Baked Eggs

http://epicureanbliss.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/when-an-egg-met-a-cupcake-tin/

I started with that page but made lots of changes.

I used a six muffin tin (non-stick) sprayed with PAM. I used a round cookie cutter and cut a round circle out of the middle of six slices of ham. Then, I put the "round" in the bottom of the muffin tin. I cut the remainder of the ham into small pieces. I put in a bit of shredded cheese and
a small dollop of hot pepper relish, and some dried onion bits. (on top of the round ham slice).

I scrambled three eggs with a bit of milk and minced garlic and some of the ham bits and poured that into three of the "cups".
I broke the other three eggs individually into the other three cups. I put some
cilantro on top. Then into the oven at 350 degrees for ten minutes. Then I sprinkled some
shredded cheese on top (and the rest of the ham bits on top of the non scrambled eggs) and back into the oven for about five minutes.

When the white part of the eggs gets a bit fluffy and the yolks are no longer runny,
take them out. Wait one minute, and then turn the muffin tin over onto a plate and the eggs come right out.

Creamed Potatoes and Peas

I had some frozen peas thawing out and my plans were to bake some potatoes to go along with the meatloaf I took out of the freezer, but I decided to try CREAMED POTATOES AND PEAS.

This is what I did
I cut the potatoes into bit sized pieces and placed in a pot of water. I brought it to a boil and cooked the potatoes until they were a touch away from being completely cooked through. Then I added the peas and cooked a bit, but not long, since they had been thawing out for several hours.

I melted a half a stick of margarine in a large flat frying pan. Then I drained the peas and potatoes and put them in the pan. I sprinkled a couple of tablespoons of flour over them along with some sea salt and ground pepper and stired that up. Then I put about two and a half cups of milk over that and brought the mixture to a simmer. It seemed too thick, so I added some instant mashed potato flakes to thicken it up. I also added a couple of spoonfulls of horseradish sauce from Quizno's and some basil.

It was delicious! Even though it thickend up a bit too much! Next time I will cut the potatoes into smaller pieces and maybe add a can of mushrooms.

Pear Cobbler

I started with this recipe:
http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/38984/bisquick-cobbler
and made some additions

PEAR COBBLER

1 c Bisquick
1 c Milk
1 c Sugar
1 Stick Margarine
1 Large Can Pears; in Heavy Syrup

I used the lowfat bisquick and the batter seemed rather thin, so I added another
quarter cup or so. Also, I threw in about a cup of FIT AND ACTIVE VITALITY CEREAL with RED BERRIES (that I get at Aldi's and some raisins.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the margarine in the (13"x9") pan. Mix the milk, sugar and Bisquick together in a bowl. Pour into the melted margarine. Pour off half the syrup from the peaches. Spread the peaches with the remaining syrup on top of the batter. I sprinkled with cinnamon. Bake 45 minutes. Serve warm.


IT IS ABSOLUTELY HEAVENLY!!!!

Paula Deen's Corn Casserole

for years, I have made a kind of corn pudding usually at a holiday. I wanted something a bit different. My friend Muriel once told me about a dish she really liked, it was kind of a polenta or very moist cornbread and she served it with maple syrup. I can't remember the name of it, and could not find anything online that I thought matched up to what I remember, but I did find this.

Paula Deens Corn Casserole

1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with Cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

I did not have cheddar so I used mozzerella cheese, and I think I lighted up on the amount of butter. I served this with LIGHT maple syrup on top and it is absolutely delicious.

Here is a picture from the internet.
I would never serve lima beans with it.......I served eggs and bacon on the side.

Quick Fake-Out Stuffed Eggplant

I almost forgot that one of the purposes of this blog is to document recipes I try.
A couple of days ago, I used a recipe in Rachael Rays LOOK AND COOK book. The neat thing about this book is that the recipes have a picture of the finished product, which I like.

I could not find the exact recipe online, the ones on her website seem to be a little bit different. So, I will post one of those and make notes of the differences

•5 small firm eggplants, about 6-7 inches long and 3 inches wide or 5 Japanese eggplants about the same size, divided
•5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•1 pound ground beef or lamb (I used ground sirloin)
•2 tablespoons tomato paste (the recipe in the book called for ONE tbsp.
•1 small to medium onion, finely chopped
•3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
•A small handful of raisins
•A splash of white wine or chicken stock (this was not in the BOOK recipe)
•3-4 tablespoons toasted pine nuts ( left this out)
•A handful basil leaves, torn or chopped (I used the dried herb in a jar)
•3 tablespoons butter
•1 cup breadcrumbs
•1/2 cup finely chopped parsley leaves (a couple of generous handfuls) (dried herbinjar)
•1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino cheese or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
PreparationPre-heat the oven to 475°F.

Halve four of the eggplants lengthwise. Pour about 1/4 cup EVOO on a rimmed baking sheet. Season the cut eggplant with salt and pepper, to taste, and arrange, cut side down, in the EVOO. Put in the oven and roast until tender, about 20 minutes.

Peel the remaining eggplant and dice into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO. Stir in the beef or lamb, tomato paste, onion, garlic, diced eggplant and raisins. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the wine or stock and cook until the eggplant and onions are soft, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the pine nuts and basil.

While the meat cooks, melt the butter in small skillet over medium heat, add the breadcrumbs and toast until golden. Transfer to a bowl and cool.

Stir the parsley and cheese into the breadcrumbs and add half of this mixture to the meat.

Remove the eggplant from the oven, flip it over and transfer to a serving platter. Top each halved eggplant with a mound of stuffing and sprinkle the remaining cheesy breadcrumbs over the top before serving.

IT WAS DELICIOUS! I had a lot of leftovers, so after dinner I chopped up the remaining eggplant halves and stirred them into the beef mixture. Not sure what I will do with that now.

BEST EVER BAKED BEANS

I first made these for the FDC picnic last fall. Several people asked for the recipe and I have made them once or twice since then. Connie asked me for the recipe, so I am posting them here in my EVERYDAY blog.

Sue and Gloria's Baked Beans
from Paula's Home Cooking
show: barbeque bonanza

4 (16-ounce) cans baked beans
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup molasses
1 cup BBQ sauce
2 tablespoon yellow or brown mustard
5 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 (6-ounce) can french-fried onions, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

mix together beans,
pineapple, molasses, BBQ sauce,
mustard, 1/4 of the bacon, and 1/4
of the onions. Add some salt and
pepper, to taste. Pour beans in 9
by 13-inch casserole dish and
sprinkle remaining crushed onions
and bacon on top. Cook in oven for
1 hour or until beans brown and bubble.
Serve warm.

Time to get started again, with a new thrust!

I decided to revamp this blog.........and to make sure I record my cooking efforts. I was talking to Connie on the phone last night and she was asking me for recipes for various things she has tried at my house, and I realized that I have not kept any records and indeed, I have not even kept recipes that I have tried and liked.....so its very hard to remember where I got each recipe and or find directions.

So, I will be changing this to a cooking blog.......and will also stick in day to day information.