Recipe of the Week for 1/3 - Cheesy Cornbread Muffins

I've been really bad about keeping up with my blog over the last few weeks. I figured I'd bite the bullet and just get something posted. I actually still have recipes from 2008 to post, but I figure I'll just throw them in whenever and get on with 2009!

I have decided to continue my "one new recipe per week" resolution this year. I started off with some delicious muffins.

As my regular readers know, I love to entertain. I especially love to do it during the Christmas season. I enjoy decorating our house for the season, and it's nice when people other than Alec and I can appreciate it! But, it's always hard to find a good time during the season for a get-together since people have so many commitments. A few years ago, we hosted a gathering on the first Saturday in January. It worked out well, because I adhere to the tradition of leaving the decorations up until Epiphany on January 6th. Plus, it was nice to have one more festive occasion to top off the season.

This year, we planned to have a few friends over for a chili dinner & to help us polish off the Christmas cookies. It turned out only one could come, but we still had a nice evening hanging out and watching football!

I had copied this recipe for cornbread muffins from a magazine a few weeks before. I'm not sure what magazine it was though - I copied it while reading a stack of them in the bookstore! I'm fairly certain it was Paula Deen's magazine, though. The directions are very abbreviated because I wrote them down in the tiny notepad I keep in my purse and I didn't have much room.

Cheesy Cornbread Muffins
from Paula Deen's magazine, I think

Ingredients
1 (7.5 oz) box yellow cornbread mix
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. shredded Mexican cheese blend
1/4 c. milk
1/2 t. salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Grease a 6-cup muffin pan.

Combine all ingredients.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes.

The Photo
Here they are!

The Verdict
We loved these! They were way better than the chili (note to self: sometimes, it's best just to cook what you know works and not try to mess around). I've already made them again. I'll probably make them any time I want to serve cornbread - they are so much better than just plain cornbread!

Recipe Catch Up - 11/9 - Florentine Meatballs

I got this recipe from another blog I read. The author got this recipe from Rachael Ray, who is also one of my favorites.

Florentine Meatballs

recipe from Rachael Ray

Ingredients

1 box frozen spinach, defrosted in the microwave

1 1/3 lb ground turkey breast

1/2 of a medium onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large egg

1/4 c. milk

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 c. bread crumbs

Olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wring out defrosted spinach. Place turkey in a bowl and make a well in the middle of it. Add the spinach, onion, garlic, egg, milk, bread crumbs, Parmesan and salt & pepper to taste. Mix well and form into 12 large balls. Place on a non-stick cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Cook for 20 minutes in the oven until cooked through.

The Photos

I served them at meatball subs. Here's the sub with just the meatballs & a little tomato sauce:

And, here's the sub after I added some mozzarella cheese & more tomato sauce:

The Verdict
The recipe calls for 1 1/3 pounds of turkey because that's what normally comes in a package of ground turkey, so don't worry about the weird measurement. For us, this made way more than 12 meatballs - more like 20. But, they froze really well. We really enjoyed the subs, and we ate the leftovers from this batch with spaghetti and sauce and they were equally as good. It's a simple recipe and I love that it makes enough for 2 meals! I've since made them again and we have half a batch in the freezer right now.

Penne with Sweet Red Pepper, Ginger & Feta

I've done it again - I'm behind on my recipes! Although, I don't think I've done one every week here lately, so I might not be as behind as I think. This was my last recipe for October. There's actually one before this, but I skipped it by accident. I'll get it up in a day or so.

I found a new cooking blog to follow, Prudence Pennywise. She has good recipes, and she focuses on things that are (relatively) inexpensive. Just a little warning - she has music playing (one of my pet peeves) - and you have to scroll all the way to the bottom to turn it off. So, if you're at work, and you don't want anyone to know you're not working, mute your speakers before you click the link! Then, do what I do and read the blog in a reader, so you don't have to deal with the music on a regular basis.

Whole Grain Penne with Sweet Red Pepper, Ginger and Feta
from Prudence Pennywise

Ingredients
8 oz. box Penne Pasta
4 green onions (greens only)
1 (14.5) ounce can Italian Style diced tomatoes (blended smooth in blender)
1 large red bell pepper
1 small handful fresh parsley (save some for garnish)
4 Tbsp cream or half and half
2-4 Tbsp Feta - crumbled
2 Tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt & pepper to taste


Directions
Heat the olive oil in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Remove the top, seeds and membranes of the pepper and slice into thin strips. Toss them into the saucepan & let them soften on low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the ginger & garlic. Start cooking the pasta.

