Joan’s Country Kitchen

Slow cookers are great for the busy cook with a family. If you work, you can put your dinner in the slow , or crock pot, in the morning and have it ready when you reach home at night, solving the question, “What’s For Dinner?”

Try this delicious and nutritious Black Bean Chile Recipe, which is also good for you. There is only 250 calories per serving and a whopping 24 grams of protein!

Ingredients for Black Bean Chili

1 lb lean beef, cut into stewmeat size chunks

16oz jar of low sodium, chunky salsa

3 15 oz cans’ of black beans, rinse and drain beans

1/2 cup fat free- low sodium chicken broth

1 medium red pepper

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

2-3 tsp chili powder, depending on how spicy you’d like your chili

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 cup fat free sour cream

Directions for recipe

Add all ingredients to your slow cooker, leaving out only sour cream.

Cover and allow to cook on low for about 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender.

Serve and garnish with sour cream or shredded American cheese.

Serve over nutritious brown rice if you’d like.

This unique cake recipes comes from my mom’s 1920’s Iowa Farm Bureau Cookbook. It was submitted by Mrs. Donald Klopping. The recipe caught my eye because of the idea of adding a mashed potato to a cake recipe seemed interesting. The results are delicious though!

Historic recipes are not long on directions so I’m using the directions I used myself. Most old recipes presupposed that the cook really knew what she was doing in the kitchen!

Potato Caramel Cake Recipe

Ingredients

2-3 cups butter (I used 2 cups)
2 cups sugar
1-2 cup sweet milk ( I started with one cup and added a little more until I got to the right consistency)
1 cup mashed potato
2 cups flour
1-2 cups cocoa (I used one cup)
1 cup raisins
1 cup nuts ( I used walnuts)
4 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1-2 tsp cloves

Directions

Cream sugar and butter, then add egg yolks, potato, milk, spices, cocoa, nuts, and raisins rolled in flour. Mix well and then slowly add flour, blending as you go.

Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into cake batter.

Bake in a tube pan at 350.

When I was a kid, Spam was something new and every mom loved it. It was an easy to use protein that didn’t cost much. Today, you can buy Spam in lots of sizes and flavors but it’s still a great bargain for the budget conscious cook.

Here’s a tasty country style Spam recipe to try for your family.

Spam Country Style Casserole Recipe

Ingredients

1 can Spam

2 12 oz cans of potato soup

1 chopped onion

4 cooked potatoes, mashed

2tbs butter

1/8 cup milk

8 oz frozen veggies of your choice

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions for Country Style Spam Casserole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Steam the potatoes. Once they are tender, add butter and milk and mix with a hand mixer until they’re smooth. Set them aside.

Cube the Spam and saute in skillet. Add onion and cook until both are browned.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine vegetables, cooked Spam and onions and the two cans of potato soup.

Spoon the entire mixture into a 3-quart casserole baking dish. Spread mashed potatoes over Spam mixture.

Sprinkle Spam Casserole with Parmesan cheese.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

This Spam casserole recipe makes 6 servings.

Looking for Spam Recipe Books?