Cooking in the Woods

Mexican Lasagna

*This recipe came from the Southern Living website. I did not have enchilada sauce on hand so I looked up a substitute for it. That recipe is listed below. I used about half of what the recipe made in place of the can of enchilada sauce. It made it a little more complicated but I think it's what made the casserole turn out so yummy! I also used 1 pound each of ground sausage and ground beef.

Ingredients

• 1/2  pound  ground mild pork sausage
• 1/2  pound  ground beef
• 1  (15-ounce) can jalapeno ranch-style pinto beans, drained
• 2/3  cup  canned diced tomatoes and green chilies
• 1  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  pepper
• 1  (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of celery soup
• 1  (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1  (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce*
• 9  (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 2  cups  (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1  medium tomato, seeded and diced
• 4  green onions, chopped
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh cilantro
• 1  medium avocado, chopped

  Preparation

  Cook sausage and ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in beans and next 5 ingredients; cook until thoroughly heated.

  Stir together soups and enchilada sauce in a saucepan; cook until thoroughly heated.

  Spoon one-third of sauce onto bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish; top with 3 tortillas. Spoon half of beef mixture and one-third of sauce over tortillas; sprinkle with half of Cheddar cheese. Top with 3 tortillas; repeat layers ending with tortillas. Sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese and next 3 ingredients.

  Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Top with avocado.

  Southern Living, DECEMBER 2001

  
  

  Recipe for Red Enchilada Sauce

  1 can of chopped tomatoes

  2 small cans of chopped green chilies

  1 T barbeque sauce

  1 T lime juice

  1 T cilantro leaves

  1 jalapeño (seeded & chopped)

  1 T sugar

  1 T chili powder

  ½ t cumin

  ¼ t salt

  Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth.

Fresh Corn Cakes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2  cups  fresh corn kernels (about 5 ears)
• 3  large eggs
• 3/4  cup  milk
• 3  tablespoons  butter, melted
• 3/4  cup  all-purpose flour
• 3/4  cup  yellow or white cornmeal
• 1  (8-oz.) package fresh mozzarella cheese, grated
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh chives
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1  teaspoon  freshly ground pepper

  Preparation

  1. Pulse first 4 ingredients in a food processor 3 to 4 times or just until corn is coarsely chopped.

  2. Stir together flour and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in corn mixture just until dry ingredients are moistened.

  3. Spoon 1/8 cup batter for each cake onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or large nonstick skillet to form 2-inch cakes (do not spread or flatten cakes). Cook cakes 3 to 4 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Turn and cook other side 2 to 3 minutes.

  Southern Living; July, 2008

Creamy Spinach Sausage Pasta

Ingredients:

• 3 cups uncooked rigatoni or large tube pasta
• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen creamed spinach, thawed
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, spinach, cream cheese and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Transfer to a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish.
    Cover and bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. 

Recipe from Simple & Delicious; March/April 2009

Pistachio Pudding Parfaits

Ingredients:

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1-1/2 cups whipped topping
• 1 package (3.4 ounces) instant pistachio pudding mix
• 10 pecan shortbread cookies, coarsely crushed

Directions:

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Fold in whipped topping; set aside. Prepare pudding according to package directions; set aside.
    Spoon 1 tablespoon cookie crumbs into each of eight parfait glasses. Top with half the pudding and whipped topping mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cookie crumbs. Chill until serving.

Recipe from: Simple & Delicious; March/April 2009

Black-eyed Pea Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15-1/2 ounces) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and diced
• 1/3 cup chopped green pepper
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/3 cup prepared Italian salad dressing

Directions:

In a large serving bowl, combine all the ingredients; toss to coat. Serve with a slotted spoon. 

Recipe from: Simple & Delicious; March/April 2009

Old-Fashioned Pound Cake

*Please forgive the imperfect appearance – I left it to cool just a little too long in the pan!

Ingredients

1 pound butter (4 sticks), softened

1 pound sugar (3 ½ C)

1 pound eggs (10 large)

2 T vanilla

1 pound all-purpose flour (4 C)

1 tsp nutmeg

Directions

Cream butter and sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in flour and nutmeg. Grease a 10-inch tube or Bundt pan and pour in the batter. Bake at 350° for 1 ½ hours (cover with foil for the last 30 minutes).

Optional Chocolate Glaze:

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons hot water

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter, stirring to blend. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium-size bowl. Add sifted powdered sugar and hot water; stir well. If necessary, add additional hot water to bring glaze to drizzling consistency. (Makes enough to glaze a 10-inch tube or bundt cake.)

Recipe from : http://suzannemcminn.com/blog/2009/03/06/old-fashioned-pound-cake-with-chocolate-glaze/

Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers

• 1 pound ground pork sausage
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 pound large fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 (8 ounce) bottle Ranch dressing

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Place sausage in a skillet over medium heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease.
3. In a bowl, mix the sausage, cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Spoon about 1 tablespoon sausage mixture into each jalapeno half. Arrange stuffed halves in baking dishes.
4. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve with Ranch dressing.

Recipe from www.allrecipes.com.  

Enchilada Casserole

½ C chopped onion

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies

1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce

2 C shredded cheese, divided

½ - 1 C coarsely crushed corn chips (I used Frito's)

Sliced black olives (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. In a skillet, cook beef and onion until beef is browned; drain. Add tomato paste, green chilies and enchilada sauce and heat until heated through.

Sprinkle ½ of chips on the bottom of 2 qt. casserole dish. Top with half of the beef mixture and then half of the cheese. Repeat layers. Top with sliced black olives if desired.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Best-Ever Chocolate Cake

Cake:

¾ C butter

3 eggs

2 C all-purpose flour

¾ C unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

34 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 C sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 ½ C milk

Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Lightly grease bottoms of three 8 x 1 ½" round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper. Grease and lightly flour waxed paper and sides of pans. Set pans aside.

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about ¼ C at a time, beating on medium speed for 3 to4 minutes or until well mixed. Scrape side of bowl; continue beating on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total). Beat in vanilla.

Alternately add flour mixture and milk to beaten mixture, beating on low speed just until combined after each addition. Beat on medium to high speed for 20 seconds more. Spread evenly into prepared pans.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Peel off waxed paper. Cool completely on wire racks.

Prepare Chocolate Frosting (below), fill and frost cake layers. If desired, top with chocolate curls and candied nuts. Store cake in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Frosting:

In a large saucepan, combine one 12 oz. package (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips and ½ C butter; heat over low heat until melted, stirring often. Cool for 5 minutes. Stir in one 8 oz. carton dairy sour cream. Gradually add 4 ½ C sifted powdered sugar (about 1 pound), beating on medium speed until mixture is smooth.

Loaded Spaghetti Bake

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces uncooked spaghetti
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 jar (26 ounces) spaghetti sauce
• 1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 carton (10 ounces) refrigerated Alfredo sauce
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup cornflake crumbs

Directions:

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the spaghetti sauce, mushrooms and olives. Drain spaghetti; add to skillet.
    Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup cheddar cheese. In a small bowl, combine the soup, Alfredo sauce and Parmesan cheese; spread over cheddar cheese. In another bowl, combine cornflake crumbs and remaining cheddar cheese; sprinkle over the top.
    Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. 

Recipe from Simple & Delicious; March/April 2009