my new favorite corn bread recipe

We like to eat corn bread whenever we have chili. Since we learned about Henri's food allergies, I've been trying to find an egg-free corn bread recipe that we really enjoy. I've tried quite a few recipes, but none have turned out moist. They're either dry or if I cook them for a shorter time, there's still batter in the bread.

Then I tried a new recipe, and it turned out delicious! To celebrate, I decided to share the recipe with you.

Corn Bread (Egg-free)

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup corn meal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup milk or vanilla rice milk or soy milk
  
• 1/2 cups olive or vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp corn syrup
  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease an 8" square pan.
2. Combine the dry ingredients--flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Stir in the wet ingredients--milk, oil, vinegar, and corn syrup.
4. Pour batter into pan.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until the sides begin to pull away from the edge and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Voila! Perfect, moist, egg-free corn bread.

foody friday--beefy mac

Today's Foody Friday theme: Your Man's Favorite Food

I asked Johnny to tell me his favorite dish. He listed off his 6 favorite. I asked him to narrow it down. He gave me two: Enchilada Casserole and Beefy Mac

I made Beefy Mac today, so that's the recipe I'll be sharing with you all.

I find it funny that my husband's two favorite dishes are soooooo easy to make. He's not into a lot of veggies, and besides tomato sauce, this dish certainly has few veggies in it and very little prep work. I got the recipe from Miserly Meals by Jonni McCoy--a cookbook that was given to me back when Henri was born, I quit my job to stay home with him, and we were learning how to pinch pennies. I've adapted it slightly.

Beefy Mac

Ingredients:

• 1lb lean Ground Beef
• 8-10 oz Macaroni Noodles or any Pasta. I use what I have on hand. Today it was Radiatori. I buy this brand pasta at Costco. It's seriously the best tasting, eggless pasta I've had.
• 2--15 oz cans Tomato Sauce
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder (or chop a small onion and cook it while browning the beef)
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder (or mince a clove and cook it with the beef)
  
• 1/4 tsp Pepper
• Salt to taste

In a large saucepan, boil the noodles according to the package directions. Drain the noodles.


Meanwhile, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat. I kept the picture small because the meat was still pink in my photo, and it looked gross to me. And I thought, hey, I don't want to gross anyone out.


Pause to give hungry 18-month old a snack.


Add the rest of the ingredients to the browned beef. If you're waiting for your man to get home for dinner, now would be a good stopping point to let the Italian Seasoning do it's work in the sauce by letting it simmer, covered over low heat.

But if you're like me, you would go ahead and add the noodles. See how nice and saucy it looks in the picture.

The only problem is that most of the sauce soaked up into the noodles by the time Johnny got home. Oops.

And if you're like my man, you will smother all pasta dishes with grated Parmesan cheese.

And you will be a happy husband because you were very hungry and you love Beefy Mac.

foody friday--as simple as I get

It's Simple Foods for Foody Friday.

Well there's the REALLY simple:

PB & J's for Johnny & I

For the kids:

• Jam sandwiches (1 or even 2 types of jam if we're getting creative)
  
• Cream Cheese sandwiches
• Jam & Cream Cheese sandwiches
• Honey Bread
• Honey with Butter on bread
  

Then there's the cooked simple:

• Grilled Cheese
• Quesadillas

I gave a simple recipe on my last Foody Friday post too.

Then there's dinner tonight where we needed to eat fast. I mixed:

• 14 oz can black beans, rinsed & drained
• a couple of handfuls of frozen corn
• a splash of lime juice

Henri & I enjoyed it though the corn was still frozen.

On the list of common meals I make, here's one that requires the fewest ingredients.

Simple Shepherd's Pie

• 1/2-1lb Ground Beef
• 1 can Cream-style Corn (add more veggies or seasonings if you like)
• 2 cups prepared Mashed Potatoes

1. Prepare your mashed potatoes if you haven't yet.
   
2. Brown ground beef, season as desired, and place in casserole dish.
3. Pour creamed corn (and other veggies) on top.
4. Top with mashed potatoes.
5. Bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes.
   

foody friday--black bean & couscous salad

Today's Foody Friday theme is picnic food.

