Cheesy Cornbread Casserole

This recipe comes from KRAFT and it's a special one for some folks I love. Personally, I avoid jalapeno peppers. Nothing fun for me about hot, hot, hot. That isn't true for everyone so this recipe is for them.

 Cheesy Cornbread Casserole

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 onion chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, finely chopped

1 can (15 oz.) enchilada sauce

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained

1 teaspoon garlice powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 package (8.5 oz.) corn muffin mix

1 package KRAFT Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese with a Touch of Pheladelphia, divided

HEAT oven to 350ºF.
BROWN meat with onions and peppers in large skillet. Stir in next 4 ingredients; cook and stir 3 min. or until heated through. Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish.
PREPARE muffin batter as directed on package; stir in cheese. Spread over meat mixture.
BAKE 20 min. or until toothpick inserted in center of cornbread topping comes out clean. Cool slightly.

Make Ahead

Prepare meat mixture. Refrigerate 3 to 4 days, or freeze up to 1 month. When ready to use, spoon into baking dish. (Thaw first, if frozen.) Top with muffin batter and continue as directed.

Special Extra

Bump up the flavor by stirring chopped canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce or chopped fresh chives into muffin batter before using as directed.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I found this recipe on the top of a Quaker Oats oatmeal container. I LOVE Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. How about you?

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

½ cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.

Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.

Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets. Remove to wire rack. Cook completely. Store in tightly covered container.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Bar Cookies

Bake 30 to 35 minutes in ungreased 13 x 9-inch metal baking pan.

Chocolate Pound Cake

This recipe came in an envelope from Southern Living Magazine. It was a teaser recipe to get me to purchase their magazine. I’ve received the same recipe several times. But, hey, it is a wonderful magazine.

Chocolate Pound Cake

1 (8-oz.) package semisweet chocolate baking squares, chopped
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
½ cup chocolate syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Microwave chocolate baking squares in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH for 1 minute and 15 seconds or until chocolate is melted and smooth, stirring at 15-second intervals. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating 5-7 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Stir in melted chocolate, chocolate syrup and vanilla, until smooth.

Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (14-cup) tube pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack, and let cool completely (about 1 hour and 30 minutes).

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Makes 16 servings.

Apple Dessert Pizza

It all began when I went to the Pizza Hut buffet. They make this wonderful dessert pizza that is way too sweet and way too wonderful. I thought it would be a good item to take to potlucks and such.

So I did what anyone does, I googled apple dessert pizza and found this wonderful recipe from Christy Jordan. It figures. I LOVE her cookbook, Southern Plate. This recipe isn’t in that cookbook but it does have some other wonderful recipes. I most definitely recommend this cookbook!

Apple Doozie

1 pizza crust
1 can apple pie filling
½ cup quick oats
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup flour
½ stick margarine (¼ of a cup)
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze

1 cup Confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place pizza crust on baking sheet. Open pie filling and dice it up a bit while it is inside the can. Spread over pizza crust.

Place flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Using a long tined fork, cut margarine in to mixture until crumbly. Sprinkle over top of pie filling on pizza crust and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until lightly golden. Top with glaze.

Glaze

Place all glaze ingredients in small bowl. Stir until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add a little more milk. If it’s too thin, add a little more sugar. Drizzle over Apple Pizza with a spoon.

Variation

To use fresh apples, peel and chop two to three cups apples. Sauté in two tablespoons butter until tender. Add a few tablespoons sugar is you like but keep them a bit tart because the topping adds a lot of sweetness. 

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

I found this recipe in the November 2011 Southern Living Magazine. Then it ended up in a stack of recipes to try and, of course, didn't see the light of day until just recently. I'm looking forward to giving it a try because our family LOVES sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 ½ cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Add sweet potatoes, and beat well.

Stir together flour, baking power, baking soda and cinnamon or nutmeg, in a medium bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

Spoon batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (12-cup) tube pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 65 minutes to 70 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely (about one hour).

This makes 10-12 servings.

Sweet Potato Pound Cake Loaves

Prepare batter as directed above; pour into two greased and floured 8 ½ x 4 ½-inch loaf pans. Bake and cool as directed.

Tomato, Onion and Cucumber Salad

My mother found this recipe in the free magazine, Eat Healthy Your Way. She loves tomatoes, onions and cucumbers so it’s perfect for her. And it was just in time for the senior citizens’ game night where everyone was supposed to bring a salad.

Summer Tomato, Onion and Cucumber Salad

3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or more to taste
2 medium cucumbers
4 medium tomatoes, cut into ½-inch wedges
1 Vidalia or other swee onion, halved and very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley, chives and/or tarragon

Whisk vinegar, oil, honey, salt and pepper in a large shallow bowl.

Remove alternating stripes of peel from the cucumers, Slice the cucumbers into thin rounds. Add the cucumber slices, tomatoes and onion to the dressing; gently toss to combine. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Just before serving, add herbs and toss again.

Makes 6 servings, about 1 ½ cups each.

Pepper Jelly

My mother has been busily making this pepper jelly for a couple of weeks. My uncle, the former ag teacher, can grow anything. And he does. In great quantities. So my aunt keeps sending hot peppers to my mother. This is my aunt's recipe. It was also contributed by a dear friend to a local senior citizen cookbook. I guess that means it's one of those pass down and around recipes. Those are the best kind.

If you really like it hot you can switch the amounts on the bell pepper and hot pepper, using 1/2 cup bell pepper and 1 1/3 cups hot pepper.

Both my mother and my aunt recommend using plastic gloves and goggles while you're cutting up the peppers. I wouldn't know. Hot peppers are not for me, though I do love the smell. LOL

Pepper Jelly

1 1/3 cups bell pepper
½ cup hot pepper
½ cup water
1 cup vinegar
6 ½ cups sugar
1 box (2 packages) Certo

Cut off the stems of the pepper. Using a food processor, grind bell pepper and hot pepper until it is fine. Bring first five ingredients to a boil. Pour in Certo; boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Let set 5 minutes. Skim off foam; pour into jars and seal as per normal canning methods.