Best Cornbread Ever

This cornbread is always a hit. It's so good that you don't need to put anything on it, even better with honey butter though. Try try try it! Homemade cornbread is so much better than Jiffy ;) I made it tonight with sweet potato fries, while Jacob made some delicious chili. I love having him home so that he can cook for me. Last night we were at Mom and Dad's and he made us Eggs Benedict for our Anniversary. My favorite! Anyway...the recipe...

½ cup cornmeal
1 ½ cup flour ( I use 1 c. wheat flour, and 1/2 c. white)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 ¼ cup milk

Add dry ingredients, make a well and add oil, butter, eggs, and milk into the center. Stir until just mixed (batter will be runny - don't be alarmed!). Bake in an 8” square pan at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. This doubles perfectly for a 9X13-inch pan.

Recipe Source: mykitchencafe.blogspot.com

Sad Days

It's a sad day around my house when I can't use my oven. It's been broken for over a month now. It's especially sad since it's Christmas time, and what better time is there to bake than now? So, I've been adding to my no-bake dinners and desserts recipes. We have had a lot of soup! Which we love. I also made this yummy cheesecake the other day. And here's a fun recipe for homemade Almond Joys. My friend has a great tradition of getting friends together and dipping chocolates together. Each person brings a few different centers to dip and then you walk away with tons of chocolate to share...or eat :) I guess some of you might remember my huge tray of chocolates from last year??

grandma's lemon cheesecake
(just_cook_already.blogspot.com)

ingredients

2 packages of Graham crackers
1 stick butter, melted (reserve a little bit for the end)
2 small lemon jello packages
2 cups boiling water
1 can chilled carnation milk
12 oz. cream cheese
2 tbsp. sugar
1 crushed pineapple (undrained)

directions

mix 2 packages of graham crackers with 1 stick of melted butter. line a 9 x 13 dish, reserving some of the mixture to sprinkle on top later. mix 2 small lemon jello packages in 2 cups boiling hot water. put in refrigerator until soft set. beat 1 can chilled carnation milk. add 12 oz cream cheese (you might have to buy 1 large brick and 1 small one), 2 tbsp. of sugar. add jello and 1 can crushed pineapple (undrained). pour mixture over crust and sprinkle some leftover crust mixture over the top. chill, and serve.

Almond Joys

6 T. butter; melted

1/3 c. light corn syrup

2 t. vanilla extract

1/2 t. salt

2- 3 cups of powdered sugar (add enough to make dough easy to work with, but not stiff)

3 1/4 c. sweetened coconut

Almonds; if desired

 In large bowl, stir together butter, corn syrup, vanilla and salt.

Gradually add powdered sugar and coconut, beating until blended.  

Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon additional powdered sugar on flat surface.

Spoon coconut mixture onto prepared surface; knead about 5 minutes.

Using 1-1/2 teaspoons mixture for each candy, shape into egg shape.

Place on foil or wax paper-covered tray.  

Place 1 almond on each ball if desired.

Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before dipping.  

Yields 40

DQ Family Home Evening Treat

Obviously, we didn't make the treat, but I think the pics are cute!

EASY Pizza Rolls

We made this after church in minutes. What you need: Tortillas Sauce Cheese Whatever Pizza Toppings you like All you do is put on some sauce, toppings and then cheese and then roll it up. Cook at 350-375 until golden brown and insides bubbling out.

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

Oh boy. These are good. These are really good. Not too fluffy, not dense, with little chewy morsels in them. These are probably one of the best pancakes I've ever tasted, I would put them up next to Magleby's pancakes. The mix stores indefinitely in the fridge or freezer and whips up in a snap on a busy morning.
I made the mix for Jacob so that he could have something to eat in the morning besides cereal. Well the mix sat in the fridge for a few days and today Luci and I broke it out for lunch. I won't lie, I ate 5. We all love pancakes, so to have a ready mix in the fridge makes them taste even better! This recipe is slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour The Bakers Companion. I found it on mykitchencafe.blogspot.com after which I made a few changes. They didn't look amazing while cooking, but after my first bite I actually said, "wow" out loud. I was pleasantly surprised... They are definitely worth a little make ahead prep if you ask me.

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

*Makes 10 cups of dry mix

3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups ground oats (they grind nicely in any blender)
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup canola oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct (you probably won't need more oil). Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (I used half whole milk and half plain yogurt), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don't break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side.

*1 cup of mix will make about 6-7 4-inch pancakes.

Herb Vinaigrette

1 T. Basil

1 T. Parsley

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

4 t. Red wine vinegar

salt

freshly ground pepper

shredded parmesan

This is great to use for dipping fresh bread into. I've also used it by spreading it on my bread with some slices of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese or feta cheese for a sandwich. I also cut up potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, carrots, zucchini, and red peppers and tossed them with the vinaigrette and baked it for about 45 minutes (until the potatoes and carrots were slightly soft). I added feta cheese and served. Jared and I liked it; but, of course, the kids wouldn't touch it.

Festive popcorn

I call this "festive" popcorn because you can make it any color you want to fit any holiday. I made it orange today for Ella's class snack and added candy corn since Halloween is next week. I also like it because it's not sticky! Apparently the kids liked it because the container came home empty. Her teacher also loved it and asked for the recipe. She was surprised to learn there is jell-o in it. So here's the link or just take a look at the copied recipe below:

http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2009/04/10/green-pea-hummus-and-pink-popcorn/

Pink Popcorn

You can use any red Jell-O powder for this; I tried cherry and raspberry and liked raspberry better, although cherry was a paler pink.

