Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Mexican Cornbread

This was good. By the time I got home, the cornbread was burned a bit on the sides. If I were to make this again, I'd try to be home around the time it was going to be finished.

What's Needed:
1 lb. extra-lean ground beef, browned
16 oz. can cream-style corn
1 C. cornmeal
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 C. oil
1 C. fat-free milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 C. taco sauce
2 C. shredded, fat-free cheddar cheese
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced

1. Combine corn, cornmeal, baking soda, salt, oil, milk, eggs, and taco sauce. Pour half of the mixture into the crockpot.

2. Layer cheese, onion, garlic, and ground beef on top of cornmeal mixture. Cover with remaining cornmeal mixture.

3. Cover. Cook on HIGH 1 hour and on LOW 3.5-4 hours; or only on LOW 6 hours.

Husband's Grade: B+
PointsPlus: 11 (1/6 of the crockpot)

Inspired by: Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly

Friday, October 22, 2010

Cashew Chicken

Doing a lot of catching up with the recipes I've done in the past couple of weeks. Life has been hectic.

This Cashew Chicken was really good, but not as sweet as what I usually get at a Chinese restaurant. That being said, it was awesome for homemade Chinese :)

What's Needed:

1 10.75-oz. can condensed golden mushroom soup
3 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger
1.5 pound chicken tenders (NOT fried chicken strips)
1 16-oz. package frozen stir-fry vegetables
1/2 C. cashews

1. Combine mushroom soup, soy sauce, and ginger in the crockpot. Stir in chicken and stir-fry vegetables.

2. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.

3. Stir cashews into chicken mixture. Serve over hot rice.

Husband's Grade: A+
PointsPlus: 6 (1/2 C. of rice and 1/6 of the recipe)

Inspired by: The Ultimate Slow Cooker Book

Garlic Butter-Burger

Another recipe from my two favorite boys: The Deen Brothers!

What's Needed:
1/4 C. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 T. parsley
1 large clove garlic, minced
4 8 oz. hamburger patties (the leaner the better--it will help with the points)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper

1. Prepare grill or grill pan for medium heat.

2. In a small bowl, mash together the butter, parsley, garlic. Form into a log. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in freezer for 10 minutes.

3. Cut a slit 1/2 inch deep into the side of each burger. Cut the butter log into 8 slices; tuck 1 slice into the slit in each burger, pressing it deep into the burger. Pinch the slits closed so the meat totally covers the butter.

4. Grill or broil the burgers for 7-9 minutes per side (medium rare) or 12-13 minutes (well done), turning once.

5. Spread the remaining butter slices on each half of the hamburger buns. Toast under a broiler.

6. If desired, top with tomato, onion, and lettuce.

Husband's Grade: A+
PointsPlus: 10 (WITHOUT the bun!)

Inspired by: The Deen Bros. Y'All Come Eat by Jaimie & Bobby Deen

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Family Recipes

Tonight was a night of recipes handed down from both of our mothers :) For dinner, we had Chicken Vesuvio, rated an A+ as always. (I'd give you the recipe, but then I'd have to kill you).

Then I started to think about the recipes that my mom had hand-written for me before I got married.
I had the taste for something sweet, and I immediately thought of her homemade vanilla pudding. Pudding is not hard to make at all. The whole process takes about 20-30 minutes, and is much better tasting than anything you could make from a box (though Jello Cook & Serve vanilla pudding is a close runner up).

What's Needed:
1/3 C. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
2 C. milk
2 egg YOLKS, slightly beaten
2 T. butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla

1. Blend sugar, cornstarch, and salt in 2-qt. saucepan.
2. Combine milk and egg yolks. Gradually stir into sugar mixture.














3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils.













4. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in butter and vanilla. Pour into dessert dishes.

6. Cool slightly and chill. Put wax paper on top to prevent skin from forming. (Personally, the skin is my favorite part--yum!)

I like to enjoy this slightly warm off the stove. It tastes just as good when chilled, but for me--sitting on the couch, eating warm, freshly made vanilla pudding brings back memories of snow days and spending the morning with the best mom in the world!

Love you mom! Thanks for everything <3

Husband's Grade: A+ (as always)
PointsPlus: 5 points (1 dessert cup; makes about 4)

Italian Chicken and Rice

My husband and I buy our chicken and steak from a door-to-door company. Consequently, I have chicken that has been pre-marinated with different flavors. I decided to try my Italian chicken with this recipe, since I didn't have any plain chicken on hand. I think this would work equally well with Lemon-Herb chicken (add some additional lemon juice to the rice while cooking).

Don't make the same mistake I made. This recipe uses INSTANT brown rice. I had to re-cook my rice for 20 minutes more when I realized the rice was still crunchy.

What's Needed:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (pre-marinated in Italian dressing)
1 T. canola oil
1-2 chopped bell peppers (your choice of color)
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 C. INSTANT brown rice
2 C. chicken broth
1 1/2 C. frozen corn, thawed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 C. fat-free Italian dressing

1. In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil for 4 minutes per side. Remove and keep warm.
2. In same skillet, saute peppers, onion, and garlic until tender.

3. Stir in rice, broth, corn, dressing, salt and pepper; bring to a boil.

4. Transfer to a 9x13 baking dish coated with nonstick cooking psray. Top with chicken.

5. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 5 minutes longer or until chicken juices run clear.

Husband's Grade: A+
PointsPlus: 6 (1 chicken breast, 1/6 of the rice)

Inspired by: Everyday Light Meals

Quick Lasagna

Very good, but needed more sauce. I made a change in the recipe for next time to use 2 jars of sauce instead of one.

What's Needed:
1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
12-oz. package broad egg noodles
1 C. fat-free cottage cheese
1/2 C. shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese
2 16 oz. jars of spaghetti sauce

1. Brown ground beef in a skillet. Set aside
2. Cook noodles and drain. Toss noodles with cottage, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses.
3. Mix together browned beef and 1 jar of spaghetti sauce.
4. Spoon 1/3 of the meat sauce on the bottom of the slow cooker, plus 1/3 of the 2nd jar of spaghetti sauce.
5. Layer in half of the noodles. Repeat layers.
6. Cover. Cook on LOW for 5-6 hours.

Husband's Grade: A-
PointsPlus: 10 for 1/6 of the crockpot

Inspired by: Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly