Cornbread Chili Bake

We like chili and usually have it with rice or tortillas. I have discovered, however, that my family is thrilled when I present it as a casserole with a baked layer of corn bread on top. It is so easy and makes a one-dish meal preparation. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Using canned or your own chili, layer it in a baking dish. If you have an oblong baking dish, you get more cornbread! Make a recipe of cornbread according to your favorite recipe or the boxed directions. There is a recipe listed on my blog. Pour the batter over the chili and spread gently to cover the chili mixtures. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes or until corn bread is baked and the chili is bubbling hot. Serve! If you like it spicer, you can add some chili flakes or canned chilis to the cornbread batter. A change of pace is to sprinkle on a good helping of cheddar over the chili and then put on the cornbread batter.

Pizza for Lent?

My initial approach to Lent can throw me into a bit of a panic about what meatless dishes I can make. We always go meatless on Wednesdays and Fridays. Wednesdays is a personal choice to cover any misteps in our proposed sacrifices! It sounds easy but, being a meat-eating family, I find it hard to think around the missing ingredient of the day.

One meal that I tend to forget is pizza! No, we don't go out to buy one but I make one at home. If you can throw together some bread dough, you can make a pizza. Most stores sell these large, round pans with punched holes to insure the crust gets brown and crispy. A plain baking sheet lined with parchment paper is a good substitute. And who says pizza has to be round?

Basically, you make your dough and then press it into your pans. You don't even have to wait for the dough to rise! Use olive oil on your hands to keep the dough from sticking and add a bit of flavor to the finished product.

For the tomato layer, you can use drained, canned diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, or even the white Alfredo sauce that is available in jars. Fresh tomatoes work, too, thinly sliced.

Mozzarella cheese is usually the first choice. Provolone, Romano, Parmesan, or even cheddar can be interesting. Mine often have a combination of two or three. Don't forget Feta!

Meatless toppings? Diced bell pepper, mushrooms, olives, artichoke hearts, hot peppers, tuna, etc. If you like it, you can use it!

I usually put the tomato on the unbaked crust, first, the cheese, and then the vegetables, etc. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until bubbling and brown.

Sour Cream Bread

Although it seemed a long way off, Lent has arrived! In our household we gave up treats and my 'sacrifice' is to work harder at providing healthy meals for my family. Yes, we try to cut back on our food intake so I try to make the good calories count. Actually, I like putting in the extra time and effort at thinking of meatless meals. This recipe provides a great bread to go along with your dinner whether it is a simple pasta, a vegetable soup, or a dish of lentils. Sour Cream Bread 1 1/2 cup sour cream 4 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon yeast (1/4 cup poppy seeds or sesame seeds add some drama!) Place the yeast in your mixing bowl and add a tablespoon or two of cool water and mix to dissolve the yeast. Add the rest of the ingredients and either use the dough hook on your mixer and a sturdy spoon to form into a workable dough. Knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let rise about an hour until doubles in size. Knead the dough, after it has risen, and place in a vegetable-oil sprayed loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake the loaf for approximately 60 minutes but keep checking after 45 minutes as it depends on your oven. When dark golden brown, set on a cooling rack for a few minutes and then release from pan to finish cooling. Remember, with any bread recipe, it could also become rolls, too! Just adjust the baking time.

Cook's Catalyst - Chapter 20 - Easy as Pie

Chapter Twenty Easy As Pie Whether you realized it or not, making the pastry crust for the Butter-Apple Tart just got you started on learning about and successfully making pie crust. All crusts need a maximum of attention and a minimum of handling. Knowledge of a basic pie crust will open up many recipe ideas for you. Easy Oil Pie Pastry 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup cold milk ½ cup vegetable oil Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a small well in the middle and pour in milk and oil. Stir lightly with a fork until well-mixed. If the pastry is too wet, add minute amounts of flour. If it is a dry day, you may have to add dabs of milk and oil. You can chill the dough at this point for later or go ahead and line a pie pan. This recipe makes one double crust or two single pie crusts. As long as you already have ideas of pastry crusts in mind, think about an elegant main course that uses few ingredients but collects rave notices from hungry families. Cheese-Onion Quiche One un-baked, pie crust 1 cup finely chopped onions 2 tablespoons butter or margarine One cup grated cheddar cheese 3 eggs, slightly beaten 1 ½ tablespoons flour 2 teaspoons dried mustard One can cream of mushroom soup ½ cup milk Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line pie pan with pastry. Saute onions in butter until tender and slightly golden. Spread over pastry. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Mix together eggs, flour, and mustard. Stir in undiluted cream of mushroom soup and milk. Pour over onions and cheese. Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Let stand ten minutes before serving. Although I used cheddar for the above recipe, don’t let that limit you! Swiss cheese is good and Monterey Jack cheese goes well with the addition of some chilies of choice

