Homemade Cowboy Casserole

 

You make these beans once, and that regular canned stuff won't ever do again. This dish is hearty, sticks to your ribs, warms you up good, and fills a cowboy's energy back up after a long day on the prairie.

Now technically, this recipe not only makes this delicious stew, but its base is essentially homemade baked beans. That's why I said above that if you try this, you won't go back to the cans.

INGREDIENTS

1 - 16 Ounce Bag of Great Northern Beans
1 Pound Ground Burger (the leaner the better)
1 Pound Pork
1 Package (2.5 Ounces) Pre-Cooked Bacon (or ten strip raw bacon)
1 Medium Size Yellow Onion - Diced
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic (or 1/2 Teaspoon if omitting the meat)
1 Cup Tomato Sauce (or 1/2 Cup if omitting the meat)
1/2 Cup Molasses (or 1/4 Cup if omitting the meat)
1 Cup Brown Sugar - Packed (or 1/2 Cup if omitting the meat)
4 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar (or 2 Tablespoons if omitting the meat)
2 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard (or 1 Tablespoon if omitting the meat)
4 Teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce (or 2 Teaspoons if omitting the meat)
2 Teaspoons Paprika (or 1 Teaspoon if omitting the meat)
4 Teaspoons Salt (or 2 Teaspoons if omitting the meat)
1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper (or 1/2 Teaspoon if omitting the meat)
2 Bay Leaves (or 1 leaf if omitting the meat)
1 1/2 Cups Cooked Bean Water - You may need more (See Below)

First and foremost, you cannot throw this recipe together at the last minute. You must plan ahead to soak your beans overnight (8 hours minimum, but up to 24 hours). Do so by emptying the bag into a large bowl or the pot you plan on cooking in (which must be oven safe).

Fill the bowl to the top with water. There's no such thing as too much...unless of course it overflows and spills. Common sense is a must in that regard.

Much like dough, your beans should double in size when they're ready to be cooked. I started soaking these at 1:00 PM on a Sunday, and began cooking at 6:00 AM on the following Monday (it was a holiday, yeah!)

Drain your beans, and pour them into a pot. You want to then fill the pot as much as possible with water, but no less than two inches above the beans.

Bring the pot to a boil, and reduce the heat just enough to keep a simmer going. Then cover the pot, and let this cook for one hour, stirring every ten to fifteen minutes to ensure the beans don't stick to the bottom.

In the last fifteen minutes of this first cooking, turn your oven on to 325 degrees, and dice your onion and bacon. Let's pause here a moment. I'm using precooked bacon, and there's a reason for that. It's the same reason I am going to use the lowest fat content of ground beef I can find. I don't want all that grease in my beans. Sure, it will add flavor, and some people prefer it, so if that is your preference, still follow this step, and dice up your bacon (raw). Or omit the meat if going full vegetarian.

Next up, we'll prepare the sauce.

Combine the Tomato Sauce, Mustard, Worcestershire Sauce, Molasses, Brown Sugar, Apple Cider Vinegar, Paprika, Salt and Pepper, and stir it up good to combine it.

When your hour of cooking is done, carefully remove it from the heat, and drain the beans through a colander into something large enough to catch all the bean water. You want to keep this. DON'T THROW IT OUT!

Measure off 1 1/2 Cups bean water, but again, do not throw out the rest. You may need more. Add your Bay Leaves (leaf) to this, and let them (it) sit in the hot liquid.

In your same pot / pan you initially cooked your beans in, add your bacon. If raw, this fat will also be used to render your onions. First, you'll need to cook your bacon to your desired temperature. If using precooked bacon, and wanting to keep it less greasy, add the bacon, and onion together.

Let this heat up for a bit (or cook it through if using raw bacon), and then add your garlic, and stir.

Next add your meat, and let it cook until brown. While it's cooking, add your measured out bean water with Bay Leaves to your sauce mixture, and gently stir it to combine, avoiding breaking your Leaves.

When your meat is browned, if you desire, carefully drain it to remove excess grease and / or fat. I highly recommend this step, regardless of whether or not you used raw bacon.

Now add your beans, and gently toss to incorporated, being careful to not mash the beans in the process.

Add your sauce to the mixture, and again gently fold it together to avoid mashing the beans and / or breaking the Bay Leaves. Now you have to make a decision. If you like sticky beans with minimal juice, simple put a lid over this, and pop it in the oven. If you like a little juice in your beans, add another 1/2 Cup of your reserved bean water.

