Cinco de Mayo Tennessee Style

In honor of Cinco de Mayo and the fact that is was 39 degrees here yesterday morning, I made Mexican Chicken Soup for dinner. Well actually I made Mexican Ham Soup, because I was out of chicken. And I used a Knorr's Mexican Rice mix instead of instant rice because I don't keep instant rice on hand. I meant to cook the rice earlier in the day, but I forgot. So when dinner time rolled around I was pretty happy to find the Knorr's mix in my pantry. I think I like my mixed up version quite well!


5 cups chicken broth (I use Swanson's organic)
10 oz. chopped ham (I used 2 5-oz cans of Hormel ham)
1 pkg. Knorr's Mexican rice mix
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 cups salsa (I use Publix Greenwise Mild)
1 can black beans, undrained
2 cups frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)


Bring broth and salsa to boil. Add remaining ingredients; cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes.
Serves 6.


I served this with tortilla chips. A salad would have been nice, but that didn't happen!


The original version called for 9 oz. chicken breast; 1 cup uncooked instant rice; 1 cup black beans. I can't see opening a can of black beans and not using them all!


By the way, did you know Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo more than Mexicans do?


Happy Eating!

Pecan Roasted Pork

I love pork tenderloin. There I said it, and I'm not even ashamed. I love the flavor. I love how quickly it cooks. I love that it can be prepared a million different ways. I grill it, slow cook it, roast it. It can be elegant or down home. 


I know I've posted recipes for pork loin before, so if you're not a fan . . . sorry. Here's another favorite.


1/2 cup pecan pieces
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup French-fried onion rings
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
cooking spray (I use Pam Organic Canola Oil)
2 lb. pork tenderloin


Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place pecans, onions and sugar in food processor; process until coarsely chopped. Place mix on a plate.


Season pork with salt and pepper; roll in pecan mixture until well-coated. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheet. (I sprinkle on the remaining crumbs from the the plate at this point.) Coat top of tenderloins with cooking spray. Bake 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.


Let pork stand 5 minutes; cut into 1" thick slices.

I served fresh boiled corn (very sweet!) and steamed broccoli topped with shaved Parmesan along with the pork last night. Very tasty!

Happy Eating!

Simmered Tuscan Chicken

I collect recipes from everywhere -- books, magazines, friends, relatives, ads, websites. I'll try just about anything. By the same token, I'll change just about anything as well.


Sunday night I decided to do a variation on a recipe I'd tried once before. The recipe from a Ragu ad in a 1997 Better Homes and Gardens. I've had this piece of paper since 1997! Anyway. The original recipe is a stove top dish, but I put it all in a Pyrex baking dish and let it bake for 45 minutes. Or at least that was my plan. About 40 minutes into the baking process I heard a strange noise and then saw a lot of steam coming from my oven vent. Upon opening the oven door I discovered my dinner splattered all over the interior of my oven with lovely, sparkling glass shards intermingled! My Pyrex casserole had exploded.


After a little research, I discovered that this has become a recurring theme with Pyrex made since 1999. It seems they changed the formula to a basic tempered glass recipe, making the components less stable, which has led to exploding Pyrex. The company prefers to refer to it as "breakage", but obviously they weren't in MY kitchen on Sunday night!


Anyway I'll get back to you when I hear more from the Pyrex people.


For now lets focus on the food.


I decided to try the recipe again tonight, but in my Dutch oven instead, and on the stove top. It was pretty good, but I've tweaked the recipe a little more (albeit, without a test run) and I'm posting the updated recipe. 

1 pound boneless chicken tenderloins, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2" pieces

1 medium red bell pepper, diced

1 24-oz. jar Bertolli Vineyard Marinara (sorry Ragu!)

8 oz. fresh or frozen green beans

1 teaspoon dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a Dutch oven, saute chicken and garlic in olive oil until lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. When oven is preheated, turn off stove, place lid on Dutch oven, and place in oven. Bake 1 hour. Stir and check liquid level at least once during baking. If casserole is too dry, add additional marinara or chicken stock. Serve with Parmesan cheese and crusty bread.

Serves 6-8

I'll let you know once I've tried this approach, but I think it should work better than the stove top version.

Happy Eating!

Mexican Pasta Salad

I love pasta salad. However, not those mixes they sell in the grocery store, or those containers they sell at the grocery deli. I love real pasta salad. The stuff where you cook your own pasta, toss in additional ingredients, and make the dressing yourself. Now that's what I'm talking about!


Several years ago I got a hankering for pasta salad, but of course I didn't have all the ingredients for any of the recipes I had. I improvised. This recipe is the result of that improvisation. A friend was coming for lunch that day and said she'd bring a loaf of Pepperoni Bread (oh yeah -- that's a post for another day!) and I thought pasta salad and Pepperoni Bread would make a pretty good lunch. She raved about the salad. I raved about the bread. And a lovely lunch was had.


This is the first batch for this spring/summer. I'm sure there will be many more.

Mexican Pasta Salad


8 oz. veggie rotini, cooked according to package directions (I like Hodgson Mill)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cam Mexi-Corn
1 cup chopped grape tomatoes (I just slice them in half)


Dressing:
2/3 cup mayonnaise (I use Hellman's Light)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon chives (optional)
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt


Mix salad ingredients in bowl. Mix dressing ingredients in a separate bowl. Toss dressing with salad and chill well. 


Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, chips and salsa (and Pepperoni Bread once I post the recipe!)


Happy Eating!

Shrimp and Sausage Skewers with Stewed Tomatoes and Zucchini

Yes it's been a while. Things have been hectic. Dd and I recently returned from a week long stay at Tennessee Fitness Spa, so we are focusing on healthier foods. I have had this recipe in my stash for a while now. Dd ran across and thought we should give it a try. Of course I had to tweak it a little, but I think we will definitely be having this one again!

