Viva Mexico Feista!

I have always loved Mexican food; it is an all time favorite.  I made this recipe a few months back.  It was just splendid. I have always liked the idea of corn with my Mexican food. Perfecto!

Tamale Pie
adapted from: http://www.2teaspoons.com/tamale-pie/

Bread
1/2 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup flour (I pulsed some oats)
3 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
3-4T oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 small can diced green chilies
1 cup corn
1 cup cheese, shredded

Meat mixture
1 lb ground beef (to make vegetarian friendly-use 1 can beans, rinsed and drained)
1 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Flavor-Adders
1 1/4 cup enchilada sauce (small can would work; I just halved this recipe)
2 cups cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400.  In a bowl whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Drizzle in oil to make the dry ingredients crumbly. In another bowl combine milk and eggs. Slowly incorporate these wet ingredients into the dry. Carefully fold in the chilies, corn and chilies. Pour into a well-greased/seasoned pan (I wish I had a bigger cast iron pan). Bake 25 minutes.  As the cornmeal mixture is baking, brown the ground beef with the cumin, chili, salt and pepper. Drain off fat. After the cornbread is done baking, reduce oven temperature to 350. Next poke the cornbread with a fork. Pour enchilada sauce over all. Top with meat mixture and cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20minutes. Take off the foil and bake another 10 minutes until cheese is browned and bubbly. Serve with your favorite Mexican toppings (guacamole, sour cream, etc).

Burger Specialty

Today being Father's Day I thought I would share a special burger recipe.  My dad, husband and father-in-law all LOVE burgers. This recipe is out of the ordinary but super good and flavorful.  BAP and SSP loved this recipe too. It was a definite winner.  Super good and super easy.

Cheeseburger Pie
adapted from: http://www.melissassouthernstylekitchen.com/2014/02/bacon-cheeseburger-pie.html

Crust
1 pkg (20oz) refrigerated hashbrowns
2 medium (1 large) eggs, beaten

Filling
1/3 pkg bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 onion, diced
1 lb ground beef
2 t Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 cup crushed Dorito chips
1/2 cup ketchup
1 T mustard
4 medium (2 large) eggs
1 cup shredded cheese

Mix hashbrowns and eggs.  Press into a deep greased pie plate. Bake at 375 for about 15minutes until slightly golden.
After cooking bacon, brown ground beef and onions until done.  Add Montreal steak seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder,  and Worcestershire sauce.  Remove to a bow. Stir in chips, ketchup and mustard.  Cool slightly and stir in eggs and cheese. Add into pie shell. Bake at 350 for about 45minutes.  Serve with extra cheese (if desired), ketchup, mustard and sauteed mushrooms.  Perfect.

Pie For Dinner...We Like This

Perusing through one of my cooking magazines I found a recipe for chicken pot pie.  Hmmm...I wonder if I could get a way with something like that for dinner? Would the boys eat it or just squirm looking at it?  They both (or all three...if you count my husband) loved it...even as it was LOADED with veggies.  Perfect meal.  I made the filling in the morning and made the topping about an hour before dinner time.  Perfect!

Chicken Pot Pie
adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Pot-Pie-II
& http://www.theglutenfreevegan.com/2014/03/copycat-cheddar-bay-biscuits-gluten-free-vegan/

Filling
3 cups chicken breasts, cooked & chopped (I seasoned with garlic, onion and dried spinach)
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
5 T butter
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/3 cup rice flour
1 t dried thyme
2 cups frozen mixed veggies (I had a mix of peas, carrots, corn and beans)

Place cooked chicken chunks in a large bowl with frozen veggies. In a sauce pan saute onion and celery in butter.  After veggies have softened slightly add flour, thyme, broth and milk. Cook until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Cool slightly.  Add to chicken and veggies.  Stir. Dump in a greased 2 quart deep dish.

Topping
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup Gluten Free bisquick mix (I made my own using this recipe) plus a little extra for tossing
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 t coarse ground black pepper
3 T butter
3/4 cup shredded cheese

Pulse bisquick mix, garlic powder, pepper, butter and cheese.  Slowly add milk until just combined.  Scoop by 1/8cupfuls and toss in additional mix. Set aside in fridge until you need to top the pie (about mid baking time).

Preheat oven to 400.  Place filling pan in oven for about 30minutes until slightly bubbly.  Drop biscuits on top. Bake for an additional 15-20minutes until toothpick comes out clean.  Drizzle additional (3T) melted  butter on top of biscuits. Sprinkle with garlic salt.

ENJOY!

SPECIAL NOTE: You can substitute regular white flour for the rice flour and regular bisquick for the Gluten Free type instead.