Regardless of whether or not you add the extra bean water or not, your next step is to cover it, and put it in the oven. Say goodbye to them for the next two and a half hours.

After the two and a half hours cook time (you're up to three and a half for those of you keeping track), carefully take the hot lid off, and let the beans cook an additional thirty minutes uncovered.

Before you do, this is your last opportunity to add more bean juice if you find them to be too sticky for your liking. Simply give the pan a gentle shake to see how much liquid is below the beans. Don't let the sticky layer, such as that above, fool you. There could be a lot more liquid below that you don't see. So, don't just add the liquid based on the top of the pan. Let it jiggle, as they say, to see what is underneath.

Once it's done cooking the final thirty minutes, carefully remove it from the oven, and give it a stir.

This is the consistency I like. Not too sticky, but not too runny.

Now, sure, you could decide you hate yourself, and immediately shovel that pile of hot lava into your mouth, or you could let it cool uncovered, and set a bit more, for the next thirty minutes. I highly recommend this. Not only will this dissipate more of the liquid while it sits, but also give you time to prep anything you plan on having on the side with it. A nice wedge of bread, for example. Or, as I like to do it, scooped over a nice bowl full of tater tots (or mashed potatoes).

Now that's a cowboy casserole! Regardless of how you do it, you know what's up. Get you a spoon (or fork), and get you some!

No, it's not as quick as popping the top off of a can, nor is it as convenient. But, I guarantee you, it's a thousand times better. You won't go back to the can once you try this. This is what baked beans are supposed to taste like. Not that processed gunk.

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Homemade Meatballs For Spaghetti And Meatballs Or Meatball Subs (With Optional Meat Sauce)

 

While traditionally, we would have cooked a rib roast for Christmas dinner, my girl developed an aversion to beef, which would make her physically ill if eaten. As we thought about it, we decided we really wanted to keep things simple. As such, we opted for spaghetti and meatballs.

Now I admit, I'm not the kind of guy that makes his own spaghetti sauce or noodles, though I certainly would like to. However, what I do take the time to do is make my own meatballs. This recipe I concocted originally started out with beef, veal, and pork, but had to be tweaked as the above noted issues with beef were discovered. As such, there are two options here for those of you who may want to attempt this.

INGREDIENTS (MEATS)

1 Pound 80 / 20 Ground Beef (Option 1)
1/2 Pound Ground Veal (Option 1)
1/2 Pound Ground Pork (Option 1)

1 Pound Ground Turkey (or Chicken) (Option 2)
1 Pound Ground Pork (Option 2)

The remaining ingredients consist of the following:

2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil (Chopped)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley (Chopped)
1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1/2 Cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Cup Fresh Romano Cheese
1 Cup Plain Bread Crumbs (Separated into two 1/2 Cup measurements)
4 Slices White Bread
1 Small Container Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Egg (Whisked)
2 - 24 Ounce Jars of Spaghetti Sauce (We use Rao's Tomato Basil)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

In a large flat dish, I use a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish, pour your Heavy Cream until you have 1/8 an inch of full surface coverage. Then add your four pieces of Bread.

Let these soak for five minutes, then flip them.

Let them sit in the pan while you move on to the following steps:

Add your meat to a large bowl, and your chopped Basil and Parsley.

Now add on top of this your Minced Garlic.

Tear up your Bread pieces into small bits, and add them to the bowl.

You should have some remaining Cream at the bottom of your dish, which you're going to also scrape into your bowl.

Add both your Parmesan and Romano Cheese, and 1/2 Cup of your Bread Crumbs. Stir to combine.

It should keep a soggy consistency.

Add your Salt and Pepper, sprinkling it around the bowl, versus dropping it in one central location.

Then add your remaining 1/2 Cup of Bread Crumbs. Again stir to combine.

The mixture should look a bit drier than before, so bring back the wet by stirring in your whisked Egg.

The mixture should now be perfect for forming into meatballs.

With this recipe, you should be able to roll out eighteen balls that are about two inches in diameter.

You will need to sear your meatballs, and for this, I use a large electric skillet set to 350 degrees. Alternatively, you can use a non-stick pan on the stove, but this method will take longer because you don't want to overcrowd the pan. Additionally, you want to preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Adding my three tablespoons of Olive Oil to the skillet surface, I let this warm, and then spread it across the entire top with a pair of tongs.

Now I add the meatballs, and let them sear about two to three minutes on each side.