Add the ginger & garlic to the saucepan and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes. Season with salt & pepper.

Chop 2 of the onions & add them to the sauce. Simmer on low heat, partially covered, for 5 minutes. Add 2-3 Tbsp of water if necessary to keep a sauce-like consistency.

Chop the parsley & add to the sauce. Let the sauce cook, partially covered for another 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat & set aside.

Plate the pasta, top with sauce and 1 Tbsp of cream per plate. Crumble 1/2 Tbsp of Feta on each plate. Garnish with parsley & serve.

The Photo

The Verdict
As you can see from the photo, I added far more than 1/2 Tbsp of cheese. What can I say? We love cheese. I also do not remember blending the tomatoes in the blender. From the photo, it doesn't look like I did. I don't think it mattered much. We honestly did not get much of a ginger flavor, but the ginger I used had been in the freezer for a while.

Since my husband isn't a huge fan of completely vegetarian meals, I cut a couple of chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and sauteed them, then added them to the sauce.

Overall, though, we liked it and I want to make it again. I bought some ginger for this week's recipe, so maybe if I don't use it all, I will try this one again next week.

Recipe of the Week - Yogurt Parmesan Chicken

Yep, this is the recipe of the week for last week!! I am finally caught up. Well, kind of. The week of 9/20, I made a really good Mexican dish, which I kind of made up myself. I clearly remember writing down how I did it after the fact, but I can't find the document. So, I will have to make it again sometime and post it then.

Anyway, I made last week's recipe on Monday.

Yogurt Parmesan Chicken
from Stirring Performances by The Junior League of Winston-Salem

Ingredients
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. green onion, chopped
1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
8 chicken breasts
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 t. thyme
1/2 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 375.

For the sauce, blend well the yogurt, mayonnaise, onions and Worcestershire sauce.

Place the chicken in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme. Pour lemon juice over it.

Pour yogurt sauce over chicken. Then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 1 hour.

The Verdict
There is a photo of this, but my husband left the card reader at work, so I can't get it off the camera.

This dish was so yummy and really quite easy! I used Greek yogurt, because it was the only kind of plain yogurt that came in a single-serving container. I didn't want to buy a big thing of it knowing I wouldn't use it all in a timely manner. The single serving was 6 oz., and I used all of it. The recipe doesn't specify dried or fresh thyme; I used dried. I didn't really measure, I just sprinkled it over the chicken. Same with the lemon juice - I just used 2 small lemons and squeezed them right over the chicken. Then, I just used my microplane grater to grate some Parmesan over it. Although I only made 3 chicken breasts, I still made the full recipe of sauce. If I was going to do 8 breasts, I might double, or even triple the sauce recipe. It's so good, you'll want extra!

I served it over cous cous, with a side of broccoli.

Birthday Party and Recipe of the Week for 9/13

For my husband's birthday, I made a dish I've been wanting to try for quite some time. But, I knew it wasn't the sort of thing you'd make for just two people, so I had to wait for an occasion where we'd have guests. I invited a few friends for a small dinner party and eagerly pulled out this recipe!

It's a baked pasta dish, but with a twist - you bake it in a puff pastry shell, using a springform pan.

In the interest of time, so I can get caught up, I'm just posting the link:

Baked Angel Hair with Eggplant
from Giada DeLaurentiis, The Food Network

The Photo

Here's a photo of the dish, before I cut & served it. The glass bottom of my springform pan fit perfectly onto my pewter tray. I initially had a cake knife out out to cut it, but we ended up having to use a chef's knife. The cake server worked well, though! I wish I'd taken a picture of a slice; it looked really cool!

The Verdict
I made one change, which was to leave out the eggplant. Neither of us is really a fan. I considered artichoke hearts as a substitute, but ultimately decided the turkey sausage would be enough. (If you have an idea for a substitute, leave me a comment and maybe I'll try it next time!)

One mistake I made was that I didn't read the recipe thoroughly enough and I missed the part where you are supposed to let the pasta mixture cool before you put it in the pastry shell to bake. We ended up having to shove it in the fridge (which I know is a bad idea, as it brings down the temp in there but I didn't have time to wait).

