The Best Cornbread Ever

I love this recipe.  My husband loves this recipe even more.  The other day I made chili and I was going to try something new and alter the recipe a bit.  However, my husband was insistent that I not change something that is already perfect.  Seriously, my husband insists that this Cornbread recipe is absolutely perfect.  You have to make this!

With that in mind, I have not changed the recipe, but I have added some of my own thoughts.  The original recipe, with some Honey Butter if you so desire is found at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Cornbread
Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:

• ½ cup cornmeal
• 1 ½ cup flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 ¼ cup milk

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Add dry ingredients and stir to mix them.  Then, make a well and add oil, butter, eggs, and milk into the center. Stir until just mixed (batter will be runny). Bake in an 8” square pan for 30-35 minutes.  The cornbread is amazing warm and the first day.  The amazingness goes down with each day, so try and eat as much as you can the first day.   

This doubles for a 9X13-inch pan, though you need to watch the time.  It's longer than 35 minutes, and in my oven the edges were done but the middle wasn't.  I'll probably lower the temperature and try again in the future.  

Anyway, this cornbread is amazing!  Enjoy!

Beef Pot Pie

I grew up with my mom making chicken pot pie. I always loved it! But, she never made a beef one. I had leftover roast I couldn't shred (not pictured), and wanted it to go to good use. I modified my mom's recipe and used some parts of an allrecipes recipe (Beef Pot Pie III). 

INGREDIENTS:

leftover roast, cubed

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

1 (14 ounce) can beef broth

3 large carrots, diced

3 potatoes, cubed

1/2 onion diced

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

1/2 cup stick margarine

1/2 cup flour

1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, pour in beef broth and add carrots, onion, and potatoes. Cook until almost tender; about 15 to 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

optional: Make pie crust. I like Kristi's recipe and have it written below.

2. When the carrots and potatoes are done, transfer to the large mixing bowl with the beef; leaving the broth in the pan. Combine the peas with the carrots, potatoes and beef.

3. In a separate pan, melt butter and add flour to create a roux. Slowly add milk and broth stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat; cook for 5 minutes.

4.    Grease a 9x13 inch pan. Place the beef mixture into the pie crust. Pour the gravy over the top of the mixture, then cover with the pie crust. Bake in a preheated oven until the crust is golden brown; about 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Kristi's Pie Crust

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup butter flavored shortening

7 TBSP ice water

Sift flour and salt. Cut in shortening with a fork until the size of small peas. Sprinkle a tablespoon of water at a time. Toss and fluff with a fork. Use hands and squish into a ball. Roll out on a floured surface until 1/8" thick. Lay over beef mixture and trim edges. 

(With leftover dough--roll out and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar for dessert cookies.)

If you prefer, you could do a biscuit crust. 

1 cup biscuit mix

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

Combine and pour over beef mixture. Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. 

Italian Dressing Mix

What happens when you need an Italian Dressing Mix and there's none to be found and you can't/won't run to the store? If you're like me you turn to allrecipes and make one yourself. I was surprised how easy and yummy it was. Next on my list is homemade Ranch dressing--did you know the majority of store-bought Ranch dressing and the mixes contain MSG? No bueno if you ask me!

Italian Dressing Mix

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
2 tablespoons salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic salt, onion powder, sugar, oregano, pepper, thyme, basil, parsley, celery salt and regular salt. Store in a tightly sealed container.
2. To prepare dressing, whisk together 1/4 cup white vinegar, 2/3 cup canola oil, 2 tablespoons water and 2 tablespoons of the dry mix.

Oatmeal Carmelitas

Somehow I found this blog. Not sure how. But I am grateful. Very grateful. Because I discovered these. And they are wonderful. Enjoy! 

Oatmeal Carmelitas

2 cups quick oats

1 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Mix the above dry ingredients.

 Add: 1 1/4 cups melted butter.

Stir until crumbs are the size of corn. Press 2/3 of mixture in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and spoon on 1 1/4 cups of Carmel sauce. (make your own--1 bag caramels melted with 2/3 cup milk, or use jarred Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel topping) Sprinkle on 2-2 1/2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet). Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over the top and return to the oven for 18 more minutes.

Words from the blogger: Remove from oven and be careful!!! You will want to grab a spoon and sample. I have spent many a days over the past twelve weeks with a burned mouth due to my inability to be patient :) You can quicken the cooling process in the refrigerator. Otherwise they will take several hours to set making them able to be served without falling apart. But I can promise you if you are a fan of ice cream, caramel, and chocolate, let them fall into the same bowl together. You won't be disappointed! Here's to a season of happy reunions with family and friends!

Oprah's Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie

I have discovered the benefit of adding green smoothies to my diet to sneak in extra fruits and
veggies. And while my kids have enjoyed them as well, sometimes they are hesitant about the green color. I found this recipe in my book. Not sure how I discovered Oprah's favorite smoothie recipe--but she gets the credit nonetheless. My kids love this one and so do I. It's healthy, refreshing, creamy, and yummy. Plus it uses chocolate milk. Yum!

Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie

2 cups chocolate milk (I do milk and 1/3 cup Nesquik)
2 medium bananas, cut up
2 cups frozen or hulled fresh strawberries

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve very cold (can add ice).


In case you're wondering what I put in my green smoothies--I feel like I've found the perfect combination.

1 banana -- a must for sweetness
1 carrot peeled & cut into chunks
1 cup spinach, rinsed
1 cup frozen or fresh fruit (pineapple, apples, berries)
1 cup orange juice

Do not try tomatoes. :)

Happy blending!!

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Babies

I can't claim discovering this recipe or the blog. Kristi found it and shared them with me. And I love them for many reasons.

1. They are yummy.
2. They are healthy.
3. In my old age I am really enjoying the flavor of dried fruit.
4. They have chocolate.

And, you can mix things up with them. Try different nuts, add peanut butter, different dried fruits. They're fantastic. And, I get to use my food processor. I feel all granola-ish when I make them. And I feel good eating them.

Give them a go--especially if you need digestive help like some of us *me* need. :)

Cookie Dough Babies
(a.k.a. Raw Cookie Dough Balls)

Scant 2/3 cup pitted dates (80g) (I highly recommend Sunmaid dates, found in regular grocery stores near the raisins. They’re softer and easier to blend.)
handful of chocolate chips or Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup cashews (30g) (or another nut, like almonds.)
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
tiny pinch of salt (can be omitted)

Blend the dates, cashews, salt, and vanilla in a food processor. (You can use a blender, but they’re much harder to blend and they can get very sticky.) You can either blend the chocolate with the other ingredients or chop it separately, then mix the pieces into the dough. Make bars, balls, or shapes of whatever size you want.

I used prunes (I need some serious help!) and they turned out really moist so I added extra nuts. Also, refrigerating them helps with the stickiness. 

Nutritional Info for the Homemade Larabar Recipes:
The homemade larabar nutritional info is based upon the girl-scout cookie larabars; however I think all the flavors are probably pretty similar. Each Larabar-sized bar (45 grams) will have around 175 calories, 8 grams healthy fat, 2 grams protein, 25 grams carbs, 5 grams fiber, and zero grams of added sugar.

A Few Recipes for the Home

The other day I was googling how to clean my dishwasher (cause it was stinking!!) and found this awesome blog!

One Good Thing by Jillee

I started browsing and found a great recipe for homemade dishwasher soap. I was interested because I previously had read an article about how companies removed some ingredient from their detergents that previously had prevented the fogginess on cups and things. But, generic brands like Members Mark found at Sam's still kept it. Since I'm now at Costco and not sure about what's going on anymore, and since I'm cheap I decided to give her recipe a try. It works fantastic! I'm planning on making enough to fill a metal can to keep under my sink.

Powdered Dishwasher Detergent/Scouring Powder:

* 1 cup Washing soda or Baking soda (I’ve seen many recipes that use both..so use whatever you have on hand)
* 1 cup Borax  (Borax and baking soda/wash are both natural disinfectants and mild abrasives.)
* 1/4 cup Kosher salt (reduces the effects of hard water)
* 1/4 cup citric acid (available at brewing places or Amazon.com. Or as an alternative you can use the same amount of Fruit Fresh or two packets of Lemonade-Flavored Kool-Aid, ONLY lemon and ONLY unsweetened!)

Add 1-2 tablespoons per load along with a splash of white vinegar as a rinse agent to prevent spots. (I just splash some straight into the bottom of the dishwasher).  Makes the glasses shine!

Use this same mixture as a scouring powder! Put some in a shaker canister from Walmart….and use it to scour your sink. The salt gives it extra scouring power and it smells so good!!! :-)

There were some concerns raised about this mixture hardening and clumping together, making it hard to get out of the jar.  One of the brilliant comments left was to use some of those silica gel packets that come in bottles of medicine or in shoe boxes or just about ANY product that comes in a box nowadays. Problem solved.

Homemade Carpet Shampoo

This recipe comes from The Thrifty Momma. I wanted to shampoo  my carpets NOW but couldn't run to the store. So, I googled, found a recipe and made my own. Worked fantastic and I'll never buy the pricey stuff again. :)

Homemade Carpet Shampoo Recipe
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons hydrogen peroxide 3% solution (This is the strength you’ll get in the first aid section.)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon dish detergent
5 drops essential oil (if desired)

Directions:
Mix the ingredients well.  I shake mine thoroughly in a lidded mason jar.  This makes it much easier to distribute the cleaning agents into the water.
Blend this mixture with 1-1/2 quarts of hot water.
Use in carpet cleaner as directed by manufacturer.
This recipe can easily be adjusted for full-size carpet cleaners.  Double or triple quantities as needed.

Focaccia Bread

I made this for dinner at my parents on Sunday. As I made it, the aroma was amazing! The kids could not wait to eat it (and I have to admit, neither could I). It was a huge hit--my dad asked my mom to get the recipe from me and he took leftovers to work with him. This is a definite keeper I will be making again. I also want to try to incorporate the herbs into a pizza crust. I'll get back to you on that one. :)

Focaccia Bread
allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper. Mix in the vegetable oil and water.
2. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Brush top with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2013 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 6/26/2013