Basic Cornmeal Muffins

These muffins are a crowd favorite!  Many people forget about cornmeal when they make muffins or bread.   The favorite variations from my grade 9 students  are either strawberry jam or a combo of cheese/bacon/green onions.  Remember to cook your bacon first and crumble it into the batter.  A small hint about the cheese:  use a sharp tasting cheese to not lose the flavor of the cheese:  old cheddar, smoked cheese, blue cheese, parmesan, or you think of a few.....Enjoy!

BASIC CORNMEAL MUFFINS

 

Ingredients:

 

125 ml          cornmeal

125 ml          buttermilk or sour milk

 

125 ml          flour

30 ml           granulated sugar

5 ml             baking powder

1.25ml          salt

 

    ½             egg

30 ml           oil

 

 30 ml          chosen variation – cheese, jalepenos, jam, berries, corn, bacon, ham, etc.

 

 

Method:

 

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Line muffin tin with liners.

 

1. Combine cornmeal and buttermilk and let stand for 10 minutes.
2.   In medium bowl, combine dry ingredients 
3.   Lightly beat egg.  Add oil and stir well.  Add to cornmeal mixture. 
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.  YOU MAY ADD YOUR VARIATION AT THIS STEP OR AT #5. 
5. Spoon batter into muffin tins.  Using a small spoon, make a well in the center of each muffin and fill with 5 ml of each variation.    
6.   Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Let muffins sit for a few minutes before removing them from the pan.

Peri Peri Chicken or Prawns

 

 

This marinade is soooo delicious on either butterflied chicken or prawns.   I learned this recipe from a Mission Hill Winery South African culinary seminar many years ago.  I use it quite often as what else can I do with all the hot peppers my husband has been drying out.....see photo below!

 

 

Here is the recipe for the marinade:

 

Ingredients:

 

1 kg prawns  OR 1 whole chicken  (bigger prawns are better...on skewers to BBQ)

 

 

2 peri peri peppers or red fresno peppers...I have used both fresh and dried of many varieties of hot red peppers

 

4 tbsp.  fresh lemon juice

 

1 tbsp. chopped garlic

 

1 tbsp. paprika

 

1 tsp. salt

 

150 mL  corn oil

 

 

 

Method:

 

 

- Remove stem from peppers.  Add peppers, garlic, lemon juice, paprika and salt into a mortar and grind OR blend in a blender or food processor.

 

- Add oil SLOWLY and mix.

 

 

- Marinate the peeled prawns for 30 minutes OR marinate the whole butterflied chicken overnight!

 

 

- Place prawns on skewers and grill OR grill the chicken as you would a butterflied chicken....low and slow!

 

- YUMMY!!!  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

PART of our hot pepper collection with a double batch of the sauce!

 

 

 

 

A butterflied chicken freshly marinated!

Chicken Fajitas with Marinated Purple Cabbage

This post is going to be brief, and I don't have a photo as it was too delicious to pause and take one! 
This fajita seasoning is a GREAT substitute for the packaged seasoning in the stores.  I used half the recommened sugar, and it was great!  I think a suitable ratio would be to use this on 3 chicken breasts sliced, 3 peppers sliced, and 1 onion sliced. I recommend three different colours of peppers for something visually appealing.  Once the chicken is cooked and the veggies are added and softened, add your spice mixture.  You will need to add some water to make a sauce as the cornstarch is in the spice mixture to thicken the sauce!   It depends on how much filling you put in each tortilla to really judge how many they make.  Don't forget a dollop of sour cream inside!  For extra flavor and texture, try placing the marinated purple cabbage inside as well - YUM! 




http://allrecipes.com/recipe/232967/fajita-seasoning/












Marinated Purple Cabbage:

½ head of purple cabbage

1 to 2 ratio of fresh lime juice: olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Slice or chop cabbage.  Massage oil on cabbage to soften.  Add lime juice; and salt and pepper to taste! 

Moroccan Style Eggs with Chorizo, Feta, and Spicy Tomato Sauce

 

I have been seeing a lot of Shakshuka recipes in magazines for March/April this year, so I was reminded of this recipe that I saw while watching the Show of Hearts Variety Telethon way back in February.

 

The aromas that are created while sautéing and simmering this recipe are simply divine.  I made it with four eggs, but really, you could use more eggs as it makes a LOT of sauce.  Personally, I will make this again for a pasta sauce leaving out the eggs.  I was not a fan of the texture of the eggs in the end.  I like baked eggs, but these turn out a bit different due to the sauce.  They are a poached egg cooked in the oven, due to all the liquid, I guess.  We had leftover sauce, so we ended up having it for dinner the next night served with pasta.  It was soooo good! 

