Meal Plan Monday #208

The weather has been crazy, but I'm still craving winter foods - stews, beans and rice, and hearty casseroles.

Sunday:  "Grilled" Chicken with Macaroni & Cheese and Salad

Monday:  Red Beans and Rice with Conecuh Sausage and Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread

Tuesday:  Quick Korean Beef Bowls with Cabbage, Carrots, and Edamame

Wednesday:  Tutorial Night Take-out

Thursday:  Darren's Fried Rice with TJ's Applewood Smoked Uncured Ends & Pieces and Salad

Friday:  Date Night! Lib's Pick!

Meal Plan Monday #207

Happy New Year! It's back to the grind. Our Christmas break was great! We had a great time with family, and we got to hang out with new friends and old ones. We're headed back to work and getting back into our routines.

Sunday:  Black-eyed Peas with Ham, Roasted Cabbage, and Cornbread

Monday:  Darren's Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas with Guacamole

Tuesday:  3-Ingredient Brown Sugar Chicken, Roasted Vegetables, and Cheesy Grits with TJ's Unexpected Cheddar

Wednesday:  Pepperoni Pizza Roll-ups, Chips, and Salad

Thursday:  Seared Tuna Steaks, Rice, and Salad

Friday:  Date Night! Darren's Pick!

Bread Pudding

I went to a pre-Thanksgiving potluck supper way back in November, and I was assigned bread and butter. I wasn't sure how many people would be attending, so I carried in two types of bread - regular French bread and brown oat bread, kind of like they have at the Cheesecake Factory. Even after sharing bread with people taking plates home, I had a lot of extra bread. Darren and I ate some of it, but there was no way we would finish it all before it got stale or molded. Bread pudding to the rescue!

I have had bread pudding made with all sorts of bread, and my mom raves to this day about the bread pudding her grandmother used to make with whatever baked goods were leftover at the end of the week (rolls, biscuits, cake with frosting...). I used to eat at this little place in Sarasota, Florida, on Siesta Key, called the Wildflower that would make bread pudding out of their day-old muffins. It was amazing. I even made a small bread pudding out of the leftover brown sugar pound cake cupcakes from a few weeks ago, and I once made a bread pudding from a mixture of bread and pound cake. Anyway, the thing about bread pudding is that you can make it with whatever kind of bread or bread-like stuff you have laying around.

It is a fairly simple undertaking, and could often be thrown together with ingredients that are probably all ready in the pantry and refrigerator. In this bread pudding, I used cream, but I have also used milk when that was all I had on hand. I would shy away from skim milk, but just about any other milk should work. Bread puddings can be sweet or savory, and can be plain or have lots of mix-ins.

I think the key to a good bread pudding is mixing up the wet ingredients and then letting the bread soak up the eggy-creamy goodness before baking. This bread pudding has nuts, raisins, and dried cranberries. I also served it with a whiskey sauce, but I wasn't particularly fond of the sauce, so I'm not including it here. Anyway, you can see in this picture (that I didn't remember to take until we had started eating it), the edges are firm and golden, and the center still has a bit of jiggle to it.

Meal Plan Monday #4

In the South, food fixes almost everything. Well, maybe it doesn't fix things, but it sure makes them easier. We Southerners don't care if it's a good thing or a bad thing. If something happened to your family, we will help you by bringing something to eat. I remember when my grandmother died back in the early 80's. My memory might exaggerate things, but I'm pretty sure there was enough fried chicken to feed thirty people, not to mention all the other things that people brought by. Desserts are common gifts, too. I think because nothing says "I love you" like baked goods.

The family of a very dear student has just added a new member! Welcome to Baby Patrick, and congratulations to the whole family! I am so happy to be able to provide a meal for them Monday night. I couldn't be cooking for a nicer family. In an effort to stream line dinner, they'll be eating the same things we will; I'll just make two batches and deliver one to them. I am also going to take them a batch of sticky buns that they can eat for dessert on Monday or breakfast on Tuesday. I am changing the sticky buns slightly by using a can of crescent rounds, that I'll unroll and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, then re-roll and break apart. I'll also leave the pecans out of the rolls themselves, and only have them in the topping. Darren and I had these a few weeks ago when we had an extra can of crescent rounds, and they worked so well I think they will be a permanent change!

Sunday: Salmon, Rice, and Salad

Monday: Lasagna, Garlic Bread, and Salad

Tuesday: Chicken and Vegetable Fried Rice

Wednesday: Ribs, Baked Sweet Potatoes, and Cabbage

Thursday: Chicken Quesadillas with Guacamole and Black Beans

Friday: Date Night (Lib's Pick)

Cornbread Dressing

I'm Southern, and I love eating the foods I grew up with. Darren is a West Coast kid, and while he eats sushi, he missed out on so much - especially the various joys of pork! My cornbread dressing doesn't always have pork, but I tried a new variation. It was good, but I think it still has some tweaking. Still, it was tasty, and I took pictures, so I'll put it on here.

You will need:
Cornbread crumbles (I don't know how much - what's left after a few slices have been eaten from a large pan of cornbread, maybe 6-8 cups)
1 can of chicken broth (or more)
1 egg (or more)
1 can of cream soup (chicken, mushroom, or celery are recommended)
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 carrots, chopped
6-8 oz. bulk pork sausage (not the sage kind, unless you like sage)
1 lb. chicken (Cheater step: use leftovers, or one of those grocery rotisserie chickens)
spices (salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne - some people like sage or poultry seasoning, but I think those things are gross)

Crumble up the leftover cornbread. I like to put it into a ziplock bag and smush it up.

Chop the onion and carrots, pretty finely.

Brown the sausage in a skillet, breaking it up into small pieces. I forgot to take a picture of this step. Drain the sausage on paper towels and allow it to cool slightly.

You can clean the skillet and then use a little butter or olive oil to cook the onion and carrot, or you can just use the sausage grease. I'm in favor of the pork fat, but that's not very health conscious. Use the pork fat, or choose something healthier, but cook the vegetables until the onion is translucent.

While those things are cooking, mix the broth, cream soup, and egg in a buttered or greased baking dish.

Add in the cornbread crumbles and make sure they get saturated.

When the carrots and onions are done, allow them to cool slightly, and add the sausage and the vegetables to the cornbread mush and stir.

This time, I used raw chicken; however, I often use one of those grocery rotisserie chickens that I've pulled apart. Those things can be used in all sorts or recipes, but I digress.

Anyway, cut the raw chicken into bite sized pieces, removing any fat or tendons. Brown the chicken over medium heat. Keep using the sausage grease if you've got it, or a touch of oil will work, too.

When the chicken is cooked through and slightly browned, add it to the dressing mixture.

This mixture should be really soupy. If it's not, add some more liquid - more broth, another can of soup, a second egg - use your judgement. One thing to remember, is that Southern dressing, at least the stuff I grew up eating, is not dry. Add some spices, if you like. I use salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne. I don't know how much. You could taste it, but remember this mixture has raw egg in it. I judge by color - I like my dressing to have a bit of an orange tinge from the paprika and cayenne.

Cook the dressing at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30-45 minutes, until the dressing is set around the edges and beginning to brown. It should not be set in the middle. I suggest checking it several times during cooking to make sure that it isn't too dry. If your dressing is solid, you need to add some liquid - broth or water will do fine. When it is done, the edges, and any peaks should be golden and maybe even a little crispy, but the dressing should still have some jiggle to it.

I forgot to take a picture before we started to dig in. Notice that the dressing kind of oozes into the area where the scoop was removed. This is a GOOD thing. Eat up!

Print the recipe! Go make some!