Oreo-Brownie Muffins

I have seen several versions of this idea, and had to try it for my testing group,. They unanimously approve!

All you need:

- 1 pkg Oreos
- 1 pkg brownie mix, prepared according to directions.
- muffin pan with paper liners
- peanut butter




Spread some peanut butter on an oreo, then place into muffin papers.

Stick another oreo to the peanut butter.  King me!












Pour brownie batter around each oreo stack, filling to the top of the muffin paper.

Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes.

Here is what they look like inside.


There are many kinds of oreos, so lots of combo possibilities.

make-your-own Moo Shu Pork!

 I love Moo Shu, and wanted to find an easy way to make it at home.  You might not be able to use the Express Lane with this many ingredients, or you can just be one of "those" people who do it anyway.

 1. In large saute pan or wok, cook 1# ground pork or turkey. Drain, and remove to bowl.





2. In same pan, saute whatever mushrooms you like in 1 tsp olive oil until moisture has evaporated.  Put them in the bowl too.  I used sliced shittakes and one drained can of straw mushrooms.

3. Back to that same pan again - saute one sweet bell pepper, sliced thin, and one package of shredded cabbage with 1 tsp garlic and 2 tsp ginger.

 4. Prepare sauce:
     3 tbsp hoisin sauce
     2 tbsp soy sauce
     1 tsp sesame oil
    

 5. Stir sauce, meat, and mushrooms into pan with veggies.

6. Serve with plum sauce and warmed tortillas (unless your store has the rice wraps that restaurants use).



Variation ideas:

  scrambled egg
  peanuts
  bean sprouts
  shrimp
  tofu

Savory Corned Beef

Hooray for corned beef season!  I don't celebrate St.Patrick's Day, but do appreciate the time of year when the grocery store is stocking large corned beefs.

There are several ways to cook a corned beef , or any other corned - which means marinated in brine - meats that you might have.  Corned venison is a good example.  Corning is used on meats that have a lot of connective tissue, which is what makes them have a tough texture.  The brining step helps break down that connective tissue, but the meat still needs to be cooked after.


Corned meats can be boiled, slow-cooked in a crock pot, or tenderized in a pressure cooker.  I am a pressure-cooker user so that is my preferred method.  The meat and spices are brought to 15 lbs of pressure for 1 hour; by then the meat is cooked thoroughly but not quite finished.

The key to tender, flavorful corned beef is to roast the meat after the liquid-cooking stage.  Regardless of how you boil your beef, you will get a better end result if you slice it into a baking pan and roast at 350 for about a half hour.  The slices can be just rough slabs - enough to allow the heat to get to the remaining connective tissue.

Bake until the meat surfaces are sizzling hot and the edges are a little crispy.  Turn slices and roast for another 8-10 minutes.  This brings out the natural sugars in the meat and the end result is savory and flavorful.

With pressure-cooker methods, the meat is cooked first and then removed.  The veggies are then added to the broth left in the cooker, and brought to pressure for 10 minutes.  This is the perfect timeframe for roasting the meat.

If you use a boiling method, leave the veggies in the pan to stay hot while you roast the meat.

I like the way the pressure cooker cooks all the veggies to the ideal softness all at the same time.  As soon as the veggies are done and the meat is roasted, serve with dijon mustard.

Reuben Rolls!

The impending arrival of St. Patrick's Day got me thinking about corned beef - I love a good reuben.  This recipe is like a tiny reuben in an egg roll.  It had to be tried! :)

1 package egg roll wrappers
10 slices swiss cheese, halved

1 can sauerkraut, drained
deli mustard or thousand island dressing
deli-sliced corned beef

Follow the photos!


Place rolls on greased cookie sheet.  Lightly brush tops with olive oil.

Bake @400F for 10 minutes.

Serve with thousand island dressing for dipping.

Gluten Free Kielbasa Bake

Slice up red potatoes and kielbasa.  


Bake in greased baking pan @ 350 for 40 minutes.  The oils from the kielbasa will add flavor to the potatoes.  Stir once after 20 minutes.
 
Saute chunks of green or red pepper in saute pan with olive oil.


Salt & pepper to taste.



Add to baking pan with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.




Bake @ 350 for 15 minutes.


For a spicier version, use hot kielbasa, a hot italian pepper, or sprinkle with red pepper flakes.


Serve with garlic bread. 

4 Step Chicken Cacciatore

Step 1: saute 1 lb cubed chicken breast meat with garlic powder, black pepper, rosemary, oregano in large saute pan.  When half cooked, push to one side.



Step 2: in same pan, saute big chunks of onion and green pepper until partly softened.  (using large chunks makes it easier for picky eaters to push aside the parts they don't want)





Step 3:  add 29oz can plain tomato sauce, 1 can drained whole black olives, 1 can drained mushrooms.  Simmer 15 minutes.




Step 4: serve over pasta or with garlic bread.

Incredible Carrot Cake!

This recipe comes from Great American Brand Names cookbook.  I make this quite often - you can tell because the page has little dried up bits of carrot stuck to it.  Carrot cake is essentially an excuse to eat cream cheese frosting, and this cake has fruit and nuts and is moist and sweet.  Try it!

Preheat oven to 325F.

Oil and flour 13x9 inch baking pan.