I've got two recipes. One that's just for me in my family and one for sharing.

Salmon Wrap
When we head off to watch Johnny's softball games and need to pack a dinner, I enjoy making this creation.

Mix a can of salmon with some mayo (or eggless canola-based mayo) and sweet relish to taste. On a bread wrap, lay some spinach and desired amount salmon mixture. Wrap and enjoy.


Since not everyone enjoys canned salmon or tuna the way I do, here's another recipe.


Black Bean & Couscous Salad
I will double this recipe when making for a potluck. I got it off of RecipeZaar last year. If it's just us (4-5 servings), I use the following ingredients:

• 1/2 cup uncooked Couscous
• 3/4 cup Chicken Broth or Water
• 3 TBSP Olive Oil
• 2 TBSP Lime Juice
• 1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 tsp ground Cumin
• Green Onions (about 4), chopped
  
• 1/2 to 1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded & chopped
• 2 TBSP fresh Cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen Corn, thawed
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed & drained
• salt & pepper

1. Bring chicken broth (or water) to a boil and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot & remove from heat. Let stand for at least 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, and cumin.
3. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn & beans. Toss to coat.
4. Fluff the couscous and add to the bowl of vegetables. Mix well.
5. Season with salt & pepper. Feel free to adjust ingredients to what you have on hand & as desired (adding more or less couscous, peppers, cilantro, green onions, corn, black beans, ect.)
   

foody friday--blue cheese stuffed burgers

Foody Tuesday?

This is late. I know. Here is my very late Foody Friday submission based on last Friday's grilling theme.

We like to stuff our hamburgers with blue cheese.

Ingredients:

• Ground Beef
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Salt
• Pepper
• Blue Cheese crumbles
  

1. Mix some Worcestershire sauce, salt, & pepper in the ground beef.
2. Form into large patties.
3. Press some blue cheese into the center.
4. Wrap beef around cheese, being careful to completely seal the cheese in so that it doesn't drip out. (If it drips out, there will be no cheese in the middle. The tangy flavor will be gone. All the fun will be gone too. This I know from experience.)
5. Grill.
6. Put on a bun with all your favorite toppings (i.e. barbecue sauce, tomato, spinach, etc)
   

foody friday--chili sin carne

Chili sin carne was on my menu for today, and that seems spicy enough to me for today's Foody Friday. Unfortunately, like most of the meals I make, I pulled it from one of my cookbooks that's still in print. Granted, I didn't follow the recipe exactly. Get yourself a copy of Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook from a book store or your local library. It has some tasty chili recipes in it. Thanks to my friend who gave it to me a few years back.

Thankfully, chili has some basic ingredients in it. If you throw some measurement of these basics in, you should at least come up with something that's like chili, right? Right? Right?

So here are the ingredients without exact measurements that I used in the chili that's sitting in my crock pot right now as I type.

• olive oil
• onions, chopped
  
• green, red, or yellow pepper, chopped
  
• garlic, minced
  
• 2 cans beans--any kind, rinsed & drained (I used black & pinto)
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
• brown sugar
• New Mexican chile pepper powder or chili powder
• ground cumin
• jalapeno--chopped (optional)
• coriander (optional)
  
• ground cloves (optional)
  
• oregano (optional)
• ground allspice (optional)
• cilantro, chopped
  
• shredded cheese for serving
• corn is great in chili too, but I didn't add it this time because I'm making corn muffins.

1. Saute the onions, green pepper, & garlic in olive oil.
2. Meanwhile, put remaining ingredients (except cilantro) in the crock pot.
3. Add softened veggies to crock pot and stir to mix.
4. Set to low for a long time--4-6 hours or more is probably good.
5. Add some cilantro to taste before serving.
6. Make some corn muffins.
7. Enjoy!
   

foody friday--butterscotch cream cheese pie

We love ice cream.

