High Voltage Shareware/high1.zip/high1/DIR22/REC0070.ZIP/REC0070.TXT

Text File | 1993-08-21 | 27KB | 661 lines

Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes
Path: nuchat!taronga!arielle
From: [e-mail] (Roger Joseph)
Subject: COLLECTION: Cajun Recipes
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Followup-To: poster
Sender: [e-mail] (Stephanie da Silva)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Roger Joseph)
Organization: Inland Steel Company; East Chicago, IN
Date: 20 Aug 93 07:54:58 CST
Approved: [e-mail]


A Collection of Cajun and Other Southern Delights
These recipes were gleaned from Netters over the past couple months.
=========================================================
Subject: SEAFOOD: Crawfish Etouffee

Crawfish Etouffee

1/2 c oil or margarine
1/2 flour
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
3 fat cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 c fairly rich shrimp broth
1 T lemon
1/2 c crawfish fat (substitute 3-4 T
crawfish liquid or crawfish stock)*
1 T lemon juice
1 t salt (omit if using crawfish stock)
1 T fresh parsley (1 t dried)
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t thyme
1 bay leaf
1 lb frozen crawfish, all liquid included
2 large scallion tops, sliced
cooked converted rice

Make a medium dark roux by whisking the flour into the oil over medium
heat and cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture is the color
of chocolate.  Add the onion along with the celery and garlic, and
sautee over medium low heat until vegetables are tender, about 10
minutes.  Slowly add the shrimp stock, and bring to a boil.  Lower heat
to a simmer, and add lemon juice, crawfish fat/stock/liquid, and the
spices.  Simmer 15 minutes.  Add the crawfish and any liquid, bring to
a rapid simmer, reduce to a low simmer, add the scallions, and simmer
just until the crawfish are tender, about 10 minutes.  Adjust
seasonings.  To serve, mound some rice in a plate, and ladle some of
the etouffee on top.  This recipe makes about 4 servings.

Note:  Crawfish fat gives the dish its characteristic flavor.  In New
Orleans, it can be bought in the stores, but it's tough to find
elsewhere, so substitute.  If you do find it, keep it refrigerated, as
it is very perishable.  By crawfish liquid, I mean any run off from
frozen crawfish.  Whenever you use crawfish for another reason (making
Cajun popcorn, say), you should save any liquid from the inside of the
package that remains after defrosting.  This liquid is mainly water,
but it will be orange in color from the crawfish fat and meat.
Finally, to make crawfish stock, take a dozen or so crawfish heads left
over from a crawfish boil, and cover with some of the left over cooking
liquid or water.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for
several hours.  At the end of simmering, strain the stock, and reduce
in half.  Be careful when using this stock because it will be very
salty.  Omit any salt from the recipe, and adjust at the end.


Enjoy,
--frank (a homesick Cajun)
--------------------End Recipe----------------------

The following is a recipe for Crayfish Etouffee as garnered from "The
Whole Chile Pepper Book" by Dave Dewitt and Nancy Gerlach (ISBN
0-316-18223-0).  I cannot purchase fresh crayfish, locally, so I
substitute shrimp for the crayfish ... its real good!  The recipe is
printed exactly as it appears; my changes and comments are included at
the end.

Crayfish Etouffee
=================
The word etouffee comes from the French word for "smother" and in this
recipe, it refers to be smothered by a sauce.  This dish, as with all
traditional Cajun dishes, begins with a roux - or the browning of flour
in a fat or oil for use as a thickening agent.


INGREDIENTS
===========
4 teaspoons Louisiana Hot Sauce
1 small Bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup fish stock or clam juice
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
freshly ground black pepper
1 pound crayfish, peeled
1/2 cup chopped scallions, including the greens


PROCEDURE
=========
To make the roux:    Heat oil in a heavy skillet until hot.
Gradually stir in the flour and stir constantly
until the mixture turns brown.  Be very careful
you don't burn roux.


Saute the onions, garlic, celery, and Bell pepper in the roux for
five minutes.

