Christmas Recipe Month - Green Beans with Almonds

Check back for a weekly dose of Christmas recipes all this month - it's a digital all-you-can-eat holiday brunch at the Cheap$kate Chateau!

Here's a perfect side dish for your Christmas Day feast. Fresh steamed green beans with crunchy almonds pair perfectly, and garlic gives it all a finishing flavor kick. My Green Beans with Almonds travel well, so bring a casserole dish full if you are a guest. Your host will surely place it between the centerpiece roasted turkey and sweet potatoes with marshmallows.

The green beans are steamed for a couple of minutes while some almonds are sauteed with garlic in a frying pan. Finally, spoon out the cooked green beans, mix them all together, and serve. I used fresh green beans, but for an easy and cheap substitution, it's okay to use fresh frozen green beans.

Green beans are a little more expensive than dried beans, but they frequently come on sale at my local Latin grocery store, especially during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Frozen green beans even show up at my local Dollar Tree.

Nuts have been in the news lately, touting their health benefits and as a diet aid to your appetite. Read about it by clicking here. You only need a 2.5-ounce package of almonds (a handful).  I used unsalted ones, but it's easy enough to rinse off typical oversalted ones. 

I used to get small packages of Almonds from the late, great Los Angeles 99c only Stores. 

Now I get a tiny package of nuts from my local Dollar Tree. You can use almost any nuts on sale, including cashews, walnuts, peanuts, and pecans would take this side dish in a Southern Cuisine direction.

Add my Green Beans with Almonds to your Christmas dinner menu. I'm sure the bottom of the bowl will be scraped by hungry diners looking for seconds.

Ingredients (about 3 servings)

• 1 pound green beans - stringy stems removed. Okay to use frozen green beans. Canned green beans may be too mushy for this recipe.
• 1 small package of almonds - I used a 2.5-ounce package. They were unsalted and whole. I chopped each almond in half. If you get salted almonds, then do a quick rinse and drain. Okay to use any nuts on sale, including walnuts, cashews, pecans, or peanuts.
• 1 teaspoon garlic - I used chopped garlic from a jar.
• 1 teaspoon oil - I used olive oil.
• Salt and pepper to taste - optional. For salted almonds or nuts, leave out the salt in this recipe.

Directions
Rinse off fresh green beans. Cut off stems and any brown, discolored parts. If green beans are very long, it's okay to chop them in half.

You can remove the green beans' stems, then place the green beans in a couple of cups of water or put them on a steam rack with water. Steam covered for 2 to 4 minutes to the desired tenderness. I like them a little crunchy.

If you are using frozen green beans, then follow the package directions to heat them up - usually, just steam in a 1/4 cup of water for about 3-5 minutes until defrosted and warm. Drain green beans when done.

While green beans are steaming, chop each almond in half (or most of them). You could buy slivered (pre-cut) almonds, but they are much more expensive.

In a large frying pan, add a teaspoon of oil over medium/low heat. Add chopped almonds; stir and lightly toast them for about 2 minutes. You are just heating them through until just starting to brown - you will keep sauteing them with garlic and steamed green beans.

When the almonds are done, turn down the heat to low and add a teaspoon of garlic. Stir as you add the garlic so it doesn't splatter out of the hot pan. Sauté for about one minute.

Green beans should be done by now, so add them (without the water) to the frying pan with the garlic and almonds. Mix well.

Ready to serve when green beans and almonds are mixed together and warmed through.

Hindsight

If you don't have access to almonds, almost any type of nuts will do. Just remember to rinse off salted nuts. If you use peanuts, just call the dish Southern-Style Green Beans with Peanuts, or Chinese Stir-Fry Green Beans with Peanuts -- it'll taste delish with any name.

Swamp Chili - Chef Matt Video Recipe

Get out of the way Swamp Chef, this next recipe packs a whole lotta flavor. Chef Matt's easy & quick Beef Chili with Beans is worth coming out of the swamp for. 

Along with the Cajun Trinity of onion, bell pepper, and celery, plus ground beef, the other ingredients come from the can. Spices are strictly dried and easy to get.

Click on any photo to see larger.

Instead of a precut Trinity, it's easy enough to buy the veggies cheaper and chop them yourself, you may save a buck or so.

