Those cornbread thingies

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Add water to mix (not too thick)

 Salt and baking powder or just an estimate since I just spoon them. I use Crisco shortening to cook them. The secret is to keep grease in the pan to give better flavor.  I spoon out tablespoon sizes. You can make a smaller batches, just make flour and corn meal the same amount and sugar half of the amount. Add salt and baking powder accordingly. Enjoy. 

Try frying these in bacon grease.  These are good served with chili or anywhere you would serve cornbread. 

Bacon cheddar beer scalloped potatoes

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground chile de arbol (can substitute cayenne pepper, to taste)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup beer, Belgian style wheat beer (Blue Moon)
1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth*
8 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup half & half
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
24 ounces bacon, cooked, drained and chopped
3 pounds red potatoes, sliced thin


Move rack to center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Add flour and whisk; allow flour to cook for 2-3 minutes to cook out the ‘floury’ taste. Add garlic, chile, paprika, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine.
Slowly add beer, chicken half and half. Whisk until there are no lumps. Add cheese and whisk constantly until you have a smooth mixture. Add milk and Worcestershire. Reduce heat to low.
Butter a 3 quart casserole dish. Layer potatoes in casserole dish, topping each layer with about ½ cup of cheese sauce. Halfway through add half of chopped bacon on top of cheese layer. Continue layering cheese sauce and potatoes. Reserve the remaining bacon.
Bake for 70-90 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Top with remaining bacon for the last 10 minutes of cook time. Allow potatoes to rest for 20 minutes before serving to thicken up. Serve and enjoy!

*If you do not have chicken broth, you can heat ½ cup water and ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon to substitute.

Brussels sprouts and bacon au gratin

• 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, halved
• 8 oz. bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cup half and half
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• Salt and ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Toss brussel sprouts in olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place them in a large glass baking dish and roast for 15-20 minutes, or until semi-softened.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, garlic powder, onion powder and red pepper flakes (if using), then stir in the cheese.
4. Remove brussel sprouts from oven and add 3/4 bacon to the baking dish. Pour cheese mixture over the top and stir everything together, then top with remaining bacon.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 350F° return baking dish to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and just set.
6. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving

Cowboy cornbread trifle

INGREDIENTS
1 box cornbread mix, prepared per package instructions
2 medium jalapeños, seeded and minced
½ medium yellow onion
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 pound thick sliced bacon, cooked and chopped into bits
1 ½ cup mayonnaise
1 cup ranch dressing
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes, juices drained
2 (16 oz) cans beans (pinto, kidney, or black), drained and rinsed
2 (16 oz) cans sweet corn, drained and rinsed
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 small bunch green onions, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste

PREPARATION
Cut prepared cornbread into 1-inch chunks. Set aside.
Toss tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, beans, jalapeños, and corn together in a bowl to make a salsa.
Combine mayonnaise and ranch dressing, add salt and pepper, to taste.
Build trifle: add 1 layer of chopped cornbread, followed by a layer of salsa; add shredded cheese, followed by a layer of mayonnaise mixture, and a layer of diced bacon.
Repeat until layers reach top of serving bowl. Garnish top with green onions and any remaining cheese and bacon. Refrigerate before serving.

Slow Cooker "Campfire" Potato

Ingredients

5 medium potatoes, sliced
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. oregano
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 small white onion, sliced
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese
4-quart or larger slow cooker

In a large bowl, mix together the butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic.
Add the potatoes, the cheeses, and onion to the bowl with the butter mixture. Mix until the potatoes are coated.

Spray the slow cooker with non-stick spray.

Add the potatoes mixture. Smooth out into an even layer. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours without opening the lid during cooking. 

Creamed corn.

• (1) 24 oz bag of frozen shoepeg corn 
• 8 oz. heavy cream
• 8 oz. milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 6 tsp. sugar
• 2 T. melted butter
• 2 T. Flour (or cornstarch for GF)
• pinch white pepper (black pepper is just fine too)
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Put corn, cream and milk in saucepan and bring to a boil. (At first it will be a solid frozen mass….just give it time….it will warm up and liquify) Melt butter in microwave and add flour to make a roux (thickener). Will be the consistency of paste.

Mix this into the corn. Continue to cook until thickened. Add pepper. Pour into casserole dish (9 x 13 if you doubled it) and top with Parmesan cheese. Put into 350 degree oven for 20 minutes (or until cheese is good and melted!)

Mandarin Pasta Spinach Salad with Teriyaki Dressing

This salad is easy, quick, healthy, and tossed in the most addictive teriyaki vinaigrette dressing!

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 8 ounces bowtie pasta noodles
• 4 cups spinach leaves
• ½ cup craisins
• ⅓ cup cashews or pine nuts (such as Diamond of California)
• 1 4-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

dressing

• ⅓ cup teriyaki sauce (the thicker, the better!)
• ⅓ cup rice wine vinegar (may sub apple cider vinegar)
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder (if you have it)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ cup oil (such as vegetable oil, canola oil, olive oil)

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
2. While pasta is boiling, prepare the dressing. In a jar combine all dressing ingredients. Cover and shake to combine. Chill until ready to use.
3. In a large bowl toss together pasta, spinach, raisins, nuts, mandarin oranges, and cilantro. Just before serving pour dressing over salad, toss, and serve.

Spicy Marinated Summer Vegetables

SPICY MARINATED SUMMER VEGETABLES

Author: McKenzie at Girl Loves Glam

Recipe type: Side Dish

Spicy, marinated vegetables that are full of flavor and perfect for any occasion.

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ c Oil
• ¾ c Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Sugar
• 1 tsp Tabasco Sauce
• 1 Head Broccoli
• 1 Head Cauliflower
• 1 can Olives
• ¼ Red Onion
• 1 Green Pepper
• 1 Yellow Pepper
• 1 Red Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop up all vegetables and place in a large bowl. Put the rest of the ingredients on top of the vegetables and stir to coat all of the vegetables. If the bowl has a lid, place the lid on the bowl. If the bowl doesn’t have a lid, put vegetable mixture in a large bag that can be sealed shut. Let vegetables marinate while turning veggies every few hours. For best taste, allow the vegetables 24 hours to marinate.

It is a great side dish that is full of flavor without being packed full of calories too!

Roast Veggies

I like to mix it up a bit when it comes to roasting veggies in the oven. Some of my favorites are:

Cauliflower
Broccoli
Sweet Potatoes
Fennel (Just the white part)
Potatoes
Carrots

Chop the veggies into bite sized pieces. I always add an onion as well, chopped into smaller pieces. Place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, garlic salt, and pepper. Preheat the oven to 425* and cook for 20 min, then stir and cook for about another 20 min.

Polenta at the table

8 cups water, or as needed
2 fresh or dried bay leaves
1 Tbsp. coarse salt, or as needed
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups coarse yellow cornmeal

Directions
In a small saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a simmer; keep this "backup" water hot, covered, over medium-low heat. Bring the remaining water, the bay leaves, and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil in a 3-to-4-quart cast-iron saucepan, over medium-high heat. When boiling, add the olive oil.

Scoop up a small handful of the cornmeal, and, while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or flat-ended stirrer, let it sift slowly through your fingers into the seasoned boiling water. Let the cornmeal fall a pioggia—like rain—into the water. Sift the remaining cornmeal into the water a small handful at a time, stirring constantly, paying special attention to stirring the corners of the pot. It should take about 5 minutes to add all the cornmeal.

When all the cornmeal has been added, the mixture should be smooth and thick and begin to "perk," with large bubbles rising to the surface. Reduce the level of heat to medium-low, and continue stirring until the mixture becomes too thick to stir easily, about 4 minutes. Add enough of the "backup" water—about 1 cup—to restore the mixture to a smooth stirring consistency. Stir until the mixture is again too thick to stir easily. Continue adding water and stirring like this until the cornmeal is tender, about 20 minutes after the cornmeal was added.

When the cornmeal is tender, stir the polenta without adding water until it is shiny and begins to gather around the spoon as you stir it, 5 to 10 minutes. (The polenta should be thick enough to stand a spoon in.) The polenta is ready to serve at this point, or you can choose to cook it an extra few minutes to intensify the flavor. To continue cooking, reduce the level of heat to low, and stir the polenta constantly for 5 to 10 minutes. You may need to add a small amount of water during this extra cooking if the polenta begins to stick or become too thick.

Pour the polenta away from you into a ceramic bowl. Let it stand 10 minutes before serving. To serve polenta, scoop it onto plates with a large spoon, dipping the spoon in water before each scoop. (An ice-cream scoop can be used in the same fashion; it makes nice round mounds of polenta.)

Polenta at the Table
For immediate serving: You may also serve the polenta hot directly from a board in the traditional way: Pour the hot polenta into the center of a wooden cutting board, keeping the polenta in a long, high mound. Let the polenta stand a few minutes, until it is firm enough to cut. Cut the polenta with a string stretched taut between your index fingers, or with a thin knife. Gently transfer the slices to plates.

To chill the polenta for baking, grilling, or pan-frying: You can begin to see the true versatility of polenta when it has been chilled until firm and cut into shapes for baking, grilling, or pan-frying. To serve polenta this way, pour the hot polenta—either freshly made for this purpose, or remaining from a batch made to be eaten hot—into a baking pan or mold to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. (One whole recipe of Basic Polenta makes enough to fill two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes to a depth of about 1/2 inch.) Cover with plastic wrap applied directly to the surface, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled and very firm, 4 to 5 hours. Invert the polenta onto a cutting board and cut it into any desired shape for baking, grilling, or frying.

To bake: Place the polenta pieces on a lightly oiled baking sheet and place in a preheated 375° F oven until lightly browned and crispy, about 20 minutes. Turn the polenta once about halfway through the cooking.

To grill: Lightly brush both sides of the polenta pieces with olive oil. Place on a hot grill, and cook, turning once, until well marked and heated through, about 2 minutes per side.

To pan-fry: Heat a small amount of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the polenta slices, and cook, turning once, until golden brown and crispy on both sides, 8 servings. 

Corn and black bean salad

1 1/2 cups black beans
1 cup frozen (thawed) or fresh sweet corn
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup torn fresh cilantro
2 limes, juiced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and toss. This tastes best when made an hour or so ahead of time and will stay fresh in the fridge for a day or two if kept in a sealed container.

Spinach and Artichoke Potato Casserole

1 lg. pkg frozen hash browns, thawed

1 ¼ cup chicken broth or stock

½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 tsp garlic salt

8 oz cream cheese

1 jar (7.5 oz) marinated artichoke hearts

6 oz chopped baby spinach (can use frozen, reduce to one pkg chopped, thaw and squeeze excess moisture from spinach before use.)

½ cup sliced green onions

4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 425, spray 9 x 13 glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Heat broth, garlic salt, parmesan and cream cheeses, and artichoke hearts in medium saucepan and mix till cheeses are melted.  Stir in spinach and cook till wilted.  Set aside.  Put thawed hash browns in baking dish, stir in sliced green onions.  Add cheese/broth mixture and stir to cover potatoes well.  Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top and cover loosely with foil.  Bake 30 minutes.

No-boil Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups macaroni, uncooked
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cube butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
8 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed or shredded
4 cups shredded cheese
1 tsp. dry mustard powder or 3 tbs. prepared mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Into dish, combine milk with melted butter, add salt and mustard. Pour in uncooked macaroni and Velveeta. Add half of shredded cheese and stir. Cover with lid (or aluminium foil if your baking dish doesn't have a lid.) Bake for about 50-60 minutes until macaroni is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Remove from oven, remove cover, and top with remaining cheese.  Return to oven uncovered for another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted, bubbly and golden.

Cheese Bread from Jillee's mom

1 loaf french bread, sliced lengthwise
3 Tablespoons chopped green onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
3/4 cup mayonnaise

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl, then spread out on sliced french bread. Place bread onto a foil lined baking sheet and cook at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. (Keep an eye on it after about 10 minutes). Allow to cool for a few minutes and slice.