Add the tomatoes, stock, basil, thyme, and bay leaf.  Bring to a
boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce the heat and simmer for fifteen
minutes or until it thickens to a sauce.

Add the hot sauce, crayfish, and scallions and simmer for an
additional five minutes or until the crayfish/shrimp are cooked.
Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Serving Suggestions: Serve with celery seed coleslaw, green beans,
==================== and corn bread.

Variations: Use shrimp or lobster meat in place of the crayfish
===========

COMMENTS:

1.  For the inexperienced, making the roux can be tricky ... be
certain stir the roux constantly (I mean constantly!) or it will
burn (if you see dark flecks forming in the roux, its burnt and it
is best to throw it out and start over).  Think of it this way -
until you've done it a few times, operate under the following
edict: "You can't stir the roux too much" Cook roux until it turns
"peanut butter brown" or darker.

2.  Use only fresh tomatoes, even if they're the supermarket hothouse
variety.  The first few times I made this stuff it was awful; I
later learned why - I had substituted canned tomatoes for fresh
tomatoes.

3.  Instead of the required thyme, and basil try substituting
the following: one tablespoon of Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic.
Also, amount of increase Louisiana Hot Sauce to two tablespoons;
in its original form, this recipe is pretty tame!

4.  Serve over cooked rice with homemade biscuits (I use Bisquick
for now ... I looking for a "from scratch" equivalent if anyone
has suggestions!

[e-mail]
-------------------------End Recipe--------------------------



A Collection of Gumbo Recipes from Netters
===========================================
From: "Clark Quinn" <[e-mail]>
Subject: SEAFOOD: Gumbo

Gumbo can be many things.  I learned to make it using Paul Prudhomme's
first book.  Other Louisiana and southern cookbooks should have it, as
should Joy of Cooking and one of Jeff Smith's (The Frugal Gourmet)
books.  However, as a simple (and rough) starter:

Gumbo is a rich cajun soup, thickened either with a) okra, b) a roux,
or c) file' powder (ground sassafrass leaves).  Of course, these can be
combined.

I have made all types, but the easy one to make is the roux based.  Pay
attention and read through before attempting, you'll need to rearrange
the steps to make it efficient.

Start with oil and flour (approx 2 Tbs each).  Heat the oil in the
bottom of your soup pot, then add the flour.  Stir the flour briskly
and brown the roux.  It's faster to do over high heat BUT it's easier
to mess it up.  Prudhomme has a section on making roux that discusses
this.   Be careful to not get any on you or you'll find out why it's
called "cajun napalm".  Take it off the heat if it gets too hot until
it cools down.

As soon as the roux is medium to dark brown (don't scorch the flour or
you'll need to start all over), throw in your diced onion, green
pepper, and celery (the sacred trinity in cajun cooking).  These should
stop the roux from cooking.  How much?  About an onion, a green pepper,
and two or three stalks of celery.  About two cups diced, combined.
Stir around.  The roux should have been smelling wonderful and once
these vegetables hit the roux the smell becomes almost unbearably
good.  Garlic, two cloves or so, minced, can go in now, too.  Let cook
till the vegetables get soft, a couple of minutes.  The heat can go to
medium now (you did the roux over high heat, being adventurous, didn't
you?).  You prepared a seasoning mix of thyme, oregano, basil, red
(cayenne) pepper, black pepper, and white pepper that can be thrown in
when the vegetables get soft.  About 2tsp to a 1Tbs each of the herbs,
1/4 to 1/2 tsp each of the peppers.  I sometimes add sage, omit the
oregano and basil, or otherwise play with the ingredients.  This is
also the time to add some fresh chopped parsley (all too often
neglected) and some chopped green onion.  Both are optional, both are
good.  When this hits the roux/vegetable mixture your nose will go into
complete ecstasy.  You should also add a Tbs of Worcestershire sauce
(sp?) and Tabasco to taste.  Thyme, Wor. sauce and Tabasco are the
other sacred trinity of cajun cooking.  Now it's time to get to the
meat of the matter (pun intended).