You can bring this recipe to that table in about half an hour! This is how he does it easily after a shift of cooking at a restaurant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Although this Beef Chili cooks quicker than the chomp of a bayou alligator it has a deep chili flavor. Don't take my word for it, just stay until the end of the recipe video where the family give their own testimonials - take it from Mom, Miles, Zak, Mrs 99 Cent Chef (Linda), and the Swamp Chef himself.

Mrs. 99 Cent Chef & Mom

Ground beef is the most expensive ingredient. You can use lighter ground turkey that is on sale, too. 

Most of the flavor comes from canned chili beans, chili powder, and dried Italian herbs.

He adds Louisiana Hot Sauce of course, but you can keep it mild for the youngsters and leave it out, just make sure to have a bottle on the table for heat-loving adults and teenagers.

Chef Matt & Swamp Chef pick up Louisiana Hot Sauce.

Now, some prefer their Beef Chili without beans, I guess you could leave out the beans but I would give this version a try, especially topped with sour cream, shredded cheese, and chopped green onion.

Tomato is the base and Chef Matt uses two 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes. Of course, with most of Chef Matt's recipes, he throws in a 10-ounce can of Ro-Tel which has tomato plus chopped green chiles.

Chili Beans come from the can as well. I still get all the canned ingredients cheaply.

Once the ground beef and fresh veggies are cooked for a few minutes, the rest of the ingredients are poured in or sprinkled on and simmered for 20 minutes, that's it.

Check out Chef Matt's latest budget recipe of Beef Chili with Beans that I know your family will enjoy, just like mine and the Swamp Chef's!

Chef Matt's Swamp Beef Chili with Beans - VIDEO     Play it here, video runs 7 minutes, 52 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients

• Ground Beef - 2 pounds. Okay to use ground poultry for a lighter Swamp Chili
• 1 Onion - chopped.
• 1 Bell Pepper - chopped.
• 1 Celery Stalk - chopped.
• Garlic - 1 tablespoon chopped.
• Crushed Tomatoes - Two 28-ounce cans. Okay to use tomato sauce.
• Ro Tel - 10-ounce can, optional. Ro Tel is chopped tomato with green chiles.
• Chili Beans - 2 cans 16 ounces each.  Chef Matt likes the brand called Bushes Chili Beans which are Pinto Beans in a Mild Chili Sauce. Any favorite cheap brand is fine, even plain Pinto Beans.
• Dried Italian Seasonings - 2 teaspoons. Okay to use any favorite herbs.
• Onion Powder - 1 tablespoon.
• Chili Powder - 2 tablespoons. Paprika Powder is a good substitute as the flavors are similar.
• Salt - 2 tablespoons. That's too much for me, but Chef Matt likes his salt. Okay to use half the amount or less.
• Louisiana Hot Sauce - about 5 dashes or a teaspoon. Optional. Okay to use any favorite hot sauce.

*Extra Toppings include shredded cheese, sour cream, and chopped green onions. I also like chopped yellow onions and sliced black olives.

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, saute ground beef for about 5 minutes. Break apart into small pieces. Okay to drain and remove some of the rendered fat. (Ground Turkey or Chicken is lean so there's no fat to drain.)

Add chopped veggies and garlic to a pot of ground beef. Saute a couple of minutes.

Add 2 cans of crushed or chopped tomatoes and a can of Ro Tel (optional).

Add 2 cans of Chili Beans. You can use almost any favorite canned beans since Chef Matt adds extra Chili Powder.

Sprinkle on dried Italian seasoning, onion powder, chili powder, salt, and hot sauce.

Okay to reduce or eliminate salt amount, as I find using canned ingredients adds plenty of salt to my taste. When adding hot sauce start with half the amount, taste, and adjust to your heat tolerance.

Mix well, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes. This is the kind of recipe you can keep at a low temperature as long as you like, add a little water if it cooks down too much.

When Beef Chili with Beans is done serve with a selection of toppings. I like shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped onions, and sliced black olives.

Cassoulet - Beans, Veggies, Chicken & Sausage

One of my first recipes, when I started this food blog way back in 2008, was a hearty slow-cooked bean and meat Cassoulet. I still make a Cassoulet, especially during our short cold spells here in L.A. Read on to see my delicious take on this classic French one-pot meal.

This Chef is a Francophile. I like movies by Jean-Luc Godard, ye-ye pop music by Serge Gainsbourg, pommes frites (yes, French fries), and this French-style cheap$kate Cassoulet.

