Veggies from the South

Southwest Vegetarian Bake

Made: October 27, 2012

Ingredients
- 3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
- 1 can mexicorn, drained
- 1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 cup (8 oz) reduced-fat sour cream
- 1 cup (4 oz) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
- 1/3 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1 can sliced ripe olives, drained
- 1 cup (4 oz) shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend

Directions
- In a large sauce pan, bring ride and water to a boil
- Reduce heat, cover & simmer for 35-40 minutes or until tender
- In a bowl, combine the beans, mexicorn, tonatoes, salsa, sour cream, cheddar cheese, pepper and rice
- Transfer to a shallow 2 1/2 qt baking dish coated with cooking spray
- Sprinkle with onions and olives
- Bake, uncovered, at 350 F for 30 minutes
- Sprinkle with Mexican cheese
- Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through and cheese is melted
- Let stand 10 minutes before serving

Since I just used things I had in the house, it wasn't really that southwestern. Regular corn and tomatoes, and also plain white rice. I did add in a bit of taco seasoning to help with the missing spices. And I forgot about the salsa, so that was a bummer. 

(Recipe used: Taste of Home 2012 Diet Comfort Food)

Cheesy Tuna

Tuna Melt Pot Pie

Made: October 21, 2012

Ingredients
- 3 cups uncooked rotini pasta (9oz)
- 1 can condensed Cheddar cheese soup (or 1 can condensed cream of mushroom/celery)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large tomato, chopped (1 cup)
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4oz)
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 can (12 oz) white tuna in water, drained & flaked
- 1 can (2.8 oz) French-fried onions

Directions
- Heat oven to 375 F
- Spray 9 1/2in glass deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray
- Cook & drain pasta as directed on package
- In large bowl, mix soup & milk
- Stir in cooked pasta, tomato and cheeses
- Gently fold in tuna
- Spoon into pie plate
- Cover with foil, bake 30 mintues
- Uncover, sprinkle onions evenly over top
- Bake 5 minutes longer or until onions are light golden brown

I only did a couple things differently:
- I used a rectangular baking dish instead
- I used both rotini and bowtie pastas as I only had a little left per box and combined I reached the 3 cups needed
- I used cream of celery soup for this recipe; no cheddar cheese soup in the house and since Granny was joining us, no mushrooms
- I forgot about the Parmesan cheese (oops)
- Granny was joining us, so no fried onions.
- I used a can of pre-diced tomatoes. Just as easy and less of a mess to clean up after
- I used 15oz of tuna since my cans are only 5oz each and I like tuna; it evened up nicely in the end
- I used the rest of the shredded cheddar cheese (less than a handful left) and added 4 oz of Veleetta cheese to the mix

Overall, I think this was a new spin on a tuna casserole and I plan to make this again during the Lenten season!

(Recipe used: Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2012)

Cheesy brownies

Philly Brownie Cheesecake

Made: October 18, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 package brownie mix (plus whatever you need for this mix)
- 4 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 2 squares semi-sweet chocolate

Directions
- Heat oven to 325 F
- Prepare brownie mix as directed on the package
- Pour into greased 13x9in pan
- Bake 25 minutes or until top is shiny and center is almost set
- Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with mixer until well blended
-  Add sour cream, mix well
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low-speed after each just until blended
- Gently pour over brownie layer in pan
- Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set
- Run knife around rim of pan to loosen sides, cool
- Refrigerate 4 hours
- Melt chocolate squares as directed on package, drizzle over cheesecake
- Refrigerate 15 minutes, or until chocolate is firm

I bought Reynold's disposable "Bake and Take" cake pans since Mom needed these for work the next day. I think they were longer than the size needed, so one batch of brownie per pan and then the cream cheese mixture was enough for both pans. I wouldn't have time to have the cake set overnight and then chocolate drizzle (which I need to practice on :x) so I let the cakes cool for 20 minutes and then drizzled the chocolate overtop before sticking them both in the fridge overnight. I didn't get to taste the finished product, but the tastings inbetween were quite yummy :)

(Recipe used: Kraft Foods - Showstopping Desserts)

Surprise Cookies

Peanut Butter Sugar Cookies

Made: October 15, 2012

Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookies
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 egg

Sugar Cookies
- 2 3/4 c. flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 c (2 sticks) butter
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla

Directions


Peanut Butter Cookies
- Combine all ingredients until batter is thick and a little crumbly.
- Roll into approx. 48 balls
- Put them on a plate or a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator while you do the next steps.