Lots of popped popcorn – a big bowl (around 15 cups or so)
2 cups sugar
1/2 small box red Jell-O gelatin powder
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Put the popped popcorn in a large bowl, carefully picking out any unpopped kernels. (I do this by popping into one bowl, then lightly scooping out the popcorn with my hands into another, leaving the unpopped kernels in the bottom.) Preheat the oven to 250F. Line one or two rimmed baking sheets with foil.

In a medium saucepan (with room for the mixture to at least double in size), bring the sugar, Jell-O, water and butter to a boil. Once fully boiling cook for 4 minutes without stirring, swirling the bowl occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and soda. Pour over the popcorn and toss with tongs to coat completely. Spread out onto the baking sheets and bake, stirring once or twice, for an hour. Set aside to cool.

Have Fun with it!

Jody

Girls Night

Saturday Danielle was up from Cincinnati. While the boys were at the OSU game, us girls (Me, mom, Danielle & Karlie) made dinner for us and the kids. When the boys got back from the game, we got to got to go out for dessert. We went to Red Robin and got the Mountain High Ice Cream Pie and Apple Crisp. The only thing that was missing was the rest of our sisters! I should have taken a pic of the ice cream pie, but, hey, at least I posted!

Chinese Day

So I decided to have a theme for each day of the week to help me with ideas of what to cook throughout the week. Wednesday is ethnic night. So last night we had Chinese Cabbage Salad, rice, and Egg Drop soup. Yum it was good. Especially the salad. The dressing is phenomenal! I usually put chicken in it too, but I'm also trying to see if we can eat meat just a few times a week. Anyway, the whole family loved it. Luci especially loved digging for the Ramen noodles and grapes. Another plus...the cabbage came from our garden! Jacob didn't even notice that there was no meat, a key food group that makes a meal filling for a man I guess. Here's the recipe for the salad...

Chinese Cabbage Salad

Slightly adapted from Ellie Krieger, Food Network
Yields: 5 Servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided (optional but very very yummy)
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed or sliced (optional)
3/4 head napa cabbage, thinly shredded (about 6 cups)
1 large carrot, shredded (about 2 cups)
3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, greens included (about 1/2 cup)

3/4 package of uncooked Ramen noodles (optional)
2/3 cup sliced grapes
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted peanuts

Directions

Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and spread onto chicken breasts. Grill in oil on medium-high heat until done, about 5-7 minutes I think. Don't over cook! Remove from oven, cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine green cabbage, carrot, scallions, grapes, peanuts and
sliced chicken. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, oil, 1
1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, and brown sugar. Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine.

**Tip: Almost everything in this recipe is optional. Just use what you have! I've even substituted Romaine lettuce for the cabbage before.You can add things too, like mandarin oranges, water chestnuts, etc...

Always hits the spot

Okay this is an easy one, and one of my childhood favorites. It always hits the spot no matter what mood I'm in. Kids love it too. Luci kept begging for more plain yogurt to dip hers in. "Ougut, wite hewe" (yogurt, right here) she kept saying while pointing to a specific spot on her plate. We use yogurt instead of sour cream...less fat :) Jacob didn't think we'd be able to eat the whole pan. Oh but we did. Here we come second trimester little dean baby number two. Food is tasting so much better these days. Yes!

Quick Broiler Nachos
Brought to You by My Dad
Yields 1 baking sheet
A whole sheet used to feed my 5 sibling and me

1 can refried beans
1 can black beans, rinsed
about half a bag of chips
1/2 cup to 1 cup shredded cheese of choice

1-2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1/4 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 avacodo, cubed
salsa
plain yogurt
cilantro (optional)

Warm beans separately with whatever medium you choose.
Spread chips over sheet pan.
Drop beans over chips, sprinkle cheese.
Broil until cheese is melted.
Spread tomatoes, peppers, onions, and avocado.
Top with salsa, yogurt, and cilantro.

Shh! We're eating Chicken Enchiladas

Rain

+

Enchiladas

=

Peace and Quiet

My Favorite thing about this recipe is that we made enough for almost 40 people in one hour. And, the kids were finally quiet for a moment on a long rainy day spent indoors.

Here's what you need for one 9x13 pan:

about 3 chicken breasts (more or less if you like)

1 can black beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can diced tomatoes with green chili's

1 chopped small onion

12 smaller-ish flour tortillas

2 8oz cans green enchilada sauce (we used mild)

about 8 oz. shredded mexican blend cheese (Jacob would add much more)

the juice of one lime

Seasoned salt

chili powder

cumin

paprika

garlic powder

• Cook chicken and shred. (We cooked it mamma dean style in the pressure cooker. It's also really good cooked in the slow cooker with the tomatoes for 4-6 hours.)
  
• Place shredded chicken in saucepan with beans, onions, lime juice and tomatoes. Begin adding spices to taste. About 2 Tbsp Chili powder, 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp paprika, a couple pinches salt.
  
• Pour about 1/4 cup of sauce in the bottom of the pan.
• Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and a few pinches of cheese. Roll up  and place seam side down in the sauce. 
• Cover with sauce and sprinkle cheese (liberally if you're a true Dean)
• Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Enjoy!