Taco Cornbread Casserole

I found this on Debbi Does Dinner's blog -- tweaked it a bit to suit my family.  (see link for her original recipe) Very good, they loved it - I'll be making it again for sure!

Serves 4-6
1 package (8 1/2 oz) corn bread/muffin mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 lb (approx) cooked ground beef, seasoned as for tacos (I used salt, pepper, cumin, a dash of chili powder, and 1/2 cup hot salsa)
1 can beans*  (original recipe used black beans, I used chili beans)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup colby jack, cheddar or mexican cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 can sliced olives (optional, I forgot)

In a large bowl, combine the corn bread mix, butter, egg and milk until blended.  Spread into an 8 x 8 pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.   -- Or short version:  Prepare according to package directions. 
Brown ground beef, and season well.  Drain.
Combine meat, beans and 3/4 cup cheese and spread over corn bread.  
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes longer or until heated through and cheese is melted.  
Combine sour cream and onion.  
Serve topped with the sour cream/onion mixture and sprinkled liberally with tomato, lettuce and remaining 1/4 cup of cheese. 
***
Changes for next time & other notes:
Saute onion, add to ground beef
Cook meat ahead to save time.
Add a can of ro-tel to the meat instead of salsa.
Use green onion in sour cream
Add red and/or green bell pepper to lettuce and tomato --the color and crunch would be great!
Remember the olives!
Serve with salsa, if desired
Beans -- black beans would be great, but P isn't a fan. Chili beans worked very well,  and their seasoned "juice" was a good addition to the meat.  Could use pinto or red beans tho may need additional seasoning.
Might try with jalapeno cornbread for an added "kick."
Might also try with corn added to the taco meat for added color and as another veggie.

Pizza!

I've tried several no-yeast pizza "doughs" and they just didn't pass muster.  I've recently been experimenting with yeast doughs and this one has had rave reviews from two teen boys as well as P!

This makes 1 14-inch thick crust pizza or 2 12-inch thin crust
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope RapidRise Yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup very warm water
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
Cornmeal


Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, undissolved yeast, and salt. Stir very warm water and olive oil into flour mixture. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4 to 6 minutes. Cover; let rest on floured surface 10 minutes.  Note:  I mix this in my KitchenAid mixer w/ dough hook = very little kneading by hand.
2. Lightly oil 1 (14-inch) or 2 (12-inch) round pizza pan(s). Sprinkle with cornmeal. Shape dough into smooth ball. Divide and roll dough to fit desired pan(s). Top pizza as desired.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until done. Baking time depends on size and thickness of crust and selected toppings.

Ideas to try...Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough:  add 2 tsp of dried basil, oregano or rosemary and 1 clove finely minced garlic along with dry ingredients.  Whole Wheat Pizza Dough:  replace 1 cup of all-purpose flour with 1 cup whole wheat flour.

Pork Loin in Red Wine

This recipe was modified from MaryAnn Esposito's - Ciao Italia recipe for Pork Loin in Barolo Wine.
I used a good red wine (Barolo is a bit expensive -- $40+), and dried rosemary rather than fresh.
I wasn't sure how this would go over with P, since he's not a fan of rosemary, but he loved it!  Tonight he's taking several leftover slices to make sandwiches for dinner at work.


2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried rosemary OR 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
5-pound boneless pork loin roast
2 cups Barolo wine (or other good red wine)*
1/2 cup tomato paste

Mince the garlic and rosemary together. Place the mixture in a small bowl and add salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the pork roast.

Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the roast and let it brown in its own fat. (*Note:  I had to add about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil).  Lower the heat to simmer, pour in 1 cup of the wine, cover and cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Turn the meat once or twice halfway through the cooking process.

Combine the tomato paste with the remaining wine and add it to the pot. Cover and simmer about 1 1/2 hours, until the meat thermometer registers 155-160, and meat is tender.

Transfer the meat to a cutting board; allow it to rest, covered loosely by aluminum foil, for 10 minutes before slicing. Cut the roast into 1/4-inch slices. Return the slices to the pot and reheat; serve with some of the pan juices.

From the original recipe:  Note: This roast may also be made in a slow cooker. After browning the roast, set the cooker on LOW, put in the roast and leave it cooking for 8 hours. Add the rest of the wine and the tomato paste after 1 1/2 hours have elapsed.

Serves 12 to 16.

I served this with fettucine alfredo, as requested, but want to try the Broccoli Rape with Olives she made on that episode.

*I may  try a Zinfindel next time -- the jammy, spicy flavors could go well with pork...or, perhaps, a Merlot due to it's rich flavors of blackberry, plum and cherry.

