A Week Late

Tonight was another day coming home late.  I think this may be our new normal.  I'd pulled out the tilapia last night to thaw and planned to finally make those fish tacos I was supposed to make last week.  The fish wasn't quite finished thawing, so Sera & Jim got a snack.  They loaded up on Triscuits and spinach dip while I started dinner.  I was slightly delayed waiting for the fish to finish thawing, so Sera went looking for another snack.  I told her that dinner was coming soon so no more snacks.  She groaned and said, "but I don't like dinner, Mommy."  I told her she didn't even know what we were having.  She replied with a distinct sneer, "Yes, I do.  Healthy food." 

Healthy food or not.  She wanted to help.  I called her after I fried the fish to help assemble the tacos.  I put her on shredded cabbage detail.  She loves helping in the kitchen, and she loved the fish tacos. 

Baja Fish Tacos


1 c flour
1 t salt
½ t ground pepper
1 ¾ lbs tilapia, cut into strips
1 c water, club soda, or beer (I used water since that’s what I had)
¼ c mayonnaise
¼ c ketchup
1 lime, halved crosswise
vegetable oil
tortillas
shredded cabbage
additional lime wedges
hot pepper sauce

Whisk flour, salt, and pepper in bowl; pour in water or club soda, whisking until batter is smooth. Let stand 15 minutes.

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Squeeze some lime juice over each strip. Let stand 15 minutes.

Mix mayonnaise and ketchup. Refrigerate until tacos are ready to assemble.

Mix fish into batter.

Pour oil into medium skillet and pre-heat. Slide fish strips into oil. Fry until golden.

Fill warm tortilla with 2 fish strips. Top with sauce, cabbage, squeeze of lime, and dash of hot pepper sauce.

It's All Greek To Me

Have you tried Greek yogurt yet?  I love it.  I love how thick and rich it tastes.  I love it with honey, fruit, & granola.  I even love it plain.  What I don't love, though, is the price, so I went searching for a recipe to make it myself.

When I was a teenager, I remember receiving a Salton yogurt maker for Christmas.  I've been a food nerd for a very long time. I remember it as being fairly easy to make, but deciding that it was too much work when I could buy it so cheaply.

Fast forward a few years.  Okay, okay, more than a few, and I've changed my mind.  I will admit that it's easier to pay $.50 for the yogurt sale of the week, but Greek-style yogurt is more like $2.00.  Plus, I kind of like the idea of controlling what goes in it myself.  I haven't experimented with organic milk yet because it has to be done differently.  That will be my next goal.  For now, I'm just using regular milk.

I've made one batch so far and will make another tomorrow.  I plan to start making it weekly. Maybe I'll even get pictures some time.

Greek-style Yogurt
Adapted from Salad in a Jar

2 qts milk
1-2 t yogurt with active cultures (you may use your own once you've made a batch)
1/2 c non-fat milk powder, approximately

Optional Flavorings:
vanilla
honey
flavored syrups (ie. Torani)
fruit jellies, preserves, butters
fresh fruit
your imagination

Pour milk in microwave/oven-safe bowl.  Microwave on high for 6 minutes.  Stir to prevent skin from forming and check temperature with an instant-read thermometer. You want to get the milk to 175º-180°.

Now allow the milk to cool back down between 110º-120°, and stir in the yogurt starter and the powdered milk.  If the milk is hotter, it will kill the active culture and your yogurt will fail. The powdered milk will help give the thicker Greek consistency, and it will increase the protein level as well.  I've read anywhere from 1/4 c to 1 c per 2 qts of milk.  I used 1/2 c.

Cover your bowl and place it in warm area.  It needs to maintain a temperature of 100º-110°. I followed the directions to preheat my oven for only one minute and then left my bowl in the oven with the light on.  This seemed to maintain the temp.  I also wrapped my bowl in a towel.  If you have a newer oven or crockpot that maintains at that temperature level, you can set it and not have to keep checking like I did.

The time it takes to become yogurt can vary.  I checked after 5 hours, and it wasn't ready yet.  I then had to run errands so didn't check it again until 8 hours passed.  At 8 hours, the bowl contents had become gelatinous and you could see the whey, a yellowish liquid, forming, around the edges.

At this point, you have yogurt.  To continue on with Greek-style, you need to strain the excess whey.  Line a colander with cheesecloth or coffee filters or use a fine mesh strainer.  Gently pour your yogurt into the colander, and set over a bowl.  Allow the whey to drain.  The longer you let it drain, the thicker your yogurt will be.  Leave it too long, and you'll have yogurt cheese.

Mine sat for about 2  hours.  It was thick, but I'll let it go a little longer next time.

Once the yogurt has drained, pour it back into a large bowl and whisk it to get the right consistency.  You can also add flavorings at this point.  Chill and enjoy!

I made 6 one-cup portions, plus a little extra from 2 qts of milk.  The milk cost $1.98.  The initial yogurt to get a starter cost $2.00.  And the box of powdered milk cost around $2.00.

Even if I'm generous and charge myself $.50 for the yogurt and powdered milk, making this yogurt cost around $2.50.  Six containers of Greek-style yogurt would have cost $12.00.  Quite a savings.  The process is lengthy, but it's really easy.  You're just checking temps, and then whisking and adding flavors.  I've been eating it with a spoonful of my cherry preseves and some granola for breakfast.  It's awesome and, with the extra protein, very filling.

Be sure to go to Salad in a Jar's website and read her directions and comments for a lot more ideas.

Not Starbuck's Vanilla Scones

Two weeks ago, Sera & I spent the morning shopping at Target.  She was not excited at the prospect so I bribed her by stopping at the Starbucks inside for her favorite vanilla milk.  She claimed to be hungry, so I bought her a mini vanilla scone to go with it.

