Mrs. K’s Famous Mexican Casserole (a silly name for a great casserole)

Here’s one of those great recipes that gets passed along from friend to friend. My colleague and friend, Dawn, got this from another friend. Dawn had this at the lunch table last year and I remember her saying how perfect it was for feeding her three hungry teenaged sons – that sounded good to me! I immediately had to learn how to make it. I grabbed the closest thing handy to jot down the recipe – a paper plate! She started dictating. I made it for my family shortly after that and when they asked, “What’s this called?” I had to honestly say, “I’m not sure!” Since then, we just refer to this great casserole as “Mrs. Kohn’s Famous Mexican Casserole.”

 If you’re like me, you can probably understand the recipe from reading the photo, but just in case you need more directions, here’s the recipe!

Here’s what you need:

1 box Jiffy brand corn muffin mix

2 lbs ground round

1 package taco seasoning

1 can black beans-drained and rinsed

1 can corn - drained

1 can chopped tomatoes – with all the liquid

1 jar salsa

Cheddar cheese

Here’s what you do:

Brown the beef and add the taco seasoning according to the directions on the package. Keep it nice and juicy. Lots of sauce is good here.  Prepare the corn muffin mix according to the directions on the box and pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Layer the meat, beans, corn, tomatoes and salsa. Bake until bubbly in a 350 degree oven. Then add grated cheddar cheese to taste and bake a bit longer. Serve with sour cream, jalapenos, sliced green onions, or black olives.

Simple, but surprisingly delicious. The corn muffin adds a very sweet element to this spicy casserole.

I’m wondering how many of you have cookbooks that have entries written on paper plates taped in?? Did you notice the recipe on the facing page? Patti LaBelle’s Over the Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese. Simple the best mac ‘n cheese on earth! If you work hard, you can probably read it in the photo and jot it on a paper plate to tape in your own cookbook!

ps - no printable version of this one - if you want to make it you will have to jot it down just like I had to....

another great meatloaf

I’m not sure if you need yet another recipe for a meatloaf, but this one is really, really good– no leftovers at our house! We easily ate it all and did not even have one slice left over for sandwiches the next day. I usually don’t add much to my standard meatloaf recipe, but this version tempted me. I will definitely make this again.

Here’s what you need:

¾ lb ground turkey

¾ lb ground round

2 eggs slightly beaten

2/3 C milk (I used skim)

1 C soft, white bread crumbs (I processed white sandwich bread in the food processor)

½ carrot, grated

1 C cheddar, grated

1 T dried parsley

½ t black pepper

Topping:

½ C tomato sauce

¼ C brown sugar

1 t prepared mustard

Here’s what you do:

Beat the eggs slightly and add milk, meats, bread crumbs, carrots, cheese and seasonings. Mix everything well with your hands. Be extra careful to completely incorporate the two types of meat so they are evenly distributed.

Place in greased 9 X 4 loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes. (350 degree oven) Drain off any grease or ‘whatevers’ from the meat.

Spoon half of the topping over the meat. After 15 minutes, spoon the remaining topping over meat and bake another 15 minutes. Drain off any more stuff.  Broil the loaf for just a few minutes to get a caramelized topping! So. Very. Good.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Can’t go wrong with meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas.

(printable recipe)

salmon chowder

There are a few unusual ingredients in this chowder – namely, canned salmon and evaporated milk. Those are not my usual ‘go-to’ type foods. However, in this soup, they are fantastic. The end result is creamy, but not thick and globby like many types of chowder can be. Also, because you are using canned fish, the cost is very reasonable. I have actually been making this soup for many years, and the recipe here includes what I do to stretch out the amount. Serve this comforting soup with grilled cheese and you will have a complete meal.

Here’s what you need:

½ C chopped onion

½ C chopped celery

½ C chopped green pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T butter

3 C chicken stock

1 C potato, cubed

1 C diced or sliced carrot

½ tsp. dill

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

1 12 ounce can evaporated milk

1 15 ounce can cream-style corn

2 5 ounce cans salmon, drained

Step One:

Gently soften the onion, celery, green pepper and garlic in butter. Don’t brown the veggies, just let them get soft.

