Fresh Berry Cobbler

My friend Elizabeth made this and brought it to a dinner party we had recently! It was so good, I made it the very next night just so I could have more! I highly recommend it! The crust is outstanding - different from the typical cobbler! Elizabeth used a mix of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. I just had blueberries and it turned out great too! This is the perfect recipe just as berries are coming into season! Enjoy!



Ingredients

1 cup sugar, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
6 cups fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup self-rising yellow cornmeal mix
1/3 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup milk

Preparation

1. Combine 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch in a small bowl. Combine berries, cornstarch mixture, and lemon rind in a large bowl until well blended; spoon berry mixture into a lightly greased 2-qt. baking dish.
2. Combine flour, cornmeal mix, and remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in butter and milk until blended. Gently spread batter evenly over berry mixture.
3. Bake at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of topping comes out clean. Serve warm.

Southern Living AUGUST 2006

Easy Recipes

Elizabeth found these links on food network for quick and easy meals. The first one is 50 easy soup recipes - just in time for fall! The second one is 50 things to make with a jar of pasta sauce. Thanks Elizabeth!


50 Easy Soup recipes



50 things to make with a jar of pasta sauce

Creamy Buttermilk-Avocado Sauce

Elizabeth said they made this over the weekend and used it as a sauce for grilled shrimp!

Yield Makes about 1 2/3 cups

Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk
1 ripe avocado, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 finely chopped green onions
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Process buttermilk, avocado, parsley, chopped green onions, and fresh lemon juice in a food processor 30 seconds or until smooth. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Store in refrigerator covered with plastic wrap directly on surface (to prevent discoloration) up to 2 days.

Southern Living, MARCH 2009

Chicken, Cheese & Chili Enchiladas

This recipe is from Elizabeth - she added corn to this to get another vegetable in!




Yield: 8 Servings



1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño chili, seeded and minced
4 cups cooked, shredded skinless chicken (from one 1 1/2-
lb. rotisserie chicken)
2 cups coarsely shredded sharp Cheddar
1 16-oz. jar salsa verde
1 4-oz. can diced mild green chilies, drained
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
16 5 1/2-inch corn tortillas
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro






Preheat oven to 375°F. Mist a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Warm oil in a
medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned,
5 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeño and cook 2 minutes longer, stirring often. Remove from heat
and let cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine onion mixture, chicken, 1 cup cheese, 1/2 cup salsa and mild green
chilies. Stir until well combined.
Pour broth into skillet and heat until almost simmering. Working one at a time, dip a corn
tortilla into broth, taking care to work quickly so tortilla doesn't become too soft, then transfer
to a clean workspace. Spoon about 2 Tbsp. of chicken mixture down center of tortilla. Roll
tortilla around filling like a cigar, and transfer, seam side down, to prepared dish. Repeat with
remaining tortillas and filling. Pour remaining salsa over top of enchiladas, spreading to coat.
Sprinkle remaining cheese over top.
Bake enchiladas, uncovered, until cheese is melted and enchiladas are hot throughout, about 20
minutes. Just before serving, sprinkle with cilantro.



CALORIES 346 ; FAT 14g (sat 6g); CHOLESTEROL 90mg; CARBOHYDRATE 22g; SODIUM
678mg; PROTEIN 32g; FIBER 3g



All You, JANUARY 2009

Beer-Cheese Spread

Elizabeth just made this for her Keeneland tailgate last weekend and brought some extra to work today - it was delicious! Note the good idea of how to use the leftover cheese spread - Grilled Beer Cheese Sandwiches. We just had it with celery and carrots!

Yield Makes 5 cups
Ingredients



1 (2-lb.) block sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 small onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (12-oz.) bottle amber beer, at room temperature
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish: thyme sprig



Preparation



1. Beat together first 5 ingredients at low speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until blended. Gradually add beer, beating until blended after each addition. Beat at medium-high speed 1 minute or until blended and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill 2 hours. Garnish, if desired. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
Note: For testing purposes only, we used Abita Amber Beer. This spread can be frozen up to 1 month; thaw overnight in refrigerator.