She sat at the table like a little princess daintly eating her scone and wiping her mouth with her napkin.  In other words, totally unlike the way she usually behaves while eating.  She loved that scone so much that she stayed focused on it completely.  An older woman even stopped as she passed to comment that she didn't even know children could be that well-behaved while eating anymore.  I decided not to disabuse her of this impression.

The entire time we shopped she begged for another scone.  I'm not ashamed to say I held this out as the reward if she behaved in the store.  On the way out I bought three more scones.  They were .75 each or 3 for $1.95.  It was a no brainer.

A few days later, we headed north on our camping trip.  When we hit Kalamazoo, Jim asked Sera if she wanted anything.  She asked to go to Starbucks for a scone.  We drove across the city to get to a Starbucks.  It was actually near the highway we needed, but not the shortest route to get there.  Daddy got her another scone.

When we got back home from camping, I started researching for a knockoff recipe.  I kept finding the same recipe everywhere I looked.  I think I'm crediting the person who actually created the recipe or at least claims to be. 

I'd already made my cherry preserves, let them sit their 24 hours undisturbed, and was ready to try them, so I decided to make a batch of these scones to try them with.  As it happened to be my birthday, they became my birthday cake, too.

I have to admit they are not much like the Starbucks scone, but I think they're better.  Jim loved them, but Sera wasn't as impressed.  She wanted them to be exactly like the one she already loved.  It's an easy recipe, and one that could easily be changed by adding different flavorings, nuts, fruit, or chips. They also went perfectly with the cherry preserves.

Not Starbucks Vanilla Scones
Adapted from Mary M @ cooks.com

2 c all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c sugar
5 T unsalted butter (I used salted because that's what I had)
1 c regular full-fat sour cream
1 large egg yolks
2 t vanilla extract
1/2 c white chocolate chips, approximately

1 1/2 c powdered sugar (I didn't measure this, & I know I didn't use nearly this much)
1 t. - to taste water (I used milk.  Add just enough to make a pourable glaze)

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

3. Cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until flour resembles coarse meal.

4.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until blended. Add this and the white chocolate chips to the flour-butter mixture and stir with a fork until dough forms a cohesive ball. Use a spatula to get the dry bits fully incorporated. (It may not seem to have enough liquid at first, but the dough will eventually come together.).

5. Place the sticky dough onto a parchment-lined (or ungreased) baking sheet and pat into a disk about 1-inch in height. Cut the dough into wedges but do not separate. Or scoop dough into a mini scone pan if available. (Yield will vary depending on how big you slice the wedges.).

6. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. (Mine were too thick, so I baked them for about 25 minutes.  I then pulled them apart and baked them for another 5-10 minutes.)

7. Place powdered sugar in a medium bowl, and add water (milk) one teaspoon at a time, mixing vigorously until smooth and runny.

8. Use a pastry brush to apply a thin layer of glaze over the hot scones. Brushing rather than drizzling gives a smoother appearance and requires less glaze. (I confess; I drizzled.)

9. Serve immediately. Store cooled scones in an airtight container.

Cherry Season

We're having a low-key stay-at-home summer this year, but we did venture out for a camping weekend in Michigan over 4th of July weekend. On our way home we stopped and picked up two bags of freshly picked sweet cherries. Jim ate a few, but I wanted to expand my canning experiences, too.

After a few days home, I halved & pitted the remaining cherries and ended up iwth eight cups.  I wasn't ready to process them, so I mixed them with some sugar and froze them until I was ready.  Earlier this week I was.  I decided to make preserves.  Of course, I went online to find a recipe.  I found a recipe for jam, but changed it slightly to make preserves instead.  I have always preferred preserves, plus it's easier.  To make jam, you have to cook the fruit until it all breaks down or run it through a food mill.  To make jelly, you have to strain the fruit out leaving only the clear jelly part.  But with preserves, you have chunks of fruit mixed through out.

Sweet Cherry Preserves
Adapted from Sugarcrafter

8 cups sweet cherries, halved & pitted
4 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 pkgs powdered pectin
8 cups granulated sugar

Mix cherries, lemon juice, lime juice, and cinnamon in a large pot and heat over medium-high heat until it starts to bubble.  Add the pectin, and boil over high heat for 2-3 minutes.  Add the sugar, and bring to a hard boil.  Then stir constantly for one minute.

Pour into sterilized 1/2 pint jars, and process for 10 minutes in a waterbath canner.  I got 10 jars of preserves from this batch.

The original recipe also included cardamom and rum.  I left them out because I didn't have any, but I think they would have added an interesting dimension.

Even without, these preserves were a big hit.  We'll be enjoying these for months to come.  Now I wish I'd bought even more cherries because I'd like to can some pie filling and another recipe I found for canning the cherries without cooking them first.

Who Dat!

It might be Wednesday, but I'm still loving the idea of the New Orleans Saints being the Superbowl champs.  I grew up rooting for the underdogs known as the Saints.  My mom was raised in New Orleans, and I have lived there many times in my life.  I've really been missing New Orleans for a while now.  The last time we were there was just a few months before Katrina hit.  I'm seriously in need of a New Orleans fix. 

Up here in northern Indiana, they try to imitate one New Orleans tradition.  King Cakes are available in the grocery stores from Twelfth Night until Mardi Gras Day.  I remember going to King Cake parties when I was a child.  If you got the piece of cake with the baby, you were supposed to host the party the following year.  I moved back to New Orleans about a year after I graduated from high school and worked for a couple of hotels before returning to college.  The king cake tradition in the office was to bring one in every Friday.  The person who got the baby had to bring in the following week's cake.  It was fun and gave us something to look forward to during some busy weeks. I have absolutely no idea where the idea of baking a small plastic baby into a cake come from.  I do know that originally it was a nut.  Sometimes a dried bean is used.

