I really love sweet cornbread with spicy chili or pinto beans. I've also learned (to the detriment of my blood pressure & LDL count) that it is really good just warmed, buttered, and salted. It is also a key ingredient of my family's holiday stuffing/dressing.
For years I've used whatever recipe happens to be on the back of the current box of Quaker Corn Meal in my cabinet, but they've done something to the recipe in recent years and, for some reason, unless I divide the batter into two separate pans or use a 13x9" casserole dish, the middle doesn't bake all the way through.
In any case, what follows is what I'm using now; it's adapted from the back of the Quaker box I have in my pantry right now. If I ever figure out what the heck's going on with the middle coming out raw, I'll revise it. :-)
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup corn meal (I do prefer Quaker)
1 cup sugar (note: original recipe says 1/4 cup)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 egg whites or 1 egg, beaten (I always just use the one whole egg)
Heat oven to 400F. Grease two 8- or 9-inch pans *or* one 13"x9" cake/casserole pan. (Note: if you use a liberal amount of vegetable oil to grease the pan(s), the edges of the cornbread will come out crispy-ish. Yum!)
Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown and wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean (good freakin' luck!).
"9 servings." (Yeah, right! LOL!)
Showing posts with label comfort food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comfort food. Show all posts
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Recipe: Enchilada Casserole
Having grown up in South Texas, I love Mexican food. Well, not *all* Mexican food--I probably will never try tripas or menudo. Just not interested. There's plenty of delicious "normal" food to be had; I feel no need to expose my palette to offal.
Though I've grown up eating Mexican food quite regularly, I've never really been good at cooking it--even my tacos suck. But a few months ago, I was craving enchiladas, and I remembered that one of my sisters had mentioned making enchilada casserole.
She sent me her recipe and, since then, I've probably eaten enchilada casserole 2-3 times per month ever since. I make a big pan, eat some for supper, then freeze the rest. A quart-sized freezer bag easily holds one or two servings. I don't get fancy with reheating from frozen--I microwave it, bag & all, for 20 seconds, then turn it out of the bag onto a plate and microwave it for 4-5 minutes on high. Top it with cayenne pepper for an extra kick.
Be advised that the measurements in this recipe need not be exact; e.g., if I say a 10.5oz can of something, it's ok to use a 10.75oz can instead. It's supposed to be an easy recipe that you can adjust to your tastes and/or product availability.
Anyway, here's the recipe:
1-3lbs ground beef (sister's recipe said 1lb; I've made it w/up to 3lbs, and it came out great)
1 medium or large onion (I use yellow or white, but whatever. It's optional, anyway.)
1-10oz can enchilada sauce (I've never made it from scratch, but here's a recipe just in case)
Note: Some brands of enchilada sauce are available in different degrees of spiciness. You can always
sprinkle the finished product with ground cayenne pepper on a serving-by-serving basis if the can
you bring home turns out to be too bland.
1-10.5oz can cream of mushroom soup
1-10.5oz can cream of chicken soup
16oz grated Velveeta (or up to 32oz white or orange cheddar; I like the stringiness of melted sharp cheddar)
12-18 corn tortillas
Preheat oven to 350F.
Place the corn tortillas into a bowl, and cover them with water. Let them soak while preparing the meat.
Chop or dice (your preference) the onion.
Note: If you prefer your onions softer, put them into the frying pan with the raw meat. If you like them
crunchier, add them to the meat toward the end of browning or even later.
Crumble the ground beef into a large, deep frying pan. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Remove from heat, and drain off the fat.
Return the cooked beef to the frying pan. If you wanted your onions crunchy, add them to the browned ground beef now. Dump the enchilada sauce, cream of mushroom soup, and cream of chicken soup into the ground beef. Stir until fully incorporated.
Smear a few spoonfuls of the beef mixture into the bottom of a 13"x9" rectangular casserole dish. Tear the soaked tortillas into quarters. Place a layer of quartered tortillas into the bottom of the dish followed by a thin layer of beef mixture and a thin layer of shredded cheese. Repeat this process until all ingredients are used up, ending with a layer of cheese on top.
Bake the casserole for 30 minutes.
Serve with a green salad (or guacamole salad!) and iced tea. Optionally, top with more raw diced onions, a dusting of ground cayenne/red pepper, and/or even more shredded cheese.
Serves six normal people or one glutton. :-D
Though I've grown up eating Mexican food quite regularly, I've never really been good at cooking it--even my tacos suck. But a few months ago, I was craving enchiladas, and I remembered that one of my sisters had mentioned making enchilada casserole.
She sent me her recipe and, since then, I've probably eaten enchilada casserole 2-3 times per month ever since. I make a big pan, eat some for supper, then freeze the rest. A quart-sized freezer bag easily holds one or two servings. I don't get fancy with reheating from frozen--I microwave it, bag & all, for 20 seconds, then turn it out of the bag onto a plate and microwave it for 4-5 minutes on high. Top it with cayenne pepper for an extra kick.
Be advised that the measurements in this recipe need not be exact; e.g., if I say a 10.5oz can of something, it's ok to use a 10.75oz can instead. It's supposed to be an easy recipe that you can adjust to your tastes and/or product availability.
Anyway, here's the recipe:
1-3lbs ground beef (sister's recipe said 1lb; I've made it w/up to 3lbs, and it came out great)
1 medium or large onion (I use yellow or white, but whatever. It's optional, anyway.)
1-10oz can enchilada sauce (I've never made it from scratch, but here's a recipe just in case)
Note: Some brands of enchilada sauce are available in different degrees of spiciness. You can always
sprinkle the finished product with ground cayenne pepper on a serving-by-serving basis if the can
you bring home turns out to be too bland.
1-10.5oz can cream of mushroom soup
1-10.5oz can cream of chicken soup
16oz grated Velveeta (or up to 32oz white or orange cheddar; I like the stringiness of melted sharp cheddar)
12-18 corn tortillas
Preheat oven to 350F.
Place the corn tortillas into a bowl, and cover them with water. Let them soak while preparing the meat.
Chop or dice (your preference) the onion.
Note: If you prefer your onions softer, put them into the frying pan with the raw meat. If you like them
crunchier, add them to the meat toward the end of browning or even later.
Crumble the ground beef into a large, deep frying pan. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Remove from heat, and drain off the fat.
Return the cooked beef to the frying pan. If you wanted your onions crunchy, add them to the browned ground beef now. Dump the enchilada sauce, cream of mushroom soup, and cream of chicken soup into the ground beef. Stir until fully incorporated.
Smear a few spoonfuls of the beef mixture into the bottom of a 13"x9" rectangular casserole dish. Tear the soaked tortillas into quarters. Place a layer of quartered tortillas into the bottom of the dish followed by a thin layer of beef mixture and a thin layer of shredded cheese. Repeat this process until all ingredients are used up, ending with a layer of cheese on top.
Bake the casserole for 30 minutes.
Serve with a green salad (or guacamole salad!) and iced tea. Optionally, top with more raw diced onions, a dusting of ground cayenne/red pepper, and/or even more shredded cheese.
Serves six normal people or one glutton. :-D
Friday, March 30, 2012
Recipe: Texas Hash
This is a dish Mom made for us growing up. I've surely modified it in some ways as I've prepared it myself over the years, but I couldn't tell you how Mom originally made it or which is better. I think the point of homemade skillet meals like this are that they're pretty basic, and you're welcome to personalize it--no hard feelings. :-)
Texas Hash freezes really well, and I like to have it in lieu of Meatloaf as comfort food as it's quicker & easier, and I don't have to worry about whether it's cooked through. It may heat up the house less since it doesn't have to be baked. Just guessing.
All measurements are approximate. Find your own happy balance. :-)
1.5-2 lbs ground beef
1 beef bouillon cube (optional)
1 bell pepper (optional)
1 medium onion, diced (or large or small or whatever. I like yellow or white onion for this)
Salt, pepper, & garlic powder (or cloves or whatever) to taste
1 12.5oz can green beans
1 12.5oz can sweet corn
1 12.5oz can diced tomatoes (or ~1.5cups fresh diced tomato, whatever)
If you don't have cooked rice on-hand already, cook according to package directions so that you'll wind up with 2-3 cups when it's cooked. You can use whatever kind of rice you want, but since this is mixed in, I like to use the long grain type that doesn't stick together. It's one of the few uses I've found for that stuff.
Brown the ground beef with the onion, bouillon cube, and seasonings in a huge skillet. Drain off the fat.
Drain the juice out of the canned vegetables (and the fruit, if you're going to be pedantic). Combine beef mixture with vegetables and rice in the skillet.
You can serve it by itself, or topped with shredded cheddar. YUM! I also like to top it with cocktail sauce and serve it with mashed or baked potatoes.
Enjoy! :-)
Texas Hash freezes really well, and I like to have it in lieu of Meatloaf as comfort food as it's quicker & easier, and I don't have to worry about whether it's cooked through. It may heat up the house less since it doesn't have to be baked. Just guessing.
All measurements are approximate. Find your own happy balance. :-)
Deana's Texas Hash
2-3 cups of rice (cooked)1.5-2 lbs ground beef
1 beef bouillon cube (optional)
1 bell pepper (optional)
1 medium onion, diced (or large or small or whatever. I like yellow or white onion for this)
Salt, pepper, & garlic powder (or cloves or whatever) to taste
1 12.5oz can green beans
1 12.5oz can sweet corn
1 12.5oz can diced tomatoes (or ~1.5cups fresh diced tomato, whatever)
If you don't have cooked rice on-hand already, cook according to package directions so that you'll wind up with 2-3 cups when it's cooked. You can use whatever kind of rice you want, but since this is mixed in, I like to use the long grain type that doesn't stick together. It's one of the few uses I've found for that stuff.
Brown the ground beef with the onion, bouillon cube, and seasonings in a huge skillet. Drain off the fat.
Drain the juice out of the canned vegetables (and the fruit, if you're going to be pedantic). Combine beef mixture with vegetables and rice in the skillet.
You can serve it by itself, or topped with shredded cheddar. YUM! I also like to top it with cocktail sauce and serve it with mashed or baked potatoes.
Enjoy! :-)
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