And apparently once you buy green onions, you can re-grow them again and again, just submerge the ends (the root ends) in water, put in your windowsill, and new green onions will grow an inch in just a few days.  After a week or so you'll have a little crop you can snip and use again.  Gotta try this. Thank you, Pinterest!

Fruit salad dressing

This makes enough dressing for a big bowl of fruit salad.  Bridget got the recipe online somewhere and made it for her "break the fast" today.  It was delicious.

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened  (the recipe called for strawberry cream cheese but we didn't have that)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup crushed pretzles or nuts (optional, she didn't use this) to give a little crunch

Mix all ingredients together, pour over bowl of cut up fruit.  (Bridget's fruit salad was cut up fresh pineapple, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, and grapes.)  Serves at least 8.

Mashed Potato Salad

We made this for our 4th of July barbecue. It is nothing like the traditional potato salad, but to me is more like loaded mashed potatoes, hence the name. :)

1 5 lb bag of red potatoes

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 lb bacon

1/2-1 cup chopped green onions

Cut up and boil the potatoes until they are soft. While they are cooking, cut up the bacon and fry it. when it is finished, lightly sautee the green onions in some of the drippings. Drain the bacon and green onions, and put them in a bowl with the mayonnaise, sour cream, and ranch dressing mix. Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste, as well as a dash of cayenne pepper if you like. When the potatoes are done cooking, drain and let cool, then mix them in with the other ingredients. Serve warm or chilled. 

Green Bean Casserole

A few changes in the way I used to make the traditional green bean casserole have made a big difference in the quality.  Now it's a lot fresher tasting and richer (and of course higher in calories, but it's for Thanksgiving so I don't care.)

• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup (Healthy request)
• 1 cup cream (instead of milk)
• 1 - 1 1/2 tsp. canadian steak seasoning (instead of pepper)
• 1 large bag of frozen green beans (as much as you can comfortably fit in dish and still stir together ingredients.  Do not used  canned for this version of the recipe.)
• 3 cups French's french fried onions (doubled from original recipe, get the big can from Sam's club)

Mix all ingredients together, reserving half of the onions, in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.  Top with reserved onions.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or till casserole is bubbling hot, you can adjust time and temperature to share the oven with other Thanksgiving side dishes.

Thanksgiving Spinach Casserole

I made this to surprise the kids for Thanksgiving once instead of the green bean casserole and after they got over being upset they decided this was better.  Now I'm supposed to make both every year. :)

• 2 packages (10 oz. each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 can (13 3/4 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 1 cup whole milk

Combine spinach, artichokes, cream, salt, pepper, and half of parmesan cheese in casserole dish.  In a small bowl, beat cream cheese till fluffy.  Reduce mixer speed and add milk, mixing just till blended.  Pour cream cheese mixture evenly over spinach mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese and bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges bubble and top is golden.  You can adjust baking time and temperature so you can bake it with other casseroles and Thanksgiving side dishes.  Also, it's okay to be a little more generous with the parmesan cheese if you want to.

Green Beans a la Susie

1 pound fresh green beans (can use frozen, but they won't be as delicious)
bacon drippings and/or olive oil
canadian steak seasoning

Clean 1 lb. fresh green beans and blanch for 3 minutes in boiling water.  Drain well.  In the meantime, heat about a tablespoon of bacon drippings in a large frying pan.  Add about a tablespoon of olive oil.  When oil is hot, add drained green beans and stir fry till there are some nice browned areas on the beans but they're still tender-crisp. Sprinkle to taste with the canadian steak seasoning and serve immediately.

Funeral Potatoes

People either love the name or hate it.  Excellent served with ham.  To cut down on the time involved in making it, you can substitute a package of frozen hash browns for the 7 medium potatoes.(either the cubed or the grated hash browns will work.)  Also, to make this extra good, if you're using fresh onion instead of dehydrated, caramelize them in butter before mixing them into the dish.

7 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and grated (or diced.)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

¼  cup onion flakes or 1 medium onion, diced

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Mix potatoes, soup, sour cream, onions, and cheese in casserole dish.  Top with 1 cup bread crumbs or crushed corn flakes, drizzle with 2 tbs. melted butter or margarine.  Bake 325 degrees for 45 minutes.