The second of the two hotels I worked at during this time was the Hyatt Regency.  The Hyatt is physically connected to the Superdome.  In fact, I parked my car in the Superdome parking lot.  I worked as one of the secretaries in the Catering department when I was first hired.  One of the events we catered was a huge Sunday breakfast for the Saints on any home game day.  That year I was able to get Archie Manning to sign a football that I gave my stepbrother for Christmas.

See, it all ties together.  New Orleans, Saints, and King Cakes.

The other day I started looking up the websites for some of the better bakeries in New Orleans to see about ordering a King Cake.  Uh, no.  The going price is $40 plus overnight shipping.  That's crazy!  Then Jim brought home a slice of King Cake on Monday that a coworker had made.  We were talking about it that evening when Jim asked me how hard it would be to just make one.  I had no idea.  I'd never tried.  I checked my computer recipe files and found two I had saved.  I didn't read the directions, but skimmed through the ingredient list.  We had everything we needed. It was pretty obvious on the way home yesterday that today had a strong chance of being a snow day.  I told Jim & Sera that if it were, we'd make a  King Cake.  It was, and we did.

It was so much easier than I thought it would be.  I ended up combining the two recipes.  There were aspects of both I liked better.  A King Cake is basically a brioche that is filled with a cinnamon-sugar blend or a cream cheese and/or fruit filling and topped with icing and purple, green, and gold sugar. I did the cream cheese filling without the fruit. 

King Cake

Cake:

2 1/4 t dry yeast (or 1 envelope)

1/4 c warm water
1 t sugar
1 t flour
1/2 c milk
1 c butter
1/2 c sugar
2 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
4 c all-purpose flour, approximaely

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 c sugar
2 T flour
2 egg yolks
1 t vanilla

1 16-oz can fruit pie filling, drained, optional

Egg Wash:
1 egg
water

Icing & Decorative Sugars:
2/3 c powdered sugar
2 t lemon juice, to taste
water
6-8 t sugar
yellow, green, red, & blue food coloring

Mix the yeast with the warm water. Stir 1 teaspoon of the sugar and 1 teaspoon of the flour into the yeast, and set aside.

Bring the milk to a boil, and stir in the butter and the sugar. Pour into a large mixing bowl.  Let the mixture cool to lukewarm. Beat in the egg yolks, whole eggs and the yeast.

Beat in approximately 2 cups of flour, until the dough is fairly smooth, then gradually add enough additional flour to make a soft dough that you can form into a ball. Knead it, by hand or machine, until smooth and elastic. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer, switching to the dough hook as soon as it started forming a ball.

Lightly oil a bowl, turn the dough once or twice in it to grease it lightly all over, cover with a cloth and leave to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Since it's so cold here today, I heated my oven to 110 and then turned it off.  I set the dough inside my oven to rise.

This makes enough dough to make two cakes.  I divided my dough by weight, formed half into a disc, and placed it inside a freezer bag.  It's now living in my freezer waiting to be finished.
 
Preheat oven to 375.
 
With the other half, I formed a long sausage-type roll before rolling it out into a rectangular shape.  Roll it out as thin as a pie crust. 
 
Mix egg with water to create an egg wash. Fold the long edge of the dough over the filling, brush top with egg wash, and then overlap the other edge over the filling as well. It should now look like a long roll folded in thirds. Brush with additional egg wash, if desired, to seal dough. Gently maneuver the cake on to a well-greased or parchment-lined baking sheet forming a circle. As you move the cake to your baking sheet, carefully flip it over so that the seam side is down. Pinch the ends together to form a circle. You can squeeze and form your dough ring to manipulate it into a more even circle. Cover, and let it rest for 30 minutes. Brush with remaining egg wash, and bake for 25-35 minutes. The cake should have risen and be a golden brown. Cool.
 
Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice.  Add enough water to slightly thin out the icing.  Don't make it too thin like I did.
 
Separate sugar into three containers.  Mix 2 drops of yellow in one dish, 2 drops of green in the second, and 1 drop each of red and blue into the third.  Mix sugars until you have gold, green, and purple sugar.
 
Pour icing over cooled cake.  Allow your 3-year-old to sprinkle the sugars liberally over the top.  The messier, the better!

Why I'll Never Be a Food Blogger

or a cookbook author.

The other night I made a chowder for dinner, and Jim suggested I post about it. He also reminded me how bad I've become about posting. While he's right about the second part, the first part is much harder.

First, I never think to take pictures while I cook or even of the finished product.

Second, I'm very bad about measuring. I'm very much a toss in what's in the frig type of cook. Usually, this produces a very good end result. Also usually, it's hard to reproduce.

I had some cream in the garage refrigerator that I knew I need to use. I'd bought it to make creamed corn for Thanksgiving, but missed the step about soaking the corn overnight and never made it. It starts with a box of dehydrated corn that I received as gift. Apparently, it's a popular Pennsylvania item. I read on a food blog about this being a must-have for their Thanksgiving when I remembered I had a box in the pantry that I've never known how to prepare.

Anyway, I digress...just another reason while I'll never be a food blogger.

I also knew that we had a bag of potatoes that didn't have much life left and 1/2 a bag of corn in the refrigerator. The corn I'd shucked and frozen in August. It was in the frig and thawed, so I needed to use it up. We also had about 3/4 pound of grilled chicken that Jim had grilled a few days before.

To me, that all sounded like chowder.

I diced up about 1/4 lb of low-sodium bacon and rendered it in the bottom of my LeCreuset dutch oven. Have I ever said how much I love my LeCreuset pans? I have three, and they're all fantastic. I put the bacon aside and sauteed about 1/4 of a gigantic onion, maybe 3/4 cup in the bacon grease. Then I added cubed potatoes. I cubed up one gigantic potato and about 4 small ones. Maybe 2-3 cups. I also added the corn. I decided the thawed corn didn't look like enough, so I added part of a frozen bag, too. I'm guessing about 1 1/2 - 2 cups.

