Stewed Tomato Bean Pot – cooking with large cans

Today we’re cooking primarily with cans – restaurant-size cans for restaurant or home use.

We’ve selected the following: I’m going to give you the brand along with the ingredients and size can, just to give the people who produced the product some credit for a job well done.

102 oz. can Dunbar’s Sweet Bell Pepper Mixed Strips (mixed means multi-colored – they contain 0 fat and 0 sodium so of course are packed in water)

102 oz. can Gordon CHOICE Sliced Stewed Tomatoes (contains 0 fat)

117 oz. can BUSH’S Bean Pot Vegetarian Baked Beans (contains 0 fat)

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1st RECIPE

STEWED TOMATO BEAN POT

Vegetarian baked beans mixed with caramelized red onion, multi-colored pepper strips, stewed tomatoes, green beans and carrot matchsticks. A light-flavored and colored sesame seed oil teamed with Balsamic vinegar and garlic create the rich foundation that brings together all ingredients, elevating them in one simple yet elegant main dish.

Makes 11 cups

1/4 c. light colored sesame oil

3 med. size red onion, sliced (cut off ends, cut in half from end to end, peel each half, place each half face down on board, cut each lengthwise from end to end into 1/4 inch wide strips, separate layers)

1 t. pink Himalayan salt

fresh grind black pepper

2 c. bell pepper strips with a little liquid from the can (a couple tablespoons)

3 c. stewed tomato slices with about 1/4 liquid from the can – transfer to bowl where you will cut the slices into smaller pieces

2 t. garlic powder

1 t. additional pink salt

4 c. beans with liquid

1/4 c. Balsamic vinegar

2 c. froz. cut green beans

1 c. fresh carrot matchsticks (peel carrots, cut off ends, slice into thin planks, stack planks, cut into thin sticks – remember, matchstick-size)

pumpkin seed snow as garnish (optional) – grind salted raw pumpkin seeds in coffee grinder till snow-like

additional fresh cut matchstick carrots (optional)

a drizzle of sesame seed oil (optional)

fresh black pepper grind (optional)

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In large pot, over medium heat, melt sesame oil. Add onions and salt, then saute till wilted. Pepper to taste. Stir often to prevent burning.

Add 2 c. pepper strips with a little liquid from can. Stir.

Add the cut stewed tomatoes with a little juice from can, garlic powder and salt. Stir well. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring as needed.

Add beans followed by Balsamic vinegar and green beans. Stir well. Cook 3-5 minutes or till very hot.

Add carrot matchsticks. Stir to submerge. Cook all on lowered heat, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust for salt and pepper.

Serve family-style, in individual bowls as is, or perk it up a little by topping with pumpkin seed snow, additional fresh cut matchstick carrots, a drizzle of sesame oil and sprinkling of fresh grind black pepper.

Notes: An elegant tasting dish need not require many ingredients, steps nor hours to prepare. Yes, beans can be elegant. Rich too.

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1st RECIPE completed and we still have lots of contents in all three cans left to make another dish.

To keep costs down restaurants like to use the same main ingredients in several dishes, then vary the peripheral ingredients, seasonings and procedures to create dishes for different categories.

This is a low fat dish. 1/4 cup oil = 120 cal./T. x 4 = 480 fat calories to a 11 cup recipe yield = 43.6 fat calories per cup.

Next up?

2nd RECIPE

to be continued…

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