Cook's Catalyst - Chapter 19 - Your Just Desserts

Cook's Catalyst Chapter Nineteen Your Just Desserts Knowing your way around the assembly of a butter tart crust, opens up many possibilities when fresh fruit is in season. The crust can be baked ahead and frozen until needed. It is like having a secret treasure at your disposal when you need a dessert. This is definitely a Spring/Summer recipe when the fruits are in season. Remember, you can use the fruits you want on the tart. The recipe is just a basic suggestion open to all kinds of creative possibilities. Fresh Fruit Tart One baked pastry tart (bake on a round pizza pan and crimp the edges) 1 8 ounce package cream cheese 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond extract Four peeled and thinly sliced Kiwis Approximately 1 ½ cups of thinly sliced strawberries About one cup fresh blueberries Three peaches, peeled and thinly sliced and dribbled with a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning Whip together the cream cheese, sugar and extracts until fluffy. Spread evenly over the cold pastry shell. Beginning with the outside edge of the tart, arrange your fruit, alternating as you complete each circle around. Use your imagination and the colors of the fruit to your creative advantage! Refrigerate until serving. The cream cheese is satisfying and the fruit, a taste of summer. If you have the time, include your older children in assembling the tarts. Think how much fun they will have showing off their artistic endeavors in the kitchen.

Cook's Catalyst - Chapter 18 - Apples are still a temptation

Chapter Eighteen Apples Are Still a Temptation One of my favorite fruits is the apple. No matter what color or the time of year, the apple can always find a place somewhere on my menu. Although the Fall brings down the prices, apples are available year round. Watch for the sales and use them to your culinary advantage. Applesauce is the finishing touch to many main dishes. The smell of baked ham or pork chops can only be enhanced when there is a drift of apple scent in the air. And home made applesauce is another one of those impressive accomplishments you can make happen with only a little foresight. Homemade applesauce begins with six to eight apples, peeled, cored and chopped coarsely. Green apples work best but using a combination of different varieties makes a unique and equally delicious applesauce. If you are like most busy mothers, the contents of your cupboard don't always reflect what you might want or need come meal preparation time. Combine the prepared apples in a saucepan with the juice and zest of one lemon, ½ cup water, 1/4 to ½ cup sugar, tablespoon of brandy (if you have it), one generous teaspoon of cinnamon, dash of powdered cloves and a bit of nutmeg. Simmer gently on low flame until apples soften. Stir ever so often to prevent scorching. Also makes a good snack by itself A few years ago, I ventured into home canning. There had been a bumper crop of apples that year and the prices in the store had dropped to very, very affordable. I spent an enjoyable albeit hectic morning, canning chunky apple sauce. The twelve jars were finally sealed and cooling on the counter. As I was working on the dishes, my daughters said my apple sauce was great. I whirled around to see them eating from a newly opened jar! I never had to worry about whether I had achieved a good seal on the jars. They never got to the point of having a shelf life! Baked apples are something that can be prepared ahead of time and baked a half hour before you want to serve them. Peel and core one apple per person. Arrange the apples in a shallow, greased baking pan. Stuff the inside of the apples with pitted dates, raisins, walnuts or all of it. Top each with a bit off butter or margarine. Baste with a combination of one cup apple juice, tablespoon brandy, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Baste with the juice mixture at least twice during the baking time. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Just a dribble of sweetened cream can make this a special ending to dinner. There are times when you want something of the apple persuasion but don't want to cope with a pie crust that day. Crumble Topped Apples Six to eight green, tart apples Juice and zest of one lemon 3/4 cup granulated sugar, combined with one tablespoon all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons cinnamon Peel, core and slice six to eight apples depending on size of your family. Mix apple slices in a bowl with the zest and juice of one lemon. Add 3/4 to one cup granulated sugar, the tablespoon of flour and the cinnamon. Taste and see if it is sweet enough for you. Arrange in greased baking pan that will comfortably accommodate the apples. You will want to leave room for the topping. Topping: One stick butter or margarine One cup all-purpose flour ½ cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract One heaping teaspoon cinnamon One cup chopped nuts For the topping, crumble together one stick of butter or margarine, one cup-all-purpose flour, ½ cup brown sugar, one teaspoon vanilla extract, one heaping teaspoon cinnamon and one cup chopped nuts. The mixture should be coarse but ingredients well-distributed. Arrange over the top of the apples and bake for approximately 35 minutes or until golden and bubbly. All ingredients can be doubled to make a larger amount for a big family. Serve hot, warm or cold. Can stand by itself but whipped cream or vanilla ice cream will make it special. If you are enjoying one of those crock pot days and want to be adventurous, you might be interested in warming up your kitchen with a fresh apple tart. 　 Butter-Apple Tart Peel, core and thinly slice six apples, toss with zest and juice of one lemon Two tablespoons all-purpose flour One teaspoon cinnamon Dash ground cloves ½ cup granulated sugar Mix together and set aside while you prepare the crust. Butter Rich Crust Two sticks of butter (best!) or margarine 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour Zest of one lemon 1 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Ice water as needed to form dough Combine two sticks of butter or margarine (butter is best but not necessary), and one and one half cups all-purpose flour with zest of one lemon, one cup granulated sugar and two teaspoons vanilla extract. The food processor really facilitates the matter. When you have a dough, press onto a greased baking sheet. Spread it out as far as possible, making it about one-fourth inch thick. We are going for a rustic look here, not symmetrical. Arrange the apple slices on the crust, overlapping them slightly. Be creative here and think about how it will look when it comes to the table. It will taste good no matter what, but eye appeal certainly helps that homey atmosphere. Leave about a two-inch space of dough around the edges. Once you have finished placing the apple slices, lap the dough over all around. It won't be even, so don't even try. Brush the edges with water, sprinkle with sugar. If you have some sugared juice left from the apples, dribble it over the sliced apples. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes or until edges are very golden brown. You want to make sure the bottom of the crust is baked through. You can lift up a corner and peek if you are in doubt. Turn down to 375 degrees if it seems to be browning too quickly. Best served warm or cold.