Starting to see the problem? Not really good with measuring. I then added Trader Joe's low-sodium, organic chicken broth. How much? Enough to cover the potatoes. I also put in a little cream, maybe 1/2 cup, and some kosher salt & white pepper. I brought it up to where it was just about to boil, covered, and reduced to simmer for about 15 minutes. This cooked the potatoes almost completely through.

While the potatoes finished cooking, I added the leftover grilled chicken. If I'd had any more leftover vegetables, I'd have added them, too. Oh, did I mention I found a small container with about 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes? I added them, too. They did a great job of thickening up the soup into a more chowder-like consistency. I also used my potato masher to mash up the cubed potates once they finished cooking. I didn't mash them completely. It's more like I broke them up a bit.

To finish, I added another splash, about 1/4 c, of cream and the remnants of three opened bags of cheese I found in the frig. It was Mexican-blend, mild cheddar, and colby-jack blend. Tasted to see if it needed more salt, and served.

It was delicious, and like most soup/stew like meals, even better the next day for lunch. Though by then, it could probably have used a bit of thinning out with some more broth.

Now how in the world do you recreate that much less write a recipe?

Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater

Remember those pie pumpkins I mentioned? Well, I decided to make and freeze my own pumpkin puree. I used Ree's (Pioneer Woman) tips on how to do this. It wasn't difficult at all, except that my food processor wasn't quite up to the task. I switched to the blender, but even so I kept having to add some water to get it to puree. I didn't think it was too watery when I bagged it up, but hours later I had second thoughts. It's too late though because they're frozen now. I probably should have let them drain in some cheesecloth before packaging.

I decided to use my scale and portion out 15 oz per bag. Most recipes seem to call for one can or 15 oz, so this seemed to make the most sense to me. By the way, two small pumpkins produced 6 15-oz bags of puree.



And a heal quickly shout out to my nephew, Peter, who decided to try sledding down the stairs and broke his arm in two places. Next time you want to sled, Pete, come visit us. It's much better in the snow!

Sadness

Can you see it? That thin hairline fracture? That's the death knell for my favorite pan; it's my 13"x 9" Pampered Chef Stoneware pan. We received this as a wedding present over nine years ago. I've made countless meals in it. Pampered Chef does have a lifetime warranty on their products, but you have to have the receipt. Even if I had bought it myself, I can guarantee I would not be able to find the receipt. Since it was a gift, I never even had one.

I used it yesterday to roast a turkey breast. While washing it this morning, I heard the crack. I'm using it right now to hold cobs of corn as I blanch them prior to cutting off the kernals and freezing them. It's the last of the corn and the last hurrah for my pan.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Indiana Means Corn

It's corn time! This year I thought I'd buy some to put up in the freezer. We eat a lot of corn, and end up buying a lot of canned corn. Even though we buy the low-sodium versions, I still think we can do better (and it will taste better) if we freeze our own.

One of the things I've really enjoyed this summer is going to the Farmer's Market on Tuesday mornings. Less than half of the Saturday vendors set up, but the ones I usually patronize are usually there. Our Farmer's Market is only open on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday. Fridays actually have fewer vendors open than Tuesday, and Saturday is insanely busy.

This morning, I headed out there to buy some corn. Since I've never actually bought it in bulk and frozen it, I wasn't sure how much I would need to make this a worthwhile project. My usual produce vendor didn't have corn today, but the stand next to it did. Their sign read 3 for $1.00. As I stood there pondering, the young (20ish) man asked if he could help. I told him I was trying to decide how much to buy since I wanted to freeze it. He waited patiently, but didn't offer any suggestions as to how much it would yield. It would have been helpful, but I wasn't surprised. Finally, I just said to give me $20.00 worth. He pulled out his cardboard sign and looked it over for a few minutes. He then called across the aisle to an older gentleman and asked him how much for 20. The man replied that 21 would be $7.00, so around $6.70. I interrupted to say not 20 ears of corn, $20.00 worth. Out came the cardboard sign again. I mentioned that since it was 3 for $1.00 and I was buying $20.00, then it would be 60 ears of corn.

Around the corner came a 40ish woman who asked the young man what he was doing, he explained that I wanted to purchase $20.00 worth of corn. She went right to her calculator. I said nothing because I was thinking there must be some kind of quantity discount and they were trying to figure out exactly how much corn to give me. After a few minutes of her playing with the calculator and the man, who had now pulled out a pencil, doing the math by hand on his piece of cardboard, I heard the woman tell him that it would be 30 ears of corn. Once again, I interrupted to say that if it was 3 for $1.00 and I wanted $20.00 worth wouldn't that be 60 ears of corn? She looked at me for a minute. Tapped some more numbers in her calculator and agreed with me.

I stood there in disbelief. They had actually spent all this time trying to do such basic math, not trying to calculate some kind of discount like I had assumed. As a teacher, you can imagine how disappointing it was to see. Not being able to handle this level of math is the equivalent of math illiteracy. We're not talking Algebra or Calculus or Geometry. We are talking basic multiplication.

I shared this story with Jim so he can pass it on to his students. They don't want to be either party in this scenario. They don't want to be the retailer who tried to charge me double, nor would they want to be the customer who would pay double. You lose in both cases.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Gotta Love The Crock Pot

Last week, I took a sirloin tip roast from the freezer planning to slow roast it. I haven't done that in a long time. More than the roast dinner, we enjoy thinly slicing the leftovers for sandwiches. It's cheaper, tastes better, and is better for you than buying sliced roast beef at the deli. I took it out planning to roast it on Saturday while Jim went to see the Tigers play. Since it takes two to three days for meat to defrost in my frig, I didn't want to leave it for another day when Sera and I ended up going to the game, too.

