Mexican Bean Salad

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mexican-bean-salad/

I loved this salad. I used half the salt and sugar called for and put in garbanzo beans instead of black since that's what I had. Next time I will also halve the oil and vinegar since there was too much.

This is best eaten in the first couple days since the cilantro will turn brown and there is a lot of starch released  into the oil which makes it thick and weird.

Green Beans Saute

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/fresh-green-beans-one-way/

I didn't have clean bacon grease so used butter instead. Will try bacon grease next time. I also put in the entire red pepper and an entire onion. This was really tasty. I had to cook it longer than she said because there was so much liquid left, and I ended up taking the lid off and turning the heat up to help it along.

Love love this though. I adore green beans, and these were really great.

Eggplant and Garbanzo Bean Soup

http://wegottaeat.com/mrhb114/recipes/roasted-eggplant-and-garbanzo-bean-soup-love-soup

This is from the Love Soup cookbook.

This soup had a good flavor and was sort of exotic tasting. David rated it pretty high for a vegetarian soup, so he must have liked it a lot. It was time consuming to make though, and I had to cook it for an extra hour because the beans weren't fully cooked. I soaked them overnight and meant to slow cook them but forgot to plug in the crockpot! So I ended up making it on the stove according to the directions, but it did take an extra hour. It could be my garbanzo beans were really old though. I can't remember when I bought them.

Tuna-Noodle Casserole

This recipe is from the New BHG cookbook.

3 cups noodles (4 oz.)

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 T butter

1 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped onion (or just 1 onion chopped)

2 T butter

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 cups milk

1 6-oz can tuna, drained (or 2 5-oz cans)

1/2 cup cheese cubes (2 oz)

1 roasted red bell pepper, chopped

Cook noodles, drain. Combine bread crumbs and melted 1 T of butter, set aside.

Cook celery and onion in 2 T butter in large skillet until tender. Sir in flour, salt, dry mustard, and pepper. Add milk, cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Combine everything together (except crumb mixture) and put into 1.5 or 2 qt casserole dish. Sprinkle with crumb mixture. Bake uncovered at 375 F for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and top is golden.

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This was a yummy dinner. The original BHG recipe has twice the amount of tuna, cheese, and butter, but I wanted a lower fat version. It was very good.

Notes: This is great with whole wheat elbow macaroni & ww flour. The bell pepper is not essential, but it makes it more fun. The onion could be replaced with extra celery. This recipe is very forgiving.