Baltimore Baked Beans

First off, you should know that these beans have nothing to do with Baltimore.  Nor are they baked.  But the recipe is a family favorite dating back thirty years or so and the first place a member of my family ate it was in Baltimore, Maryland.  So go figure.

As with a lot of old family staples, it didn't quite taste the same the first time I made it myself. My mom and Grandma must do something different than the written recipe calls for because I had to double the sauce to get it to taste as I remember.  I think it's because I drained and rinsed the beans before adding them to the crock pot.  I don't like bean juice at all, so I will probably continue doubling the sauce.  Anyway, Brent likes the BBQ flavor, so the more sauce the merrier as far as he's concerned.

Baltimore Baked Beans
Source:  Brunton family dinners and pot luck suppers

Ingredients:

1/2 pound bacon
2 pounds hamburger
1 chopped onion
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/3 c brown sugar
1/4 c ketchup
1/4 c bbq sauce
2 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp mustard
1 can each pork and beans, black beans, kidney beans and butter beans

Directions:

Fry the bacon until crispy.  Drain on paper towels and when cool, chop or crumble.  Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon grease and use it to saute the onion until translucent.  Set aside.  Wipe pan clean of grease and brown the hamburger, seasoning with salt and pepper, until cooked through.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (except the beans) to create the sauce.  Here's where you can double it if you're feeling kinda saucy.

Drain and rinse all the beans except the pork and beans, and pour into a crock pot, along with the bacon, onion, hamburger and sauce.  Stir to combine and cook on low until warmed through and flavors have melded.

Fancy Macaroni

For the past couple years, the women in my family have worked ourselves silly preparing and cleaning up after Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals.  This year we declared from the get-go that we weren't doing it this time, we wanted easy, good food, and we wanted to have time to sit, visit, and play with the baby. 

For Christmas Eve, we decided to do a casserole and my mother in law put me in charge of finding a good recipe.  You know I can always count on the Pioneer Woman to drop a recipe of such mouth-watering proportions that I have to make it right.now and this time she did not disappoint.  As soon as I saw her post about Fancy Macaroni go up, I knew I'd found my Christmas Eve casserole.

It was so wonderfully good, the sauteed onions and all the yummy cheese, not to mention BACON, made this one spectacular dish.  Below is the Ree's recipe exactly as she posted, with notes for my slight adjustments.

Fancy Macaroni
Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Ingredients:

4 cups Macaroni
8 Tablespoons Butter
2 whole Medium Onions, Cut In Half And Sliced Thin
10 slices Regular Bacon
1 Tablespoon Bacon Grease (reserved From Bacon Slices)
¼ cups All-purpose Flour
2 cups Whole Or 2% Milk
½ cups Half & Half
2 whole Egg Yolks, Beaten
Salt & Pepper (to Taste)
½ cups Grated Gruyere Cheese
½ cups Grated Fontina Cheese (I used Butterkase because I couldn't find any Fontina)
½ cups Grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
4 ounces, weight Chevre (soft Goat Cheese)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook macaroni for half the time of the package instructions. Drain and set aside. (I also rinsed the noodles with cold water so they wouldn't stick together)

Fry bacon until slightly, but not overly, crispy. Drain on a paper towel. Reserve grease.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a skillet and saute onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown and soft. Set aside.  (besides sauteeing the onions in the same skillet I'd cooked the bacon, I added the reserved bacon grease to the butter)

In a pot, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle in flour and whisk to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat for 1 minute. Pour in milk and half & half, then cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until thick. Reduce heat to low. Add salt & pepper to taste. (Do not undersalt!)

Beat egg yolks and drizzle 1/4 cup hot mixture into the yolks, stirring constantly. Stir to combine. Pour egg mixture into sauce and cook for another minute.

Add cheeses and stir until melted. Add onions and bacon and stir. Taste for seasonings and add more salt if needed. Add cooked macaroni and stir to coat.

Pour into a baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until sizzling and hot.

Shrimp Enchiladas

To say that my husband likes enchiladas is an understatement. The last time I made these, he ate most of the batch, I'm talking eighteen enchiladas, in just over 36 hours. He also loves seafood of all kinds, so when I saw this recipe for shrimp enchiladas I knew I had to make it for him. He's been going through a hard time lately and I thought it would be nice to do something special just for him.

