Sweet Cornbread

This is for all you cornbread-haters out there.  Derek is one of them, but he actually likes this because he says it tastes like cake.  And it actually does, because half of it is cake.  The ingredients I kind of made up, so just follow your gut on those.

Ingredients:

1 package cornbread mix (I used Betty Crocker, but Jiffy would work great)
1/2 package yellow cake mix
Whatever ingredients they call for (oil, water, milk, butter, eggs, etc.)

So the ingredients on the back of the boxes: I put in everything that the cornbread mix called for (since I put in the whole mix), and half of what the cake mix called for (since I only put in half).  After all was said and done, I had put in 2 eggs, 1/3 cup milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 of a 1/3 cup of oil (I estimated) and 2 T melted margarine.  The cornbread said to bake at 350 and the cake said 400, so I baked it at 375 for about 5 minutes longer than what the cornbread said to do.  And it turned out great!  Just make sure you stick a toothpick in the middle to make sure it's done before you take it out.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe comes from my sister and it is oh so good!  Normally I'm not a huge chicken noodle soup fan, but this has lots of flavor and I love the creamy consistency.  Derek actually liked it too!  It's a keeper.

Ingredients:

2 chicken bouillon cubes

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups chopped carrots

2 cups chopped celery

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups cooked, diced chicken

cooked egg noodles

Heat bouillon and broth in large pot.  Add carrots, celery and onions and simmer until tender.  Add soup and sour cream.  Add chicken and noodles.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Golden Baked Pork Cutlets

Sorry for the terrible picture, but I was in such a hurry to eat because these were so good!  Derek said he'd pay money at a restaurant for them.  The breading kept the meat nice and juicy (another tip to make it juicy is to tent it with foil for 5-10 minutes after coming out of the oven) and the flavor was great.  I believe I got the recipe from Food Network, but I saved it so long ago I can't remember.

Ingredients:

1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed (I just used some pork chops)
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs (I only had Italian and they were great; plain would be good too)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp canola oil
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
4 tsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

Holding a chef's knife at a 45 degree angle and perpendicular to the tenderloin, slice the pork into 4 long, thin fillets (skip if you already have pre-cut pork chops).

Mix breadcrumbs, sugar, paprika, onion powder, and salt in a shallow dish.  Drizzle with oil and mash with fork until oil is thoroughly incorporated.  Lightly beat egg white with fork in another shallow dish.  Sprinkle cornstarch over pork slices and pat to coat evenly on both sides.  Dip the pork into the egg, then press into the breading mixture until evenly coated on both sides.

Place the pork on the prepared baking sheet.  Bake until just barely pink in the middle and a thermometer reads 145 degrees F, 14-16 minutes.

Witch Hat Calzones

In honor of Halloween we had these for dinner tonight.  They were super easy and really tasty!

Ingredients:

2 packages of crescent rolls
pizza sauce
pepperoni
cheese
egg, beaten
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese

Open one of the packages of crescent rolls, separate the rolls, and lay them on a cookie sheet.  Spread sauce on rolls, leaving a little room around the edges.  Sprinkle cheese and pepperoni (I chopped the pepperoni into small pieces) on top.  Brush a little of the beaten egg around the edges and top with the other package of crescent rolls.  Press around the edges to seal and roll up the bottom to form the bottom of the hat.

Brush beaten egg on top and sprinkle with Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.  You can decorate with chopped pieces of pepperoni.  Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

I've seen this recipe in a few different places, but I think I got this particular one from Yvonne's blog.  Yum, yum, yum!  I love sweet pork and this really does taste like the Cafe Rio version.  It's great with cheese, avocado, and tomatoes or whatever you have on hand!  I had a 3 lb roast, so I halved it and it worked great.

Ingredients:

6 lb pork roast
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cans Coke (or 20 oz bottle)
16 oz Pace Picante sauce (I didn't have any but I did have a jar of La Victoria salsa so I used that and it was really good)

Trim fat from roast and cook in crockpot full of water on low for 6 hours or until tender.  Remove roast and shred and remove any fat leftover.  Dump water out of crockpot and replace the shredded pork.  Pour coke, brown sugar and picante sauce over the pork and mix in.  Slow cook for 3-4 hours.

Beef and Bean Chile Verde

I've had chile verde made with pork before, but never with beef and beans.  This was really good.  Unfortunately I didn't have 93% lean ground beef, so it wasn't quite as low calorie/fat as it could have been.  It think I got it on Food Network.  Their nutrition facts state: 307 calories, 8 g fat, 27 g protein, 6 g fiber.  Of course if you put it in a tortilla with cheese, you add more calories.

Ingredients:

1 lb 93% lean ground beef
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped (I never use a whole onion.  I maybe used half, and it was plenty.)
6 cloves garlic, chopped (I used 4 or 5)
1 T chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used Texas Champagne, which is a cayenne pepper sauce)
1 16-oz jar green salsa, green enchilada sauce or taco sauce (I used green salsa)
1/4 cup water
1 15-oz can pinto or kidney beans

Cook beef, bell pepper and onion in a large saucepan over medium heat, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, until meat is browned, 8-10 minutes.  Add garlic, chili powder, cumin and cayenne; cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds.  Stir in salsa and water; bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in beans and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.

Skinny Enchilada Soup

I got this from Amy's recipe blog.  I was going to make it meatless, but decided to add chicken to it at the last minute because we needed to take dinner to someone and I wanted to make it go a little further.  I've never had chicken in taco/enchilada soup (except at Chili's of course!), usually we have ground beef.  I really liked it with the chicken though and it definitely made it less greasy!

Ingredients:

1 can refried beans
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (I used kidney beans and forgot to drain them, but it was still good)
1 cup veggie broth (I only had chicken broth so I used that)
1 cup frozen corn
3/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup water
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken (about 2 chicken breasts worth)
dash or two of cumin
dash of chili powder
2 cups cheddar cheese, divided
Tortilla chips or Fritos
sour cream (optional)

In a nice sized pot (or crockpot if you want to let it cook for a few hours) combine all ingredients except cheese, sour cream and chips and bring it to a boil.  Add 1 cup of cheese and stir over low heat until melted.  Serve topped with cheese, sour cream and chips.