My Foody Friday post on dessert could be to go to the nearest grocery store and pick up a tub of ice cream, but that would hardly be a recipe.

I could give you an ice cream recipe because Johnny LOVES making ice cream in our ice cream maker though we haven't made ice cream in at least 2 years. My jaw drops at the expense of all the ingredients, so we buy it instead.


We also love cheesecake.

Our wedding cake was cheesecake.

We eat it whenever we can.

Then we had a sweet baby boy who happens to have an egg allergy, and most cheesecake recipes include eggs.

Then I found this recipe on Recipe Zaar (#114448) last year that tastes a lot like cheesecake only a little lighter and fluffier.

Butterscotch Cream Cheese Pie

Here's what you need:

• 1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust (6 oz) or make your own sweet pie crust
• 1 8oz package Cream Cheese, softened
  
• 1 14 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 3/4 cup Cold Water
• 3.5 oz package Instant Butterscotch Pudding Mix (or any flavor you feel like trying)
• 1 8oz container Frozen Whipped Topping, thawed & divided

1. In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy; gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth.
2. On low speed, beat in water and pudding mix until smooth. Fold in half of the whipped topping and pour into crust.
3. Chill 2 hours or until set.
4. Top with remaining whipped topping. Keep refrigerated.

I've also made this with chocolate pudding and pumpkin spice pudding.

Very yummy and very easy to make.

foody friday---roasted asparagus

I rarely make side dishes, but that's the theme of today's Foody Friday. Why? My mind is unable to think in pieces and put them all together. It hurts my brain to come up with 3 items to put on a plate. So what do I do?

• Most of the meals I make are "all in one" dishes where we have everything we need for a meal in one dish. Everything is all mixed up together, which I've found can be a pain for my guests with children or adults who like to eat everything separately.

Occasionally, I'll make something that demands a grain or a vegetable to go on the side. I could tell you about the white or brown rice that I make in which I follow the recipe on the bag and add a little oil to it. That's what I usually make.

When I need a vegetable, broccoli florets become the veggie of choice seasoned & sauteed in a little butter or olive oil.

I thought about doing a post about sweet potatoes. Johnny and Henri love baked glazed sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top. I prefer another sweet potato recipe that my Aunt Gail made over the holidays (with nutmeg & no brown sugar). I made it again and got the polite evil eye from my dear husband who likes his sweet potatoes made one way and one way only (but he is too kind to me to be too harsh about it--I have a WONDERFUL husband). Maybe I'll post both recipes later and then you can decide.

In the spring, however, the veggie changes to asparagus, which will be the subject of this post.

Asparagus can be dangerous. If its not fresh, the right shape, or cooked right, it can taste disgusting (stringy to chew or bitter tasting). If it's done right, then Johnny & I fight for every last piece. Here are a few tips:

1. The "skinnier" the asparagus, the more tender. Grocers always seem to have something different. I'll still buy the thicker kind, but I think it's so much better if you can find the bunches of thinner stalks.
   
2. Break the tough ends off. I've read that it will break off at the right place by just bending it at the bottom. I've also read that you can avoid stringy asparagus by peeling the top layer off of the bottom 2 inches. I haven't noticed much difference though.
   
3. I bake or saute my green veggies. I haven't found a good steaming or boiling method that keeps them from turning bitter.
4. Here are some more information and tips.
   

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan
(adapted from Everyday Food June 2004)

• 1 bunch Asparagus
• Olive Oil (1 TBSP or more)
  
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese (or more)
  

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with olive oil.
   
2. Break tough ends from one bunch asparagus.
3. Toss asparagus in some olive oil and season with salt & pepper.
4. Spread asparagus in an even layer and sprinkle about a 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese on top.
5. Roast 10-15 minutes until asparagus is tender and cheese is melted.

foody friday

My friend Jenny at A Latte Talk is starting Foody Friday as a way to exchange recipes. Today we are posting our favorite recipe/food.