Break:  Gumbo can be based on any number of things.  Seafood is
classic, with shrimp, oysters, crab, or fish in any combination.
Chicken can also serve as a base.  Sausage is almost mandatory, if you
can't get andouille (I can't) then a good smoked sausage will do.  For
health reasons I've been using turkey sausage lately.  (Turkey) Ham can
go in.  I've even made a seven-steak gumbo (from Prudhomme, again).  If
you're gonna add chicken, you should have browned the diced chicken in
the oil, then removed it before you made the roux.  The diced chicken,
sausage, and/or ham should go in now.  The seafood goes in after the
stock.

Back to the gumbo, now that you've added any meat you want, you should
let it get warm and lightly browned in the roux mixture, then it's time
to add the stock.  If this is a seafood gumbo, you should use a seafood
stock.  If you've crab, shrimp, or fish to add, the shells and/or bones
should have been used to make a rich stock earlier.  I'm talking a
redolent, aromatic blend of celery tops, onion parts, bay leaf, etc
simmered in water and the fish parts for at least an hour, then
strained.  Oyster liquor is added if available.  You'll want like four
cups or so.  If you're using sausage, ham, and/or chicken, the bones of
the chicken that you diced should have been subjected to the same
procedure to make a stock.  The richer, the better.  You can always use
some beer or wine to add more flavor.  Avoid, if at all possible, the
store bought stock.

Anyways, add the four cups of stock.  Or, if you want, make the
roux/vegetable mixture in a skillet and add to the already heated stock
in the soup pot.  Now, if you've got them, add shrimp, crab, fish,
oysters, clams, whatever.  Simmer for an hour or so.  Serve some rice
in a bowl, ladle gumbo over it.  Voila'.  You can sprinkle file' powder
over as a seasoning, to taste.
-----------------------------End Recipe-------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Stephanie da Silva)

Biscuit Topped Seafood Gumbo Pie

Gumbo:
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 pound smoked sausage, sliced
3/4 pound cooked bonelss ham steak, cut into 2 by 1/4 inch strips
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small celery rib, minced
3 tablespoons rice
2 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 pound shrimp, shelled
1/2 pound okra, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Biscuit topping:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 1/2 tablespoons cold butter
3/4 cup buttermilk

Make the gumbo: In a heavy medium skillet, combine 3 tablespoons of the oil
with the flour and cook over moderatly low heat, stirring occasionally,
until the roux is dark mahogany in color, about 1 hour.  Do not let burn.
Immediately remove from heat.

In a medium flameproof casserole, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter with the
remaining 1 teaspoon oil.  Add the sliced sausage and cook over moderate
heat until well browned, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a plate with a slotted
spoon.  Add the ham strips to the casserole and cook until lightly browned,
about 7 minutes; add to the plate with the sausage slices.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the onion to the casserole.  Cook
over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until softened and translucent,
about 2 minutes.  Reduce the heat to moderately low and add the garlic,
green and red bell peppers, celery and rice.  Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes
longer.

Reheat the brown roux if necessary.  Scrape it into the casserole with
the vegetables and rice.  Stir in the chicken stock and lemon juice.  Bring
to a boil over high heat.  Add the sausages and ham, reduce the heat to
moderately low and cook, covered, for 25 minutes.

Stir in the cayenne, shrimp and okra and season with salt and black pepper
to taste.  Cook, stirring once or twice, for 2 minutes.  Remove from the
heat.

Make the topping: Preheat the oven to 450F.  In a medium bowl, combine the
flour, baking soda and salt.  Cut in the 5 1/2 tablespoons of the butter
until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in the buttermilk until
a soft dough forms.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/2 inch thick.  Using
a 2 1/2 inch round cutter, stamp out 12 biscuits.

Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter.  Pour the hot gumbo into a shallow
9 inch round baking dish.  Arrange the bicuits on top and brush with the
melted butter.  Bake until the biscuits are puffed and golden brown, about
20 minutes.
-----------------------------End Recipe----------------------------

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

1 package chicken thighs (6 count)
1/2 package Hilshire Farms Polish Kielbasa (or other smoked sausage), sliced
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
3 large white onions, chopped (DO NOT use a food processor)
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 cups white rice (regular white rice. NOT Minute rice!!!)
2 1/2 cups water
1 12oz beer (Budweiser works fine)
flour to coat chicken
1 1/2 teaspoons Rosemary
1 teaspoon Thyme
A handful of chopped parsley (hard to put too much)
Salt to taste
Lots of cayenne pepper


Start off by washing the chicken and placing it skin side
down on a plate (you can remove the skin if you want).  Now,
depending on how spicy you want it, coat the chicken with
Cayenne pepper until very red (I use a LOT of Cayenne in
mine).  Don't worry about getting it too hot, since this is
the majority of the  pepper you are going to add and it will cook
into the rest of the dish.  Turn the chicken pieces over and
lightly coat the skin side.  Let sit for 15 minutes or so to
soak it all up.

Heat the oil in the bottom of a large heavy cast iron or
aluminum pot (don't use thin aluminum or stainless steel since
the rice will tend to stick and burn if you're not really careful).
Place the flour in a paper bag (season the flour lightly with salt, cayenne
pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, etc). Place a couple of pieces
of chicken at a time into the bag and shake to coat.

Fry the chicken in the oil until golden brown.  Don't worry about
cooking it all the way through just yet.  Remove the chicken.
Now place the onions, celery, garlic and bellpepper into the pot
(along with a bit more oil if necessary) and saute them until the
onions are transparent, scraping the bottom of the pot often. Add
the rosemary, thyme and parsley and cook for a minute or so.

Place the sausage slices, chicken, and a little water into the pot
and mix well with the vegetables. Turn heat low, cover and simmer for
about 30 minutes (until the chicken is tender).  Stir the mixture frequently,
always scraping the bottom to keep things from burning (break the
chicken up a bit with the spatula as it cooks. It should break up
naturally as the dish cooks, but this just helps things a little).

When the chicken is cooked, add the washed rice and stir it into
everything for a couple of minutes.  Pour the warm beer and
the water in and stir things for another minute or so.
Taste it at this point and adjust the salt if necessary.
Now, keeping the heat low, cover the pot and cook until the rice
is tender (anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour).  Stir the
mixture every now and then, scraping the bottom of the pot.

-----------------------End Recipe--------------------------
JABBALAYA

1 bunch scallions
1 bell pepper
a few cloves garlic
a few stalks celery


meat possibilities:
sausage, pork chop, chicken (dark meat), country ham.

rice and water (1 lb meat with this much veggie is enough for 2-3 cups
rice)

a few large pinches parsley (maybe 1/4 cup)
thyme, bay leaf, etc.
Tony Chachere's Creole Spice (McCormick's will work in a bind)

Brown the meat for a few minutes, then add the veggies to coat them with
the juice.  Add the water, herbs, and spice and boil till the meat is
about cooked; add the rice and cook till the rice is done.

Serve with Tabasco and French bread.

This is a cajun recipe, to make it creole add some tomato paste, use
a little more water than the rice will absorb so you have some sauce,
and possibly use seafood instead of the meat.  Since shrimp and crawfish
cook quickly, they should be added after the rice has been going 15
minutes or so.

