Kicked Up Cornbread

I have a confession.......I am addicted to cornbread!! I just love it. I love that it's sweet yet salty and moist and I love to spread butter on it when it's still steaming........excuse me for just a.......................................

Sorry about that....I'm back now.....I hope you can forgive me...but as I was typing I kept looking at the picture, then I glanced over on my counter...and well....there is this big piled high plate of cornbread...and I had to eat another piece. ;) But I'm all good now....I'm here for the rest of the post...I promise!!

So due to the fact that I do LOVE cornbread, I am always down to try a way to make it. This is definitely a keeper, and I recommend that you all try it, BECAUSE I SAID SO......THAT'S WHY!!! Oh...sorry....all of a sudden I could just hear one of my kids asking....."Wwwwwwhhhhhhhyyyyyyy" in that whiny sorta voice....moms out there you know the one!! ;)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar, scant
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups cream style corn
• 1/2 cup (small can) crushed pineapple, drained well and squeezed
• 1 cup shredded jack or mild cheddar cheese
• 1 small can green chile's

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Butter and flour a 9″ square baking dish. 
Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and set aside.  In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  (The mixture may appear curdled at some point, and that is OK.)  Add the corn, pineapple, cheese, green chile's and mix to blend.  On low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until blended.
Bake until a tester is clean and the cornbread is golden brown on top, about 40 min.  Serve warm.

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

Pssshhh.......why anybody buys pancake mix in a box or bag is beyond me!!! It is so easy and painless to make your own pancake batter and the taste.....well there is just no comparison!! Then....toss in some blueberries....and.....hello....breakfast is ready!! But...you cant have pancakes without bacon....and sausage. Then, this morning I found myself cutting up fresh fruit too....but breakfast was AMAZING!!!

I live in a fairly small city, the population is like 80k so it not tiny by any means but it's not a San Francisco or LA. So, we don't have a ton of variety for grocery shopping!! I wish we had a Whole Foods store because that would be awesome. There was a point in time when I wished we had a Trader Joe's and we finally got one of those, so maybe if I wish hard enough, I will get that wish too. But sometimes, even in small towns, you find a gem of a store, and we do have one of those in Moore's Flour Mill in downtown Redding. This place is U-STINKING-MAZING!! Their prices are phenomenal, everything is milled on site and very fresh and their customer service is OUTSTANDING. They have spices, pasta, and every kind of flour and grain you can think of!! I LOVE that place!! I just had to give them a little shout out, because that's where I got my buckwheat flour and oat flour from that I used in this recipe. (Among lots of other things too!)

Tattoo Man said that the blueberry buckwheat pancakes were super good, and if I can please Tattoo Man with my cooking it makes me a happy Mrs. Tattoo Man!!! ;) Even the teens were happy and my youngest always tells me he doesn't like anything with a wheat taste to it......I love tricking him!! ;)

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!!

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour (or ap flour if you don't have oat or 1 cup ww flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk or almond milk (I used almond milk)
3/4 cup fat free milk
1 T honey (I used xylitol)
2 eggs
2 T canola oil, butter or coconut oil
1 cup of blueberries

In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients with a whisk and set aside. In another bowl, whisk all the remaining iingredients except for blueberries. Now pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk until combined. Let stand 5 minutes, then stir in blueberries. Heat a large griddle or skillet and pour about a 1/4 cup of batter onto greased griddle and cook pancake about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Serve hot with butter and syrup.

Nectarine, Raspberry and Chicken Salad w/ Citrus Vinaigrette

*Doing a happy dance* Isn't this gorgeous????? I just love the colors!! I had some leftover chicken from last night (see previous recipe) and I had seen a recipe that was a nectarine chicken salad, but it called for mayonnaise and mixing it all together and that just didn't sound appealing to me today. Soooooo.....I decided to go with the concept, but make it my own. Here is what I came up with and the citrus vinaigrette was a bright added touch!!

Now, tattoo man being my food critic, said he didn't love the celery. He thought I should have used carrots instead. But...me....I thought the celery was great!! So....you can take it or leave it.....the real stars of this salad are the fruit, chicken and dressing as far as I'm concerned!!