I suggest putting a sheet pan on the rack below the springform pan. I guess some grease from the sausage dripped into the bottom of my oven. I didn't notice, until the next time I went to use the oven and smelled an awful burning smell. That resulted in two rounds with oven cleaner and a couple of nights of baking dinner in the toaster oven. Basically, it was a huge mess, which could be avoided by having something to catch the drips!

We ended up letting it sit for longer than 20 minutes and I was concerned it would be cold, but it was still hot & steamy.

Everyone at the party raved about the dish! There were 2 portions left over and I had them for lunch over the next couple of days, heating them up in the toaster oven (I don't think using the microwave would be successful.

More Photos
Here are a few more photos of the event.

The table, set for dinner

A close-up of the place setting. I used my New Yorker cartoon plates as the salad plates.

The bar area. I lined up 3 TV trays and draped them with a full-size table cloth.

Recipe Catch-up - Week of 9/6 - Cola Cake

This recipe was inspired by a trip to Cracker Barrel. We went for breakfast one day, and my husband noticed a card on the table advertising their Coca-Cola Cake. Since we were there for breakfast, he didn't get it, but I mentioned I thought I'd made one before. I remember my friend J. had a Coca-Cola cookbook, and we tried a few recipes from it the summer I lived with her & her family. Anyway, all this led to the suggestion that I should make the cake for his birthday, which was coming up. (He is a huge fan of Diet Coke and Coke Zero!)

So, I set out on a quest to find a recipe. Ultimately, I found it in the place I should have looked to start with - the Coca Cola website! They actually have a great section of recipes using their products.

I decided I was not about to make a brand-new kind of cake for a party without testing it out first. Since we were going to out of town to see some friends, I decided to make one and take it with us.

Cola Cake
from Coca-Cola Recipes

Ingredients
For cake:
2 c. sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. small marshmallows
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 T cocoa
1 c. Coca-Cola
1 t. baking soda
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract

For Frosting:
1/2 c. butter
3 T. cocoa
6 T Coca-Cola
1 box (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar (note: this is 4 cups)
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, sift sugar and flour. Add marshmallows.

In saucepan, mix butter, oil, cocoa and Coca-Cola. Bring to a boil and pour over dry ingredients; blend well.

Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk just before adding to batter along with eggs and vanilla extract, mixing well.

Pour into a well-greased 9 x 13-inch pan and bake 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven and frost immediately.

To make frosting, combine butter, cocoa and Coca-Cola in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and pour over confectioners' sugar, blending well. Add vanilla extract and pecans. Spread over hot cake. When cool, cut into squares and serve.

The Verdict
One thing I read on the AllRecipes website while I was looking for the recipe was that this cake is very sticky, and it does best baked in the 9 x 13 pan and served from there. I really wanted it to look like a real birthday cake, though, and use my new cake-decorating skills to decorate it. So, I came up with the idea of using a springform pan. For good measure, I lined the pan with parchment paper, which I "glued" to the sides of the pan with cooking spray. I wanted to spray it with Baker's Joy, but my canister was all clogged up so I skipped that on the test cake & hoped for the best, but it worked fine. The cake was a little lopsided on top, but it still looked okay.

I only used 3/4 c. of pecans, because that's how the brand I like to buy is sold, and I had a coupon for buy one, get one free of that size. But, it was more than plenty!

I didn't take any pictures of this version, but I will have some to share in the post about my husband's party!

Recipe Catch Up - Week of 8/16

Okay, September's over tomorrow, and I'm still on August's recipes. I am determined to catch up this week! Plus, I am planning on making this week's recipe tonight, so I'll have another one to add!

I got this recipe from the "Grubfest" episode of Paula Deen's show. I love that episode, only in part due to the fact that her sons, Jamie and Bobby are on it. Boy, are they cute! I've had this recipe in my Food Network "recipe box" for quite some time and was reminded of it when the episode ran again. The original recipe calls for beef, but since I don't eat it, I substituted turkey.

Wayne's Beef & Cheddar Macaroni

from Paula Deen, the Food Network

The Photo

Here it is - doesn't it look yummy?

The Verdict

This was really good. My DH liked it a lot! As I said, I substituted turkey for the beef. I also cut the recipe in half, and it was still enough to fill my 9 x 11 casserole, so it was more than plenty of food for the two of us! I ate on it several days for lunch.