Something Extra: Corn Casserole

For any of you who've been to City Barbecue, had their corn pudding, and loved it, this is your recipe.

It's not actually the restaurants recipe, but a recipe my dad made for us whenever my mom let him get away with it (there's a lot of butter in it). Then when I got up here and tried City BBQ's corn pudding, and realized they were close to the same delicious thing.

For those of you who've never experienced corn pudding or corn casserole, it's definitely something worth trying. It's easy to make and amazingly delicious. And don't worry. It's not like corn-flavored Jello pudding. It's similar to the texture of bread pudding, an appropriate texture for a starch dish.

ps- This recipe came from my mom's wedding shower potluck share-your-recipes lunch. I love that idea!

Happy Friday cooking!

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Corn Casserole

Ingredients

½ stick butter

1 can cream-style corn

1 can whole kernel corn (undrained)

2 eggs, beaten

1 carton (8 oz) sour cream

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt butter and pour into the bottom of a 9x13 pan (or throw the butter into the pan and the pan into the oven while you mix the other

3. Finally, fold in the raisins using a spatula.

4. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator.

5. Meanwhile, move one oven rack to the very bottom rung of your oven, and cover it with aluminum foil. Move the other shelf to the middle of the oven.

6. Remove from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

7. Drop the mixture by the tablespoon (I used a measuring spoon) onto a greased or parchment papered cookie sheet.

8. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove to a paper towel or wire rack.

All the ingredients mixed together (in poor lighting).

Batter in the pan. You can see the butter bubbling up around the sides.

Cooked until golden.

Happy cooking!

Something Sweet: Jumbo Cookies

We made it to Dessert Thursday!

I had a little trouble with baking this week. As my Facebook people know, I burnt my first batch of cookies ever. Frustrated but not thwarted, for I still had over half the dough left, I called my mom and together we worked out a solution.

Turns out, these cookies have always been a little testy and prone to burning on the bottom. In part, it's because the cookies are big. But mostly, it's because you just need to foil the bottom rack of your oven first (explained below).

Chase says these may be his favorite cookies, at least I think that's what he said with his mouth full. In any case, it's worth a little foiling to make these tasty monsters.

Happy cooking!

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Jumbo Cookies

Ingredients

½ cup stick Crisco

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup evaporated milk

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup raisins

2 ¾ cup flour

Icing:

2 Tbsp butter

2 cups powdered sugar

¼ - ½ cup evaporated milk

Food coloring (optional)

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together Crisco and sugars. Beat in eggs.

2. Alternate mixing in milk and dry ingredients (half of each at a time). Then, mix in vanilla.

3. Finally, fold in the raisins using a spatula.

4. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator.

5. Meanwhile, move one oven rack to the very bottom rung of your oven, and cover it with aluminum foil. Move the other shelf to the middle of the oven.

6. Remove from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

7. Drop the mixture by the tablespoon (I used a measuring spoon) onto a greased or parchment papered cookie sheet.

8. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove to a paper towel or wire rack.

9. While the cookies are cooling, make the icing.

10. Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium heat until melted and golden.

11. Beat in powdered sugar and evaporated milk (start with ¼ cup and only add more if needed) until the mixture is smooth and the consistency of a thick glaze.

12. Mix in food coloring to get desired shade.

13. Dip the tops of the cookies into the icing. Replace on paper towel/wire rack until the icing is cooled.

14. Eat by the handful.

Shortening and sugars creamed together.

All together now and ready for chilling.

Foiled rack and baking cookies.

Naked cookies.

I accidentally made a rose-shaped cookie. Yum! Happy cooking!

Something Simple: Pig Blankets & Purse Pockets

Here for you are two recipes that have 3 ingredients apiece. So easy, it's kind of scary. These are recipes my mom probably pulled off biscuit cans over the years. When she made them, my sisters and I were always allowed to help.

I'll allow that the names are kind of silly. But Caitlin and I called them Purse Pockets when we were little, and the name stuck. And "Pig Blankets" was so chosen because I'm a bit too lazy to say (or type more than once) "Pigs in a Blanket." Too many syllables.

These recipes are great for a meal, or made in miniature for appetizers. They're always a hit here because of all the cheese. Plus, Purse Pockets make a great breakfast item too!

Happy Wednesday cooking!

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Pig Blankets & Purse Pockets

Pig Blankets

1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls

4 oz. block cheese (I like Colby Jack)

8 precooked hot dogs

Direction

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Slice the hot dogs lengthwise to make a slit that stops a half inch from either end, and doesn't cut all the way through the dog.

3. Slice the cheese into strips that will fit in the hot dog slit.

4. Place the cheese slices into the slit in the hot dogs.

5. Unroll your crescent rolls and stretch them slightly.

6. Place the stuffed hot dog on the wide end of the crescent roll, about an inch from the edge. Pull the edge up over the cheese, then roll the rest of the crescent over the hot dog. Repeat for all dogs.