I'm not trying to cook these through. Rather, just get a nice brown color along all sides.

Meanwhile, I've popped the lid on one of my spaghetti sauce jars, and dumped it into that same 9 X 13 pan I used for my bread - After cleaning it, of course.

Add the meatballs to the sauce.

Then top them with your second jar of sauce.

Cover the pan with foil, and place it in your preheated 350 degree oven for one hour.

These would be perfect on their own to top on any type of spaghetti, or to make delicious meatball subs with. However, for me, if going the spaghetti route, I like my sauce to have a bit of substance to it. This means, I'm also making meat sauce, which in essence is the majority of the steps above. Again, you have two options on the meat mixtures.

INGREDIENTS (MEATS)

1 Pound 80 / 20 Ground Beef (Option 1)
1/2 Pound Ground Veal (Option 1)
1/2 Pound Ground Pork (Option 1)

1 Pound Ground Turkey (or Chicken) (Option 2)
1 Pound Ground Pork (Option 2)

The remaining ingredients consist of the following:

2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil (Chopped)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley (Chopped)
1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
2 - 24 Ounce Jars of Spaghetti Sauce

In a large pot add your meat, and turn the heat on medium. Then add your Garlic.

Next add your Basil, Parsley, Salt, and Pepper.

Stir this all up to combine it.

Then cook your meat until brown, stirring frequently to break up the bits.

Add both jars of sauce, and stir it to combine thoroughly.

Everything should come together nicely.

Cover the pot with a lid, and reduce the heat to low. Let this simmer while your meatballs cook. After completing the steps above, this was about forty-five minutes for me.

As you get down to the remaining time of your meatballs cooking, you want to make your noodles. When you start will depend on how much time you plan in advance for this. We like to use the fresh pasta in the cold section of our grocery store, so for us, this is simply a matter of boiling water, and letting it cook for two to three minutes. Makes all the difference using fresh pasta as compared to dried.

With the meatballs done, it's time to get busy on constructing a massive pile on a plate, and topping it with some more of that Parmesan and Romano cheese.

Then all that's left to do is get you some, and dig in!

Now, like I said above, we use Rao's Tomato Basil sauce. If I were so inclined to make my own sauce, which I am, I would personally start with Martha Stewart's copycat recipe for the brand's marinara. From there, I would taste, and tweak into my own Frankenstein.

Her ingredients call for the following (and I put this here more so for myself for future reference):

4 - 28 Ounce Cans Whole Tomatoes with Basil (preferably from San Marzano)
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
6 Tablespoons Minced Onion
4 Cloves Garlic (peeled and minced)
Coarse Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
12 Leaves Fresh Basil (torn)
Pinch of Dried Oregano

She then provides the following instructions:

Remove tomatoes from can and place in a large bowl, reserving juices. Crush tomatoes using your hands; remove and discard the hard core from stem end, and any skin and tough membrane; set aside.

Place oil in a large, nonreactive saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, and cook until soft and just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic, and cook until softened, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and reserved juices; season with salt. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 hour.

Stir in basil (if using), oregano, and season with pepper; continue cooking 1 minute more. Remove from heat and serve.

Right off the bat, I can tell you I would simply substitute the four cloves of garlic for four teaspoons of jarred minced. As for the Oregano, I would equate a pinch to about 1/8 a teaspoon.

It's not helpful that she provides no measurements for the salt and pepper. These can make or break any dish if too heavy handed, or on the opposite spectrum, not generous enough. For me, I'd start with a teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 a teaspoon of pepper, and increase from there to (a maximum) of two teaspoons salt, and one teaspoon pepper.I'm not looking for a sodium fest here.

I would also consider, after tasting, to add some sugar to help bring out the natural sweetness of the tomatoes. Again, starting at 1 teaspoon, and going from there.

Lastly, after adding the basil, oregano, and pepper, I would let this sit covered (off the heat) for an additional thirty minutes (if not overnight). I want these herbs to infuse into the sauce, not be an afterthought. However, I do agree that you don't want to simmer these with the sauce for the hour cook time, as this could make the flavor unbearable.

Since I am adding these at the end, I also want to substitute fresh oregano for the dried. A standard rule of thumb is to use 1/3 dried to fresh. So since her recipe calls for a pinch (1/8 teaspoon) of dried, I'll start with 3/8 fresh.

Everything, at first, is going to be a season to taste experiment, so we'll see where we end up when it's all said an done. Of course, that's a post for another day.

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