I only had about 15 minutes to spare before we left on Saturday. I put the roast in the crock pot and decided to go with the old standby - add a pack of onion soup mix and a can of cream of mushroom soup. Of course, that's when I discovered I was out of mushroom soup. Here's what I did instead:

Vegetable Beef Stew/Soup

1 sirloin tip roast
1 can tomato soup
1 pkt onion soup mix
1/2 can water

Mix soups and water together, and pour over the roast. Turn your crock pot on low, and go to Detroit to watch the Tigers play. When you get home at 2:00 am, transfer the roast and sauce to a storage container and refrigerate.

1/2 bag baby carrots
6 red potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
olive oil
1 box beef broth
roast, shredded
leftover sauce from the crock pot
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can low-sodium corn
1 can low-sodium peas

Two days later, when you finally get a chance, place large pot or Dutch Oven on med-high heat; add olive oil to cover bottom of pot. Add carrots and saute until just starting to brown slightly. Add potatoes and beef broth. Bring broth to boil and cook until potatoes and carrots are fork tender. Add the roast and the sauce as well as the remaining vegetables and any others you might have in your pantry/freezer. Look at the clock and realize it's just 10 in the morning. Turn the burner to low, and let simmer until your husband comes home for lunch.

Bow and accept the compliments because this is awesome!

Easiest Dinner Ever

My stop at Trader Joe's the other day was rather rushed as I had five starving teenagers with me. I had our insulated bags with me, but decided not to spend time going through the frozen section on this visit. I did pick up a bag of langostino tails though. They describe them as looking like a small lobster and tasting like lobster or crab. We decided the tails looked like large crawfish tails. Since crawfish look like tiny lobsters, I'm assuming a langostino is inbetween.

They are frozen fully cooked, so dinner was easy peasy (literally). When my pasta water was boiling, I tossed in some angel hair. Angel hair pasta takes five minutes to cook. By the time the pasta was ready, so was the langostino.

I basically scampied them. I melted about 2 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil and sauteed a clove of garlic. I added a splash of white wine and the langostino tails. I tossed them for a few minutes, long enough to warm them up and then I added the pasta and peas. The only thing missing was that I didn't realize we were out of parmesan cheese. Add a tossed salad and some warm crusty bread, and you have a 10 minute delicious meal.

You could easily do this with any cooked seafood like crawfish, lobster, crab, or shrimp.

Yum

We actually did it. Jim and I sat down and wrote out a menu plan for the week. Jim then did the grocery shopping while I stayed home with a napping Sera.

We did a mix of old standbys and a new recipe. We tried the new recipe last night. I saved this recipe from another poster on Favorite Ingredients Friday. I copied the poster's name, but apparently didn't copy the link. I tried searching for the blog, but came up empty-handed. If Should Be House Cleaning is out there, your recipe rocks. Jim gave it the thumbs up and called it a keeper. Sera called it yummy. My changes are in red.

BALSAMIC CHICKEN & MUSHROOMS

2 tsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces (cut into strips)
2 cups mushrooms, small, halved (sliced crimini mushrooms)
1/3 cup canned chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried thyme, crumbled (discovered that this is the only herb known to mankind that is NOT in my spice cabinet, just left it out)

In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of oil.

In a medium bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of vinegar, the mustard and garlic. Add chicken and turn to coat.

Transfer chicken and marinade to skillet. Saute chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.

Heat remaining teaspoon of oil in skillet. Saute mushrooms for 1 minute. Add broth, thyme and remaining tablespoon of vinegar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are deep brown, about 2 minutes longer. (I added the chicken back to the pan, covered, and let it simmer for another minute. I then turned the heat off and left it covered until the mashed potatoes were ready.)

Serve chicken topped with mushrooms. (I served mashed potatoes with this. It's the perfect accompaniment.)

Favorite Ingredients Friday - Mardi Gras Edition

I loved living in New Orleans. I miss many things about living there. I do not, however, miss the giant bugs or August humidity. I do miss Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras has quite the reputation around the world. There's a very different side to Mardi Gras that many do not know about. For most New Orleanians, Mardi Gras is a family-friendly event. Families get together and share lots of great food. Blankets and chairs are spread around the neutral ground as you get set for the day. If you're lucky, someone you know will live within a few blocks for easy bathroom access. Children sit in special seats built on the top of ladders and everyone is in a good mood.

When I've lived in New Orleans a few times. When I was 20, I moved into a wonderful apartment on Prytania Street with my cousin, Kim. It was the best apartment I ever lived in. The building was a huge antebellum mansion that had been turned into apartments. Our apartment was in what would have been the front parlor. When you entered the main doors, we were to the right. We had 20 ft ceilings. When you walked in to our apartment, you were in the living/dining room. If you opened the closet door, you saw the kitchen. It was a tiny U-shaped alcove with the stove on the left, the refrigerator on the right, and sink, counter, & cabinet directly in front. Only one person could step in at a time, and you couldn't open the refrigerator and the stove at the same time. In the back was a huge bedroom that held two full sets of bedroom furniture and a huge walk-in closet. Kim and I shared this room. In the corner of our living room, there was a spiral staircase leading to the loft. In the loft area, we had a small bedroom and bath and a small loft space. That's where our rotating third roommate lived.

Since we were in the front of the house, the outside wall of our living room was huge windows that opened like doors on to the front porch. It was wonderful for parties as we could just open them up and increase our floor space.

Prytania is one block off of St. Charles Avenue. St. Charles is one of the major parade routes. We could literally sit in our apartment until we heard the music and still make it to St. Charles well before the first float.

Mardi Gras is about two weeks worth of parades which culminate in non-stop parades on Mardi Gras Day. We stocked the refrigerator with beer and soda. I made a big pot of red beans with sausage and another pot of rice. Everyone who visited that day brought a dish, and we all drifted in and out of the apartment stuffing our faces and enjoying the parades. No one even showed their boobs.

