**RECIPES** Comfort Food (on the cheap!)

 Winter weather is finally starting to show up here where I live. The cold is not bone-chilling yet but I pulled out my bed blankets a couple weeks ago and last night I slept under one.

It's been a rough month. My fatigue ruled the last 3 weeks but I was able to get up and cook a couple days ago. When my energy gets shaky, I like to fix something that will last for several meals. Usually, that ends up being the bean stew and cornbread that my mother used to make.

This is such a cheap and easy meal. The most expensive part is the ground beef. If I need to, I can cut down on the meat and still bulk up the dish by adding tofu. Or, for folks who want, this can be made with just the beans.

There are 2 things you need to know about this recipe: 1) I use a cast-iron skillet for the cornbread. 2) I use an Instant Pot for the beans. If you don't have these, you can find recipes for the bread and beans online somewhere. 

Just like Mama, I'm not specific with measurements. Here are the recipes for both the bean stew and the cornbread. And, by the way, you will want to either soak your beans overnight or do a quick soak.

Bean Stew Sauce (with ground beef and/or firm tofu)

• Ground beef. I use up to a pound, depending. A half-pound of beef can be supplemented with a brick of firm tofu. This is for 2 - 4 cups of beans.
• Pinto beans (dry). A pound of beans is about 2 cups of beans. I've never made this with any other type of bean. I've never made it with canned beans. I'm sure it could be done.
• Pasta sauce - any kind. I will grab Ragu or Prego when it's on sale. I prefer using the "meat-flavored" or "mushroom-flavored" kind. I have used really off-brands in the can but find that they have a funky undertaste to them.
• Optional - tomato paste and canned tomatoes. I prefer using diced canned tomatoes but will get the whole stewed tomatoes and chop them up in the can with a sharp knife. I just personally don't like big chunks of tomatoes pieces in the finished dish. You might not mind that. Chopped up fresh tomatoes also work.
• Spices & seasonings for both the beans and for the meat. I always use lots of chopped-up & whole fresh garlic & garlic powder; salt, red pepper flakes, lots of diced fresh white or yellow onion (and onion powder is optional). I sometimes add Italian seasoning flakes. (For the fresh garlic and onion, I like a lot so I will use up to 4 little cloves of garlic - half chopped and half whole - and half a large onion.)
• Brown sugar. Yep. Light or dark will do but I prefer dark. If I don't have brown sugar, I will use blackstrap molasses. If you don't have either of those, you can use table sugar. Dark sugar is the best though. I don't think Mama has ever used table sugar for the dish and I certainly don't. The dark sugar adds flavor and texture to the "juice" of the dish and is really a big part of it.
• Optional Liquid Smoke. Trust me, if you have it, use it!

1. While your beans are cooking (recipe below), brown the ground beef halfway or almost done and drain the excess water and run-off into a dish (don't throw it out yet). Turn heat to a medium-low setting.
2. Add the chopped garlic and half of the chopped onion. Season the meat with everything except the sugar.
3. Add the pasta sauce and tomato products.
4. Add either water - enough to thin out the sauce. The sauce will be simmering for a while so you might need to add water 1/4 cup at a time to keep it from getting too thick. It should remain thin enough to simmer on low. 
5. (NOTE: If the runoff from the meat isn't too greasy, you can use it in place of some of the water you will be adding.)
6. Cover and leave the meat sauce to simmer over the lowest heat setting. Keep an eye on it that it doesn't get dry or start sticking to the pan.

**If you are using tofu, make sure to press it out and dry it well beforehand. Cube it into the smallest pieces you can and saute it in a small bit of oil. Drain the pieces well on paper before adding to the meat sauce.**

Pinto Bean (Instant Pot)

(NOTE: If you are cooking your beans on the stovetop, you can find recipes online. I haven't cooked beans on the stovetop for at least 3 years!)

• Soak your beans overnight or for at least 4 hours. If doing in 4 hours, use warm water and salt. The water should be at least 3 to 4 inches over the beans. The beans will expand as they soak up the water.