--
Stephanie da Silva
[e-mail]
-------------------------End Recipe-------------------------

A Collection of Beans and Rice Recipes from Netters
===================================================
Red Beans and Rice

1 pound red beans, soaked overnight
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
7 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup parsley
1 rib celery, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tabasco sauce
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper
1 pound smoked sausage cut into 1 inch pieces
1 pound pickled pork, rinsed and cut into cubes
Cooked Rice

Drain the beans.  Put them in a large heavy pot and add 3 quarts of
fresh water.  Cover and simmer for one hour or until the beans are
tender.  Watch that the water does not boil down too far.  The
beans must be covered with water at all times.  Add the rest of the
ingredients, except for the rice.  Add more water to cover if needed.
Simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the liquid has thickened.
Serve over rice.
-----------------------------
RED BEANS AND RICE

4 servings
1 lb red beans
1 1/2 lb smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 lb smoked ham shanks
1 large onion chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 t dried thyme, crumbled
1 t ground pepper
1/2 t ground sage
1 bay leaf
Pinch of ground red pepper
Salt
Freshly Cooked Rice

Place beans in Dutch  oven and cover  generously with water.   Let soak for  30
minutes.  Add all remaining ingredients to  beans except salt and rice.   Bring
to boil over medium heat.  Reduce  heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer  until
beans are tender, adding more water if necessary, about 2 1/2 hours.  Add  salt
to taste.  Remove ham bones.  Remove about 3 Tablespoons of beans from  mixture
and mash to a paste.   Return bean paste to mixture  and stir.  Simmer 15  more
minutes and then serve hot over the rice.
------------------------------------------

Red Beans and Rice

1 pound red kidney beans
1 meaty ham bone
2 large onions, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste ( use Tony's if possible )
pinch of sugar
1 bay leaf ( optional )
2 pounds Owen's spicy sausage links
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
Cooked rice

Soak beans overnight, rinse.  Cover with water and cook with
ham bone ( fat trimmed off ), onion, bell pepper, celery, salt,
pepper, sugar, and bay leaf.  While beans are cooking, boil
sausage in skillet.  Drain, fry until crisp, and set aside.
Cook beans until fork tender ( 1 - 2 Hrs ); then add fried
sausage.  JUST before serving, remove bay leaf and add parsely.
Serves 8 ( small servings ) and freezes well.

Serve with corn bread and mustard greens to complete the mood.
------------------------------------------

Red Beans and Rice ( Shane's 40 min variety )

2 cans Red Beans ( black-eyed peas also work )
1/2 pound smoked sausage ( the smokier the better )
1 medium to large onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped ( too much will make it bitter )
2 green onions ( if you have them )
1 rib of celery, chopped ( if you have it )
1 tsp minced garlic ( I usually get it in the little jar )
salt, pepper, red pepper, tabasco (or just Tony's if you have it)
thyme and parsley ( if you have them )
a little beer ( if you're drinking one or have one handy )
a little vegetable oil
uncooked rice

Rinse out the Red beans in their cans and fill the cans with
water, set aside.  Chop up all that needs to be chopped up
( including sausage ) and get out your trusty deep black iron
skillet or pot.  Put enough oil to wet the bottom of the pot
and start frying the sausage.  After about a 1 min or so,
season the sausage really well with the salt and pepper (
esp pepper ). When the sausage is about 1/2 done, stir in the
onions, bell pepper, and celery.  Stir fry it all until the
sausage is done and the vegetables are limp. ( push the
sausage to the side of the skillet if it cooks too fast and
focus on the vegetables ).  Pour in the beans and water, and
add about another can of water ( cover all the contents and
leave burner at frying setting ).  Add the garlic, a few
shakes of tabasco, a little ( about 2 tablespoons ) beer, a
pinch of thyme, and about 1/4 cup parsley.  While the
mixture comes to a boil, start the rice on another burner.
Keep the Red beans at a raging simmer, and stir often.  When
the rice is done, the beans should be about done.  Cook the
beans down to the desired consistancy, and squash a few beans
on the bottom for a more paste like texture.  Serve beans
over rice with a little more pepper sprinkled on top.
Serves 3.
----------------------------------------------

RED BEANS AND RICE

1   pound of small red beans
1/2 pound of ham hocks or smoked hocks (optional) (can substitute polish
sausage, if you want)
1   large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
3   stalks celery, chopped
1   Tablespoon parsley
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1-2 bay leaves
2   large cloves garlic, crushed
1/8 pound margarine
Pepper to taste
1   Tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
Tabasco to taste
Salt to taste
3 cups cooked white rice

Soak beans overnight in ample water.  The next day, drain the water from the
beans, and place in a heavy kettle.  Add the ham, onion, celery, parsley, bay
leaves, and garlic, and add water to the pot barely to cover the contents.
Bring to a boil, and then turn to a simmer.  Simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours,
being careful that the beans do not stick or become too dry.  You may have to
add a little water.