I don't really have a red beans recipe. It's more a list of ingredients. Soak your beans overnight. If you want to be authentic, you need to get Camellia beans. Early the next morning, get out your biggest pot. Saute diced onions, green peppers, and garlic. Add your favorite sliced sausage. Andouille for the real deal, kielbasa if you live anywhere else. Add the beans and fresh water. Don't use the water you soaked your beans. Put enough water in to cover the beans by a couple of inches. Simmer until beans are soft. Once the beans are cooked through, add salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste. These are really best the next day when the beans start to break down. You can also take some out and puree them to give it that creamier texture. Just mix the pureed portion back into the pot and stir. These are served over white rice. Red beans and rice is a traditional Monday lunch. Just about any New Orleans restaurant will be running a red beans and rice special on Mondays. The tradition came about because Monday was laundry day, and no one had time to cook. You could set a pot of beans going in the morning, and they'd be all ready for you at the end of your day.

Another Mardi Gras tradition is King Cake. King Cakes are basically a giant circular danish covered in icing and sugar colored gold, green, and purple - Mardi Gras colors. Hidden in the cake is a plastic baby. It used to be a bean. Whoever gets the piece of cake with the baby has to buy the next King Cake. King Cakes are everywhere during Mardi Gras, but don't look for one on Ash Wednesday. They're all gone. Most offices have King Cakes on Fridays. With everyone taking turns bringing one it, depending on who got the baby. As a child, I remember going to King Cake parties.

It was fun travelling down memory lane. Happy Mardi Gras!

King Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients:

½ cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)

2 packages active dry yeast

½ cup plus

1 tsp. sugar

3 ½-4 ½ cups unsifted flour

1 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. lemon zest

½ cup warm milk

5 egg yolks

1 stick butter, cut in slices and softened, plus 2 tablespoons

1 egg slightly beaten with a T. of milk

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tiny plastic doll (not more than 1")

Cream Cheese Filling:

1 8-oz. package cream cheese

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 T. flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

a few drops of milk

Cream all the filling ingredients together with a mixer and spread onto the rolled-out dough before rolling it into a ring. This filling is optional.

Cake Directions:

Pour the warm water into a small shallow bowl and sprinkle yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar into it. Allow the yeast and sugar to rest for three minutes, then mix thoroughly. Set bowl in a warm place for 10 minutes until yeast bubbles up.

Combine 31/2 cups of flour, remaining sugar, nutmeg and salt and sift into a large mixing bowl.Stir in lemon zest. Separate center of mixture to form a hole and pour in yeast mixture and milk. Add egg yolks and using a wooden spoon, combine dry ingredients into the yeast/milk mixture.

When mixture is smooth, beat in 8 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time and continue to beat 2 minutes or until dough can be formed into a medium soft ball.Place ball of dough on floured surface and knead, gradually adding up to 1 cup more of flour.

When dough is no longer sticky, knead 10 minutes more until shiny and elastic.Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of a large bowl evenly with one tablespoon softened butter. Place dough ball in the bowl and rotate until the entire surface is buttered. Cover bowl with a heavier kitchen towel and allow dough to rise in a warm place for about 11/2 hours or until it doubles in volume.

Coat a large baking sheet with one tablespoon of butter and set aside. After the first rising, place the dough on a floured surface and punch it down with a heavy blow. Sprinkle cinnamon, then pat and shape the dough into a long 'snake' or 'cylinder'. Form a twist by folding the long cylinder in half, end to end, and pinching the ends together. Then twist the dough. Form a ring with the completed twist and pinch the ends together.Place the completed ring on the buttered baking sheet, cover it with a towel and allow it to rise for 45 minutes or until it doubles in volume.

After the second rising, brush the top and sides of the cake with the egg and milk wash. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and hide the plastic baby inside the cake (or just place on the top of cake to avoid someone biting into it).

Icing:

Colored sugar:

Green, purple and yellow coloring paste

12 T. sugar

Divide sugar into three portions (for green, yellow and purple).Add a tiny amount of the coloring paste to each sugar portion. Try mixing the sugar and colored pasted between your palms for best results. Set aside.

Poured icing:

3/4 c. confectioners sugar

1/4 c. lemon juice

3-6 T. of water

Combine ingredients until smooth, adding more water if it's too thick. Spoon icing over top of cake. Immediately sprinkle on colored sugars, alternating between the three colors. Serve in 2"-3" pieces.

Be sure to visit the Favorite Ingredients Friday home to find more great recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Clam Chowder
Shipwreck
Potluck
Amish Friendship Bread
Ice Cream in a Bag
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Chocolate Pudding Fudge Cake
Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
Basic Beef Starter, Plus
Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits
Tomato Chicken
Greatest Hits: Enchiladas de Pollo and Old-fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge
Almost Cabbage Rolls
Guacamole
German Chocolate Pie
Carne Asada & Sour Cream Tortilla Casserole
Dorito Salad
Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes
Apple Cake
Mocha
Vegetable Beef Soup
Stuffed Cabbage Soup
Raspberry Pie & White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Breakfast Granola
Shrimp Creole
Lazy Man's Lasagna & Apple Cake
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Jim's Favorite Jelly Cookie
Eye of Round Roast
Mozzarella & Tomato Sandwich
Marcia's Taco Soup
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Cajun Baked Catfish
Jim's Snickers Pancake
Crawfish Monica
Grilled Meats and Vegetables over Saffron Orzo
Crockpot Red Beans
Better Than Almost Anything Cake
Fruity Sangria
Outrageous Brownies
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ

Favorite Ingredients Friday - Pie Edition II

After the holidays I linked to some new recipes I tried. This one was so good that I keep thinking about it. It's super easy and very, very good. We just really don't need a pie around here right now. But if we did...