Grilled Beer-Cheese Sandwich: Spread 1 tsp. softened butter evenly on 1 side of 2 bread slices. Place bread slices, buttered sides down, on wax paper. Spread 1/4 cup Beer-Cheese Spread onto 1 side of 1 bread slice. Top with remaining bread slice, buttered side up. Cook sandwich in a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cheese is melted.



Therese Halaska, Portage, Wisconsin, Southern Living, OCTOBER 2007

MexiCali Crab Cakes

Elizabeth and I made these last night! It makes 10 good size crab cakes - very tasty! Next time I will probably increase the amount of red pepper and jalapeno. Good option for lent and really healthy too :)

Yield

5 servings (serving size: 2 crab cakes and 1/4 cup sauce)

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons stick margarine
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 pound lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained
1 cup finely crushed cornflakes
Cooking spray
1 1/4 cups cocktail sauce or medium-hot salsa
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°.

Melt margarine in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add celery, bell pepper, and jalapeño; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Cool.

Combine mayonnaise and the next 5 ingredients (mayonnaise through egg) in a large bowl. Add celery mixture, breadcrumbs, green onions, crabmeat, and corn, and stir well. Divide crabmeat mixture into 10 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Dredge patties in cornflakes.

Place patties on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes; turn patties over, and bake an additional 10 minutes or until golden. Serve crab cakes with cocktail sauce, and garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Calories:308 (30% from fat)
Fat:10.2g (sat 1.9g,mono 3.2g,poly 3.6g)
Protein:23.2g
Carbohydrate:30.9g
Fiber:1.1g
Cholesterol:139mg
Iron:2.3mg
Sodium:1634mg
Calcium:126mg

Cooking Light, AUGUST 1997

Tex-Mex Lasagna

Elizabeth and Jan have both made this and said it was great! Jan made it first and said she really liked it, but next time would use diced tomatoes with jalapenos/chiles instead of the plain diced tomatoes. Elizabeth made the following variations to use ingredients she had on-hand:

• added some shredded rotisserie chicken
• used Red Gold diced tomatoes w/ chipotle
• added about ½ can of green chiles to the sauce mixture
• used corn tortillas instead of lasagna noodles


Use different salsa to vary the flavor of this lasagna. Make it smoky with chipotle salsa, or spice it up with the hot stuff.

Yield
4 servings

Ingredients
3/4 cup bottled salsa
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt-added diced tomatoes
1 (8-ounce) can no salt-added tomato sauce
Cooking spray
6 precooked lasagna noodles (such as Barilla or Vigo)
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups (8 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions

Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine first 4 ingredients; spread 2/3 cup sauce in bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 2 noodles over sauce; top with 1/2 cup corn and half of beans. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese; top with 2/3 cup sauce. Repeat layers once; top with remaining 2 noodles. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Cover and bake at 450° for 30 minutes or until noodles are tender and sauce is bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes. Sprinkle with onions.

Recipe from: myrecipes.com (Karen Levin, Cooking Light, JUNE 2004)

Sweet Potato Fries with Basil Salt and Garlic Mayonnaise

This recipe is from Elizabeth and she says they are awesome!

Cook Time: 45 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
5 sweet potatoes, cut into about 1 by 5-inch "fries"
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the sweet potato "fries" on a foil-lined baking sheet and toss with the olive oil. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile combine the basil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. In another small bowl combine the mayonnaise, garlic, and lemon juice, and stir to combine.

When the sweet potato fries come out of the oven, sprinkle with the basil salt. Serve with the garlic mayonnaise alongside for dipping.

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Lemon Spaghetti

Cook Time: 8 min
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti
2/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions:

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the oil, Parmesan, and lemon juice in a large bowl to blend.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the lemon sauce, and the reserved cooking liquid, adding 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped basil.

Optional: Elizabeth added chicken to this recipe to make it a meal vs. a side dish.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Italian