Serves 2

1 1/2 cups of diced cooked chicken (I used leftovers, but you can cook 2 boneless skinless breasts)
1 nectarine, cut into 1" pieces
4 cups romaine lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces
2 T sliced red onion
1 celery stalk, diced
1/4 cup almonds, chopped or sliced
1/2 cup fresh raspberries

First place lettuce in a bowl, then top with chicken, onion, nectarine, raspberries, celery and almonds. Pour vinaigrette over top and serve!!



Vinaigrette
2 oranges juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried herbs from pantry (anything that sounds good)
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove grated garlic
2 tsp honey

Put all ingredients in a container that has a good sealing lid and shake the snot out of it.

Carmelized Onion & Baked Potato Stuffed Mushrooms

So tattoo man told me the other day that he had thought of a recipe to try but then forgot what it was.......um.....that is sooooo hot!! And can I just say how wonderful it is that he is sooooo supportive and cooperative with me over this blog and the time I spend coming up with recipes and preparing them and photographing them!! I just love him!! So.....I shared with him what I do when I come up with a recipe idea....I email it to myself so I will remember it!! 

That is what I did the other night when I was laying in bed and thought of this one. How bad could mushrooms be that are stuffed with caramelized onions, bacon and potatoes??? Um.....not bad at all!! So....here is my recipe....now mind you I was just putting stuff in the pan so I will try to give you the best measurements I can!! Ready....set....COOK!!!!

2 potatoes, cooked (I just put mine in the micro and zap them for like 8 minutes)
1 medium onion, sliced in thin rounds
2 cloves garlic, grated on micro plane
5 slices of bacon, chopped into pieces
1/2 cup milk or heavy cream
1/2 tsp season salt (more or less depending on taste)
10 mushrooms, stems removed
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan

In a large frying pan fry bacon and onions until onions are golden brown and caramelized. Then add all the remaining ingredients except mushrooms and cheddar cheese. Mash and mix completely. Using a spoon, scoop heaping amounts of the potato mixture into each mushrooms. Top with grated cheese, dividing the half cup evenly among the potatoes. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes.

Chicken with Pistachio Cilantro Pesto

What can I say about this chicken.....except.....VERY GOOD!!! It's something different to do to chicken and it has a great flavor!! I was delighted as well that tattoo man enjoyed it very much and said it is a keeper to make again!! I love pesto.....but this one is lighter and brighter with the cilantro vs. the basil!! Try it....you will like it!!

You know what's funny that I thought of while typing this??? People either love or hate cilantro.....there seems to be no in between......weird....who hates cilantro???? Not me!!

1 cup raw unsalted pistachios (I actually used half pistachio's and half cashews)
2 cups (packed) fresh cilantro leaves
1 T fresh lemon juice plus juice of half of a lemon
3 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
4 large chicken breast halves with skin and ribs attached or 1 whole chicken cut up or 8 thighs

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toast nuts on baking sheet until golden, about 7 minutes. Transfer to processor. Maintain oven temperature. Add cilantro leaves, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, garlic, cardamom, and 3/4 teaspoon salt to processor. Using on/off turns, process until coarse paste forms. With machine running, gradually add 1/2 cup olive oil. Season with pepper.
Using fingers, gently loosen skin from 1 side of each chicken breast, forming pocket. Spread 1 tablespoon pesto evenly under skin of each. Then rub the pesto all over the tops of all the chicken. Sprinkle chicken generously with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down. Cook until skin is dark golden, about 5 minutes. Turn chicken over and transfer skillet to oven. Roast chicken until cooked through, about 25 minutes.
Remove chicken from oven and drizzle remaining half of lemon juice over all chicken. Serve

Biscuits and Homemade Gravy

Please note....the title of this blog post is 'Biscuits and "Homemade" Gravy' not just gravy. If you use package gravy or heaven forbid....canned gravy *gagging* there should be some law passed against that. You know what.....that's what I will do with all my spare time....I will get a law passed against the inhumane unethical use of unnatural canned and packaged gravies!! Who's with me???? I will be sending out a petition the moment I'm done with this posting, so be sure to check your inbox!!!

I also made homemade biscuits. It really doesn't take long and the extra effort you put in for the homemade versions will definitely pay off in flavor!! Give it a try!! You can do it!! I also served scrangled eggs with these cuz I love to dip my eggs in gravy!! =)

Biscuits

2 cups flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 stick butter
1 cup butter milk

In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, soda, powder, and salt. Next using a pastry blender, incorporate butter into flour mixture until butter is the size of peas or smaller. Add buttermilk until all flour is moistened. Turn on to floured surface and flour top of dough as well. Either roll out with rolling pin or flatten with hands, until 3/4" thick. Either cut into squares or cut with round biscuit cutter. Makes 8-12 depending on size and thickness. Bake in 450 oven for 12-16 minutes.

Homemade Gravy
1 lb ground sausage
3 T flour
2 cups, milk or heavy cream or combo of both
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt (more or less depending on taste)
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Cook sausage until cooked through. Drain drippings reserving 3 T only. Place drippings back in pan with sausage and add flour. Stir for approx 2 minutes to cook out the flour taste. Add milk, pepper, salt and nutmeg. Bring to boil and stir often until it is thickened. Pour over hot biscuits.

Chocolate Cherry Kiss Cookies

Oh my.....what can I say about these cookies....except.....super fabulously delicious!! They are kind of a strange variety of ingredients, but work so well together. AND.....if chocolate and cherries don't go together...than I don't know what does!!

I think these would make great Valentine cookies because of their colors!! I thought about just mixing chocolate chips in the dough to make a more even flow of chocolate throughout the cookie, but the kisses just look sooooo cute on them. Tattoo man and teen #2 both LOVE maraschino cherries so I made these special for them. If I let them they would eat a whole jar in one sitting.

1 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 c. confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. maraschino cherry juice
1/2 tsp. almond extract
A few drops of red food coloring (I actually didn't use any, I like the color they were naturally)

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. maraschino cherries, well drained and chopped
48 milk chocolate Hershey kisses, unwrapped

Combine the first 5 ingredients; blend well. Stir in flour and salt; add cherries and mix well. Form dough into 1" balls (you can refrigerate the dough if it seems to sticky to roll) and place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake @ 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven and immediately top each cookie with a Hershey kiss, pressing lightly. Remove from cookie sheets to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 4 dozen.

Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Style)

Who needs to go to Olive Garden and pay for their soup, when you can make it at home and it tastes better and you know its fresh?? Right?? I could literally make a pot of this and eat it for lunch for as long as it will last!!

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
• 1 large diced white onion
• 4 Tbsp bacon pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, grated on micro plane
• 10 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
• 1/2 of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, and set aside while you cook next ingredients.
2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken stock/broth and sausage to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the kale, let all heat through and serve. Delicious!

Coconut Shrimp

It may sound complicated.....but it's really not! Don't be scerd....you should try it!! The dipping sauce I made was surprisingly delicious too. I don't know if I can tell you the recipe though....cuz I just kinda started throwing stuff in a bowl......soooo.......you might not get that recipe, but you can make up your own sauce.

1 lb 31/40 shrimp, peeled, deviened and cleaned (or larger size)
1 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut (I used unsweetened, which is a finer grind to it, but you can use sweetened)
2 tsp season salt, divided
oil for frying

Heat oil in a deep pan or deep fryer. You will need 3 separate bowls for dipping (I used pie plates) one for flour, one for egg mixture, and one for panko mixture. In the first pan put flour and 1 tsp of season salt, mix well. In the next pan beat eggs with milk and 1/2 tsp season salt. In the third pan put panko, coconut and remaining 1/2 tsp season salt. First put cleaned shrimp into flour mixture, then dip in egg mixture. Finally move to panko mixture, covering shrimp completely with panko/coconut mixture. Carefully drop shrimp into hot oil and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Here is what I put in my dipping sauce....but I don't have measurements. :)

apricot jam, little bit of mayo, mustard, asian garlic chili sauce, garlic, honey, coconut, and a dash of rice wine vinegar. May the force be with you....

Kale Chips and Beet Chips

I've seen several recipes for kale chips and heard that they tasted good, but had never tried them. Then on facebook about a week ago on this super fun FB page called What's Cooking Mom, some of the gals were talking about turnip chips, then someone mentioned beet chips and kale chips......and I was thinking....hey I have some beets in the frig. So when I ran to the store, I picked up some kale and figured why not try them both at the same time!!!!

Well.....they were both excellent....I can't decide which one I like more. The kale chips were light, crunchy and addicting. They make you want to have....just one more. The beet chips have a sweet and savoriness to them and give you different dimensions of flavor the more you chew. So for me I can honestly say, that I cant honestly say which one tastes better!! Which is a good reason to try both!!

Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale, torn into 2" pieces (approximately)
juice of half a lemon
1 T olive oil
1 tsp salt

Wash and dry kale thoroughly. Tear leaves from stems and discard stems. Put in a large bowl and toss with lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Toss around to cover all leaves. Arrange on two large cookie sheets trying not to overlap too much. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min. Check after 8 min. They burn easy....I'm speaking from experience. ;)

Beet Chips

3 beets peeled and slice thin
1 T olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Arrange beets on large cookie sheet and drizzle oil evenly over beets then sprinkle with salt . Bake at 425 for 30-40 minutes.

My version of Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Bowl

Well, last Thursday tattoo man and I (I figure if Pioneer Woman has Marlboro Man.....I'm gonna have tattoo man, since that is what my man does) ;) we visited a little local Vietnamese restaurant that we like to go to. We always order the same thing, the chicken vermicelli noodle bowl. It's absolutely fresh, light, filling and delicious. Now every time we've gone there...the 'chef' and I do use that term loosely, in me is saying, I can do this!!!

So I started planning about 3 days ago. I did some internet research. Read about 25 different recipes. Checked out some Vietnamese restaurant menus. Then made my grocery list, yesterday, went shopping today and got to work. Now just so you know, that most of these bowls are made with rice vermicelli noodles, but to lower the carb value and increase the healthiness I used whole wheat spaghetti noodles. Both my sons said it was great. My youngest, who is not super fond of the restaurants food, said mine was better. My oldest had 2 bowls, he said it was GREAT!! And of course tattoo man said he enjoyed it!!

I'm gonna do my best to talk you through what I did. This recipe is by no means authentic, it was just my version of what I thought that I ate. =) I have absolutely know idea what this lady puts on her chicken or what the spices are. So I just did what I thought was yummy.

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1" chunks
2 cups shredded napa cabbage
1 carrot, julienned
1 cucumber, julienned
1 cup cilantro, washed and chopped roughly
2 cups bean sprouts
5 green onions, diced
1 cup salted peanuts, chopped
1 lb cooked rice vermicelli noodles OR I used whole wheat spaghetti noodles (boil while cooking chicken)

Sauce for Chicken
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used natural)
1 T sugar (I used xylitol)
1 tsp asian garlic chili sauce
1 T fish sauce
1 T rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 clove garlic
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/4 cup chopped peanuts(from above ingredients)
1 tsp sesame oil

Heat a large saute pan until very hot. Put about 2 T of sesame oil in the pan and toss in chopped chicken and cook until cooked through. Mix all above ingredients well in a bowl except peanuts. Pour over cooked chicken while it is still over the heat. Stir over heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and toss in peanuts. Mix well. Set aside.

Dressing to pour over top

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 T sugar (I used xylitol)
1/3 cup fish sauce
1 tsp chopped cilantro
2 cloves grated garlic
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 T asian garlic chili sauce
1/3 cup water

Stir all ingredients together until sugar is dissolved.

Assembly

In a large bowl place 1/2 cup shredded cabbage. Then place 1 cup noodles off to one side of the bowl. On the other side of the bowl put 2/3 cup chicken. Then on the noodles place 1/8 cup of each cilantro, bean sprouts, carrots, and cucumber in a row next to each other. Pour 1/4 cup of dressing over the bowl. Then sprinkle 1/8 cup of peanuts over the whole bowl.

Sausage & Egg Mini's

This recipe is for all my none carb eating peeps.....Can I get an Amen???? Hello......can I get an amen???? *tap tap tap* Is this thing on??