Sugar Cookies
- Combine all ingredients.
- Batter will be thick and hard to stir (you might have to use your hands).
 
- Get your PB balls from the fridge.
- Starting with one ball of sugar cookie dough, tear off a small amount and press it flat in your palm, forming about a 2 inch circle (should cover the flat part of your palm).
- Place a PB ball in the middle and cover it with the sugar cookie. Roll into a ball.
- Roll in sugar.
- Place each ball onto a greased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.
- The balls are definitely going to expand, so make sure you leave enough room.
- Bake at 375°F for 7 minutes.
- Pull the cookie sheet out of the oven and gently tap each one with the bottom of a glass to flatten.
- Let cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I had a couple issues with the cooking time. I actually cooked mine for about 11-12 minutes. I don't know if I made mine too big or too thick, but either way, they turned out quite delish!

(Recipe used: bakebakebake@lj.com)

Corny hot dogs

Corn Dog Casserole

Made: October 11, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 can (28oz) baked beans; undrained
- 1 package (16oz) cocktail-size hot dogs
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 box corn muffin mix
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 egg

Directions
- Heat oven to 375 F
- In large suacepan, mix beans, hot dogs and barbecue sauce
- Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until bubbly
- Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole dish
- In medium bowl, stir muffin mix, milk and egg just until combined
- Spoon batter evenly over hot bean mixture
- Bake 20-25 minutes or until topping is golden brown

(Recipe used: Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2012)

Taco Pasta

Taco Supper Skillet

Made: October 9, 2012

Ingredients
- 1/2 pound gounf beef
- 1 package Old El Paso taco seasoning mix
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked wagon wheel pasta
- 1 1/2 cup frozen corn (thawed)
- 1 can (15oz) kidney or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
- In a 12in skillet, cook ground beef over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked; drain
- Stir seasoning mix, water, pasta, corn, beans and tomatoes into beef
- Heat to boiling
- Stir, reduce heat to medium
- Cover, cook 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed
- Stir in sour cream
- Remove from heat
- Sprinkle with cheese, cover and let stand for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted

I didn't have any wagon wheel (or rotelle) pasta, so I used eblows instead. I also used a can of stewed tomatoes and chopped them into smaller pieces. I topped with extra cheese, it didn't say too, but you can't say no to extra cheese!

(Recipe used: Best of Betty Crocker 2013)

I like Spaghetti & Cheese

Mac and Cheese Spaghetti

Made: October 4, 2012

Ingredients:
Topping
- 1 1/2 cups coarse white bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Noodles
- 14-16 package dried spaghetti
- 10 oz package frozen peas or fresh broccoli florets
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
- 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
- 4 oz American cheese, shredded

Directions
Topping
- Heat oven to 425 F
- In a 15x10x1 in baking baking pan, combine crumbs, Parmesan cheese and butter
- Bake 5 minutes, remove and set aside

Noodles
- In a Dutch oven, cook spaghetti with 1 tablespoon salt added to water; cook to package directions
- Add the peas during the last 3 minutes of cooking time
- Drain; reserving 2 cups of pasta water for later
- Set pasta & peas aside, keep warm
- Return 1 cup pasta water (from above) to dutch oven
- Bring to boiling
- Add the butter and mustard
- Add cheeses, a but at a time, stirring after each addition until melted
- Add in more pasta water if needed
- Add spaghetti, toss in cheese mixture
- Sprinkle servings with bread crumbs

I did a couple things differently. I used 1/2 cup of Italian bread crumbs, Velveeta cheese in place of American and added a handful of Mozzarella cheese to the mix. I also used a Peas & Carrot mixture. Overall, I loved this dish

(Recipe used: bgh.com)