golden corn bake (pg 65), chicken enchilada with red chili sauce (pg 109), & chocolate oblivion caramel pecan tart (pg 197)

golden corn bake

recipe

1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 c margarine
1 (16 oz) can whole corn, drained
1 (16 oz) can cream corn
1 (8 oz) corn muffin mix
3 eggs
1 c cheese, grated
1 c sour cream

method

brown onion and pepper in margarine. add corn, muffin mix, and eggs. pour into 9x12 baking dish. mix grated cheese and sour cream and top corn mixture. bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

thoughts

a quick dish to pull together, we had it out of the oven before church even! can't go wrong with any cheese, but we made this with pepperjack in keeping with the spicy theme of the meal and it added a subtle kick to the otherwise mild dish.

chicken enchilada

recipe

1 1/2 T oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
3 T chili powder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 12 ounces)
2 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
3/4 c water
1/2 c coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 (4 oz) can pickles jalapeños, drained and chopped (about 1/4 cup)
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

tortillas and toppings

10 six inch corn tortillas
vegetable oil cooking spray
3 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 c sour cream
1 avocado, diced medium
5 romaine lettuce leaves, washed, dried, and shredded
2 limes, quartered

method

1. for the sauce and filling: heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown--about 5 minutes. add garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt, and sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. add the chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until coated with the spices, about 30 seconds. add the tomato sauce and water; stir to separate the chicken pieces. bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to med-low; simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the flavors have melded, about 8 minutes. pour mixture through a medium-mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing on the chicken and onions to extract as much sauce as possible; set the sauce aside. transfer the chicken mixture to a large plate; freeze for 10 minutes to cool, then combine with the cilantro, jalapeños and the 8 ounces shredded cheddar in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. to assemble: smear the entire bottom of a 9x13 pan 3/4 cup of the chili sauce. place the tortillas in a single layer on two baking sheets. spray both sides lightly with cooking spray. bake at 300 until the tortillas are soft and pliable, about 4 minutes. transfer the warm tortillas to a work surface. increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. spread 1/3 cup filling down the center of each tortilla. roll each tortilla tightly by hand and place, seam-side down, side by side on the sauce in the baking dish. pour the remaining chili sauce over the top of the enchiladas. use the back of a spoon to spread the sauce so it coats the top of each tortilla. sprinkle the 3 ounces shredded cheddar down the center of the enchiladas.

3. to bake: spray foil with cooking spray; cover the baking dish with foil. bake the enchiladas on the low middle rack until they are heated through and the cheese is melted, 20-25 minutes. uncover and serve immediately, passing the sour cream, avocado, lettuce, and lime wedges.

thoughts



megan: they were glorious. caitlin: why am i single? this dish took almost every cutting board, bowl, counter service, etc...in the kitchen, but it is so totally worth it.



chocolate tart

recipe

1 3/4 c milk chocolate chips
1 1/3 c finely crushed chocolate graham cracker crumbs
2 T butter, softened
3/4 c heavy whipping cream
1 T light corn syrup
1 1/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 c caramel ice cream topping
1 c chopped pecans, toasted, divided

method

spray 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom with nonstick spray. microwave 1 cup milk chocolate chips on medium high for 1 minute; stir. if necessary, microwave an addition 10-15 seconds, stirring until melted. stir crumbs and butter. stir in melted chocolate until moistened. press onto bottom and up sides of tart pan using dampened fingers. refrigerate. combine cream and corn syrup in saucepan. bring to boil. remove from heat; stir in semi-sweet morsels. let stand for 5 minutes. stir until chocolate is melted. spread over prepared crust. refrigerate for 30 minutes. microwave caramel topping on high for 1-1 1/2 minutes or until heated through, stirring halfway. add remaining milk chocolate chips, stir until chocolate is melted. sprinkle 2/3 cup nuts over chilled tart. carefully drizzle milk chocolate caramel mixture over nuts. sprinkle with remaining nut. cover tart loosely. refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. remove side of tart pan and place on serving platter. makes 12 servings.

thoughts

we ate this with glass of wine, while watching bottle shock--a wine movie featuring alan rickman. it was perfection. we'll take a picture later, when we take it out to eat it.