Here's my version:

1 lb. turkey kielbasa

24 medium peeled/deveined shrimp

1 tsp. liquid smoke

1/2 cup apple jelly

2 Tbl. brown sugar

1 lb. fresh zucchini

1 cup water

28 oz. fancy sliced Italian style stewed tomatoes

hot pepper sauce

6 (12-in.) bamboo skewers

Preheat grill. Cut sausage into 1/2-inch thick slices (24). Thread 4 shrimp and 4 sausage slices, alternating, on the skewer. Repeat on all skewers. Combine liquid smoke, jelly and brown sugar in microwave safe container and heat for 2 minutes on high, stirring once at 1 minute. Spray both sides of skewers with cooking spray (I like Pam Organic Canola Oil Spray). Place skewers on grill. Cook 2-3 minutes on first side; flip and brush jelly mixture on first cooked side. Cook 2-3 minutes on second side; flip and brush jelly mixture on this side. Flip on more time and remove from grill once shrimp are pink. Serves 6.

For Stewed Tomatoes and Zucchini:

Slice zucchini into 1/2 inch slices. Mix all ingredients in medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil; reduce to heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Serves 6.

Here's the original recipe. I used turkey kielbasa to lower the fat (and because I like it better) and zucchini, since I only like okra that's been fried!

Check out this website if you haven't. Lots of good recipes with shopping list attached!  Publix Apron's Simple Meals

Happy Eating!

Special Request: Best Bran Muffins

This weekend a friend from high school messaged me on Facebook about bran muffins. I am a huge bran muffin fan. They are tasty, filling, good for me, and can help solve the occasional uncomfortable problem. Ahem. Anyway, I'd thought I'd post my favorite bran muffin recipe here. Again, I'm a purest when it comes to bran muffins, but there is nothing intrinsically wrong with adding some dried fruits or nuts if you feel so inclined.

KELLOGG'S BEST BRAN MUFFINS

1 1/2 c. flour, sifted 1 tbsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 c. sugar 1 1/4 c. All Bran cereal 1 1/4 c. milk 1 egg 1/2 c. vegetable oil or shortening Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar and set aside. Place cereal milk in mixing bowl, stir to combine. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes until cereal is softened. Add eggs and oil. Beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients to cereal mixture, stirring only until combined. Pour into 12 greased 2 1/2" muffin pan cups. Bake at 400 degrees for about 18-20 minutes.

If you have Bran Buds, use the 1 1/4 c., but if you have Bran Flakes double the amount to 2 1/2 cups. 


I think these are yummy fresh out of the oven with a good dollop of butter, or quite tasty the next day either at room temperature with butter or jam, or they can be reheated in the microwave -- but only for a very few seconds.


Happy Eating!

A Leaf, A Loin and A Strategically Placed Strawberry

Menu

Pork Tenderloin

Blueberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

Succotash

Butter Muffins

Devil's Food Cake with Fresh Strawberries, Demerara Sugar & Whipped Cream

Setting

Our house (cleaned!)

Vintage tablecloth

Dh's grandmother's dishes

My grandmother's silverplate

Napkins we received as a wedding present (vintage, yet?)

Napkin rings from dd's trip to Honduras

Glassware from our family trip to Austria

For the pork tenderloin, I used my favorite marinade. It was a 2.3 pound tenderloin and I cooked in on low in my slow cooker for about 3 hours.

The Blueberry Spinach salad is really easy, but quite tasty.

1 bag baby spinach

1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained well

1/3 cup slivered almonds

Toss all ingredients together.

I served it with (gasp) a bottled poppyseed dressing from Publix.

The Succotash is my variation. I've never written it down before, but to the best of my remembrance it is:

12 ounces frozen tiny limas

1 can white shoe peg corn

2 Tablespoons butter

garlic salt and pepper to taste

Bring the limas to a boil in a generous sized pot seasoned with a little salt. Reduce heat to medium and cover with a tilted lid (to keep boil overs to a minimum!). Cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the water from the limas and stir in remaining ingredients. Place the pot over low heat and bring everything up to serving temperature. Adjust seasonings and serve in a covered container to retain heat.

Butter Muffins are a family favorite! I like this one because the batter can be made up in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. 

3/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 pkg. dry yeast

2 cups warm water

4 cups self-rising flour

Cool butter and add all ingredients. Stir well. Batter will be sticky. Store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks in a covered container. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Greased a muffin tin and fill each cup 2/3rds full (I use an ice cream scoop). Bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve piping hot with lots of butter!

Makes 2 dozen.

Devil's Food Cake with Fresh Strawberries, Demerara Sugar & Whipped Cream is really a cheat. There's no actual recipe. I just saw something like this once and replicated it the easiest way I knew.

1 Duncan Hines Devil's food cake mix

1 pint fresh strawberries

Demerara sugar

Redi-Whip Whipped Cream (the original)

Mix and bake the cake according to the package directions. I have a 10 inch flan pan that I use for this. I bake half the batter in my flan pan and the remainder in a standard 8 inch cake pan. (The 8 inch cake is extra! You can freeze it or let the kids have it as an afternoon snack!) Once the cake is baked, cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Flip the cake out and let it completely cool on the wire rack. Once cool, transfer it to your serving platter. 

Wash and dry the strawberries. Slice strawberries lengthwise (I use my egg slicer for this) and lay slices on the flan. Sprinkle with a little demerara sugar.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. To serve, slice flan into 8 wedges and top with whipped cream.

And that's about it. I was really pleased with how this one came together. I am especially happy with table setting. Having the opportunity to use all my vintage pieces together was lots of fun and I think it gave my guests a picture of who I really am!

Happy Eating!