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

The Karmic Kitchen

1 cup sugar

1/2 stick butter, melted

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

2 Tbs. bourbon

1 pie crust

Mix pecans, chocolate chips and bourbon and let soak for 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally. Blend melted butter into sugar until fully integrated. Add beaten eggs and blend. Add corn syrup and salt and blend fully. Fold in pecan/chip mixture. Pour into pie shell with edges crimped.

Bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes until center of pie rises and cracks. Let cool. Best served slightly warm with either fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Be sure to visit the Favorite Ingredients Friday home to find more great recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Clam Chowder
Shipwreck
Potluck
Amish Friendship Bread
Ice Cream in a Bag
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Chocolate Pudding Fudge Cake
Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
Basic Beef Starter, Plus
Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits
Tomato Chicken
Greatest Hits: Enchiladas de Pollo and Old-fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge
Almost Cabbage Rolls
Guacamole
German Chocolate Pie
Carne Asada & Sour Cream Tortilla Casserole
Dorito Salad
Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes
Apple Cake
Mocha
Vegetable Beef Soup
Stuffed Cabbage Soup
Raspberry Pie & White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Breakfast Granola
Shrimp Creole
Lazy Man's Lasagna & Apple Cake
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Jim's Favorite Jelly Cookie
Eye of Round Roast
Mozzarella & Tomato Sandwich
Marcia's Taco Soup
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Cajun Baked Catfish
Jim's Snickers Pancake
Crawfish Monica
Grilled Meats and Vegetables over Saffron Orzo
Crockpot Red Beans
Better Than Almost Anything Cake
Fruity Sangria
Outrageous Brownies
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ

Holiday Food

I haven't posted any recipes lately. Sorry about that. I actually want to start doing more food posts, but it just seemed like time, inspiration, or both has been lacking.

I did try some amazing new recipes at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'd love to post them, but I have to give credit where credit is due. That's why I'll post links instead.

First, I love cranberries. Doesn't matter the form. I like the juice. I like them added to baked goods. I like them covered in chocolate. I love fresh cranberry sauce and have made it for years. I even like the jellied version out of the can. I've always used the recipe that comes on the bag and just cooked them down in simple syrup. Jim, on the other hand, can't stand them. He hates them so much that I usually substitute dried cherries in any recipe calling for them. I can't eat a full batch of cranberry sauce, so I either skip it or buy the can.

This year we had two more for dinner (my dad and stepmother). That was all the excuse I needed to make a batch of cranberry sauce. I decided to give Pioneer Woman's recipe a shot. If you aren't reading her blog, you are missing out on some funny stuff and some awesome recipes. I didn't realize until I went to make it that I forgot to buy cranberry juice, so I used all orange juice. It was a big hit. More impressive? Even Jim liked it.

For dessert, I decided to make two new recipes. Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake had a ton of good reviews. I was glad I read them though and took the advice to cut back the sugar a bit. Next time, I'd cut it back even more. It was still a delicious version of a pumpkin pie-type dessert.

A couple of years ago, Jim had a slice of bourbon chocolate pecan pie for dessert at a restaurant and loved it. Last year, I made a version of it that we both enjoyed. Honestly though, I never thought to make it again. At the last minute, I found this recipe on The Karmic Kitchen blog. It was simple. I had all the ingredients on hand, and I didn't have a chocolate dessert. I decided to give it a shot. It was amazing. I won't forget to make this one again. Hmm...maybe even this week.

The last new recipe I tried came from a non-food blog, American Family. I cut the recipe in half, and it still made a ton of cookies. It's an easy recipe that uses basic staples. Best of all, the cookies are delicious. I baked them all for 10 minutes regardless of thickness, and they were always perfect. The thinner ones were a little crispier. The thicker ones were softer. It was all good, and Sera loved adding the sprinkles.

All four were delicious, and I'd recommend them for next year or sooner.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Yesterday was Jim's birthday. After work, we headed out to dinner. After dinner, we went to Borders to hang out. A band was setting up to play later. We tried to stay for the show, but it was getting too late. Sera asked me what they were doing. I explained they were setting up their musical instruments because they were going to play music later. She then counted to five very loudly and began to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She definitely had everyone's attention. Some of the band members came over to talk to her, and the girls behind the cafe counter made a point to tell me how they enjoyed her show. I think Sera was auditioning to join the band.

Today, Jim headed out for a late lunch with some friends who wanted to take him out for his birthday. While he was gone, Sera and I made his birthday cupcakes. She was quite the sous chef.

She personally taste tested each cupcake by sticking her finger in the batter.

As you can see, they passed inspection.
Now how does this go? The frosting goes on the cupcake or in my mouth?

OH, the cupcake.

I've got it now.

You can never have too many sprinkles.

The Incredible Edible Egg

In the last few months, I've been making some changes to what we eat. We purchase 95% of our meat from a local butcher who works with local farmers. I try to get to the farmer's market more regularly to stock up on local produce. It's not convenient to get there, so I'm not as successful. I tried signing up with a CSA to have produce delivered to us weekly, but it didn't work out. Jim was on board with all of it because we found that it tasted better and, in many cases, was actually cheaper than buying the mass produced meats or shipped produce. I almost lost him on one item though. The egg.

When I started buying local eggs, I'll admit that the taste difference seemed negligible and the price was often double the regular eggs at the grocery store. They also never go on sale. I think Jim thought I was going a little too far with this one. I told him that I liked the idea that they were coming from local farmers who were treating the chickens humanely and did not add anything to their diet beyond what a chicken normally eats. I also pointed out that you could tell the health of the chicken by the strength of the shell. These eggs had such a thick shell that I actually had to tap them harder against the counter to crack them. He didn't argue with me, but I could tell he was humoring me.

Then we ran out of eggs, and I didn't make it to the farmer's market to get more. Our butcher was working on getting them in, but hadn't yet. Jim made a grocery store run and picked up the storebrand eggs we've eaten for years.

