Stuffed Pasta Shells

What is the best thing about having a food blog, you ask? Well, the fact that my co-worker, Ms. Noodles, has shown up TWICE now with lunch for me to try "in case you want to put that recipe on your blog"!! Can't beat that! And you better believe that both times the food was delicious!! (And also that I didn't have to type out the recipes...cut and pasted from an email.) She also gave me the recipe for Cornbread Taco Bake.

"STUFFED PASTA SHELLS"

15 large pasta shells (cooked and drained)
1 lb ground beef
1 jar (12oz) mild picante sauce
1/2 cup water
1 can tomato sauce (8oz)
1 can chopped green chilies, drained (4oz)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (4oz)
1 (3 oz.) bag or can french fried onions

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook shells according to package directions.  Brown beef, drain.

In a small bowl, combine picante, water and tomato sauce. Stir ½ cup of the sauce into browned beef along with green chilies, 1/2 cup cheese, 1/2 can onions.  Mix well.

Pour 1/2 remaining sauce on bottom of a 8X12 baking dish. Stuff cooked shells with beef mixture. Arrange in dish, pour remaining sauce over top. Bake covered 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Top with remaining cheese and onions, bake uncovered 5 more minutes.

Cornbread Taco Bake

"CORN BREAD TACO BAKE"

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 pkg Taco Seasoning
1/2 cup water
1 can whole corn (12oz)
1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1 can tomato sauce (8oz)
1 pks corn muffin mix (8 1/2oz)
1 (3 oz.) bag or can of french fried onions
1/3 cup cheddar cheese shredded

Brown meat, drain. Stir in next 5 ingrediants. Pour into 8/12" baking dish. Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions and add 1/2 can French Fried Onions. Spoon over meat around outer edge of casserole. Bake uncovered @ 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Top corn bread with cheese and remaining onions, bake 2-3 minutes.

Dean's Cake House Caramel Cake

Today is my birthday, so I get the day off from cooking. (Although with the lack of blogging lately, you'd think I took the whole week off.) The Dish Washer is clanging around in the kitchen making Broccoli Casserole and grilling steak. I have been enjoying my most favorite caramel cake from Dean's Cake House in Andalusia. Soooo good! I can't find their website anymore (it says it has expired), but, if you live in Birmingham, you can pick one up at The Pig in Homewood! You can also call (334) 222-0459 to see where they may sell them close to you.

Salmon and Eggs

If this doesn't gross you out, then welcome to The Dish Washer's family. Every Thanksgiving, the men's breakfast includes salmon and eggs. He loves it! Because he loves it, I had 2 cans of salmon sitting in the pantry for him. This weekend, he busted them out. The funny thing is, when we were in D.C., our hotel had continental breakfast for us...not the blueberry muffin, dry cereal, bagel regular, but a little more variety with fresh ingredients. One of the things they offered was smoked salmon, so I decided to get The Dish Washer some scrambled eggs and smoked salmon thinking it would be the best Salmon and Eggs he has ever had. NO!! It wasn't the same as canned salmon.

To quote Shelby from my most favorite movie, Steel Magnolias: "Remember what Daddy always says - an ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure!" I love that The Dish Washer will take me nice places, but still loves that canned salmon! That is who we are...I even ate canned chicken that same day!

Salmon and Eggs

Canned salmon, be sure to pick bones and skin
eggs
pepper

Mix together and scramble!

Liz's Black Bean Chowder

Happy Groundhog's Day! I don't have anything "Groundhoggy" to post today. But since we can expect to be cold for six more weeks, here's something to keep us warm...

I had printed this recipe off of The Pioneer Woman's blog a while back. She had a cooking challenge and asked folks to post recipes that she would make and then pick a winner. This chowder was one of the winners and sounded so good. It made a huge pot so I thought it would be great for the Super Bowl, but then with our unexpected addition to the family we packed up the chowder and headed south. Now I can't find it on her site to be able to link, so I will type the whole thing out. The full recipe (which I will give you) includes a yogurt-cilantro relish that I had to make to at least try, but didn't like at all.

