Mini Corn Dog Muffins

In my opinion you can not have chili without cornbread.  Since my husband was bringing chili (see post below) his potluck at work,  I wanted to make something with cornbread to accompany it.  I searched the internet and found the great idea of putting a piece of hotdog in corn muffins.  What genius can up with this idea, I don't know but I would like to thank them!  I love sweet corn bread so that is what I used for my mini corn dog muffins.  I found a great recipe here http://saffronstreaks.com/recipes/southern-honey-cornbread-muffins/  for sweet corn bread muffins.  I doubled the recipe and I got about 18 mini muffins.  Cut each hotdog into six pieces, fill each mini muffin tin with a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop of corn bread mixture then press one piece of hotdog in the middle of each muffin. Bake and enjoy!

Recipe: Southern honeyed corn muffins

Summary: Sweet and tender cornbread muffins in southern style, with honey and sour cream results in more tender crumbs.

The recipe has been adapted from foodnetwork

Ingredients

• Yellow cornmeal : 1/2 cup
• All-purpose flour : 1/2 cup
• Baking powder : 1/2 tsp
• Baking soda : 1/2 tsp
• Brown sugar : 1/4 cup
• Honey : 1/4 cup
• Salt : 1/8 tsp
• Sour cream : 1/2 cup
• Egg : 1
• Butter : 3 tbsp melted

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven at 400 F.
2. Grease and flour mini muffin pan.
3. In a bowl sift the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg and add the melted butter, honey, sugar and sour cream and mix it well.
5. Add the egg-butter-sugar-cream mixture into the flour-cornmeal mixture.
6. With a cutting action mix the dry and wet ingredients together until well incorporated.
7. Do not over mix the batter, it should be lumpy.
8. Divide and spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until done.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Award Winning Chili

My husband was having a pot luck for Super bowl at his work and he signed up to bring chili.  I turned to the internet of course and found this recipe http://www.food.com/recipe/award-winning-chili-105865 It uses both black beans and kidney beans so I decided to try it out.  It didn't hurt that it got really great reviews.  Everyone at my husband's work LOVED it, I must say it is the best chili that I have had! 

Ingredients:
 

1 lb ground venison or 1 lb ground beef or 1 lb ground turkey  (I used 85% lean 15% fat ground beef)
2 onions, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 tablespoon jalapeno, finely chopped
1 (14 ounce) can Mexican-style tomatoes (like Rotel)
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika (smoked if you can find it)
1 (14 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup water (I substituted beef stock & only added about 3/4 cup because we like our chili a bit thick)

 

Toppings

sour cream
cheddar cheese
green onion

Directions:

1.  Cook ground meat with onions and peppers in dutch oven.
2.  Drain excess grease and add tomatoes, seasonings, and beef stock, bring to a boil.
3.  Add beans, cover and simmer 1-2 hours. (I like to cook mine for about 4 hours)
4.  Serve with toppings.

Enjoy!

S'More Cupcakes

Double Crunch Honey Garlic Pork Chop With Pork Fried Rice

 

I have been finding lots of great recipes on Pintrest lately.  Here is another one that I tried and will definitely be making again.  I paired it with my Pork Fried Rice which you can find the recipe for on my blog.  The recipe came from this site http://www.nlrockrecipes.com/2011/04/double-crunch-honey-garic-pork-chops.html


6 center loin pork chops, well trimmed

Sift together:

1 cup flour 2 tsp salt 2 tsp black pepper 1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger 1 tbsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp ground thyme 1 tsp ground sage 1 tbsp paprika 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Make an egg wash by whisking together:

2 eggs 4 tbsp water

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, then dip the chops in the flour and spice mixture. Dip the chop into the egg wash and then a final time into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the chop to get good contact.

Heat a skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. You will want to carefully regulate the temperature here so that the chops do not brown too quickly on the outside before they are fully cooked on the inside. I find just below medium heat works well. I use a burner setting of about 4 1/2 out of 10 on the dial and fry them gently for about 4 or 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.
Drain on a wire rack for a couple of minutes before dipping the cooked chops into the Honey Garlic Sauce. 

Serve with noodles or rice.
Honey Garlic Sauce:
In a medium saucepan add 
2 tbsp olive oil 3 – 4 cloves minced garlic Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown. 

Add: 1 cup honey ¼ cup soy sauce 1 tsp ground black pepper

Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Watch this carefully as it simmers because it can foam up over the pot very easily.

Whale Baby Shower Cake

Salsa Chicken (Slow Cooker)

Wow, I can't believe it has been over a year since I posted anything on here.  I have lots of  recipes to share and pictures that I have on my camera to upload.  Stay tuned for some yummy goodness.  I will start off with a recipe that I found on Pintrest that is now a staple in my house.  I make it at least once a month and always have some in my freezer.  I hope you all enjoy.  Leave me a comment if you try it.

Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless chicken breast
1 cup non chunky salsa (if you can't find non chunky puree in the blender or food processor)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 package of taco seasoning (I prefer Pioneer brand)
1 cup sour cream
1 small can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 cup frozen corn
green onion
tortilla strips
jalapeno jack cheese (or any shredded cheese you prefer, we like heat)

Directions:

1. Place soup and salsa in the slow cooker and stir until well mixed.
2. Add the chicken on top of the soup mixture and sprinkle taco seasoning all over the chicken.
3. Cook on low for about 5-6 hours.  Take the chicken out and shred it in a bowl.
4. Stir in the sour cream to the slow cooker until well blended. Add shredded chicken, beans, and      frozen corn and cook for an additional 45 minutes.
5. Serve over white rice, top with green onion, cheese, and tortilla strips.

* I always double my recipe and freeze the leftovers for those days you don't feel like cooking.

Enjoy!

Korean-Style Spicy Chicken Wings (매운 닭 날개)

Korean-Style Spicy Chicken Wings (매운 닭 날개)
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
5 lbs Chicken wings, separated into wings and drummettes, tips discarded. I used all drummettes for mine.

Marinade
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Sauce
¼ cup honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons red pepper paste (고주장)
2 tablespoons sake (I didn't have sake so I used white wine)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoons roasted sesame seed

Chopped scallions for sprinkling

Method
In a small bowl, mix together marinade ingredients, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and black pepper. Wash chicken wings and pat dry. Rub marinade all over chicken massaging them well. Set aside and allow chicken wings to rest with marinade at least 30 minutes, or overnight. (If you’re going to allow them to sit in the marinade over night, then cover and refrigerate. If you’re going to cook in 30 minutes, leave wings at room temperature.)

Preheat oven to 350. Line roasting pan with tin foil. Roast chicken wings for 40 to 50 minutes. While wings are baking, in a small bowl, make the sauce, mixing together honey, soy sauce, red pepper paste, sake, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and sesame seed. Remove wings from oven.

Increase oven temperature to 500. Brush sauce onto each wing, coating fully. Return wings to the oven, cooking for an additional 2 minutes, until sauce begins to caramelize. Remove wings from heat, and spread one more layer of sauce. Return wings to the oven, and allow them to cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes. I cooked mine a little longer than this because I like my chicken wings crispy.

Sprinkle wings with scallions.