Stuff Called Cornbread

When my husband and I first married, we thought it would be adventurous to live in Colorado.  So we moved to Colorado Springs.  I was there about three seconds before I realized that we had immersed ourselves into a culture far different than the Southern one in which we had grown up.  This earthy, tree-huggin', dirt-lovin' culture was full of chewy-crunchy granola-type people.  It took some getting used to.

One day, a special coworker recommended a restaurant to me, and then excitedly exclaimed, "And they have this stuff called cornbread there!  It's really good." 

I'm pretty sure I just stared at her.  I felt nothing but pity for her poor soul, having apparently lived a life without that stuff called cornbread.

A life without cornbread I cannot imagine.  Life would be less sweet without cornbread.  On that note, cornbread must be sweet.  And this cornbread is sweet.

This cornbread is everything cornbread should be.  It is thick and sweet and perfect and a little bit crumbly, because all cornbread is at least a little bit crumbly.  It would be awesome with chili since the sweetness would offset the spiciness of chili.  It is simply perfect with Green Beans, Sausage, and Potatoes.  If you want to be completely ridiculous, whip up some honey butter to slater on the warm cornbread.

Start with the dry ingredients.  Cornmeal, flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. 

Here's the cornmeal I used.  It's from Weisenberger Mill, where I get my stone-ground grits.  The cornmeal is coarser and gives the cornbread great texture.

But this stuff is fine too.

By all means, use a pot to mix the ingredients together since your bowls are packed. 

Now add the wet ingredients, but don't stir until you've added all of the wet ingredients to the dry.

Oil, buttermilk, vanilla and eggs.

Now stir it up.  Don't over-stir though.  We only need to stir enough to combine everything.

Now that it's all combined, let it sit on the counter for a few minutes while you spray your baking dish.

When the batter starts to get little holes on the top, that means that the baking powder has been activiated.  Activated for what, I'm not sure.  But it doesn't really matter because it's ready to go into the dish.

Bake it on 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. 

It's missing something, don't you think?

Much better.
Cornbread

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 T baking powder
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (buttermilk gives it a tangy flavor; use whole milk if you prefer)
1 tsp vanilla

Stir together the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl.  Add all of the wet ingredients and combine everything until it is just moistened.  Do not overstir.  Let the batter sit on the counter while you prepare the baking pan.

Spray an 8x8 glass baking dish with cooking spray.  When bubbles begin to form on the top of the cornbread batter, it's ready to pour into the baking dish. 

Bake it on 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Fiesta Rice

Hi there.

You've been waiting with baited breath for me to post this haven't you?  Ever since I told you it was coming when I shared Chicken Enchiladas II with you.

I know.

And here it is.

I have Pioneer Woman to thank for this.  My recipe is inspired by her rice.

It's the best Mexican rice I've ever had.

You must make it with the Chicken Enchiladas from yesterday.

It's a requirement.

Start with an onion.  Saute it in some olive oil.  If you want to see what this process looks like, look at Chicken Enchiladas II from yesterday.  Because I have a house to pack and don't have time to post it again.

And add some garlic. 

Okay, now that we have lots of flavor going on with the onions and garlic, add in some rice.  Remember to use the real stuff.  Stir the rice around so it gets mixed in with the garlic and onions. 

Now we're ready to add the rest of the ingredients.

Rotel!  Yum.  Did you know that some people are unaware that Rotel even exists?  I know.  It's so sad.  I'm doing what I can to spread the word.

And here's the secret: don't drain either can of tomatoes.  The juice gets into the rice when it cooks and turns it this great pinkish color.  And adds awesome flavor.  The Rotel is spicy but not too spicy.  Just the right amount.  Trust me.

Stir in some chicken stock, cumin, and salt and pepper.

Bring it to a boil, put the lid on, and let it simmer for about 20-25 minutes.

When the rice is cooked through and the liquid is absorbed, chop some cilantro.

And toss it in!  Lastly, squeeze a lime over the rice.

