Stuffed Mushrooms

This appetizer has to be one of the easiest by far, but it sure tasted good. It is based on a recipe I saw on The Food Network and modified slightly.

Ingredients:
2 boxes of medium sized mushrooms
1 box of Stove Top stuffing
1/4 cup of butter
Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Rinse and drain mushrooms and remove stems
Cook stuffing according to package instructions
Chop up stems and mix in with cooked stuffing
Fill mushrooms with stuffing
Spray pan with cooking spray, place mushrooms in pan and cook for approximately 15 minutes.

Paula Dean Corn Fritters

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, can't beat good food and good times with the ones you love. It is also a perfect time to try out some new recipes. I found this receipe on The Food Network from Paula Dean. It tastes a lot like corn bread only better!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups self rising cornmeal mix

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup of milk

2 eggs (slightly beaten)

1/4 cup butter melted

1 can of corn (drained)

Vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

Heat oil to 325 degrees (or medium high heat)

In a medium bowl combine, combine cornmeal mix, flour, sugar, and salt. In a small bowl, combine milk and eggs. Add milk mixture to cornmeal mixture, stirring well. Stir in butter and corn.

Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches in a dutch oven or deep fryer. Drop by tablespoons into oil. Cook 2-4 minutes, or until golden, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

Green Chile-Chicken Casserole

This recipe was discovered by accident. There is a green chile chicken recipe that I love that is published in the Southern Living Slow Cooker Cookbook. Unfortunately this cookbook is buried in a box somewhere so I googled it hoping to find it but came across this recipe on myrecipes.com. Mexican Food has become a favorite of mine and this casserole has been no exception.

Ingredients:

- 1 1/3 cups fat free, reduced sodium chicken broth

- 1 cup chopped green green chiles, drained (I used 2 cans)

- 1 cup chopped onion

- 1 cup fat free sour cream

- 3/4 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp ground cumin

- 1/2 tsp ground pepper

- 2 cans of cream of chicken soup

- 1 garlic clove minced

- Cooking Spray

- 24 6 inch. tortillas

- 4 cups shredded cooked chicken breast

- 2 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine first 9 ingredients in a large saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Spread 1 cup of soup mixture in a 13x9 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 6 tortillas over the soup mixture and top with 1 cup of chicken and 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Repeat the layers, ending with the cheese. Spread remaining mixture over the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

My notes:

I found the easiest way to prepare the chicken is to cut the raw chicken into small pieces, sprinkle with garlic salt, and cover with Texas Pete. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 400 degrees. The Texas Pete gives the chicken a little spice but also keeps the chicken from getting dry and it shreds easily when you go to cut it all up to add to the casserole.

I also found that 6 tortillas were not necessary and used 4 tortillas instead.

Would I make again: YES! I'd suggest preparing the chicken in advance. If you do that then the recipe is easy to throw together.

Welcome to my edible exploration!

I never thought I would do a blog, I thought who has time for that? But after seeing my friend Alicia's blog I was inspired. Cooking has always been something I've wanted to learn more about but never made the time for.  ! Growing up, one of my fondest memories was the whole family gathered around the dinner table each person talking about what went on during their day. My mom always had dinner on the table when my dad arrived home from a long day at work. I always felt it was such an amazing bonding experience and it is something I have always hoped I can provide to my husband and kids one day. Now that I have a little more flexibility it is my goal to begin exploring new foods and new recipes. This blog will be a documentation of the recipes I've tried. I'm sure some will be failures and others successes. One thing I know, I won't be able to eat all of it so don't be surprised if I show up at your door with a casserole or invite you over for dinner. So join me on this exploration in which I hope to discover a hidden cooking talent!