Casserole #16 - Hominy Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #16 - Hominy Casserole

    This recipe is based on a recipe in the Garvin County Extension Homemakers "Recipe Book 1980". The Garvin County Extension Homemakers is a group associated with Oklahoma State University's extension in Paul's Valley, Oklahoma.  The original recipe was submitted by Oleda Flud of Erin Springs. I will give you the original recipe and normally I show my modifications in italics, however I'll write out my whole recipe for you, because I changed it just enough to warrant it being a new recipe. I really liked this dish, even though I did not have fresh or canned jalapeno, and put too much pickled jalapeno (which I did have) for my taste. I had had to use jarred pickled jalapeno, because I thought I had canned chilis and didn't. I suggest adding jalapeno or green chilis to taste. 

Hominy Casserole (my version):

16 oz can white hominy, drained

1/2 cup green chiles or diced jalapeno (canned or fresh), optional

1/3 cup onion, chopped, optional

8 oz sour cream

1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (use cheddar or Monterrey Jack)

1 tsp taco seasoning

1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine hominy, jalapeno, onion, sour cream, seasonings, and most of the cheese, reserving about 1/2 cups. Spray a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Pour hominy mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (the cheese should be bubbly). Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving as a main dish or with baked chicken. When serving, sprinkle with extra seasoning if you like.

Hominy Casserole

Hominy Casserole

Hominy Casserole 

Hominy Casserole

Hominy Casserole - Oleda Flud's Version:

3 cans yellow hominy

2 small cans chopped green chiles or jalapeno 

1 large carton sour cream

2 lbs shredded cheddar cheese

cayenne pepper, to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Bake in casserole dish at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. 

Appetizer #16 - Sweet Caramelized Onion Dip

 The Year of Appetizers

Appetizer #16 - Sweet Caramelized Onion Dip

Published in 2009, the Hungry Girl 200 under 200  - 200 recipes under 200 calories, has lots of tasty healthier than normal recipes. While this is the first recipe I've made from this cookbook, I liked it so much, that I definitely want to try more. Full disclosure, I did not make a lower calorie version of this recipe. I used regular sour cream, mayonnaise and cream cheese, so that's what I'll show in the recipe. YOU can obviously use fat-free cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream for the lower calorie version. This dip took a while to make, but it is really good and is so worth it. Make it the day before you want to serve, as it the flavors get all happy together after a few hours. Serve with veggies, chips or crackers.  I had my first serving on cucumber slices. This is one of my favorites in the Year of Appetizers. If you like onions, make this. It's delicious. 

Ingredients:

2 large sweet onions, chopped

6 tbsps cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp softened butter, light butter or buttery spread

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Melt butter on medium-high heat, add chopped onions and seasonings. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. The pile of chopped onions will cook down. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, until the onion is browned and caramelized. While you're cooking the onion, whisk together the cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream until smooth.  Place the bowl in the refrigerator. When the onions are caramelized, add the Dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar. Cook for five more minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cool. When onion mixture is cool, remove the cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream mixture from the refrigerator and the onions to the bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined. You can serve now or return to the refrigerator for the flavors to get happy. Serve with crackers, thick potato chips or veggies. 

Sweet Caramelized Onion Dip

Pie Number Ten - Bacon Cheese Pie

 The Year of Pie

Pie #10 Bacon-Cheese Pie

Yeah, so finally writing this post for this pie that I made like two or three weeks ago. It's been another period, where life has been getting in the way of my baking. This Bacon-Cheese Pie is from my favorite cookbook, the Pillsbury Family Cook Book, sixth printing in 1970. I think because of the bacon, I would consider using 1/2 teaspoon salt instead of a full teaspoon. And, mine didn't seem to "set" really well, even though I baked it at the designated temperature, for the allotted time. That said, my crust was good and I really liked this quiche-like pie.  I would definitely make this again. 

Ingredients:

8 or 9 inch unbaked pie crust (I did a 9 inch pie crust)

1/2 pound sliced bacon (I chopped mine)

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I used Monterrey Jack)

3 eggs

2/3 cup (6-oz can) evaporated milk

1 1/3 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt 

dash pepper

dash cayenne pepper

1/2 cup baby spinach washed and chopped (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Make your favorite pie crust. You can also buy pie crust dough or a pre-made crust. Chop bacon, frying until crisp and drain. Sprinkle into the bottom of your unbaked pie crust. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the bacon. Beat eggs slightly with both milks and seasonings. Pour egg mixture over the bacon and cheese. Sprinkle baby spinach on top, if desired. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of the pie, comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes. 

You can also add 1/4 finely minced onion in with the egg mixture and you could substitute ham for bacon. 

