Cowboy Beans and a Giveaway

Cowboy beans are one of my family's favorite cold weather dishes. It's a delicious, stick to your ribs kind of meal that warms you from the inside out. Another thing I love about it is that it's so easy to make... just place everything into a crockpot and forget about it! You can go on about your day and when you're ready for dinner...it's ready for you! I like to add a nice green salad and a skillet of cornbread to round out this meal.

Don't forget to take a look at the end of this post for a great new giveaway!

Ingredients:

1 pound bacon (I love to use thick cut bacon for this recipe)
1.5 pounds ground chuck
1 large onion
1 diced green pepper
1 16 oz. can pork and beans
1 16 oz. can red kidney beans
1 16 oz. can pinto beans
1 8 oz. can lima beans
1 16 oz. can cannellini beans
1 16 oz. can great northern beans
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup molasses or maple syrup
1 jar barbecue sauce
1 teaspoon pepper

Method:

Cut bacon into 1/4" bits; brown in a large skillet. Remove bacon from rendered fat and set aside. In the bacon drippings, saute the onion & pepper until tender. Add the ground meat and brown lightly. Put the meats into the bottom of a crockpot. Add the Pork 'n Beans with the liquid on them. Drain most of the juice off of the remaining cans of beans and add them with the remaining ingredients to the crockpot. Mix all well. Cook on HIGH setting for 1 hour to get well heated through, then lower heat setting to LOW and allow to cook for 5 - 6 hours. Stir occasionally.
Recipe based on this recipe from about.com




2010 Limited-Edition Muir Glen Reserve Tomatoes Giveaway!



The fine folks at Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes have given me an extra gift box to give away to one of my readers! I love Muir Glen tomatoes... I used the contents of my gift box to cook up a huge pot of delicious chili and it was amazing!

The 2010 Muir Glen Organic Reserve Kit Includes:

• One 14.5 oz can Reserve Meridian Ruby Fire Roasted Tomatoes
• One 14.5 oz can Reserve Meridian Ruby Diced Tomatoes
• One 14.5 oz can Muir Glen Organic Chipotle Seasoned Petite Diced Tomatoes
• One 15 oz can Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce
• The Muir Glen Tomato Vine Dining Tour Menu featuring a variety of cuisines created by award-winning chefs from around the country made with the 2010 Reserve Tomatoes.

To enter the giveaway all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what you would do with these amazing tomatoes if you are selected as the winner. Please make sure to leave me a way to contact you, in case you are the winner. Comments without contact information will be disqualified. The entry period will end on Friday 12-3-2010 at 11:59 PM EST

I will use random.org to pick the winner on Saturday 12-4-2010 and will announce it here. Open to US and Canadian residents only, sorry!


**Disclosure** Muir Glen provided me with a free reserve kit of the products described above, both for me to try and to give away to one reader. As always, any thoughts and opinions given on "The Adventures of Kitchen Girl" are my own.

Mac & Cheese with Ham Casserole

Last week I saw a bunch of my favorite food bloggers mentioning this new cookbook: Perfect One Dish Dinners and I decided to try the "Shells & Cheese for Everyone" from it. Only I can't leave a recipe as is, ever. I added ham, onion, garlic and mustard powder. It turned out *really* good and while I was a bit hesitant about the addition of cottage cheese, I was pleasantly surprised to find that you couldn't tell there was cottage cheese in it at all! This dish was delicious and satisfying and very much a full meal in one dish. We had a nice green salad along side it and everyone loved it! I hope you'll try it out and let me know what you think of it :)

While I'm here, I also wanted to mention a new food related website I've had recommended to me. Foodspring: Gateway to Food Adventure.(http://foodspring.com/) It's a site with a ton of information on anything and everything food related. From specialty foods to new food trends and even recipes!


Mac & Cheese with Ham Casserole

Ingredients:
1 Pound Ham, diced small
1 Medium Sweet Onion chopped
2 Cloves Garlic minced
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 pound medium sized Pasta Shells
1 pound grated sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 container (16 oz) Small Curd Cottage Cheese
1 Cup finely grated Parmesan
1 container (16 oz) Sour Cream
Freshly ground Black Pepper
1 Cup plain Panko Breadcrumbs
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh Parsley
3 Tablespoons Butter, melted
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Teaspoon dry mustard

Method:
Make sure oven rack is in the lower middle position and heat oven to 350F degrees. Coat 13×9 baking dish or dutch oven with cooking spray.

Following package directions, cook entire box of pasta until just tender.

While pasta cooks, sauté ham, onion and garlic in olive oil until the ham is browned and the onions are translucent.

Mix cheeses and sour cream in a large bowl. Add the ham and onion mixture to the cheese mixture. Add the hot pasta and toss to coat thoroughly. Add salt, pepper and ground mustard, stir well and transfer to casserole dish.

Mix bread crumbs, parsley, and butter together in a small bowl, and sprinkle evenly over the shells and cheese. Bake 30-35 minutes until the casserole is bubbly and crumbs are golden brown.


Recipe adapted from: Pam Anderson’s Shells and Cheese for Everyone
from Perfect One Dish Dinners