Cranberry Nut Muffins

Cranberry Nut Muffins 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking sod 1 large egg 1 2/3 cups milk 1/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup chopped walnuts 1/2 cup vanilla chips 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped 2 tablespoons orange zest, finely grated 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin pans with cupcake papers. You should get 12-18 cupcakes depending on size. Scoop the batter into the muffin pan filling it no more than 2/3rds full. Bake for approximately 25-45 minutes depending on size of your tin, heat of your oven, etc. Poke one with a toothpick to test for doneness. It should come out 'clean'. Cool and remove from tin and complete cooling on a rack. You can drizzle with orange or lemon icing. A dusting of powdered sugar is fast and easy, too.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

The one thing that can lure me away from a self-imposed diet is a peanut butter cup chocolate candy. I can avoid them while shopping as I'm careful about going off my grocery list. However, upon discovering this easy recipe, temptation is but a few minutes of work away! http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Homemade-Peanut-Butter-Cups?pmcode=IMBDV01T&_mid=2340136&_rid=2340136.558202.453303 If you have trouble accessing the link, let me know and I will post the actual recipe here.

College advice from an actual college student!

My daughter told me about her college method of making pot pies. She and her roommate had a weekly dinner party so everyone could get a break from the awful cafeteria food so they always tried to come up with something different and tasty. Pot pies turned out to be very popular. The way she and her friend cooked for a crowd? They used the crescent rolls you can find in the refrigerated section of the market. You know the kind that come in a tube? Well, they would press a unbaked roll in each place of a muffin tin with enough to wrap up over the filling. I was amazed at what an easy solution and already started thinking about how I was going to do it in the future. The chicken filling can be easy, too. Use an undiluted can of chicken soup with some additional chicken and vegetables. I use frozen one as they will cook through. You can do the same thing with the refrigerator cookie dough and make pies. Again, just press the cookie dough into the muffin tin, add some canned apple pie filling, and bake. Naturally, if you are not in a hurry, you can use your favorite cookie or pie crust fillings to accomplish the individual pies.