Black Bean Bonanza

SmithCale and I love, among many things, an affinity for beans. All beans and legumes. Well, I do like lentils far more than he does, but no one really likes THAT much fiber except the clinically insane.

Monday was a tribute to what everyone seemed to be talking about at the reunion:

the Black Bean Burger

Today was another oldie: Cajun Beans'n Rice. Except I did make a few changes. First, I cooked by 1/3 C dried black beans and 1/2 C Texmati rice in the crockpot, and then proceeded as normal.

I changed today's menu for one reason...Cornbread. You may proceed to make and enjoy.

Jalapeno Skillet Cornbread

Plan of Attack:

1. Mix Dry Ingredients

2. Mix Wet Ingredients

3. Combine and Bake

Ingredients for 8-10 servings (1 skillet worth):

Dry Ingredients-

1 C yellow cornmeal

¾ C all-purpose flour

1 C frozen corn kernals

½ tsp baking soda

¼ C granulated sugar

½ tsp salt

1 medium/large jalapeno, chopped

Wet Ingredients-

1 C greek yogurt

2 medium eggs

¼ C unsalted butter, melted

¼ C milk

1.5 oz shredded baby gouda

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl
3. Whisk together wet ingredients in another bowl
4. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredient bowl and stir until just combined
5. Pour batter into a greased 10” cast-iron skillet
6. Bake 25-30 minutes
7. Enjoy!

McLean Family Lunch

Another tradition for our family in particular is the 1 1/2 hour trek to SmithCale's maternal family Reunion at the farm ranch.

As always, there's much story-telling.

Adorable 10 year old silly faces.

and 10-year-old smiles

If you didn't know this about SmithCale, he LOVES his brother. Close-ups like this seem to occur when they are together.

I kid you not, I talked ALL weekend. To the extent my jaw hurt Sunday.

Case in Point: 12:45 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

2:15 p.m.

One thing you can always count on with M, is the random connections you never knew you had. While rummaging through the old farmhouse they found this POSTCARD featuring an award-winning goat farmer from Gilmer, Texas (town where I grew up).

Food for Family,

the SupperSmiths, forging one meal at a time