broiled grapefruit (pg 101)

recipe

2 large pink or red grapefruit, halved, at room temperature
3 T brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp flour
1 tsp grated fresh ginger (or 1/4 tsp ground ginger)
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 T butter, room temp

method

heat broiler. section each grapefruit half by cutting between the rind and the pulp and between each membrane. combine remaining ingredients. distribute mixture among the four grapefruit halves, smearing it on the cut side of each. broil until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. serve immediately. serves 4.

thoughts

a wonderful, quick "special" breakfast. from moment of--we should make the broiled grapefruit to uhhhh, soooo good was probably about 20 minutes. and, most of that time was spent fighting the not room temperature butter. two recommendations: slice a bit of the bottom off the grapefruit so it stands level and line the pan with aluminum foil (clean-up isn't too difficult, we just soaked it a bit, but it would make it much easier).

broccoli casserole II (pg 61) & chicklen l'orange (pg 110)

first and foremost, i (caitlin) would like to thank czako for making this meal. it was amazing.

broccoli casserole II

recipe

1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
6 eggs, beaten
1 (24 oz) container small curd cottage cheese
6 T flour
8 oz cheese of choice, diced
1/4 c butter, melted
2 green onions, chopped
salt & pepper to taste

method

thaw broccoli under running water; separate and drain well. combine remaining ingredients in large bowl and mix until well blended stir in broccoli. pour into greased slow cooker. cover and cook on high 1 hour. stir well, then resume cooking on low for 2-4 hours.

note: or pour into 8x8 casserole, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. remove cover and bake an addition 15 minutes or until bubbly. serves 4-6.

thoughts

if you like cheese and broccoli, you will like this. this is yummy yummy. we even put onions in it!! one addition we discussed for a future making of this is the addition of ritz crackers--soon enough that they become slightly softened, but not so soon that they get soggy.

chicken l'orange

recipe

2 whole chicken breasts, split, skinned, and boned
2 T butter
2 tsp cornstarch
1/3 c orange juice
1/3 c heinz 57 sauce
1/4 c orange marmalade
slivered toasted almonds

method

in skillet, slowly sauté chicken in butter 8-10 minutes; remove and set aside. mix cornstarch and juice, stir in 57 sauce and marmalade. pour into skillet; heat, stirring until thickened. place chicken in sauce; heat. serve garnished with almonds. makes 4 servings.

thoughts

we found the chicken didn't cook in the time specified in the recipe, so we threw it in the oven to finish it off. simple to make, so it's a good sunday dinner without too much effort. according to megan, the sauce from this should be mixed with the casserole II. also, to avoid people getting embarrassed like someone *coughczakocough*, the 57 sauce is ketchup.

dump cake (pg 203)

ingredients

2 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling
1 (16 oz) can crushed pineapple with juice
1 white cake mix
2 sticks butter
coconut

method

in a 9x13 cake pan spread evenly the cherry pie filling. next layer on the pineapple, juice and all. sprinkle the dry cake mix. slice the butter lengthwise for the next layer. sprinkle generously with coconut. bake 325 degrees for 90 minutes (checking carefully after 60 minutes so it doesn't burn.) serves 12.

thoughts

hello, readers, this is caitlin. for those of you who don't know, i am working as a nanny. i made this dish with my little one (23-months today!!). it was a very kid-friendly method. i dumped the heavy/syrupy things--she'd spread them around, i'd put sprinkling stuff in her hand--she'd sprinkle (with the cutest look of joy i've ever seen), and she'd place the butter as i cut it. the cake itself was very rich. i'd say more 24ish servings, rather than 12.


in a completely unrelated note--pictures should be posted this weekend, so check previous entry to see the amazingness.

fresh oranges with caramel and ginger (pg 36) & cheryl's chicken with rice (pg 106)

fresh oranges with caramel and ginger

ingredients

5 seedless oranges (naval's or blood orange)
2 T chopped crystallized ginger
1/3 c granulated sugar
8-10 mint leaves, very thinly sliced

method

finely grade the zest from one orange to get 2 teaspoons zest. cut the tops and bottoms off each orange, being sure to cut into some of the flesh; reserve the tops and bottoms. cut the peel off the sides, exposing the flesh by cutting under the pithy membrane. discard the peels cut from the sides. cut each orange in half vertically, trim out the pithy core, and then slice each piece crosswise into 1/4 inch half moons. arrange the slices on a large, shallow serving dish or deep platter. combine the zest and crystallized ginger on a cutting board and chop them together until they're well mixed. scatter the ginger and zest evenly over the oranges.