7. Place the rolled dogs cheese-side up on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

8. Serve and enjoy. They're great with mustard!

Purse Pockets

1 can Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits

1 cup shredded cheese

1/2 cup sliced deli meat (I usually go with ham)

Direction

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Separate the biscuits and stretch them until they are almost twice their original size and about a quarter inch thick.

3. Place about a tablespoon of cheese and a half tablespoon of deli meat in the center of the stretched biscuit.

4. Fold the biscuit in half so that the edges meet. Seal the biscuits closed with a fork.

5. Place on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with extra cheese. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown.

6. Enjoy!

Stuffed hot dog ready for rolling.

The cheese is covered and now the roll can be rolled!

Waiting for the oven.

Cheesy, flakey Pig Blankets.

Purse Pocket assembly line.

Folded and sealed with a fork.

Ready for baking.

Happy cooking!

Something New: Baked Steak

Day Two of the Five Days of Food. Actually, now that I think of it, all this talk of food is the perfect preface for next week: Thanksgiving! I'm so excited to go home and get a full 5 days with my family. I haven't seen them in almost 6 months, and I'm so happy to break that streak.

Plus, I can't wait for turkey with cranberry sauce. Cranberry sauce is the best part of Thanksgiving (food), hands down.

But this isn't about cranberry sauce, this is about another fantastic dish. One with gravy and tender beef and minimal effort. The only downside is that your house will smell like deliciousness for five hours and you'll have to eat half a pound of goldfish crackers to stave off the drooling hunger until your steak is done.

Just saying. Happy cooking!

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Baked Steak

Ingredients

2 lbs round steak

1 can cream of chicken soup (10 oz)

1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 oz)

1 packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix

⅓ cup water

**You will also need aluminum foil**

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

2. Cut the steak into serving size pieces and place in a 9x13 pan.

3. Mix together other ingredients and pour over top of the steak to cover.

4. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for 5 hours.

5. Serve and enjoy.

Serving size steak.

Covering the steak with the gravy ingredients.

Don't forget this step!!

Not photogenic, but definitely tastygenic. Happy cooking!

Something Old: Greek Turkey Burgers

We have made these many times before. They are delicious and easy every time, whether it's a weekday evening or a dinner party. In fact, Chase and I once made these for a dinner party because the supplementary ingredients you mix in essentially double the number of burgers you get out of one pound of ground meat. That and we wanted to share this recipe with all of our friends.

Happy Monday cooking!

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Greek Turkey Burgers February 8, 2010

Oh my god. These are the BEST BURGERS in the world!

Chase and I have made these before, but that was before I was writing Culinary Adventures. Hearty burgers sounded like just the thing for this Sunday night dinner, and indeed they were.

These burgers are topped with a tzatziki, a delicious Greek yogurt dip. It is the icing on the cake for these burgers. (Probably shouldn’t mix food metaphors).

For those of you who like your burgers made by cows, I’ve tried these to great success with ground beef instead of turkey. Since beef is a stronger flavor, just add a dash more oregano and parsley!

Anyway, two recipes below. First the tzatziki, then the burgers themselves!

Tzatziki

¼ cup cucumber, peeled and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tsp fresh dill, chopped

2 tsp fresh lemon juice (more to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

Direction

1. Mix all ingredients together. Keep refrigerated until serving.

Turkey Burgers

1 pound ground turkey

½ cup chopped onion

1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

½ cup finely chopped fresh spinach

3 Tbsp crumbled Feta cheese

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried parsley

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Direction

1. In a bowl, mix all ingredients together by hand. Then form into about 5-6 patties.

2. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and turn to medium to medium-high heat.

3. Place patties in the skillet about 1 inch apart (you may have to cook in more than one round). Let cook for a few minutes on the first side before flipping.

4. Flip the burger to brown the other side. Continue to flip occasionally until the burgers are cooked through (with turkey, there's nothing safe but well done).

5. Remove the finished burgers from the skillet and onto buns. Top with your favorite burger toppings, including the tzatziki.

6. Enjoy!

Burger ingredients.

Tzatziki waiting so patiently to be atop burgers.

Browning away in the skillet.

Happy cooking!

Something Crazy: A Week of Recipes

Hello food friends!

Life being what it is, I have been away from the blog and internet communication in general, for awhile now. I've been filling my life with applications, so food has fallen to the wayside. Chase and I have hardly cooked until this last week. Then in a flurry of cooking, we cooked a lot.

And I have a lot more energy (finally!) for things that I've been leaving by the wayside. So I've decided that there should be a flurry of posts too. Lucky you!

Here's the plan for the week:

Mon: Greek Turkey Burgers

Tues: Baked Steak

Wed: Piggy Blankets & Purse Pockets

Thur: Dessert TBA

Fri: Corn Casserole

Lots of happy cooking!