Serves 6-8

Bacon-Cheese Pie

Bacon Cheese Pie

Bacon-Cheese Pie: Showing that it was thoroughly cooked but still a bit soft. 

Week 37 - Bierocks

 Bierocks

Week 37 of 52

Appetizer #5

    Bierocks are yummy, savory stuffed rolls. They're stuffed with ground meat (ground beef in this recipe), onion, sauerkraut and seasoning. Wikipedia tells us that Bierocks originated in Russia and were brought to America in the 1870s by German/Russian Mennonites.  They are popular among those of Russian and German ancestry. I have some German ancestry, and I'm studying the German language on Duolingo. So, when I saw this recipe, I was intrigued. This version is in the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Plano "From our Family to Yours" cookbook, published in 2016.  I never thought I'd buy sauerkraut (which I'd never tried before last night).  I liked the tangy-ness of the sauerkraut and it makes me so happy to successfully tried something I've never had. I made a couple of modifications to the recipe, which I'll highlight in italics and I was really pleased with how this came out. The original recipe says you can make three dozen. I ended up with two dozen and I liked the finished size.  I am curious about trying to make a smaller version, so I'll probably make these again. D

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (Don't worry too much about the leanness of it, because you're going to drain of the grease)

1 16oz can sauerkraut, rinsed and drained (I used a 14 1/2 oz can)

1 package onion soup mix

1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced thinly

cayenne, to taste (I used 1 teaspoon)

1 teaspoon paprika

2 to 3 cans refrigerated crescent rolls (I used 3 cans of 8 rolls which gave me 24 Bierocki)

1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, completely brown your ground beef, adding the onion about half-way through. When the onion is soft, drain the grease from the pan, return to the stove and stir in your soup mix and seasoning(s) followed by the sauerkraut. Make sure all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Lightly grease baking sheets (as many as you need for 24 Bierocki). The original recipe says to carefully unroll the dough, pinch together the dough and then cut into small squares. What worked for me was unrolling the dough, separating the pieces and bringing the small pointed bit up to the wide end.  So, it's more square than triangular.  Pat the dough out a bit and then spoon filling into the middle. Wrap the dough around the filling and pinch together. Place the seam side down on your baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. For my oven, a little bit less than 30 minutes would work. ou can freeze these, by wrapping completely cooled Bierocki in foil or other freezer wrap and store in your freezer. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator, and bake in vented foil at 300 degrees for 15 to 25 minutes. 

Bierocki

My first Bierocki!

Week 36 - Barley, Black Bean and Corn Burritos

 Barley, Black Bean and Corn Burritos

Week 36 of 52

Vegetarian Entree #5

    Let me start with the fact that you can make this Barley, Black Bean and Corn mix and make a burrito bowl like I did, or you can make burritos. Depending on your serving sizes, you could get at least 8 or 9  servings of two burritos each. With a couple of good sized scoops on bowl of rice, you could probably get about 8 bowls. I liked this recipe, as it was fairly easy to put together and it is a slow-cooker recipe.  The recipe comes from the Southern Living - Slow Cooker Cookbook published in 2002. Notes/Modifications in italics.

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilis (not drained)

1 cup uncooked fine barley 

2 cups vegetable broth (the recipe calls for chicken broth, but, um, that doesn't make it vegetarian)

3/4 cups frozen corn (whole kernel)

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (I used bottled lime juice)

1 teaspoon ground cumin (I didn't have cumin, so I used extra chili powder)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (Plus extra for decoration)

shredded cheddar or monterrey jack (Optional)

shredded lettuce (optional)

salsa (Optional; I used medium heat)

sour cream (Optional)

18 tortillas if you are making burritos

2 cups cooked white rice if you are making bowls

Directions:

Add the first eleven ingredients to a 3 to 4 quart slow cooker and combine thoroughly. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hrs or until the barley is tender. I cooked the full five hours. Stir in cilantro. 

Bowls: Place a couple of scoops of cooked rice into a bowl and top with the Barley, Black Bean and Corn mixture. Add spoonfuls of sour cream and salsa. Sprinkle cheese over top, followed by a sprinkle of chopped cilantro. 

Burritos: Heat tortillas evenly on both sides on low to medium heat on a cast-iron comal, griddle or skillet. Basically, whatever you use to cook pancakes, you can use to heat tortillas. You want the tortillas to be warm and flexible. If you overcook them, they'll get too crispy to roll. Heat tortillas one at a time. In the center of each tortilla, spoon some of the Barley, Black Bean and Corn mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and roll up. The recipe in the book says to make a bed of lettuce and lay the burritos on the lettuce, but nope, that is not for me. Top with salsa, sour cream and chopped cilantro. 

Barley, Black Bean and Corn Bowl