Step Two:

Add the stock, potato, carrot and spices. Bring to boil, cover, lower heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the veggies are soft.

Step Three:

Add the milk, corn and salmon. Heat gently.

Step Four:

Serve and enjoy.

(printable recipe)

cheese tiropitas

Feta, lemon, mint, garlic - all wrapped up in one of my favorite treats - filo dough. These little bundles are really, really good and surprisingly not that difficult to make, just a little messy. I served these with a Greek type salad: romaine, beets, carrots and tomatoes with a light dressing.

They would also be perfect for a cocktail party. (I wonder, does anyone have cocktail parties any more? I want them to come back in style…. as an aside, I’m addicted to ‘Mad Men’ J Have you seen the cocktails they drink on that show??? Oh, man.)

Here’s what you need:

1 C cottage cheese

1 C Greek feta cheese

3 large cloves garlic, minced

½ C onion, minced

1 T dried mint

1 T lemon juice

1 box filo dough

Olive oil

Here’s what you do:

Saute the onions and garlic in a tiny bit of olive oil until tender and not brown. Mix the cheeses, veggies, mint and lemon juice with a fork. Mash it until it is completely mixed together.

Now the fun part! Carefully remove 1 sheet of filo dough, and brush it with olive oil. Carefully place a 2^nd sheet on top and brush more oil on top. Carefully, fold the dough in thirds.

Place about 2 tablespoons of cheese near the top of the dough and carefully fold into a tight triangle. Brush with more oil and place on oiled baking sheet. Now, that’s not too difficult is it?

Be prepared for some mishaps and some torn sheets of dough, but don’t worry. You can always seam them together with oil and overlap them a bit. After baking, they come out in one piece.

Bake 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. Some cheese will escape during baking, but that’s OK.

Have you used filo dough? See my spanikopita here if interested in another use for filo. 

(printable recipe)

breakfast braid

Saturday mornings at our house can be pretty lazy. I’m an early riser, but usually I just sit around, read and drink coffee all morning. I just finished reading the 2011 Newberry Medal winner Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. Since I teach Middle School Language Arts, I usually try to keep up with those titles. I’m also reading Julie of the Wolves by Jeanne Craighead George along with my students. It's been a while since I've read it and I'm greatly enjoying it. My grown up book this week is Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck.

Our two oldest kids are home from college for spring break this week, so Saturday was the perfect time to spend just a tiny bit of time on a hot breakfast for them. This was the first time I have made this and it was pretty good, but I can see lots of variations and possibilities. Next time I will jazz up the eggs with some green peppers, onions and tomatoes. You could make it spicy with green chilies or even jalapeno peppers and hot sauce in the egg mixture.

Here’s what you need:

½ C milk (I used skim)

4 oz. low fat cream cheese

8 eggs

2 packages low fat crescent rolls

6 oz. deli ham, thinly sliced

1 C shredded cheddar cheese

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Lightly spray baking sheet and lay out one package of crescent rolls in a large rectangle. Press the seams together so the goodness does not leak out too much while baking. Arrange the second package of crescent rolls along the edges of the rectangle of dough. Place the wide end on the dough and hang the point of the triangle over the edge of the baking sheet. Layer the ham on the dough. Mix the cream cheese and milk until blended; whisk in eggs, salt and pepper to taste.

Gently cook the eggs until just cooked – they should remain very soft. Spoon the eggs over the ham, sprinkle with shredded cheddar.

Fold in the tips of the crescent roll triangle to form a braid. Bake for about 25 minutes or until roll is nicely browned. I suggest a serrated knife to create a pretty slice. 

(printable recipe)

Feasting on Art Recipe Contest

Floris Gerritsz van Schooten, A Still Life of Cheese, c.1585
oil on oak panel, 39.3 x 55.2 cm, Private collection

Hi everyone,

I stumbled upon a beautiful blog called Feasting on Art just today and decided to participate in the contest that I found posted there. Hey, why not? It's a contest based on cheese recipes, and I love cheese with the best of them! Please click on the link above and browse the gallery of food art. I think you will enjoy the art, the photographs and the recipes. Hopefully, you will enjoy re-visiting this cheese and havarti quesadilla also.

