Another one from the Deen Bros.

Corn Bread Casserole with Fresh Corn and Green Onions
The Deen Bros. Y’All Come Eat Copyright 2008

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus additional for coating pan
1 cup fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears of corn)
1 15-ounce can cream-style corn
1 cup sour cream I used lite sour cream
1 8-ounce box corn muffin mix
6 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the ½ cup melted butter, the fresh corn, cream-style corn, sour cream, muffin mix, green onions, pepper and salt. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.
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I love corn and I love green onions so I couldn't pass up this recipe. It was good! I was surprised that even my husband scarfed it down. I don't know why I was surprised but I was. My son wouldn't touch it. Picky.

Someone brought something like this to a cookout we attended last year so I know I'm not the only one who likes this kind of thing (people usually bring their favorite recipes to cookouts). I like the addition of the green onions but you could add whatever you like - jalapenos would be good.

I got to use the corn scraper an online friend sent me way back when. I should have taken a picture of it - it looks like a vegetable peeler. It works great. I love when I get to use one of my gadgets.

Question: Do you suffer from kitchen gadgetitis (the inability to pass up a kitchen gadget)? I think I have a mild case of it.

My deepest apologies

Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole
Women’s Circle Cooking with Taste

½ cup chopped onions
½ cup sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups hot cooked rice
2 cups cubed chicken breast
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli (steamed) or 1 (10-ounce) package frozen broccoli, thawed
1 (10 ¾ ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, condensed
1//2 cup (2 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese I used about 4 ounces - 2 ounces mixed in and 2 ounces on top

Simmer onions and mushrooms in large skillet with butter until tender. Stir in rice, chicken, broccoli, and soup. Pour into buttered 1 ½ quart baking dish. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
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I owe my deepest apologies to the Women's Circle cookbooks that I have been ignoring for years. No, you don't have flashy pictures but you do have great recipes. I am now 2-for-2. First, yesterday's Mexican Meat Loaf was a standout and now this casserole was absolutely delicious.

I had leftover grilled chicken and leftover rice so I went looking for a recipe that would use those items. I almost passed over this casserole since I still needed to buy mushrooms, broccoli, cream of mushroom soup and cheese but I couldn't find anything better so I put it on the menu, not with a lot of excitement I should admit.

Another reason I chose this recipe is that it only used one can of soup. I don't mind using canned soup in a recipe but it's not so inexpensive that I want to be throwing multiple cans in a recipe. Most casseroles I came across called for more than one can. Then, I made this on Sunday for Tuesday and by the time we were about to eat it I was convinced it would be dry and I should have gone with a multiple-can recipe. Not to worry - it wasn't dry (I used the microwave to reheat it). It was also surprisingly good. I wasn't expecting to like it so much but it was yummy. My husband loved it too but my son has been getting pickier and pickier lately. This just wasn't for him.

I feel like I'm on a roll. I've been having lots of recipe success lately. I hope it continues.

Question of the Day: Do you enjoy making something new out of leftovers? I love it.

Meat loaf and a traffic jam

Mexican Meat Loaf
Women's Circle Cooking With Taste

1 1/2 pound ground beef
1 medium onion -- chopped
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup taco sauce
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1 egg -- beaten
1/2 cup tortilla chips -- finely crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 dash black pepper

Combine all ingredients; mix well. Pack into an oiled 8 inch loaf pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 1/4 hours or until done.
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I wanted something that would go along with a corn dish you will read about later and Mexican meat loaf popped into my mind. It wasn't hard to track down a recipe. I wasn't sure my son would eat this version of meat loaf but he ate two servings. I chopped the veggies very, very fine.
This tasted so good to me but I must add the disclaimer that we were stuck in traffic for an hour and a half last night. I'm sure if that clouded my judgement or not. It's nights like that when I really appreciate the cooking ahead I've been doing on the weekend. We probably would have been eating McDonald's if I didn't have dinner ready to go. I just needed to heat the meat loaf up on the Griddler and I nuked the side dish and we were eating dinner. Finally. I was so hungry on the ride home but fortunately I had to pee really badly and that provided a distraction from my hunger (that and a screaming 10-month old).

The only thing I would change is I would use a taco sauce with a higher heat level next time. I used mild this time and I wouldn't have minded a little more kick in this.

This is a strange sort of cookbook. It was one of the first things I purchased from a dollar store when they first arrived on the scene in Philadelphia back in the 90s. It's built like a crossword puzzle book - soft cover, newspaper-like pages, all black ink, no pictures. I couldn't even find a copyright date. I have two cookbooks like this. They repeat many recipes, even within same cookbook several times so although this one boasts 1200 recipes, that doesn't mean 1200 distinct recipes but there are a lot of recipes. They don't sound like bad recipes either so I don't know why I've tended to pass over these books when looking for recipes. I don't think I will anymore based on this meat loaf recipe. I have another recipe from this book coming up this week too.

Question of the Day: What time do you usually eat dinner?

Muffins from the Deen Bros.

Peaches-and-Cream Muffins
The Deen Bros. Y’All Come Eat Copyright 2008

Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted I used salted
1 cup sour cream I used lite sour cream
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (15-ounce) can sliced peaches, drained and chopped into ¼-inch pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, butter, sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Gently fold in the peaches.
3. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let muffins cool in pans for 10 minutes. Serve immediately or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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I'm glad to see that the Deen brothers have been able to parlay their mother's successful career into a profitable career of their own. From what I understand of their history, her boys were a huge part in her restaurant success so I think they've earned it. I prefer their cookbooks over Paula's although I honestly haven't seen any of Paula's besides her first few which were pretty dull stylistically speaking.

I believe this is just a variation of one of Paula's recipes. I've seen a basic muffin recipe attributed to her made from the self-rising flour, butter and sour cream. I had some trouble but I don't think you can blame the Deen Bros. I used a silicone muffin pan which definitely made it easier to remove these from the pan but I didn't get enough browning after 35 minutes. Was it the pan? I don't have much experience with silicone bakeware. I should have cooked them a bit longer I think but it was already over 35 minutes when I took these out. Also, I had several other things cooking in the oven at the same time which might have affected the baking of these muffins.

I love biscuits so I thought these were good with their biscuit-like texture but were they worth two sticks of butter? I'm not so sure. That doesn't mean they weren't good but two sticks of butter AND sour cream?? (I used lite sour cream but, come on, that really didn't lighten this recipe very much). A recipe with that much fat should knock my socks off and I don't think I can say that about this recipe. Very good, yes. Fantastic, no.

Question of the Day: What do you think of the Deen Bros?

Not quite the real thing but still delicious

Orange Beef
Quick and Easy Chinese Copyright 2008

¾ pound thinly sliced beef
2 tablespoons soy sauce I used light soy sauce
2 tablespoons thinly shredded fresh orange or tangerine peel or dried orange peel I used fresh orange peel
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons dry sherry or Shaoxing rice wine
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon dark soy sauce I didn't have dark soy so I used light soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt I think that was a bit much
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup shredded carrots
½ teaspoon Asian sesame oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped green onion

In a small bowl, combine the beef with the soy sauce and toss to season meat evenly.Set aside for 10 minutes.

Combine the orange peel, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl, and stir to mix them together lightly.

In a medium bowl, combine the sherry, orange juice, sugar, cornstarch, dark soy sauce and salt. Stir well to dissolve the cornstarch and mix everything into a smooth sauce.

Heat the vegetable oil over high heat in a wok or a large, deep skillet. Scatter in the beef and its marinade and spread the beef out into a single layer. Let it cook undisturbed for about 15 seconds, and then toss well. Add the carrots and cook, tossing now and then, until the beef is no longer pink and the carrots are beginning to wilt, about 1 minute.

Add the orange peel mixture and cook, tossing often, until it releases its fragrance, about 30 seconds.

Add the orange juice mixture, pouring it in around the sides of the pan and toss well. Cook, tossing now and then, until the beef is tender and evenly seasoned with the sauce. Add the sesame oil and green onion, toss well, and transfer to a serving dish. Serve hot or warm.
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Orange beef was one of my favorite Chinese dishes to order in Chinese restaurants but due to my son's peanut allergy we don't visit Chinese restaurants anymore. I picked up this cookbook so I could cook some Chinese dishes at home. While this isn't quite the same as what I remember getting in Chinese restaurants, it was quite good (spicy!) and it was 'quick and easy' as the book title says.

I really like this cookbook. All the recipes are very doable at home and authentic enough, although not exactly the same as you would find in a restaurant but home cooking rarely turns out that way.

As simple as this was, it was the most complicated dinner recipe I've made in quite some time. I will probably start cooking more during the week as our weekends get busier. As long as I can find more recipes like this, I'll be fine.

I just realized now how close this was to the Spicy Orange Beef I've made in the past. Today's recipe had a tad bit more depth but they are both great recipes.

Question of the Day: How often do you eat (restaurant) Chinese food?