Liz's Black Bean Chowder with Yogurt-Cilantro Relish

1 (32 oz.) pkg. dried black beans

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, pressed

olive oil

1 small ham hock

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies

6 c. chicken stock

6 c. milk

2 Tbsp. butter

3 c. shredded mild cheddar cheese

4 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. liquid smoke

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. mild curry powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Relish:

1 c. plain yogurt

2 c. chopped cucumber, peeled and seeded

1 c. chopped cilantro (which is why I didn't care for this!)

1/2 tsp. salt

Place beans in a colander and rinse beans well. Place in an 8-quart Dutch oven (Buttercream was close to overflowing by the end of the recipe...she's not 8 quarts) and cover with water (about an inch over the top of the beans) and soak overnight. The next morning, prepare the relish by mixing all the ingredients together, then place in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Then drain the beans and rinse well.

Gently saute the onion and garlic in the stock pot with 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil, then add diced green chiles. Place beans back in the Dutch oven and add chicken stock, ham hock, liquid smoke, chili powder, cumin, curry powder, cayenne, and salt and pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. After one hour is up, add the milk and 2 Tbsp. butter and simmer another 30 minutes. While the chowder is simmering, place the shredded cheese in a large bowl and add the flour, toss to coat the cheese with the flour. Bring the chowder to a boil and stir in the cheese. Boil while stirring constantly until the chowder thickens to your desired consistency. Ladle the chowder into bowls and top with one or two Tbsp. of yogurt-cilantro relish*. Serve with warm tortillas.

*After realizing I didn't care for the relish, I decided to serve with sour cream and fritos!

The Dish Washer has demanded that next time I make this to figure out how to add some meat to it...suggestions? He says pulled pork!

Peanut Butter Milkshake

Forget the Super Bowl!!! We've had a much more exciting day with a new baby in our family! Tossie had Baby Sister very early this morning. She is precious!! And her little baby neck (my weakness) is so cute! Today I was thinking a lot about how quickly they grow up. Big Sister was just born the other day (so it seems) and now she is three. And, oh man, is she excited about being a big sister. Lots of baby excitement in our families lately...my heart is full!

Peanut Butter Milkshake (I don't really have measurements)

large scoop of vanilla ice cream
large scoop frozen cool whip
1 spoonful of peanut butter (normally I am a Jif pb fan, but today, let's make it Reese's)
milk (depends on how thick or thin you like your shakes)

Blend all ingredients in blender until preferred consistency is reached.

French Onion Soup

I love going to the grocery store! It is my favorite store to go to. After this week's grocery store trip, I came home and got busy in the kitchen. I've been really excited to get cookin' in Buttercream! She didn't disappoint.

I made a pot of French Onion Soup, and I also made a double recipe of Chili. Everything is now in the freezer for those nights that I don't feel like cooking, but The Dish Washer feels like eating. You may remember me talking about how much I love the French Onion Soup at the Christmas Dinner Theater at my in law's church every year, so I knew I wanted to try a pot of this on my own. Of course, there is another very important step to all French Onion Soups (the croutons and cheese!) that isn't pictured above because I wasn't ready for that step. I'll include the whole recipe for you, though.

French Onion Soup

1/2 c. butter
6 large yellow onions, thinly sliced*
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
5-1/2 c. beef broth
1 (10.5 oz.) can beef consomme
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Croutons (see recipe below)
Gruyere cheese (or Swiss!)

In a dutch oven (Buttercream!), melt butter over medium heat; add onions and sugar. Stirring often, cook for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add broth, beef consomme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Ladle into 6 oven safe bowls; top with croutons and shredded cheese. Broil 6 inches from the heat for 3 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly. Serve immediately.

*I used Vidalia onions, and a co-worker pointed out that (although it is good) it was sweeter than the French Onion Soup she orders at her favorite restaurants. If you want a more savory soup, stick with the yellow onions! I will use yellow next time.

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Croutons

1/2 loaf French bread (or any bread, for that matter), cut into cubes
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Place bread cubes in a bowl. Pour in remaining ingredients and stir to coat. Place on a baking pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until bread is lightly toasted.

**If I am making croutons for salad, I love to have them crunchy on the outside but soft on the insde. To accomplish this, you may have to add more melted butter. You can get creative with the herbs and seasonings that you add depending on what kind of crouton you want.

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Buttercream is busy while we speak. Check back in (hopefully tomorrow) to see what we are having for SOUPer Bowl Sunday!