Apple and Havarti Quesadilla 

Here's what you need:

1 Granny Smith apple - no substitutions here

1/3 C chopped red pepper

3 green onions, chopped

3 T butter - no substitutions here either

salt

1/8 t cayenne pepper - this is pretty hot, so don't add any more than 1/8 t

2 t cider vinegar - no substitutions

1 clove garlic

1 t brown sugar

4 oz Havarti cheese - be sure it's not the dill type.... plain, regular Havarti

2-3 large flour tortillas

Here's what you do:

Peel and thinly slice the apple, chop the pepper and onion. Sauté slowly in a bit of butter until nice and soft.

Add the salt, cayenne, vinegar, garlic (I always use a garlic press so no one bites into a large piece of garlic) and brown sugar. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Your kitchen will smell great - sweet, tart, spicy....

Spoon the apple mixture on 1/2 of the tortillas and then cover lightly with shredded Havarti. Fold over the tortilla to form the quesadilla.

Brown them in a clean pan in a bit more butter.... I like mine nice and brown. Allow them to cool before cutting them into wedges.

I know these sound unusual, but that's what makes them great. Try them and let me know what you think.

my maple nut snack mix

Have you ever poked around the General Mills website and seen how many recipes there are for Chex Mix? Sweet, salty, savory, chocolate and even gluten free. There must be 100 different types! Of course, everyone has had the original recipe and I’m betting that if you have kids then you have made Muddy Buddies. (chocolate and powdered sugar) That was a favorite when my kids were young. It was the standard treat which they all loved to take to school on their birthdays.

This is a combo I stumbled upon when I mixed a few suggestions from standard recipes and the ingredients from my pantry. I’d say it’s the new favorite of my kids who have grown past the powdered sugar phase. Enjoy.

Here’s what you need:

3 C honey O’s cereal

3 C rice chex shape cereal

2 C fish shaped pretzels or butter flavored pretzels (extra yummy)

1 C pecan halves

2 T sesame seeds

½ C real maple syrup

½ stick real butter

Here’s what you do:

Mix the snack ingredients. Melt the syrup and butter. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well with two huge spoons.

Turn out onto a greased baking sheet. Bake 250 degrees for 40 minutes.

(printable recipe)

Have you ever tried the Buffalo Chex Mix snack? It’s super spicy!

Bourbon Brownies

My Super Bowl party was extra small this year – just me and Tim….. but our food was great! I made deviled eggs, ham salad sandwiches, potato skins and these awesomely wonderful brownies. I’ve never made these before but I give them a total 5 star rating. Luckily, we had a bottle of bourbon in the back of the cabinet and I had all the remaining ingredients in the pantry. The method is a bit different than regular brownies, so read carefully before jumping in.

Here’s what you need:

For the Brownies:

½ C sugar

1/3 C butter

2 T water

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 t vanilla

2 eggs

¾ C flour

¼ t baking powder

¼ t salt

½ C chopped pecans

¼ C bourbon

For the Frosting:

1 ½ C powdered sugar

3 T butter, softened

¼ t vanilla

7-9 t milk

2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter and water. Cook and stir constantly until boiling. Remove from heat and add the chocolate and vanilla. Mix well and then add the eggs.

Add the flour, baking powder, salt and mix until totally blended. Stir in nuts. Spread evenly in a greased 8 inch square pan. (I measured my pan to make sure it was 8 inches)

Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Do not over bake. Using a toothpick or the tines of a fork, poke lots of holes in the brownies while still hot. Drizzle the bourbon over the brownies with a spoon. Allow to completely cool for an hour.

Make frosting by mixing the powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk for spreading consistency. Add the milk one teaspoon at a time! Frost and drizzle with melted chocolate. Allow to set completely before slicing (I put mine out in the cold garage to harden)

I took these to work and they got rave reviews and lots of jokes about the bourbon – you can really taste it! I would suggest cutting them in tiny, tiny squares for serving. They come out of the pan beautifully and make a lovely presentation. Enjoy!

