislikes. Isabella could pretty much live without the yogurt melts, but that girl loves her beans. Loves them. And Gilligan really loved eating the beans that made their way to the floor.


Beans are such a cheap and easy way to incorporate protein into a meal, so I decided to re-create one of my all-time favorite recipes: Chicken A La King from the ever-peppy Rachael Ray.

This recipe can be made with or without wine. Depends on what kind of night you're having and what you've got in the pantry. We used this Sauvignon Blanc- it was tasty!

Cast of characters: canned biscuits, vegetable broth, one large white onion, button mushrooms, white kidney beans, frozen peas, nutritional yeast, and unpictured flour, salt, and pepper.


Start by baking your biscuits per the can's directions. Rachael recommends sprinkling them with cayenne or paprika and I agree.

Heat up one tablespoon of olive oil and one tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Dice up the onion and slice the mushrooms. Add to the pan and saute until soft. Don't add any salt just yet.

Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the pan and stir to combine with mushrooms and onions. Cook for 3-4 minutes so that you get rid of the raw flour taste.

Add either 1 cup of vegetable broth + 1/2 cup water OR 1 cup water + 1/2 cup white wine. Scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom and bring to a bubble. Cook 5-7 minutes or until sauce has thickened.


Stir in 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast. I know nutritional yeast looks like fish food, but it really adds a depth of flavor that vegetarian food sometimes lacks. Do not be afraid.

Add two cans of rinsed white kidney beans. Stir into the sauce gently, so you don't break up the beans too much.


Add in 1.5 cups of frozen peas (or more, if you love peas). Stir in and cook another 3-4 minutes or until peas are warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the bean a la king over two split hot biscuits. I added a simple spinach salad on the side.

Frankly, I think this dish is even better than the original and a heck of a lot easier. Long live the king!

Bean a la King

1 can biscuits
cayenne or paprika for sprinkling, if desired
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 pound button mushrooms, sliced
1 small white onion, diced
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup vegetable broth + 1/2 cup water OR 1 cup water + 1/2 cup white wine
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 cans white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 cups frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle the biscuits with cayenne or paprika, if desired. Bake according to package directions.

Heat up olive oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onions and saute until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add two tablespoons of flour to the pan and stir to combine. Cook 3-4 minutes.

Add the vegetable broth + water or water + wine to pan and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom. Bring to a bubble and cook 5-7 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Add the beans and stir gently. Add the nutritional yeast and stir.

Add the frozen peas and cook 3-4 minutes or until peas are warmed through.

Serve over split biscuits and enjoy!

Potato and Mushroom Gratin

Nigella is a domestic goddess.

And you should make this now.

Crispy. Rich. Oozing with self-made gravy. I added some Parmesan cheese on top in the last twenty minutes of baking and drizzled a bit of truffle oil over the finished product.

Divine. Utterly divine.






You can find the recipe here- at the website of one of my favorite food podcasts- The Splendid Table with Lynn Rosetto Kasper. She's also a domestic goddess.

Served this Saturday night, alongside a sampling of Babycakes cupcakes. There aren't any pictures of those- the massacre came too quickly. Mexican hot chocolate, pumpkin spice, Boston creme pie, chocolate caramel, red velvet, and carrot cake.

Did I mention we were only 3 for dinner?

Ah, gluttony.

Trashy fondue

The husband and I were invited to a Canadian Tuxedo party, as I mentioned in a previous entry. The whole idea is to wear denim and eat trashy food. My kind of party.

We were unable to attend due to the husband's germs, which are suspiciously flu-like.

This is unfortunate as I had procured some FUBU overalls for him and a black denim mini-skirt for me from our local Goodwill. Guess I'll be donating those right back.

Rather than miss all the fun, I brought the food party to us.

May I humbly present...Trashy Fondue for Two.

Really this is my mom's queso recipe. I grew up eating it at all our family parties...good times. The recipe came to me in a pdf file- I love technology!

Mom says she got this recipe from her aunt, a Oklahoma native now residing in New Mexico. I'll believe her, even though the recipe is scribbled on Park Cities Baptist Church letterhead- From the Desk of Mrs. Gena Hestand, Minister to Senior Adults. If only Mrs. Gena had known about this queso...she could have had a fiesta for those geriatrics!

Cast of characters: diced tomatoes (Mom would use Ro-Tel), a medium onion, 4 oz. green chile, sour cream (only used light because that's what was in the fridge), and 1 pound Velveeta

Dice up your onion. In a sauce pan over medium-low heat, add a teaspoon of olive oil and saute onions until soft. You don't want to brown them, so keep the heat moderate and stir frequently.

Behold the Velveeta. Sacred foodstuff of the South and all-around nutritional marvel.



Dice up the Velveeta into cubes. This is a picture of my knife STUCK in the Velveeta. Seriously. It was caught in a web of non-cheese particles. Good thing I've been working out- showed that cheez who's boss.



Throw the cheez cubes into the pan with the softened onions.

Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, chile, and sour cream. My mom's original recipe calls for 1 cup sour cream. I only had 1/4 cup. Tasted fine to me with less, but you should probably listen to my mom. She's smart.



While you're waiting for the cheez to fully melt and become one with the other ingredients, you can prepare the dippers for your trashy fondue. I sauteed up some cheese & garlic sausage (please note that it is 35% less fat- I'm all about healthy eating) and roasted some mushrooms & Brussels sprouts in the oven. The veggies took about 20-30 minutes at 450. Cook the sausage til it's done & no longer pink.


Once the queso is ready, it'll look like this. Warm, melty, cheezy goodness. If you were having a party, you could do this in the crockpot and keep on low.


Assemble your fondue platter. I artfully arranged Trader Joe's Salsa Tortilla chips on one side, and layered the sausage chunks- cut on a diagonal to make 'em classy- over the Brussels sprouts & mushrooms.


Queso a'la Mom a'la Aunt Shay

1 medium onion, diced
1 4 oz. can green chile
1 can 14.5 oz. stewed tomatoes
1 lb. Velveeta
1 cup sour cream

As with most of mom's recipes, there are no instructions. So...you can follow my detailed process above OR just dump them all together and heat until cheez melts. Serve with chips or just a spoon. This make about 4-5 cups of queso which is more than anyone should eat alone. Be sure to share.