Parmesan Corn

I'm not sure why I keep finding packages of corn in my freezer after I swear that I've used the last one.  Too bad it's not packages of money that I don't keep finding.  So I came up with another Parmesan corn recipe, this time without meat in it.

Parmesan Corn

1 1/2 cups frozen corn

3 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Place the corn and stir in the Parmesan cheese in a greased baking dish.  Melt the butter and mix in the spices and pour over the corn.  Bake for 20 minutes at 350°.

Italian Sausage Pasta Bake

Rainy weather is a good time to go into the kitchen and try out new combinations, after a nap of course.  This is what I created out of various ingredients I had in my refrigerator and pantry.  Plus it was a good opportunity to try out another pasta from Eataly.  

Italian Sausage Pasta Bake

12 oz mild Italian sausage, cooked and drained

3 cups pasta, cooked and cooled slightly

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tsp oregano

1 large egg

1 cup cottage cheese

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1 cup mozzarella cheese

In a saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour.  Gradually stir in the milk and stir occasionally until it thickens.  In the saucepan that you cooked your pasta in (or a bowl if you like doing lots of dishes) combine the cooled pasta, cottage cheese, Italian sausage, oregano and the egg and combine.  Pour into a greased baking dish.  When your milk has thickened, remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese.  Pour over the pasta mixture.  Top with mozzarella cheese and bake for 30 minutes at 350°.

Garlic Pita Bread

Easy to make and full of lots of flavor to serve along with all your favorite Italian dishes.

Garlic Pita Bread

4 - 6" pitas

3 tbsp butter

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp oregano

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Cut pitas into 6 equal pieces.  Use a pizza cutter if you have one, it makes the cutting go fast.  Place on baking sheets.  In a small saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the garlic powder and oregano.  Brush butter mixture over the pita bread.  Sprinkle Parmesan over the top of the pitas.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350°.

Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce

Dr Pepper goes so well with meat.  I have to make my Dr Pepper and chicken in the crock pot again really soon.  I marinated ribs in Dr Pepper for 6 hours and then cooked them in the pop (yes, I'm one of those people that call it pop, not soda) in the crock pot for another 4 hours before mixing together a Dr Pepper bbq sauce and finishing them off on the grill.  Be sure to have a small bowl of the bbq sauce for dipping!

Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 can (12 oz) Dr Pepper

1 tbsp raspberry vinegar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp salt

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and cook the onions until translucent. Add in minced garlic and cook for another minute.  Pour in Dr Pepper.  Add in the rest of the ingredients, stir and cook over medium heat until it begins to thicken.  Brush two coats on top of your ribs or chicken (I'm going to make chicken breasts to use the leftovers on).  Cover and refrigerate the leftover sauce for up to two weeks.  

Lemon Honey Carrots

Finally sunshine and warm temperatures in the valley.  I dragged the grill out of it's dusty cover in the garage and started it up.  The first thing I made was these carrots.  A little bit of heavy duty aluminum foil and all my favorite veggies are heading outside.  Plus my mom had given me a bottle of lemon honey as a Christmas gift so it was time for it to be opened

Lemon Honey Glazed Carrots

1# baby carrots
2 tbsp water
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  
1/4 cup lemon honey
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tbsp parsley

Take a 12" piece of heavy duty aluminum foil.  Place the carrots inside, lightly season, and close the top and one of the ends.  Add 2 tbsp of water into the package and seal the remaining end.  Cook on the top shelf of your grill for a half hour.  Carefully open the package (there will be hot steam escaping).  Drizzle the honey and ginger over and reseal.  Cook for another 5 minutes.  Remove from grill and put into a serving dish.  Stir in the parsley.

Apple Butter BBQ Sauce

Sometimes positive things come out of negative events.  I took a look at my basement pantry yesterday after the water clean up and found some of last years apple butter that I wanted to use.  I had pork chops thawing so I decided to make a bbq sauce to go on them.  Unfortunately the weather kept me inside using an indoor grill but I just loved the taste combination.

Apple Butter BBQ Sauce

1/2 cup apple butter
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp Heinz 57 
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Mix together all of the ingredients in a small saucepan.  Allow to simmer for at least 15 minutes.

Strawberry Coffee Cake

I decided to pamper myself today after a bad start to the morning.  There's nothing like waking up way too early on a weekend and finding out that it was probably a good thing.  My sump pump had stopped working due to a faulty plug in so a little bit of bailing, finding out the problem and the clean up process made me decide to try creating a new recipe.  Something had to go right so my fingers were crossed that this would be it.  It was.  

You'll find that when you mix this up that the dough is dense.  Don't be tempted to add more buttermilk because the strawberries will release juices during baking.

Strawberry Coffee Cake

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups fresh strawberries, diced
1 tbsp flour

Cinnamon Topping

1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened

Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Add in the eggs, oil and buttermilk and stir only until combined.  Place the diced strawberries in a small bowl.  Mix in 1 tbsp of flour so they don't sink during baking.  Gently fold them in the batter.  Pour into a greased 9 x 9 baking pan.  In another small bowl, combine the topping ingredients.  Sprinkle over the strawberry batter.  Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.