(printable recipe)

I'd love to hear from you! What are some of your favorite variations on the basic brownie? (You really can't go wrong with any kind of brownie can you?)

Housekeeping Time

Well, it’s been 7 months since I started blogging. I never thought I’d make it this far, but I actually see my one year anniversary in the not so distant future. I think I’ll make it there and beyond.

I want to thank each and every one of you who read my posts and an even bigger thanks to those of you who have tried my recipes. I’ve received so many supportive and sincere compliments about my recipes and photos. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. I do want to take this opportunity to ask you kindly to leave a comment on the blog – I know you are out there because you communicate with me, but I think you would enjoy getting to know each other through your comments, suggestions, and thoughts. I’m totally humbled by how many of you have actually made some of the food you see here! How fun!

Laying around after cleaning up the zillions of dirty dishes this blog creates! 

Maybe you have noticed that I have started to offer a printable version of my recipes…. It’s a big project and I am determined to complete it.  Please let me know if there are errors (like a soup recipe where a bread recipe should be, for example) I’ll keep on with it until they are all done! Is there one in particular you want ASAP? Let me know.

My next project for the blog is to re-organize the recipes by main ingredient. I think it will be easier to scroll through and find what you are looking for that way. Please be patient while it’s ‘under construction’ ….. again, if you see errors, just point them out to me!

You can read about my first time snowmobiling on my other blog: Food Talk. 

I have additional news to share. I was asked to be a contributing blogger on the local page of Mlive.com which is an on-line newspaper. It’s an honor and a thrill to be a part of this publication! You can see additional recipes and articles there by clicking on the orange and blue mlive icon under my picture. This will take you directly to my other blog which I call Food Talk. 

Thank you again for your support – I’m having lots and lots of fun sharing my recipes and food ideas!

chicken marbella

Adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook

I’m pretty sure many of you have made this chicken dish before because as I was researching it, I found it everywhere. Everywhere, except for my recipe box that is. I can’t believe I’ve missed this one – it’s really good. We ate this late on a Sunday evening after a long afternoon of snowmobiling. Chicken roasting in the oven creates the best smells in the kitchen. This dish is full of the great flavors of the Mediterranean: olives, wine, capers, and amazingly - prunes. It’s that classic combo of sweet and salty. This is definitely a keeper!

Here’s what you need:

1 chicken, quartered, bone-in, skin-on (I cut the breasts in half to create 8 pieces of chicken)

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 T dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ C red wine vinegar

¼ C olive oil

½ -1 C pitted prunes (my favorite part of the entire meal)

¼ C pitted Spanish green olives (or more)

¼ C capers with a bit of the juice

3 bay leaves

¼  C light brown sugar

½ C white wine

Optional - parsley for garnish

Here’s what you do:

Create a marinade by mixing the garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, vinegar, oil, prunes, olives, capers and bay leaves. (Save the sugar and wine for the next step.) Rub this marinade all over the chicken and under the skin. Cover and refrigerate over night.

The next day, place chicken in a single layer in a 9 x 13 baking dish and spoon marinade evenly over chicken. Also, sprinkle the brown sugar over each piece of chicken. Pour the wine around the pan. Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees. Test for doneness by piercing thickest part of a thigh and making sure the juice runs clear and yellow. There should be no pink juice at all.

With a slotted spoon, remove the chicken to a baking sheet and place under the broiler to crisp up the skin, being careful not to burn it. Drain the remaining sauce through a wire sieve into a small sauce pan reserving the olives, capers and prunes. Set this sauce pan in a bowl of ice and allow the fat to congeal. (It took about 5 minutes or so.) When the sauce has cooled sufficiently, remove the fat, and quickly heat up the gravy on the stove.

Return the olives, capers and prunes to the chicken. Serve the sauce over the chicken or on the side in a gravy boat. We had this with rice which was the perfect accompaniment for that glorious gravy.

(printable recipe)

I’m curious to know how many of you have made this. Am I really the last one on earth to discover this beauty?