1. Put the beans directly into the Instant Pot. You don't need anything but the big metal pot that came with it. Beans are the only thing I ever cook directly in this pot so I was worried the first time I did so!
2. Add enough water to cover the beans and be about an inch over the top of them. (It's better to have too much rather than not enough. You can drain any excess but you don't want them to cook down to dry.)
3. Add a couple of teaspoons of oil. I use whatever I have on hand - usually olive oil or canola. This is supposed to cut down on foaming but I always add a little oil to my beans while cooking.
4. Add the rest of the chopped onion and the whole garlic.
5. Add the brown sugar. I generally use 1/4 cup for every pound of dry beans. You can add more or less but the sugar is a big part of the flavor.
6. Add about 3 teaspoons of salt to every pound of dried beans.
7. Add about 1/4 teaspoon of Liquid Smoke. 
8. Give the beans a good stir to mix in the sugar and seasonings.
9. Cook on High Pressure for 40 to 50 minutes and set for 10 minutes. (This seems like a much longer time than for most recipes but you want really tender beans for this stew.)

When your beans are done (check that they are very tender - they should "smush" under light pressure), make sure that the juice on them isn't too watery. You don't want the bean juice to water out your meat sauce too much.

You can drain some of the water off of the beans and set it aside, just in case. 

Add the meat sauce to the beans and stir. If you want a thinner stew, add some of the bean juice.

You can taste and add seasonings as you want.

Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread

• 9-inch skillet, a mixing bowl, and a large spoon. A spatula for scraping out is nice.
• 1 cup + 2 Tbls Cornmeal. I use either Quaker Oats or Albers brand, I have used a coarse-grind and it came out nice but the regular grind was what Mama always used.
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbls table sugar or honey. I use sugar but Mama would sometimes use honey.
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking SODA
• 2 tsp baking POWDER (this will go into the bowl last)
• 2 eggs lightly stirred (you can get away with 1 if that's all you have)
• 1 cup of buttermilk or milk. (To make buttermilk, add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk, stir well, and let it set for 5 or 10 minutes)
• 1/4 cup of melted butter. that's 4 tablespoons. I use unsalted.
• About a tablespoon of oil or butter for the skillet. (I prefer oil because the butter will brown overheat.)

This is some bean stew with cornbread I made from a coarse grind that I found on Amazon. And it was a really coarsely ground cornmeal!

that's the bottom of the bread that you see

I made this with self-rising
mix a long while back

This is with regular
cornmeal

**NOTE: if you are using self-rising cornmeal, you won't need the ap flour and baking powder. Check the bag of cornmeal for specific instructions. I prefer using plain cornmeal so I don't know much about the self-rising kind.**

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. Put the skillet on the stovetop with the tablespoon of oil or butter and set to medium-to-high heat **IMPORTANT** The skillet has to get really hot. I let mine get to almost smoking. You will have to keep your eye on it to keep it from burning anything.
3. Add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and baking SODA to the bowl & give it a good stir. (If using honey, add it later with the wet.)
4. Add the milk, eggs, and melted butter. (And the honey, if that's what you are using.)
5. Stir the mixture well.
6. When your oven has reached 400 degrees and your skillet is really hot, add the baking POWDER and stir it in well.
7. Test the skillet with a tiny drop of batter. It should sizzle.
8. Add the batter to the skillet and bake for 20-25 minutes.

The trick to good cornbread is getting that oven preheated and having a really hot skillet.

I like my cornbread to get a slight crack across the top. That tells me that the bread is a good texture for eating with the stew. Some people think that a cracked top is a bad thing but I prefer it.

NOTES:

• You can't keep this stew out on the counter. It has to be refrigerated. Cooked beans can go bad on the counter.
• You can keep the cornbread in a baggie or other container for a couple of days. If you are going to store it for longer, put the baggie in the fridge. If your house is really warm or humid, put the bread in the fridge as soon as it cools.

The best thing about this recipe is that, while it takes a little bit of time to prepare, it can last for days and days in the fridge. Like most seasoned foods, it tastes better every time you heat it to eat it. Also, when you run out of cornbread, you can eat the stew with some cheese melted on top or with a little sour cream. I have eaten the stew with nacho chips or toast.

Of Pots and Pans:

By the way, cast iron skillets don't have to be crazy expensive. I just checked Amazon to see what kind of prices are on them. Found this 10 1/4-inch one for under 20 bucks. This is a great time to shop for them. I think I saw the Dutch ovens and lidded skillets for good prices last season - but you can check the Amazon Warehouse all year long for deals. This Dutch oven is under $30 and this one is the exact same as what I got a long while back. Cast iron cookware is awesome. Learn to take care of them and they last forever.

Peace

--Free