put 2 tables spoons water in a small, heavy saucepan and pour the sugar on top. bring to a boil over high heat, lower the heat to medium high, and boil without stirring until the syrup has turned a deep medium brown, 5-8 minutes. watch the pan carefully during the last few minutes, as the caramel goes quickly from brown to burnt. using heavy pot holder to hold the pan, immediately drizzle the caramel over the oranges, getting a bit of caramel on each slice. scatter the mint over the oranges. squeeze the juice from the reserved ends of the oranges over all. serves 4 to 6.

note: if you forget and toss the tops and bottoms, use 2 tablespoons orange juice.



thoughts

light dish. as stated in the methods, the sugar goes from not brown to brown very quickly, so watch it towards the end. although, we'd totally just recommend watching the whole thing because it bubbles and it is amazing. we forgot the mint, but the dish was still good, and it made megan happy.



cheryl's chicken with rice

ingredients

1 c raw rice
1 1/3 c milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup

method

combine above. add 1 teaspoon thyme, scant 1/4 tsp. crumbled basil, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. parsley flakes. mix well. can add can of mushrooms. grease 9x13 pan. pour mixture in. place raw breasts over top. bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. pour milk in if it looks dry.

thoughts

one change we made (at megan's suggestion) and really liked was the substitution of broccoli for the mushrooms--the fresh ones, not the cream soup. the flavors of this dish were light and delicious and the chicken was amazingly moist. the dish was a bit dry, but in the discussion we just had, we realized the "pour milk in" might have referred to additional milk, rather than that indicated in the ingredients. "deliciously simple" -czako (and then she hit herself in the face).

horseradish creamed carrots (pg 66 ) & beef tips and noodles (pg 96)

horseradish creamed carrots

recipe

2 lbs carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 c mayo
1/3 c half & half cream
1/4 c prepared horseradish
2 T finely chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c crushed cornflakes
2 T butter, melted

method

cook carrots in boiling water until tender; drain. in large bowl, combine mayo, cream, horseradish, onion, salt, and pepper; add carrots and toss to coat. transfer to 1 1/2 quart baking dish. combine cornflakes crumbs and butter; sprinkle over carrots. bake, uncovered 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until bubbly. serves 6.

thoughts

YUMMY!! we used some sort of chex-mix style cereal, because that's what we already had on hand in the pantry. it worked fine, so we feel pretty safe saying that if you have a "non-flavored cereal" go ahead and use it. the horseradish flavor isn't over powering, so don't let that ingredient scare you.

beef tips and noodles

recipe

1 lb sirloin tips, cubed
1 sm onion sliced on quarter
1 tsp garlic powder
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10.75 oz) can golden mushroom soup
1 (1.25 oz) pkg beef with onion soup mix
1 (4.5 oz) can mushrooms, drained
1 c water or milk
1 (16 oz) pkg wide egg noodles



method

brown meat cubes in large skillet. transfer beef to crockpot. stir soups and water in skillet scraping bits from bottom of pan; add to browned meat. add remaining ingredients, except noodles. bake 1 hour in oven, covered with foil; 400 degrees. or cook in crockpot for 6 hours or until very tender. cook noodles according to package instructions. serve meat and gravy over noodles.

thoughts

the full meal



i asked megan for her opinion, and she burped. for the record: caitlin is forgoing vegetarianism for the sake of this adventure, so we did both eat it. this dish was delicious. we really liked the longer cooking process. although it might not work for a day when we were both working 8 hours, we were easily able to put it in before church and eat it as a nice brunch.

amendment to the cheesy goodness meal post

we forgot a very potentially very important ingredient in our last meal post. it is pictured here--please forgive it being backwards (weird computer thing?), but i'm sure you'll get what we mean.