Thursday, September 3, 2009

Green Beans

Beef with Green Beans
10 oz green beans cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tbsp oil (I used olive)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tsp ginger pulp (I used powdered since I was out of fresh)
1 tsp garlic pulp
1 tsp chili powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp tumeric (I couldn't find mine, so I skipped it)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 pound of beef, cubed
4 cups of water
1 tbsp cilantro (I didn't have this, so I skipped it)
1 sweet red pepper, sliced
2 jalapenos, chopped

Boil the green beans in salted water for about 5 minutes, then drain and set aside. Heat the oil in a dutch oven or saucepan and fry the onion until it turns golden brown. I a separate bowl, mix together the ginger, garlic, chili powder, salt, turmeric, and tomatoes Spoon this mixture into the onions and stir fry for 5-7 minutes. Add the beef and stir fry to another 3 minutes Pour in the water; bring to a boil and lower the heat. Cover and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour until most of the water has evaporated and the meat is tender. (I had to remove the lid toward the end to evaporate the liquid. Add the green beans and mix everything together well. Add the sweet pepper and jalapenos and cook stirring for another 7-10 minutes. Serve with rice or Chapatis.

Ham and Green Beans - a dish I grew up with...
Cook one ham in a several inches of water on the stovetop for an hour or two depending on the size of the peice of meat. Don't completely submerge the ham or your broth will be too diluted. Once cooked through, remove the ham, let it cool, and cut it into 1 1/2" cubes. Sprinkle about a half teaspoon of dried oregano into the ham juice. Add some new potatoes to the cooking liquid and cook over meduim heat until they are nearly done. Add green beans and cook them almost to your liking. Add the ham cubes and heat through. Serve on plates so you can mash up the potatoes with your fork and get the ham juice on them. Andy and his family like to sprinkle cider vinegar over their platefuls. My family eats it just as we made it. Enjoy!