One of my early L.A. jobs in the Biz was as a videotape editor. Lunch was often in a neighborhood restaurant run by a charming French couple. My favorite dish was a comforting plate of Cassoulet. It reminded me of a rustic home-cooked all-in-one dish: a bean casserole version of my Mom's Cajun rice dish, Jambalaya. It's made with rice instead of beans and similarly loaded with sausage and chicken. 

A classic Cassoulet is made with confit duck legs, sausage, and white beans. I've yet to find duck for 99c or less a pound but cheap chicken quarters, legs, or split breasts from a local Latin market do fine; as for sausage, you can use any local favorite brand that's on sale. 

Beans are still a good deal. I get my dried white beans from the local Dollar Tree for just over a buck per pound. You can use small or large white beans. The white beans are also called Great Northern, Haricot, Boston, or Navy Beans. 

A French mirepoix of veggies includes onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. They will sweeten this stew with slow cooking on the stovetop and in the oven.

The veggies I use for my Cassoulet are still cheap, you can't get much cheaper veggies than onion, carrots, and celery.

For a vegetarian version, you can add more large-cut veggies (carrots, potato) and leave out the meat (veggie stock instead of meat-flavored bouillon,) and top it with bread crumbs -- baking for an hour sweetens and intensifies the flavor of veggies and beans.

 Cassoulet can be a clean-out-your-refrigerator-of-veggies dish (I like to add more veggies than normal recipes call for including kale, spinach, or collard greens).

On a cold winter day, try out this simple baked bean and meat entree that tastes even better reheated the next day. The 99 Cent Chef's Cassoulet would make "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" author Julia Child proud.

Cassoulet - Video                   Play it here. The video runs for 5 minutes and 34 seconds. 

To view or embed from youtube, click here.

Ingredients (serves about 4) 

• 1 lb. package of white beans - small or large. Also called Great Northern, Navy, Horicot, and Boston beans.
• 8 cups of water (according to package directions.)
• 1 cup white wine or vegetable broth - optional.
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme or any favorite fresh or dried herbs including sage and oregano.
• 1 each: whole onion, celery stalk, and carrot chopped.
• 2 cloves garlic - peeled and chopped, or a teaspoon of crushed garlic.
• 2 chicken leg quarters or a whole split chicken breast. Okay to use any favorite pieces of chicken.
• Sausage - about 1 pound. Any local favorite type.
• Salt and pepper to taste

*A nice touch is to add a layer of bread crumbs (about 1/2 cup) on top of the meat when oven-baking.

Directions For Beans

Wash beans and pick out any debris if necessary. Chop veggies into large or small pieces. 

Add oil and saute onions for about 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic and saute for another minute. 

Finally add the chopped veggies, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.

 Fill the pot with about 8 cups of water and a cup of wine. Wine is optional, okay to add any favorite broth like vegetable.

Bring beans, veggies, and water to a boil, then lower the heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook until beans are tender, about 3 to 4 hours. Be sure to check on liquid if it cooks out - add water as needed.  

*Lately I've been adding greens. For quick-cooking spinach or Swiss chard, add these when you start baking the sausage and chicken. For slower cooking kale, collard, and mustard greens, add during the last hour of simmering beans. 

Directions Baking with Chicken and Sausage

Add chicken to the top of cooked, tender white beans. 

I like 2 chicken leg quarters, or a whole split breast (a whole breast that is sliced in half along the center bone.)  Okay to use any favorite chicken pieces you like.

I like to use uncooked sausages I find on sale. It's okay to use any local favorite cooked or uncooked sausages from your grocer.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I like to add salt and pepper to the meat. 

Sprinkle a half cup of breadcrumbs over the top of the Cassoulet. Add pot to the oven.

Cooked uncovered in the oven for about an hour and a half until chicken is done (double check by piercing with a fork looking for clear juices.) Sausages should be done at about the same time. Because the meat is cooking with bean broth the meat also steams and will stay moist even when overcooked.

I bake the chicken skin side up and I add a pinch of salt and pepper to the top of the chicken pieces. That way the skin is crispy and well-seasoned when done. You can also remove the skin for a lighter Cassoulet. 

The breadcrumbs will brown as the Cassoulet bakes. When done, carefully remove from oven and allow to cool down for 5 minutes. This is a one-pot meal so all you need is a small salad if you like.

Cassoulet freezes fine, so don't let the large amount deter you. And it's the type of meal you can return to the next day -  it will be even better!