Pie For Dinner...A Happy Occurence

A few months back I mentioned that my dad gave us some of his delicious smoked salmon, and I made some of it into a delicious soup.  Today with winter in full swing I thought I would make some quiche...I used some delicious salmon from a dear friend. This recipe was absolutely delicious.

Salmon, Dill & Gouda Pie
adapted from: http://thepieacademy.com/savory-smoked-salmon-dill-and-gouda-pie/

1 pie crust (since going Gluten Free, I love this one - or if you want more traditional here)

4 eggs
1 1/3 cups half-n-half
3T fresh dill (or 1T dried), optional
1 1/2 t Dijon mustard
1 cup Gouda cheese, shredded finely
4 oz flaked salmon (I added some chopped steamed broccoli)

Pre-bake the pie crust.  Preheat oven to 350. Cover edges with foil.  In a mixing bowl combine eggs, half-n-half, dill, and Dijon.  Pour in pie crust with 1/2 the cheese.  Flake salmon into this mixture.  Next sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake 35-40minutes.

Simple As Pie

The next couple days are special celebrations.  Yesterday was my grandparents wedding anniversary (if they were still alive today, it would be 85 years)!  Today is the same grandpa's birthday and tomorrow is my (big) little brother's birthday.  As kids we grew up on an apple orchard, I loved that we could go pick apples anytime we wanted (our neighbors owned this lovely piece of property).  Mom grew a big garden with lots of veggies (we loved sharing our abundant produce).  Often times she would make an apple pie when Grandpa and Grandma came visiting.  This recipe reminds me of those special times. Recently my father in law gave us a 9pound zucchini he had growing in his garden.  I thought I would make a special dessert.

Apple Pie (Made With Zucchini)
adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/zucchini-apple-pie/

1 double pie pastry for a 9inch pie (I just used 1 store bought ready-to-roll crust)
2 large zucchini (peeled, deseeded and chopped in 4 cups)
2 T lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 t pumpkin/apple pie spice
1 1/2 t cream of tartar
3 T flour

Roll out pie crust on a floured surface until on the thinner side (crust will be over hanging quite a bit).  Place in a greased pie plate. In a saucepan, combine lemon juice, sal tand zucchini. Cook until crisp-tender. In another bowl combine brown sugar, spice, cream of tartar and flour until brown sugar is lump-free.  Toss with cooked zucchini.  Place in crust.  Fold up crust edges.  Bake at 400 for 40minutes until golden brown (and slightly bubbly).  Serve warm with fresh whipped cream.

Sweet Sour & Just Plain Delicious

Recently I started doing Bountiful Baskets - a food co-op of sorts (25lbs of fruits and veggies for about $15).  I suggest trying them at least once.  Check out the link to see if it is in your area.  It is such a great deal since produce is typically SO expensive.  Today when we got one, I got 8lbs (I repeat, 8POUNDS) of strawberries for $11.  BAP and SSP downed 1 pound exclusively for breakfast.  I froze another 4 and have 1 on reserve in the fridge.  Then with the last 2 pounds I made 2 strawberry rhubarb pies.  Mmm...mmm.  It was so easy to make since it did not require an oven, and since mine is on its last legs it was great.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mamans-fresh-strawberry-rhubarb-pie/

1 1/4 cups crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup melted butter

1 pound fresh strawberries, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup diced rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
3 T cornstarch
1 T lemon juice

Mix together crumbs and butter.  Line a greased 9-inch pie plate.  (I used a store-bought graham cracker crust). Place enough strawberries on top to form a single layer.
Put remaining strawberries, rhubarb, sugar and water in a saucepan.  Boil until slightly thickened over med-high heat.  Remove from heat; add lemon juice.  Cool slightly.  Pour into pie dish.  Refrigerate until firm.

Apples & Caramel...Oh My!

I love the taste of caramel with apples. So great and refreshing on a fall day. If you love these flavors together, this is a must try dessert. The syrup is just heavenly. I hope you agree. These little morsels remind me a lot of my grandma's apple pie she would make. 

Apple Dumplings

http://www.eatliverun.com/old-fashioned-apple-dumplings/

Syrup

1 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

2 T butter

1/4 t cinnamon

Dumplings

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 t salt

1/2 cup shortening

4-5 T milk

4-5 small apples, peeled (I cored and halved as well).

Preheat oven to 425.

In a sauce pan, combine syrup ingredients. Boil and make sure butter melts. Remove from heat. Cool. (Don't fret, it does not have to be thick...it will thicken as it cooks in the oven.)

Combine flour and salt and cut in shortening. Add milk slowly until dough comes together. Roll out on a floured surface (1/8 - 1/4 inch thick). Cut into 4-5 large squares (since I halved the apples, about 8 squares). Fold dough over apples (ends over the flat side).

Place dumplings in greased pan (pie plate works well). Pour sauce over and around dumplings. The dumplings should be swimming in it.

Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown.