side – Page 8 – Our Lustron Home

I started this recipe in a saucepan, as you can see in the pictures below. I had never worked with dried beans before, so I had no concept of how long they would take to fully cook. After cooking for a couple hours and straining them, I added the sauce, but they still needed longer to cook. I highly recommend making this recipe in a slowcooker and just letting it go for 24 hours to make sure all of it is done. I wasn’t able to make these that easily, however, the recipe below is how I would make it in the future. The sauce for the beans is very good. They are sweet from the syrup, but have lots of good savory flavors thanks to all the spices. If you want, you could add some fat from any meats you may cook. That would add more savory flavor and also add to the overall flavor of your beans.

In a slowcooker, add 1 pound of Great Northern beans. Rinse, and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Cook on high heat, covered until it boils. Reduce heat to low and cook for 6-12 hours (overnight) or until soft.
Strain your beans and return to slowcooker.
Add 1/2 cup maple syrup, 2 Tbsp Brown sugar, 1/2 diced medium onion, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 Tbsp Mustard powder, 1 Tbsp ground ginger, 1 Tbsp garlic powder, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 Tbsp Oyster sauce, and 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce. Stir and heat over low for 1-2 hours.
Refrigerate and serve later, serve right away, or keep over low heat for as long as you desire.

Cucumbers are growing like crazy in my garden right now, and besides pickling them, I’m trying all kinds of crazy recipes. I saw a similar idea with zucchini, but I decided cucumbers would be best. Instead of bread, use a cucumber for your tuna salad. They are crisp and refreshing. This idea is fun for parties, or as a cool modern side dish this summer. Also try with shredded chicken or julienne veggies like carrots and radishes.

Wash a cucumber and slice in half. Use a large spoon to remove the core of the cucumber and to create your boat.
In a bowl, place the insides of your cucumber. Add 1 can of strained tuna, 2 diced shallots (or 1/4 cup diced onion), 1/3 cup mayo, and 2 Tbsp Dijon. Mix together.
Use a spoon to fill your cucumber boats. Top with shredded cheese if desired, and serve.

Pasta salad is a summer staple. Cool foods are so refreshing in the summer and all the fresh veggies make it so delicious! For this recipe, I used frozen broccoli. You can use fresh, but I just prefer how much longer frozen veggies last. I used 4 small onions and that was all I really needed. This recipe is really simple and doesn’t take long to make at all. The broccoli adds good flavor and texture, but most of the flavor comes from the onion and Italian dressing. This recipe also made a lot of pasta! We probably got 6-7 side sized servings from it.

Dice up 1/4 a head of Broccoli and stream it for 10 minutes or until fork tender. Or, microwave a bag of frozen Broccoli as directed on package. Set aside and let cool.
In a medium pan, bring water to a boil. Add 1 1/2 cup dried macaroni and boil until al dente. Strain your noodles, rinse with cool water, strain off excess water, then transfer to a medium-larger serving bowl.
Dice up 1/2 an onion or 4 shallots and add them to your pasta.
Strain your broccoli and run under cool water for a few minutes. Add all of your steamed broccoli (1/2 the bag) to your pasta. Add 2 Tbsp italian dressing, 2 Tbsp Ranch dressing, and 2/3 cup mayo. Add 1 Tbsp italian seasoning, and 2 tsp paprika. Stir. Serve immediately or chill before serving.

This snack/side is as simple as it sounds, slice a cucumber and place it in Italian dressing. This is a light and flavorful side dish and a healthy snack. So consider serving this with your next meal.