Oh....hehehe...I forgot I was blogging.....but really this could not be easier there are only a handful of ingredients and you don't have to make them in a cupcake pan either....but I did for the cuteness factor. ;) What can I say...I like my food to be cute! I don't think there is anything wrong with that!!

8 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk (I used heavy cream because I am on a no carb no sugar diet and believe it or not there is lots of sugar in milk)
1 tsp season salt
1 lb ground sausage, cooked
12 T of grated cheese (1 T per muffin tin)

Preheat oven to 400 and spray muffin tin with pam cooking spray. Divide sausage equally among 12 muffin cups. Put 1 T of cheese on top of sausage. Beat eggs and add season salt and milk. Pour egg mixture into muffin cups until almost full.

Should look like this. The are going to puff up in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Then gently remove from muffin tin and serve.

                      This is what they look like right out of the oven!!

Blueberry Lemon Scones

Soooo.....I've made these before......I just did some things different this time!! I just love scones and I love blueberries and....well anything with lemon flavor too!! So how could putting all three together be a bad thing....right?? I added a hint of nutmeg to these and it gave them a nice spice taste!!


Have you ever noticed that I try to match my font color to my food pics? Lol....kind of a random question....but it's true!! I like to color coordinate ok? :)


2 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 T lemon zest
2 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 400º F.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and nutmeg; mix thoroughly.  Cut in butter using 2 forks, a pastry blender or your fingers. The butter pieces should be coated with flour and resemble crumbs.

In another bowl, mix the cream, egg, lemon juice and zest together, and then add to the flour mixture. Mix just until partially incorporated, do no overwork the dough.

Toss the blueberries in flour to coat, this will help prevent the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the scone when baked. Fold the blueberries into batter, being careful not to bruise.  Pour sticky dough out onto a well floured surface.  Pat to a ¾ inch height and cut with a pizza cutter into desired triangles or squares.  Place on a non stick baking mat or a baking sheet sprayed lightly with cooking spray.  If desired, brush the tops of the scones with milk and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until brown. Cool before applying lemon glaze.

Lemon Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 T lemon juice

1 T heavy cream

Stir together and spread on warm (but not hot) scones.

Indian Tacos~Fry Bread

If you have never had an indian taco before........WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU???? No....really.....I insist....you must try one......it is a necessary part of life...it should be a priority....if you have a bucket list.....eating one of these should be on there!!! Ok....I feel better now. I've done my duty stressing the importance of placing this marvelous wonder on your taste buds. Gotta give a huge shout out to my neighbor Marcie she is THE AWESOMEST fry bread maker. She taught me how to do it and shared her recipe with me!! THANK YOU MARCIE!!!!

Now to talk about making fry bread! I'm not gonna lie....it took me 3 trys before I got it right. But I do know the secret now!! Alot of recipes call for flour, baking powder, sugar, salt....blah blah blah......you don't need to measure all that stuff out!! You need self rising flour and water!! THAT'S IT!! Remember KISS!! (keep it simple silly) I could seriously just make a giant batch of fry bread and eat it all day long.....although....one thing to note is these taste U~MAZING fresh outta the fryer....but lose their glory as they sit and cool. Anyways....Ive never measured when Ive made these so I'm gonna do my best to give you a recipe for the fry bread part.

Let's talk beans. Depending on where you check/look for recipes for the toppings you will find the MANY different ways people make these. Some people keep the meat and beans separate and some combine them. I'm a combiner!! I just like the taste better and I think it makes your meat go further!! As far as toppings go...traditional are lettuce, cheese and tomatoes. I like to throw on cilantro and onions too and guacamole. Last night I was out of cilantro.....I know I know.....how could that happen....I should be banished from blogging about food....but I was....and I apologize.....please find it in your hearts to forgive me!! Oh and there is no guacamole in the pic either....but I have a perfect excuse for that too!! I was so excited to eat mine and so was the fam, that we all ate ours and I didn't take a pic first. So I had to make another one to photograph and we had eaten all the guacamole by then!! :)

Fry Bread

4 cups self rising flour (no substitutions!!!!)
1 1/2 cups warm water (or enough to make a nice sticky dough, it should form into a nice rounded pile but if you touch it, it should stick to your fingers!!)