Mix in large mixer bowl:
   2 c. all purpose flour
   1 1/2 c. sugar
   2 tsp baking soda
   1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
   1/2 tsp nutmeg
   1/2 tsp salt
   1 c. cooking oil
   3 eggs
   1/2 c. milk
   2 c. shredded carrot  

I am fortunate to own the veggie shredder attachment to my Kitchenaid mixer (thanks mom!) so I peel fresh carrots and shred them finely.

Beat on low speed until ingredients are moistened.  Beat on  med speed for 2 minutes.

Stir in:
   1 c. flaked coconut
   3/4 c. chopped walnuts
   1/2 c. raisins

Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 55 minutes.
Cool completely on wire rack.

Frosting:
blend 6oz package room temp cream cheese with 4 tbsp softened butter into a creamy paste.
Stir in 4 tbsp milk and 1/4 tsp vanilla.
Stir in 2 c. confectioner's sugar, half cup at a time.
Keep stirring until lumps are gone.

Spread on cooled cake.  If not serving right away, store in fridge overnight.




This recipe obviously has too many ingredients to be suitable for the express lane, but it really is easy. Just mix a bunch of stuff and pour in the pan and let the oven make it into cake! Mmmmm cake!  Frosting is easier if you use a wooden spoon or paddle to stir with.

MexiCorn Chowder

Just in time for your Superbowl Party!

This recipe makes a whole stockpot full.  You can cut it down, but the proportions don't come out quite right.  Leftovers reheat quite well though, and you can even freeze some.

1. saute 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use a whole bag of Perdue frozen tenderloins)

2. Chop chicken into bite sized pieces.

3. Add to stock pot with:
  (2) 10oz cans Fiesta Corn, drained (don't use the kind with black beans and onions - the spices in it don't work with this)
  8oz can chopped green chilis, undrained
  32 oz can chicken broth
  3 cans Cream of Potato soup
  1 package powdered taco seasoning

4. Heat and stir on med-hi until low boil.  Reduce heat, cover, simmer 1 hour.

5. Stir in 8oz tub sour cream.
Bring to quick boil for 3 minutes.

6.  Serve with shredded cheddar and tortilla chips.


I usually use fat-free sour cream.  It will look grainy until it reaches boiling, and then will smooth out.  The sour cream adds flavor and thickness. It might be possible to use greek yogurt instead, but I don't know how it would hold up to being cooked.  The sour cream does not separate when microwaving leftovers.  I can eat this all week!


It really is simple - just cook the chicken, and then put in all these cans of stuff.  Probably  not recommended for those following a low-sodium lifestyle :)

Spanakopita

I used to be totally intimidated by phyllo dough.  Then I met a lady who gave me some good advice on the handling of the dough, and now I can make baklava and spanakopita with hardly any screaming!

It is easier than it looks.  Don't worry - you can do this!

Start by making the filling, because once you open the phyllo package the clock starts ticking.

2 - 10oz packages of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained to remove liquid
 -OR-
1 lb fresh spinach, remove stems and chop finely
Stir into bowl with:
3 beaten eggs
1 lb crumbled feta
1 tbsp dried dill
1 tbsp dried chives

Combine in small saucepan over low heat:
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. olive oil

Take phyllo out of package.  Spread out on the waxed paper that comes with it.  Use a sharp knife to cut entire stack in half.  Stack into one pile, then cover with waxed paper and cover that with a damp dishcloth.  Phyllo will dry out and shatter within minutes so you want to keep air away from it.

Using pastry brush, grease bottom of 13x9 baking pan with oil mix.  Lay one phyllo leaf in pan, then brush surface with oil.  Repeat with half of the leaves.

Spread spinach mix evenly on top.

Repeat process with rest of phyllo leaves.  Assembling the pie will take about an hour.

Use a really sharp knife to score through top section of phyllo all the way down to the spinach. Cut as many pieces as you want. If your knife is too dull it will tear the phyllo - a very sharp knife is the key to this step.  Don't bake first and then try to cut the pieces - the phyllo will shatter.

Bake 1 hour at 350.

Can be baked ahead and reheated before serving.

The work is really all in the handling of the phyllo.  When you cut the stack in half it should be approximately 13x9 so the leaves should fit perfectly in the pan.

Phyllo projects just take practice.  And if you aren't happy with how it looks, you can always choose to not share with people and just eat it all yourself :)

Chilly Out There! Chili In Here!

The secret is Sausage! Mmmmm, sausage!


Start with 1# stew meat and 1# italian sausage links

Place on baking sheet in oven at 350 for 1 hour.

The juices from the sausage will help brown the stew meat.  Just throw 'em on there and let cook.

Meanwhile, brown 1# ground meat in skillet.

Drain and mix into crockpot or stew pot with:

32 oz tomato sauce
6 oz tomato paste
3 tbsp chili powder

1 can diced tomatoes 
1 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp liquid smoke
1 can black or red beans
sprinkle of turmeric, cumin, black pepper

In same skillet, saute 1 small onion, diced.
(Optional - 1 small green pepper)
Add to stew pot.

Cut stew meat into smallish cubes, add to stew.

Slice sausage into chunks and saute in same skillet until browned on all sides.  Add to stew.

Cook all together for at least 1 hour before serving.  Best when made in advance and reheated.  Don't stir too much or beans will break up into mush.  The diced tomatoes should break down a bit though.

I prefer the addition of 1 c dark beer but not everyone likes that.  You can of course add cayenne pepper or tabasco to make it hot. I use hot sausage which adds a lot of spices anyway...

If you have a large crockpot or a dutch oven - double this recipe.  Feeds 10-15 :)