The transition from store to fresh eggs may have been subtle when we switched, but not when we switched back. I could definitely tell the eggs didn't taste as fresh to me. The shells were so thin that I almost crushed one holding it before cracking it. I had already gotten used to the stronger shell. I never mentioned anything. I just thought that we really needed to get to the market that weekend and restock. The next thing I know I hear Jim saying that he sure missed our eggs.

When we went to the market last weekend, I bought two dozen. That afternoon when we returned home, Jim threw the remaining grocery store eggs in the trash.

I like buying from local sources for many reasons. The quality of the food is superior. The prices average to less than we spent in the grocery store. It's green. Our food isn't being trucked across the country. With all the food scares that have been in the news the last few years, it's nice knowing that you can trace your food back to the source.

We're still pretty limited as to what we can get, but I plan to keep trying. Who knows, one year we may even start our own vegetable gardening. I did learn how to can a few years ago.

Favorite Ingredients Friday - Soup Edition II

When I was in college, we used to cook some amazing meals. Since I was majoring in Hospitality Administration, I was going to school with a lot of future foodies. Even my regular group of friends who weren't in my major were really into food.

I belonged to a business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. In this group of people, I became friends with some amazing people. One of my very good friends was in the hospitality program with me. We arranged our schedules to take most of our classes together and always worked in the same group on projects. During the first year of the program, we took a class called Lunch. Okay, it wasn't really named that, but I don't remember its real name. Everyone called it lunch. It won't come as any surprise to tell you the second year included a class called dinner.

It sounds like I have a couple of posts I need to write talking about those classes. Anyway, suffice to say that we tested a lot of recipes. I remember sitting in someone's apartment one night making corn chowder. Believe it or not, I'd never had corn chowder before that night. It is so easy, so heartwarming, and so delicious. Of course, it's best when you use fresh corn off the cob. This isn't the exact recipe we made that night. I can't find it, but it's awfully close.

Corn Chowder

3 sl bacon
1 lg onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 1/2 c potatoes, diced
3 c chicken stock
2 c cream style corn
2 c milk
1/4 c butter
1 T fresh chopped parsley
salt & pepper to taste

Fry bacon in a Dutch oven; drain and crumble. Set aside.

Add onion to the hot bacon grease and cook five minutes. Then add celery, potatoes,and chicken stock. Cook until potatoes are tender.

Add corn, and heat five minutes.

In a small pot, heat milk and butter, and add to soup.

Salt & Pepper to taste.

Be sure to visit the Favorite Ingredients Friday home to find more great recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Shipwreck
Potluck
Amish Friendship Bread
Ice Cream in a Bag
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Chocolate Pudding Fudge Cake
Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
Basic Beef Starter, Plus
Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits
Tomato Chicken
Greatest Hits: Enchiladas de Pollo and Old-fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge
Almost Cabbage Rolls
Guacamole
German Chocolate Pie
Carne Asada & Sour Cream Tortilla Casserole
Dorito Salad
Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes
Apple Cake
Mocha
Vegetable Beef Soup
Stuffed Cabbage Soup
Raspberry Pie & White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Breakfast Granola
Shrimp Creole
Lazy Man's Lasagna & Apple Cake
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Jim's Favorite Jelly Cookie
Eye of Round Roast
Mozzarella & Tomato Sandwich
Marcia's Taco Soup
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Cajun Baked Catfish
Jim's Snickers Pancake
Crawfish Monica
Grilled Meats and Vegetables over Saffron Orzo
Crockpot Red Beans
Better Than Almost Anything Cake
Fruity Sangria
Outrageous Brownies
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ

Favorite Ingredients Friday!

Some of you may have noticed that I had a big Velveeta posting a few weeks ago. We enjoyed those leftovers for a few days. The soupiness factor was completely gone after being refrigerated. I finally used the last of the leftovers as a nacho topping. It was great. The recipe, however, didn't use all the Velveeta I had on hand. Last night, I was looking for some way to use it up and found this recipe.

My husband and his brother used to reminisce all the time about a meal their grandmother made them. They couldn't tell me anything about it except she called it shipwreck. A few years ago, I found this recipe online and made it for Jim. He took one bite and was in heaven. It was shipwreck. After all this time, shipwreck has been rediscovered. Now that I found the recipe again, I'll make this for him soon. Maybe even this weekend?

Shipwreck

1 ½ lbs ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 can tomato soup
½ can water
½ lb Velveeta
1 can low-sodium corn, drained
8 oz pasta, cooked and drained

Preheat oven to 350.

Brown the ground beef and onions, drain. Add next four ingredients and mix until cheese is melted. Stir in pasta.

Pour into casserole dish. Bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Be sure to visit the Favorite Ingredients Friday home to find more great recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Potluck
Amish Friendship Bread
Ice Cream in a Bag
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Chocolate Pudding Fudge Cake
Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
Basic Beef Starter, Plus
Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits
Tomato Chicken
Greatest Hits: Enchiladas de Pollo and Old-fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge
Almost Cabbage Rolls
Guacamole
German Chocolate Pie
Carne Asada & Sour Cream Tortilla Casserole
Dorito Salad
Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes
Apple Cake
Mocha
Vegetable Beef Soup
Stuffed Cabbage Soup
Raspberry Pie & White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Breakfast Granola
Shrimp Creole
Lazy Man's Lasagna & Apple Cake
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Jim's Favorite Jelly Cookie
Eye of Round Roast
Mozzarella & Tomato Sandwich
Marcia's Taco Soup
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Cajun Baked Catfish
Jim's Snickers Pancake
Crawfish Monica
Grilled Meats and Vegetables over Saffron Orzo
Crockpot Red Beans
Better Than Almost Anything Cake
Fruity Sangria
Outrageous Brownies
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