My Lasagna

Here's the recipe for my "standby" lasagna -- basic, hearty, quick to put together.
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. spicy Italian sausage (bulk sausage)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 26-oz jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 to 1 lb sliced mushrooms, sauteed
8 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
1-3/4 c. ricotta cheese
1 egg slightly beaten
several (depending on your taste) fresh basil leaves, chopped  (or 1/2 tsp dried)
several fresh oregano leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried)
handful Italian parsley, chopped
9-12 pieces oven ready lasagna noodles, uncooked
16 oz. (4 c.) mozzarella, shredded
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Saute mushrooms.  Set aside.
Saute onion, garlic; add ground beef.  Cook until browned, drain.  Cook Italian sausage, drain if needed.  Add onion and ground beef to sausage.
Stir in spaghetti sauce, spinach, and mushrooms.
In a small bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, egg, basil, oregano, parsley.
In a 13x9x2 baking dish, spread 3/4 cup meat sauce.
Place 3 pieces of uncooked lasagna crosswise over sauce.
Spread about 2/3 cup ricotta mixture evenly over pasta.  Spread 3/4 cup meat sauce evenly over ricotta covering pasta completely; sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
Repeat above steps two more times.
Top with remaining 3 pasta pieces.  Spread remaining meat sauce completely over pasta; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil.  Bake 30 minutes, remove foil.  Bake 10-15 minutes more or until hot and bubbly.
Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Makes 10 to 12 servings

Peanut Butter Crunch Cookies

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups crispy rice cereal (such as Rice Krispies)
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/2 cup strawberry jam (optional)

Directions
1.Heat oven to 375°F. Using an electric mixer set on high speed, cream the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Lower to medium speed and add the egg, peanut butter, and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture on low speed. Beat until incorporated. Fold in the rice cereal and peanuts.

2.Form the dough into approximately 1 1/2 -inch balls. Place on parchment- or foil-lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Gently press the cookies with the back of a fork to create classic hatch marks. Use your thumb to create a shallow well in the center of each cookie and fill with a spoonful of jam, if desired.

3.Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks.

Asian braised pork with cucumber salad

from Woman's Day April 2011


1/4 c soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 c plus 1/ Tbsp brown sugar
1 2in. piece fresh ginger, half thinly sliced and half grated
2 1/2 lb boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 2in. pieces
1 c. long grain white rice


1/4 c rice vinegar
Kosher salt and pepper
1 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced into half-moons
1/4 sweet onion, thinly sliced


In a 5-6 qt slow cooker, combine the soy sauce, allspice, red pepper, 1/4 c of the brown sugar and the sliced ginger.  Add the pork and toss to coat.  Cover and cook until the meat is tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 5 to 6 hours.
Thirty minutes before serving, cook the rice according to package directions.  
In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, the remaining Tbsp brown sugar, the grated ginger, and the 1/4 each salt and pepper.  Add the cucumber and onion and toss to combine.
Spoon the pork over the rice and serve with the cucumber salad.

Spaghetti Pie

8 oz spaghetti/linguine
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 c parmesan cheese
2 well-beaten eggs
1 c cottage cheese or sour cream
1 lb Italian sausage
1/2 c chopped green onion
1/3 c chopped green pepper
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp garlic salt
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c. water

Cook pasta according to package.  Drain, stir in butter, parmesan cheese, and beaten eggs with hot pasta.  Turn into a crust in buttered 10-in pie plate.  Spread cottage cheese or sour cream over  bottom of spaghetti crust.
In skillet cook sausage, onion, green pepper until meat is browned.  Drain off fat.  Stir in tomato paste, water, sugar and seasonings, heat thru.
Turn meat mixture into spaghetti crust.  Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese melts or is bubbly.  Allow to sit 5 minutes.

Serves 6-8

{FFwD} Scallops with Caramel-Orange Sauce

Wow!  Loved this!!  So easy, so fast, and my DH loved it! 
I had to use the small, frozen scallops instead of the large ones.  The sauce was so lovely - sweet/savory combo, so delicious. 

I'll be using the sauce for chicken next!

{FFwD} Beggar's Linguine

I've been looking forward to this one since it's easy, quick and involves pasta.  The only "catch" is, my husband and son will not even try it!  As a result, I had to make adjustments to serve just one...not too difficult, fortunately.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this dish...I was intrigued by the pasta + nuts + fruits, and I was very pleasantly surprised at the results!  This is one I plan to make again and again, and will be sure to have the ingredients on hand at all times.  It's so easy, and very yummy and comforting -- absolutely perfect!

(and yes, I did use spaghetti rather than linguine since it's what I had on hand)

Jiffy Raspberry Bars

Recently, I felt the urge to bake for my peeps at work...wanted to make a quick bread using a cake or muffin mix but didn't find a recipe I liked. So, used Jiffy Raspberry muffin mix, and made the Raspberry Bars recipe from the box -- Very easy!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1 box Jiffy Raspberry muffin mix
1/4 c. quick oats
1/4 c. chopped nuts (or omit, and use more oats)
5 Tbs. soft butter

Mix until crumbly. Set aside 1/4 cup of mixture and press remaining into an greased 8 inch square baking dish. Top with 1/2 c. raspberry preserves/jam (I used Bonne Maman cherry preserves), leaving a 1/2 inch border all around. Sprinkle with reserved mixture and bake for 20-25 minutes.

I'm certain these would be fabulous when warm but were damn good at room temp the next morning at work!