After the initial two hours of cooking, add the margarine, pepper,
Worchestershire, and Tabasco to the pot.  Continue cooking for 1 more hour,
this time with a lid on the pot and the heat quite low.

Correct the seasonings.  You may wich to add a bit of salt, but do not add salt
until this point because salt cooks out of the ham (if present) and will season
the beans.

Serve over white rice.  Pass additional Tabasco sauce for the brave!

--
Stephanie da Silva                Disney Afternoon Mailing List
[e-mail]                             [e-mail]
==========================End Collection=====================
From: [e-mail] (a goofy newfie)

Carribean Red Beans and Rice

1 diced onion
3 cloves garlic

Chop these up and toss them into a deep frying pan or a saucepan.
Fry them in a little olive oil until onions are as usual, translucent.
Add:

1/4 - 1/2 tsp nutmeg and cinnamon
1/2 - 1 tsp cloves.
salt, black or cayenne pepper to taste

(I tend to use the larger amount)

Drain and reserve liquid of 1 can kidney beans. Put beans in pan,
saute around a little bit.

Drain and reserve liquid of 1 can (14 oz) tomatoes. Moosh tomatoes up,
put them in and saute around a little bit too.

Add 1 cup rice, any kind, and the appropriate amount of liquid, using
the reseved kidney bean and tomato juice for some of it, and topping
up with water.

Cover the pan, let simmer until the rice is cooked and you have a nice
thick tomatoey clovey yummy bunch of beans and rice.
----------------------------End Recipe------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Jean E Roth)

Caribbean Rice & Beans  (from Eating Well Magazine)

1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 large pimiento or roasted red pepper cut in short, thin strips
1/2 green pepper cut in short, thin strips
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2-16 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons white vinegar
5-10 dashes hot pepper sauce
3 c cooked white rice (1 cup raw)
3 T finely chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Saute pimiento, green pepper and garlic in oil in large saute pan 2 min.
Add black beans, vinegar and hot pepper sauce.
When hot, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 5 min.
Stir in rice and cilantro.  Taste and adjust seasonings.
Serve with additional hot pepper sauce.

Makes 6 servings.  229 cal, 2 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 3 mg sodium.
------------------------End Recipe--------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Christy Corse Kalahar)

****Easy Beans and Rice****

2 cans of black beans (about 16 oz can I guess)
1/2 cup of onion
1 strip of bacon
4 heaping tablespoons of prepared picante sauce
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions in oil or non-stick spray until slightly translucent.
Cut the bacon strip into about 1 inch pieces.
Add the garlic and bacon to the onions and saute until the bacon is somewhat
cooked but still limp.
Stir in the cans of beans.
Stir in about 4 heaping tablespoons of picante sauce (add more if you like).
Let this simmer for about ten minutes.  Keep covered and stir ocassionally.
You may want to try to mash up some of the beans with the spoon.
This mixture should ultimately be slightly soupy.
Serve over Rice in a bowl.

---------------------------End Recipe--------------------------
From: [e-mail]

Cook some skinless pork sausage in a pan.
Throw out most of the grease, but leave the sausage.
Then saute some chopped onion with it, and at the end
throw in some hoi-sin sauce  (a Chinese plum-based sauce),
and of course the beans.
Simmer to get the flavors acquainted,
Serve over rice.
-------------------------End Recipe-----------------------
--
Roger Joseph            |
Inland Steel R&D        |           This space for lease.
E. Chicago, IN          |             Inquiries welcome.
[e-mail]       |