They were a huge hit! They weren't any more difficult to put together than the chicken enchiladas I like to make and they were MUCH better. I'm going to use the steps in this recipe to make my chicken enchiladas from now on. No more cream of chicken soup for us, we are movin' on up to the homemade cheese sauce.

I made several changes to the original, so make sure to click back to The Piggly-Wiggly blog for her take on the recipe.


Shrimp Enchiladas
Inspired By: The Piggly-Wiggly

1 sweet red pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, minced
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp Paula Deen's House Seasoning
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
8 ounces shredded Monterey-Jack cheese, divided
8 ounces Pepper-Jack cheese, divided
1/2 cup sour cream (Used fat-free)
1 Tbsp butter
1-1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 can diced tomatoes, drained (next time I'll use fresh)
(9-inch) flour tortillas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sauté peppers and onion in the butter until crisp-tender (approximately 3-4 minutes). Add oregano, house seasoning, cream and flour; blend well. Continue cooking for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add half of the cheese mixture; stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir to blend. Set aside.

In another skillet, melt the 2 Tbsp butter. Sauté shrimp until pink. Remove and chop; return to butter. Add tomatoes and 1/2 of the cheese sauce. Spoon 1/3 cup shrimp mixture into each tortilla. Sprinkle cheese on top of shrimp mixture. Roll up tightly. Arrange seam side down in a 13x9 glass baking dish.

Spoon remaining cheese sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

Sausage Cake

One of the many blogs I follow, Elizabeth's Edible Experience, put up this recipe a few weeks ago. I saved it knowing Brent would love it. It was a great breakfast and a lot of the prepwork could be done the night before, making it easy to prepare for guests. Check out Elizabeth's blog sometime, I've saved several of her recipes, just waiting for a chance to make them!

Sausage Cake

Source: Elizabeth's Edible Experience
Adapted From: "Who's Your Mama, Are You Catholic, and Can You Make a Roux?" by Marcelle Bienvenu

Ingredients:

1 pound of hot bulk sausage
1/2 cup of chopped onions
1 cup of chopped red bell peppers
1 cup of chopped green bell peppers
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of grated pepper jack cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon of Tabasco
1 1/2 teaspoons of a combination of salt, black pepper and garlic powder
2 cups of biscuit mix
3/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup of sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Brown sausage and vegetables over medium heat. Drain off excess oil. Add the cheeses, egg, hot sauce and seasoning mix. Make a batter with the biscuit mix, milk and sour cream and fold it into the sausage mixture. Pour into a greased 9x9 inch dish and bake for about 45 minutes, until nicely brown.

Ham & Shells Casserole

My mom gave me a whole stack of back issues of Taste of Home a few weekends ago. I've had fun flipping through them, using post-its to mark recipes I want to try. With family coming to town this week, I prepared a casserole I'd marked, hoping it would reheat well, which it did. The base for this recipe, carmalized onions and wilted spinach, was awesome. It's something I'm going to remember so I can incorporate the idea into other dishes. The only change I really made was to use more salt and pepper than the original recipe called for. It would have been very bland without the salt, so taste and season accordingly.

I would also like to add that I hate blogger and the fact that for no reason whatsoever it is doublespacing my ingredient list. I apologize in advance for the awfulness. I hope it doesn't keep you from trying a yummy recipe. If any of you Blogger users out there know what I've done wrong, please leave me a comment and let me know.

Ham & Shells Casserole

Source: Taste of Home December & January 2009

Ingredients:

1 pkg (16 oz.) medium pasta shells

3 large onions

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 9 oz. package fresh spinach, torn

1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper to taste

3-1/2 cups skim milk

1 cup park-skim ricotta cheese

1 cup (4 oz.) crumbled goat cheese

2 cups cubed fully cooked ham

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350°

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, saute onions in oil for 15-20 minutes or unitl golden brown. Add spinach and rosemary, cook for a few minutes until spinach is wilted.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and pepper until smooth and cook for a few minutes. Gradually add milk, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses until blended.

Drain pasta, place in a large bowl. Add the ham, onion mixture and sauce and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes until bubbly.

Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

I purchased some photo editing software a month or so ago, but I never got around to learning how to use it. I made this casserole for our dinner the other night and when it was finally done, it was dark outside. The pictures I took all turned out dark and awful! I couldn't not (yes, I realize that's a double negative, I'm using it for effect) share the recipe, but I was embarrassed by my dark photography. Thank goodness for that software, I was able to enhance the light enough on this picture so ya'all bloggity readers can tell how yummy the recipe actually was.

Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole
From: Lauren's Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (next time I'll probably use two, we like onion)
1 bell pepper, diced (I left out, I don't like green bell peppers that much)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb diced ham
2 c cooks, shredded chicken breast (I used a pound package)
4 T butter
1/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
14 oz can chicken broth
3 cups cooked rice (I used cooked minute rice and it worked just fine)
1 c shredded cheddar
1 c shredded mozzarella or swiss

Preheat oven to 350°

I precooked the chicken by poaching it in a pot of water with chicken granules for about 25 minutes. Allow to cool and shred with your hands or a fork.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the onion and peppers until tender.

Add garlic, chicken and ham and cook until heated through, another 5 minutes or so.

Add the butter and once melted, sift on the flour salt and pepper and stir. You're making a roux here so allow to cook for a few minutes while the mixture thickens.

Stir in the chicken broth and rice.

Pour the mixture into a 9x13 casserole and top with the cheese mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melty and yummy. You might need to cover with foil to keep from overbrowning the cheese while the casserole heats through.

Penne Pizza Pasta Bake

I saw this recipe pop up in my Google Reader and starred it immediately. In fact, I think I made it the next day for dinner. I love making casseroles that leave us lots of leftovers for the next day or two. The food to dirty dish ratio is important to me during the week :) You can also make this ahead and freeze for baking at another time, if that's your M.O. I personally don't have the freezer space for doing this, but it sure would be handy! I ended up cutting the recipe in half and making it in a 9x13 pan.

Penne Pizza Pasta Bake
Source: Crista's Kitchen Creations

2 lbs of ground sausage (I used 1 hot, & 1 pound of hamburger)
2 jars tomato spaghetti sauce
16 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz chopped fresh mushrooms
1 lg bell pepper, chopped (I left this out, I don't care for green bell peppers)
1 onion, chopped
1 pkg pepperoni slices, quartered
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 boxes penne pasta

Preheat oven to 350°

In a large skillet, brown the sausage and onions. Next add veggies, seasonings, and sauce, and allow to simmer while cooking pasta. Cook pasta as directed on box, drain, and add to the sauce mixture. In a large bowl, blend shredded cheeses.

Fill 3 8x8 pans half full with pasta mixture. Next top each pan with a cup of the shredded cheese mixture. Top of each pan evenly with the remaining pasta, and then the remaining cheese. cover and freeze 2 pans for later. Bake in oven until cheese melts.

When preparing frozen pans, allow to thaw overnight and then bake at 350 for about 45 min, or until warmed through.

Mexican Sour Cream Rice

I just found the pictures from this meal on my hard drive and was instantly reminded how much I enjoyed the rice. Unfortunately, I don't remember much about the pork chop, it must not have been anything special. The rice dish has made it into my side rotation several times since.

Mexican Sour Cream Rice
From: Lauren's Kitchen

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1 (8.75 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (I think I left this out)
salt and ground black pepper to taste

In a large pot, bring the rice and chicken broth to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish. In the pot with the cooked rice, mix the sour cream, green chile peppers, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, corn, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish, and top with remaining cheese.
Bake uncovered 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Horseradish-Mashed Potato Shephard's Pie

I love it when I find a new great blog. Good writing is always catches my eye, along with great pictures (especially for a food blog). But first, a great layout and header reel me in. I realize that my own layout and banner are completely lacking in the 'draw you in' department. Now that I've admitted to my awareness of my blog's boring first impression, I am required to do something about it. It is my goal to to make my page look more like the blogs that I envy. Now if any of you out there can help me figure out how the hell to do that please let me know.

Tonight's dinner was inspired by one of the cleverly written and well photographed blogs I've recently started following. Like me, the author lives in Oklahoma, plus the name of her blog includes the word spork. And really, how can someone go wrong naming their food blog after such a versatile utinsile? It had me at hello!

Probably because I had a really good day at work which left me feeling surprisingly full of energy, I accomplished something that hasn't been done since before I became pregnant...I worked until 5:30, went to the Wal Marts, came home to cook a meal requiring TWO separate food preparations, and still had dinner on the table by 7:48. AND for the grand finale, I am posting about it immediately after. As Kanye would say, bow in the presence of greatness.

Horseradish Mashed Potato Shephard's Pie

From Have Spork, Will Travel
Originally from Rachel Ray "Everyday"

5 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
Salt
1/4 cup milk prepared horseradish, to taste
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 pounds ground beef
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2-3 tbsp chopped fresh chives

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until fork tender. Drain, mash with milk until smooth. Add horseradish, egg and season with S&P.

2. In the meantime, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add veggies and bay leaf. Season with more S&P and cook until half done. Add beef to pan, stirring often until browned. Sprinkle flour on top and cook, stirring for one minute. Add broth and cook until thickened. Add the W sauce and season to taste. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf.

4. Preheat oven to 450. Grease a medium sized casserole dish and add the meat mixture, topping with the potatoes. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with chives.

Now to admit to the errors, I mean changes, I made while preparing this. I used red potatoes, and I didn't peel them. I am lazy about potato peeling and I don't think my husband minds. Also, I can never find parsnips at the store, so I just used more carrots. I also had some celery that needed used so I added that too. It was good. I did forget to add the W sauce, which I'm sure would have only made my pie taste better. And a tip: mine nearly boiled over, I'm glad Spork Blogger advised me to use a cookie sheet under my casserole dish. I also left out the chives. Chives are something I grow in the summer and it peeves me to shell out moolah for them in the winter.

Now for the muzak: I was listening to the Twilight Soundtrack while writing tonight. No I am not 15. Yes I enjoyed the books. Yes I enjoyed the movie.

Southwest Tuna Casserole

As I was going through pictures on my hard drive, I realized there are several quality meals that I haven't shared with you yet! As you may know, my mom likes to cook also, and she shares recipe ideas with me all the time. This recipe came from her, but she found it on foodnetwork.com. I love tuna casserole and this one has some awesome add-ins. I probably will add more spice the next time I make it. In fact, I'll probably make it soon since it's been about four months since I took these dark dark pictures :)

Southwestern Tuna Casserole
Chef to the Rescue - Featuring Cat Cora
(sorry Cat, I can't find the link on the website)

1 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups thawed corn kernals
1 (10.5 oz) can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
1 cup salsa
1 tsp chili powder
1 (6 oz) can tuna packed in water, drained and flaked
2 1/2 cups rotini (or whatever noodle you like), cooked according to package directions
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350

Coat a two quart casserole with cooking spray

Over medium-high heat, heat oil in a large skillet. Cook onion and celery until softened, three minutes or so. Add corn and cook two more minutes. Stir in the soup, salsa and chili powder until incorporated.

Add the tuna and pasta, stirring enough to coat. Pour into the casserole dish and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese.

Bake for about 25 minutes.

Also, I want to share with you one of the many challenges I face, which is mainly brought about by my laziness and also by the fact that my house is also home to two big hairy dogs. When we found out about the baby, we moved our computer desk into the guest bedroom. It's a little tight in there, but it works. Now Gracie has somewhere to lay while I'm playing on the computer.

It just happens to be on top of the clean laundry waiting patiently on the guest bed to be put away. The dog has no shame, and I am obviously an enabler. Sorry honey, for the dog hair in your clean socks.

*This post was written to the beats of N.E.R.D.'s In Search Of... (cause I'm the sh!t)

Paula Deen's Corn Casserole

I'm always on a quest for easy to make side dishes, so when I stumbled across this recipe for corn casserole on Ezra Pound Cake's blog I knew I had found a winner. Of course it's loaded with butter, it's a Paula Deen recipe! Geez! And it ROCKS!

From Paula Deen, “Paula’s Home Cooking,” Food Network

1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (I used Jiffy)
1 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used 2% shredded cheddar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, stir together the two cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes to allow it to set and then serve warm.

Evidently I have problems following directions, I made mine in an 8x8 casserole dish and it turned out wonderful, but I did have to bake it an extra 5-7 minutes. After dinner, Sous Chef Gracie helped with the dishes. Don't you appreciate a little help in the kitchen?