green beans

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It’s Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! In the Secret Recipe Club, each participating blogger is assigned a blog from another participating blogger and secretly searches their site for something to recreate. The accompanying blog post then goes live on reveal day! So while I was immersed in my assigned blog, someone else was picking through mine! I’m so excited to be part of this group, to see what on my blog peaks other’s interests and to stumble upon new blogs and new recipes.

Secret Recipe Club ended its run about a year and a half ago, but today we’re back with a reunion meeting! I’d by lying if I said I didn’t want this group to regain its strength and come back in full force.

For this reveal I was assigned Cookaholic Wife written by Nichole. I’m fairly familiar with Nichole’s blog as we’re both members of a group called Festive Foodies. Nichole, as her blog title would suggest, is a loving wife who loves to cook and bake! On her About Me page she says, “I find the ocean soothing in a way that nothing else can compare.” Though she lives in Maryland and is staring at a different ocean, that is absolutely something I can agree with her on! There is nothing that makes me calmer than getting to listen to and watch the waves crashing on the sand.

And that’s not all we agree on! I’m thinking she’s my twin across the country! I, too, am a compulsive list maker and am addicted to my planner (bullet journaling is a little too “creative” for me to pick up, but I adore goggling at bullet journaling ideas on Pinterest and Instagram), I love Sharpies, and challenge that “too much” popcorn isn’t a thing.

When looking through Nichole’s Recipe Index I limited myself to side dishes. We were invited to a friend from church’s house for Easter dinner – and I said I’d bring the side dish and my grandmother’s pound cake. (It felt so good to have a secret SRC pinterest board again!)

Okay, so the recipe I’m ultimately sharing today didn’t make it to Easter dinner. I got too excited by it and cooked it in March instead. (We’re moving mid-April… so probably as you read this and simply needed to get this fabulous post scheduled!)

I picked this side dish because I love green beans and my husband loves mushrooms. Winner!

Roasted Green Beans and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 lb green beans, trimmed
1 container (5 oz) sliced shitaki mushrooms
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
grated parmesan cheese, to taste

Steps:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
In a large bowl, toss together the green beans, mushrooms, oil, and vinegar. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Season to taste with S+P. (Check out my kids’ technique here.) Roast 20-25 minutes.
Sprinkle with parmesan. Serve warm.

*This recipe is adapted from Nichole at http://www.cookaholicwife.com/2012/03/roasted-green-beans-with-mushrooms.html*

Roasted Green Beans and Mushrooms for #SecretRecipeClub from Sew You Think You Can Cook

To see the other bloggers who participated in The Secret Recipe Club reunion click here:

You guys, I have a story to share.

And it has absolutely nothing to do with the side dish I’m sharing with you. A dish that’s perfect for potlucks and looks like summer.

Today was a rough day. Tempers were running both short and high. The day started 45 minutes too early (when you have two energetic little boys at home, that 45 minutes is precious!), the broken garage door (full story on that Sunday) was being uncooperative putting me in a bad mood I couldn’t snap out of, and naps were not taken. My 2 year old didn’t listen even a little bit at the playground, and I have a “three strikes you’re out” rule which cut our trip quite short.

When we got home all he wanted to do was play in his Duck Pond Water Table patio. I told him he had to prove to me that he could listen. He was charged with going into his room, getting a book, and sitting still while I read to him. My kid came back with a Chick-fil-A kid’s meal board book – a 4 sentence novel! FullSizeRender (1) Seriously, is my child that smart or was it simply coincidental? After some time playing in the water the boys had their first shared bath. Firecracker asked for dinner, which he didn’t eat. Treat was fussy, so I assumed he was also hungry (he did eat). At 6:20pm both boys were asleep at the table. Thankfully my husband was on his way home and I didn’t have to figure out how I was going to wriggle us out of our position. (See photo. –>)

It’s now 9pm and the boys are still sleeping in their beds! I’m a little nervous for what that means my tomorrow will look like. But I’m grateful for the date my husband and I ended up getting. We cooked dinner together and ate it on the patio. We then shared the kitchen clean up, and watched non-cartoon television. Ah, the exciting life of parents of young children.

Firecracker ended up waking around 9:30. He needed to come upstairs for a cup of water and to watch his nighttime programming. He then snuggled in our bed for a little bit before asking to go lay down in his room. Treat stayed asleep until his typical midnight awakening, and 4, and both were up between 6-6:30.

Three Bean Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 lb fresh green beans, cut in 1/2″ pieces
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 bell pepper, diced (I used a combination of orange and red)
1/2 red onion, diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I used Gourmet Garden lightly dried parsley)
1/4 C + 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 C canola oil
3 tbsp agave

Steps:

Cook green beans in a pot of boiling salted water for 4 minutes, or until desired tenderness is achieved. Drain and place the beans in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain.
Toss green beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, pepper, and parsley in a large bowl.
In a measuring cup, whisk together the vinegar, oil, and agave. Season to taste with S+P. Dress bean salad with as much dressing as desired.

*This recipe is adapted from Marcie at http://flavorthemoments.com/fresh-and-easy-three-bean-salad/*

Three Bean Salad - Sew You Think You Can Cook