MexiCajun Cornbread Casserole

This cornbread casserole has become a favorite recipe of mine and many others with whom I’ve shared it. Several people have asked for this recipe, so I’m sharing it here for easy access. If you try it, please let me know; and if you have any suggested variations, I’d love to hear those as well.

Daffodil Fields Do Not Make Me Think of Wordsworth

About three years ago my sister saw an article in the newspaper about a daffodil field in northern Louisiana. A widow had turned a few acres of her own land into a memorial for her late husband. Thousands of daffodils bulbs had been planted over several years until this whole area was covered in bright yellow blooms. Graciously she opens this up to the public every year when these flowers are in their prime.
Here is a snippet from the newspaper article that ran this year promoting the event:

“Admission is free. The site features a 114-year-old pecan tree, bluebird houses and more than 100 varieties of daffodils.

Fettucini Like You’ve Never Had It

My husband came up with this recipe after experimenting with some left-over beef tenderloin tips. He often buys a whole tenderloin to cut into filets instead of buying individual ones from the meat counter at our local grocery store. It ends up being much cheaper this way, and he gets the size and thickness of his choosing. He then vacuum seals and freezes what we don’t eat right away. The tips are what’s left at the ends of the tenderloin that can’t be cut into steaks. You can ask your local butcher/meat counter for the tenderloin tips or simply cut a couple of filets into bite-sized pieces.

Hearty Shepherd’s Pie

This recipe is one of my favorites because it’s a hearty one-dish meal. No stress over coordinating anything else. I will also note that it can be as easy or as labor-intensive as you choose. I like to make my own mashed potatoes from fresh yukon potatoes, but instant mashed potatoes works just as well. Since it’s not practical to have fresh veggies on hand throughout the year, I keep frozen packs of mixed veggies in my freezer year round. If you do use fresh, they typically need to be steamed or blanched just a tad longer to tenderize them before adding them to the dish.
If you have a different shepherd’s pie recipe that you make, please share it with us below.

Not Your Mamas Good and Evil

Let me begin by saying I didn’t cook the first meal over the weekend. But, boy, did I eat! Bacon, fries, hot wings, stuffed shrimp. It was a good weekend, but it’s back to a more normal routine today. Thankfully because I believe I’m dangerously close to a sugar/grease overdose!

It began Friday night with a welcome home party for a friend. There was beer, bacon sandwiches and fries that I’m sure were triple fried. >groan< Then onto a birthday party Saturday night where every bit of food was fried, more beer and decadent

Just Keep Going…

When I first began running last year, I hated it. I had convinced myself that I couldn’t do it, that I shouldn’t do it, and so I never had. Decreasing strength in my knees and a couple of extra pounds each year dictated that I HAD to do SOMETHING, and the personal trainer I hired at our local gym was determined that the something be the treadmill. Ugh. So I began…30 seconds at a time. Literally. I would walk 1 minute and run 30 seconds, increasing each interval time over days and weeks until I could run a full mile. Every time I got on that treadmill I would think to myself: “Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot; just keep going” as I panted and gasped for breath!

Well that’s kinda how I feel about this blog. Actually, it’s how I feel about life in general! “One foot in front of the other; left foot, right foot; just keep going.” I never really know what I’m doing or maybe even where I’m going; I just have to keep on keeping on!

And so it is with food and cooking. I’m 36 years old and am only just now learning how to cook. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’ve cooked for myself (and my poor husband) pretty much my whole adult life. I’ve just never cooked very well.

Sure I could boil pasta and heat up a pre-made sauce to pour over some browned ground meat. I could even make a pretty mean omelette or whip up a really good-looking cake from a boxed mix! But I never REALLY cooked. Like Julia Child cooking. Not until now…. And I have to say I enjoy it more than I ever have!

Now, I’ve watched my fair share of “Iron Chef” and Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” episodes, but nothing compares to getting your own fingers dirty in the kitchen and learning from your own mistakes.

So here we are. I’m learning to cook; and (I’m hoping) you get to read all about my trials, tribulations, and maybe even find a jewel of a new recipe! That is my goal afterall: to share with you what I learn and to document for myself so I don’t forget. Seems easy enough. Well… we’ll see won’t we?

Cornbread Muffins

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1/2 cup yellow corn meal

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 Tablespoon oil (I prefer pecan oil for baking, but any vegetable oil will do)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix flour and corn meal together in a medium mixing bowl. Add oil, milk and lightly beaten egg. Mix together using a fork until you get a dough-y consistency (much like biscuit dough). Fill a pre-greased muffin pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle muffin comes out clean.

Serve warm with butter!