Mix water and dough and let sit for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour. Flour the top of your dough and a clean surface very well. Grab a larger than a golf ball but smaller than a baseball sized dough ball and flatten on your floured surface. Should flatten to about 6" round. Fry in a deep fryer or a deep pan with about 3 inches of oil in it. Make sure the oil is very hot before dropping dough in. Fry until golden brown, then flip and do the same for the other side. They cook quick, approx 2-3 minutes on each side.


Beans

1 lb ground beef
1 lb pinto beans, washed thoroughly
1 can diced tomatoes
5 cloves garlic
1 pickled jalapeno, seeded
1 T chicken bouillon or salt as needed for taste
1 med onion, diced
1/2 lb of bacon cut into 1" pieces

Cook ground beef and diced onion over med heat until ground beef is cooked completely. Add in washed beans, tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno, bacon and enough water to cover beans completely. Add in bouillon or salt. Simmer, adding water as necessary, for approx 2-2 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. The water will have thickened into a 'sauce' at this point. You should let the water boil down to where it is level with the beans.

Assembly

Place one fry bread on a plate. Top with bean mixture, lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, onions, guacamole and sour cream. If you don't want to use fresh tomatoes you can eliminate those and just top with salsa or whatever toppings you like!!

Pork 'Cubano' Panini

Pork, pickles and melty cheese. That could be all that I type and EVERYONE should want to make this....right???? I mean pork meat alone is the meat of the Gods (for the record I believe in God and only one God, but how could I possibly describe a meat so wonderful as pork with out saying it is the meat of the Gods) I'm gonna write a song about pork, and its glorious beauty, its wondrous taste its utter marvelousness. So this 'cubano' has all the ingredients that you would find on a typical Cuban panini if you went to a Cuban restaurant. Its got roasted pork, slice ham, swiss cheese, and pickles. Yummy for my tummy!! So last night a made a pork butt roast and today I made these with the leftovers!!

1 lb pork roast, sliced 1/4" thin
4 ham slices, halved
8 dill pickle slices
8 slices swiss cheese
4 long sandwich rolls
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup mustard
2 cloves garlic, grated on micro plane
butter for pan

Slice rolls in half if needed. Mix mayo, mustard and garlic in a bowl. Spread sauce over one side of each roll. Slice cheese in half and put one halved (one slice) slice on the bottom of each roll. Next put the roasted pork meat, then the ham, then the pickles. Now top with the other halved cheese slice. Put the top roll on. Butter your panini maker, if you do not have one you can just fry in frying pan, or if you are like me....I have a large cast iron griddle pan and a hand press with the grill lines on it. I just place my hand press on the griddle pan while its heating. Place sandwiches on panini maker and close lid. Brown until a deep golden brown color and the bread is very crunchy.

Tuna Veggie Casserole......I love old school food!!

There is just something about old school classic meals that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Things like tuna casserole, meatloaf, mac & cheese, beef stroganoff, and sooooo many more. I feel like Mrs. Cleaver or Wilma Flinestone.......ok maybe not Wilma....but you know what I mean. They just feel like authentic classic American fill you up kinda meals. That is a great feeling to have after making a meal. So I'm gonna giving you my version of Tuna Casserole, I threw in some veggies....you know cuz I can. :)

Here is just a few of the ingredients I used. Take note...I used whole wheat noodles!!
1 12-16 oz pkg of noodles of your choice
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 T capers
2 cups broccoli, chopped
2 cans tuna, drained
2 cups grated cheese, any kind you like
3 cloves garlic
3 T butter
3 T flour
2 cups milk or broth and milk or heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
a pinch of nutmeg

Chop your veggies like so........and while you are chopping your veggies you should be boiling your noodles. Once the noodle have boiled drain them and set them aside to make your sauce.

     In your pan combine your butter and flour and mix around for about 2 min to cook out the flour taste.

Whisk in your milk, cream or combo of both and whisk until all the lumps are gone. Add cheese and whisk until smooth. Now add salt and pepper to taste, nutmeg, all veggies, grated garlic and capers, and tuna. Cook until sauce is very thick and veggies are tender, about 5 minutes. Toss in noodles and stir until everything is coated!! Serve