 

The website is worth checking out as there are a few other neat recipes as well that were demonstrated on the Variety Show as well.

 

 

http://www.variety.bc.ca/blog/_entry/valentines-day-brunch-recipes 

Sautéed Onions and Chorizo

 

Adding in Red Peppers and Fennel Slices 

The Finished Product

Asiago Tuna Melts on Tomato Spinach Beds

I love tuna melts, so I was very pleased to find this recipe in the Alive magazine.  I did not make the spinach beds, though.  This recipe is VERY easy to make and is great to have in the fridge as leftovers for another snack or meal.  I did find that the lemon juice was a bit overpowering though.  I will make these again and was left with two questions:

1) Would my students eat these as they are a perfect level of difficulty for the grade 8s?  (tomatoes and tuna might be a tough sell)

2) What other nutritious and economical fillings could I stuff the tomatoes with besides the usual breadcrumb/cheese mixtures?

Give these a go...they are great with a side salad or on their own!


http://www.alive.com/recipe/asiago-tuna-melts-on-tomato-spinach-beds/

Ready for the Fridge

The Finished Product

Chipotle Chicken and Vegetable Soup

The September/October 2015 Eating Well magazine issue has a fabulous two page spread on Changeable Chicken Soup.  If you can get your hands on a copy of this issue, it is worth looking at pages 90 and 91 among others!  They offer MANY suggestions for a 5 step process of making chicken soup:  seasonings, broth, vegetables, fiber, flavour boost.   One could easily make hundreds of soup combinations from their ideas.

They provided 5 recipes with one of them being the Chipotle Chicken and Vegetable Soup.  This recipe is a keeper.  Of course, I added more chipotle peppers as we like spicy soup.  I cubed the chicken instead of shredding it, and I used leftover rice pilaf from the previous nights dinner to boost the fibre instead of just plain brown rice (ironically, I had exactly 3 cups leftover!!).  Other than that, I left it as is....oh...and I did use homemade broth.  It made a lot, so I froze half in hope that it does freeze well.   The addition of the lime at the end is FABULOUS and necessary with the heat...oops!

Next plan:  I want to try and make Moroccan Chicken and Sweet Potato Soup,  Pesto Chicken and Cannellini Bean Soup or even get creative and make up my own!!

Check out the eatingwell.com website for MANY soup ideas or other great recipes!   I am so glad that this magazine gets hand delivered to me at my work and that I can access their website...two EXCELLENT resources!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chipotle_chicken_vegetable_soup.html

Soup's on!

Greek Lemon Roasted Potatoes

 

 

So...I haven't found a new recipe that I have been yearning to try out.  I have had the opportunity to make a recipe that goes waaay back and is all about my favorite things....good friends, potluck THEME dinners,  simple ingredients that result in flavourful food, great conversation, big belly laughs, and memories to last a lifetime!

 

A good friend of mine and lifetime mentor shared this recipe at least 17/18 years ago.  This is a recipe that she developed by combining a few recipes from a few sources (one of my favorite hobbies!).  I make this recipe when I need to bring a dish to a potluck, especially if the theme is GREEK!   One thing about this recipe is that it needs to be doubled to make sure that you will have leftovers!  Don't serve everything you make....stash some aside in your fridge to be sure that you will indeed have some leftover!  

 

Here it is!  Thank you to KB for letting me share this with all of you!

 

8 large potatoes, peeled

1 cup water

1/2 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed is best!

1/3 cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. salt...maybe less depending on your taste buds

2 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. pepper

 

 

Preheat oven to 325 F.

 

Cut potatoes into wedges and place in shallow baking dish.  (Note...if  using softer potatoes....I cut them in half...)

 

Pour ingredients over potatoes and stir to coat well.

 

Bake at 325...turn occasionally to keep spuds moist!

 

Bake approx.  2 hours until tender and most of  liquid is absorbed/evaporated.

 

 

The biggest thing for me is to trust this recipe!  It will seem like a LOT of liquid.  It will work out.  Even after 1.5 hours...you might be doubtful....give it at least 2 hours and trust the process.  It will be worth it.  This recipe is simple and DELICIOUS!   I am grateful for every memory/opportunity that this recipe has brought me over the years!   I hope that it yields the same results....simple, amazing, delicious food with the added bonus of getting loved ones together to create some fond memories around a table!  C'est la vie!

 



 

 

 

 

Ready for the oven! 

 

 

Yummy!!!  Ready for Dinner!