It was hard for me to choose a favorite recipe because my tastes are always changing. I don't know if I should be announcing this, but my FAVORITE flavor in food is that of red or white wine. So I head to Trader Joes and pick up some Three Buck Chuck when I can so that I can make yummy sauces for pasta or put it in a beef roast like in the recipe below.

This is what I'm craving now, so I have no pictures. It's a slow cooker recipe. I will be running to the grocery store though to pick up some zucchini and make it again soon.

Beef Ragout
adapted from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 lbs Beef Roast, trimmed of fat, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks, & blotted dry
• 2 medium-size Onions, chopped
• 14.5 oz can Diced Tomatoes
• 1 cup dry Red Wine
• 1 cup sliced Carrots
• 1 tsp minced Garlic
• 2 Tbsp Flour
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
• 2 Zucchini, ends trimmed & sliced into 1/4-inch-thick half-moons.
• White Rice, Noodles, or Mashed Potatoes, prepared for serving.
  

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil and brown the beef, in batches if necessary. Transfer to a medium or large slow cooker.
   
2. Add the onions to the skillet and brown slightly over medium-high heat.
3. Add the tomatoes and wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits; pour into the cooker.
4. Add the carrots, garlic, flour, and Italian seasoning to the cooker.
5. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours.
6. After 6-7 hours, add the salt, pepper, and zucchini, cover, turn the cooker to HIGH, and cook for about 45 minutes, until the meat and zucchini are tender.
7. Serve over white rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes. Serves 4-5.

Delicious!

Happy Birthday Henri!

Henri is 4 today!

We had a birthday party for him on Sunday. He wanted a "monster" themed party and a cake with yellow frosting. So that's what we tried to give him.

Whew! Good news. He liked it.

Henri is allergic to eggs. Imagine the challenge of having to make an eggless cake. I've tried MANY recipes, and only ONE recipe I have works well for making layer cakes and tastes great, thanks to my friend Jess. This year instead of making a round layer cake, I tried the recipe in a Bundt pan, adding 20 minutes to the bake time, to make this cake:

Henri's Birthday Cake

My good friend Jess realized a couple of years ago that one of the cake recipes in her cookbook (that she made for her dad's birthday) did not require eggs, and she passed the recipe on to me. In my opinion, it's also a REALLY, REALLY good cake recipe (if you like rich, moist, dense chocolate cake). The recipe is from an out-of-print cookbook called American Bistro by Diane Rossen Worthington. So for your baking enjoyment, but without the frosting recipe included because I always do something different, I've put the recipe down below. If anyone knows that I should not reprint this recipe, I will quickly remove it. I'm so thankful to Jess for passing the recipe on to me and to the author of this recipe. Henri is so grateful when he gets to actually eat cake, and asked me again and again this year if I would make him an eggless cake for his birthday party. I just want to share the love. Thanks.

Chocolate Celebration Cake
from American Bistro by Diane Rossen Worthington

(aka Eggless Chocolate Layer Cake)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. (I use parchment paper or Pam Baking spray or Bakers Joy. Once the cakes stuck to the pans badly when I used just butter & flour, and I called Rachel crying. She straightened me out and sent me off baking with parchment paper.)
   
2. Prepare the cake: In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
3. Place the cocoa in a large bowl and slowly add the hot water while stirring constantly. When the mixture is smooth, stir in the cold water. Stir in the vegetable oil and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, dividing it evenly, and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the pan.
4. Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes (or Bundt pan for 50-55 minutes), or until they begin to come away from the sides of the pans and the tops are springy to the touch. (Do NOT open the oven until you are ready to test the cake for doneness). Remove to racks to cool for 20 minutes. Run a think-bladed knife around the edges of the pans to loosen the cakes, then invert onto the racks to cool completely before assembling.
5. Place the first cake layer, chocolate chip side up, on a serving plate. Spread frosting thickly over the layer, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Top with second cake layer, chocolate chip side up, and push down gently. Finish frosting as desired.

Makes one 9-inch, 2 layer cake (serves 8-10).

Enjoy! It's 1:00 am, so I will post more about the party activities later.