And when you serve this with Chicken Enchiladas II, make sure you spill some of the Mexican Gravy on top of the rice.  I'm a die-hard-don't-let-my-food-touch person, but this is one exception.  Turkey, mashed potatoes, and dressing is the only other exception to my rule that I can think of.

Fiesta Rice
Adapted from Pioneer Woman

1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups long-grain white rice
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
15 oz. can diced tomatoes
10 oz. can Rotel
1 tsp salt
1 T cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of one lime

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the onion for about 8-10 minutes until soft.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Stir in the rice.  Add the tomatoes with the juice, chicken stock, salt, pepper and cumin.  Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to medium-low.  Simmer for about 20-25 minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.  Stir in the cilantro and lime juice right before serving.

Chicken Enchiladas II

This is the second installment of Chicken Enchiladas and these are totally different than the first. 

These enchiladas are inspired by the Bunny.  These have corn tortillas instead of flour, and they're covered with Mexican Gravy (according to my brother) and cheese.

To be frank, they're awesome.

The white corn tortillas give them great texture and a subtle sweet flavor that pairs perfectly with the creamy chicken filling, cheese sauce and spice from the pepper jack.

So we'll start with the filling.  Break out a large sweet onion.  Chop it up.

And saute it in some olive oil until it's soft.

While that cooks, cook some chicken.

Who doesn't love raw chicken?

When the chicken is cooked through, drain it and chop it up.  Smallish bite-sized pieces is what we're going for here.

Now back to the onions.  Here's what we're going to add:

Cream cheese and sour cream for creaminess and pimentoes and green chiles for flavor.

You can buy chopped green chiles if you want.  It's what I usually do.  But I decided to be different for a change and buy them whole and chop them up myself.





It was life-changing.

Actually it wasn't.

I'll probably revert to just buying them pre-chopped to save me from cleaning my cutting board.

So toss the green chiles, pimentoes, some salt and pepper into the creamy chicken mixture. 

Stir it up.

And we're ready to roll!

Definitely use white corn tortillas.  They only come in one size and they're tastier than the yellow corn ones.

Take a generous amount of the filling - there's plenty - and roll it up in the tortillas.  You'll use 13-15 tortillas, depending on how generous you are with each one.

Lay them in a 10x15 greased baking dish.

Corn tortillas are a bit brittle and may crack when you roll them around the filling.  But once you cover these rolls with Mexican gravy, you'll never be able to tell.

Speaking of Mexican gravy, let's get going on that.

Melt some butter in a saucepan and then whisk in some flour.  Now you have roux!  Neat-o.

When that's all hot and bubbly, whisk in some chicken stock.  That will thicken up in a minute or two.  When it's nice and thick, add some cream.  Whisk it up and cook it over low heat for another couple of minutes before turning the heat off.  Now you have a bechamel sauce!

Now we'll add some cheese and call it a mornay sauce.  Super.

Mount of Melt

And now we'll add some more flavor with some chopped cilantro and salt and pepper.

Stir it up and pour it over the enchiladas.

Grate up some more cheese for the top.

And now cover it....with more cheese.

Yes, we've officially reached the one-pound mark.  This is insane. 

Bake it long enough to make it bubbly and here's what you have.

Bethany, are you there?

This one's for you.  I guess I should start a category of recipes containing a pound or more of cheese.

How did my life come to this?

Ya'll, I ain't lying.  Make this now.

And I'll show you the Mexican rice that you must make to go with it.  That's on my to-do list for tomorrow. 

Because my treadmill is calling right now.

Chicken Enchiladas II
Inspired by In the Bluegrass and Beyond

For the Enchiladas:
1 large sweet onion
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 lbs of chicken breast, cooked and chopped
8 oz. block cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
7 oz. can chopped green chiles
2 oz. jar chopped pimentoes, drained
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
13-15 white corn tortillas

For the Mexican Gravy:
6 T (3/4 stick) butter
6 T flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz. (2 cups) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 T chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

For the top:
8 oz. (2 cups) shredded pepper Jack cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and saute the onion for 8-10 minutes, until soft.  Turn off the heat and add the chicken, sour cream, and cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese is melted and everything is incorporated.  Stir in the green chiles, pimentoes, and salt and pepper.  Roll up the chicken mixture in the tortillas and lay them in a greased 10x15 casserole dish.

For the Mexican Gravy, melt the butter in a saucepan and then whisk in the flour.  Whisk in the chicken stock and bring it to a simmer.  Add the cream, cheese, cilantro and salt and pepper.  Whisk until the cheese is melted and the gravy is heated through again.  Pour over the pan of enchiladas and cover with the pepper Jack.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes, until bubbly.

American Flag Cake

I started a tradition a few years ago of making a flag cake every July 4th.  I love the 4th of July.  If you would like to know more of why I love this uniquely-American holiday, you can read about it here.

Despite most of my kitchen utensils being in boxes and the general disarray of my house, tradition is tradition.  Life must go on.

And so I will share with you my flag cake.

I'm posting this on Sunday so you can run out and get the ingredients and make it on Monday just in time for your cookout on Monday evening.

No minute like the last minute.

So I copied Barefoot's idea and used blueberries for the blue (obviously) part of the flag and raspberries for the red stripes.  But I have used quartered strawberries for the red in the past while in a pinch.  And that worked fine.  Or you could use blue and red M&M's.  Yum.  Or you could divide the icing and turn some of it blue and some of it red.  The possibilities are endless. 

Basically, a cake with cream cheese icing cannot be ruined.  So use any kind of fruit/candy/colored icing you want.  As long as it's red and blue.  Because, after all, this is an American flag cake.

I like lemon cake because I like lemons.  And I like lemon and cream cheese together.  And lemon and raspberries together.  And I get bored with white cake.  But if you are boring, then by all means, just bake a basic white cake.

So take a white cake mix and put it in your mixing bowl.










And add two packages of instant lemon-flavored pudding mix.

And a cup of sour cream.

Oh, yeah.  We're going to have one moist cake here.

And a cup of oil.  Told you it was moist.

And four eggs.














And some flavorings.  A teaspoon of vanilla extract.  And a teaspoon of lemon extract.

Yes!  I finished the lemon extract!  One less thing I have to move.

Our motto this week is: If you can use it, we won't have to move it.

Catchy, I know.

I write sonnets in my spare time.

So now that all of the deliciousness from the pantry and refrigerator is in the mixing bowl, turn it on.

The mixer, that is.

And beat it for 30 seconds on low.  That way you won't slosh oil on your church clothes.

See how lumpy it still is?

Okay, now we're ready for medium-high speed.  Two minutes.

Look!  It's beautiful and smooth and creamy and falling back into the bowl in ribbons.

Perfect.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.











And pour in the batter.

And bake it on 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

That hole in the middle is where I stuck my knife to make sure the cake was done.  We want it to be just done when we take it out.  No dry cake for us.

Also, even though my cake was perfectly done, it still fell a little bit in the middle after it cooled.  I don't know why this happened or how to prevent it.  The only thing I can say is that cream cheese icing covers all imperfections.




Now for said cream cheese icing.

A block of cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. 

Make sure the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature.  If these items are fresh from the refrigerator, you will say bad words while you make your icing.  And that's not a good idea since your 3-year-old is helping you decorate.









Um, yum.

Beat it up.  No lumps.

And spread it on the completely cooled cake.

And spread it evenly.

And don't miss the corners.  Corners are cake too!  Even if I refuse to eat corners, I'm sure someone out there loves them.

Now, for the flag.  Use a knife and score the areas for the blue patch and the stripes. 

Draft your 3-year-old to make the flag out of berries!

Beautiful.

Make sure yours looks just as perfect as mine does.

American Flag Cake

Cake:
1 18.25 oz. box white cake mix
2 3 oz. packages instant lemon pudding mix
1 cup oil
1 (8 oz.) cup sour cream
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat for 30 seconds on low speed, until the inredients are incorporated but still lumpy.  Scrape the bottom of the bowl well.  Turn the mixer on medium-high speed and beat for two minutes, stopping once to scrape the bottom of the bowl.

Pour into a greased 9x13 glass baking dish.  Bake on 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool completely.

Cream Cheese Icing:
8 oz. block cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick (4 T) butter, softened
1 lb. powered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat ingredients together for icing for about a minute or until it is smooth and creamy and no lumps remain.  Spread on the cool cake.

2 half-pints of raspberries
1/2 cup blueberries

Using a knife, score the flag design in the icing.  Then fill in the stripes with raspberries and the blue area with blueberries.  This cake needs to be kept cold and it will keep for several days in the fridge.

Chicken Enchiladas I

I've been a little distracted lately.  If you could see my house, you'd understand why.  There are boxes in every room.  Some are full and taped, some are empty, and some are half-full of a random assortment of things.  My children begin to unpack boxes as soon as I fill them up.  Why do I have the feeling that as soon as we move and actually need to unpack boxes, their interest in unpacking will disappear?

But I'm still here and I'm still cooking.  Because we still need to eat.  And I'm pretty sure I could eat Mexican food about five nights a week.  Notice I did not say authentic Mexican food.  So please do not leave me a comment that cream of chicken soup is not authentically Mexican.

These enchiladas were a staple at our house growing up.  We always called them white enchiladas because my mom also made great beef enchiladas with a red sauce, which we called red enchiladas.  I'll have to share red enchiladas with you someday, because they are really good. 

But today it's chicken enchiladas because clock is ticking and there are still a few chicken breasts in the freezer left to eat in the next few days.  And my husband loves these chicken enchiladas and my kids love them.  They're fast, easy and delicious.   

So here's what we're going to do: cook some chicken, put together a sauce with green chiles, cream of chicken soup and sour cream, and roll it all in a tortilla and top with cheese.

Sound good?

You know it does.

Start with the chicken.  Cook about 4 boneless skinless breasts and then chop it up.  You can boil it in water (what I usually do) or roast it in the oven (for a more tender, moist chicken).  The amount of chicken is not critical here.  If you like chicken, cook 5 breasts.  If you like more sauce, cook 3 breasts.  You really can't mess this up.  Unless you overcook it, that is.

Now we need to make the sauce.

I'm pretty sure it's not possible to go wrong with cream of chicken soup (feel free to use fat-free), sour cream (do not, for any reason, use fat-free), and green chiles. 

I really appreciate green chiles.  They add so much flavor and if you buy them chopped, they are so easy.

So mix the sauce with the chicken and here's what you'll have.

Now it's time to grate some cheese.  I like to use a combo of cheddar and pepper jack. 

You know, pepper jack cheese is just Monterey Jack with little tiny pieces of peppers in it.  It's not hot but has a nice kick to it.

Now it's time to roll!  Take the filling and divide it among about 12 soft taco-sized flour tortillas.  Roll them up and lay in them in a (greased!) 9x13 casserole dish.

 And top the whole thing with the cheese.  And then bake it until it's really bubbly and the cheese is melty.

This is really delicious.  Your family will thank you for making this.  If your friend just had a baby, take this to her.  It's a proven fact that breastfed babies eat a wider variety of food later in life because they are exposed to different flavors through their mother's milk. 

I probably just lost a reader or two because I just used the word "breastfed." 



What can I say?  I'm a mother of a baby and a toddler.  And I'll leave it at that.

Chicken Enchiladas I

4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
2 7-oz. cans diced green chiles
12 small flour tortillas (soft taco size)
1 cup (4 oz) shredded pepper jack cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and green chiles.  Portion your filling among the tortillas, roll up the tortillas around the filling, and place them, seam side down, in the dish.

Top with cheese and bake for 35-45 minutes until hot and bubbly.  Let the enchiladas sit for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.