Corn Dog Muffins

Fast easy finger food!  And yes, the corn dog muffin does taste like a normal corn dog, less the fried calories.

Ingredients:
2 (8.5 oz) packages corn bread mix
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c milk
9 whole hot dogs, diced
1 c grated cheddar cheese
condiments

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.  Lightly grease mini muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cornbread mix and brown sugar.  In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk, and then stir into dry mixture until moistened.  Mix in hot dogs and cheese.
3. Spoon a good tablespoonful into muffin tins, making sure you get some hot dog in each spoonful.
4. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool for about 10-15 minutes in the pan before removing.  For easy removal, cut around outsides of the muffins, then tip upside down onto a large cutting board and urge the muffins out using a knife to tap the bottoms of the muffin tins.  The should slide right out.
5. Serve warm with desired condiments.

Tips:

• Alternately, you can use your favorite cornbread mix, follow the instructions on the box, add in 1 cup of cheddar cheese and mix in chopped hot dogs too.  If your favorite cornbread mix doesn't have a sweet element to it, add in 2 tbsp brown sugar.  (This is good if your cornbread mix only calls for water = less calories!)
• You can use paper liners if you'd like.
• I used turkey dogs.  Yum!
• I also added a can of diced green chiles to one of the 2 batches!
• Can also freeze muffins for later use.  Takes only a minute or 2 to thaw in microwave.

Recipe from www.recipegirl.com

Zucchini Bread

It's that time of the year when zucchini is everywhere and it's super inexpensive.  And well, I love zucchini.  So why not try to make a few different zucchini bread recipes?


I made 2 recipes.  This one and this healthier one.  They were both very yummy!  And I've got more zucchini to use up.

What's YOUR favorite zucchini recipe?

Zippy's Chili

Saturday was a day of spontaneity for me.  Spontaneously in the morning it was decided that the next day, Sunday, I would have a yard sale at my house with a friend (my house because no permits required).  Then in the evening as we were taking about going to Hawaii in October it was spontaneously decided that we were going to make chili, Zippy's Chili.  Zippy's is a Hawaiian fast food place (or something like that) and they have some famous chili or something.  Kevin has had it before when someone he knew had it flown in and delivered to him.  So he found a recipe, we went to the store, and away we went.  Oh, and it was insisted that we make a double batch.  Cra-zy!  But we had fun! :)

WANDA'S COPYCAT CHILI

4 teaspoons vegetable oil 

1 pound lean ground beef (71 percent beef or more) 

1 onion, very finely chopped 

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce 

1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, pureed, with liquid 

1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, with liquid 

2 teaspoons chili powder 

1 tablespoon beef base (Minor's, Better Than Bouillon) or 2 bouillon cubes 

1 tablespoon brown sugar 

1 teaspoon garlic salt 

1/2 cup mayonnaise

In a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil and brown beef; break up beef into its smallest components. Pour into bowl and reserve. Heat remaining vegetable oil and fry onion over medium heat, until limp and golden. Transfer beef to pot along with pureed tomato sauce, pinto beans, red kidney beans, chili powder, beef base, brown sugar and garlic salt. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium or medium-low and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in mayonnaise and heat through. Taste and correct seasonings.
Serves 4-6.
Per serving: 480 calories, 28 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 70 mg cholesterol, greater than 1300 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 28 g protein

recipe from Honolulu Advertiser

So here's my verdict...

• It's not bad.
• The fact that it has mayo in it throws me off big time.  I.do.not.like.mayonnaise (unless it's in egg salad sandwiches)
• It's not thick like chili that I'm used to.

Here's what I would do differently (aka healthify it)...

• Less oil, 4 tsps was not needed.
• Ground turkey.  Why not?
• Maybe a little tomato paste would help thicken it...?
• 2 cans of kidney beans for more fiber and to bulk it up.
• Substitute for mayo...?  Ummm... maybe a little bit of reduced fat cream cheese...?

So what's your favorite chili recipe?

Layered Mud Pie

Ingredients:
4 oz, baker's semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg pie crust (store bought or make your own)
1/2 cup pecans (or nut of choice)
2 cups milk
2 pkg chocolate pudding mix, 3 oz boxes
1 tub cool whip (8 oz tub)

Instructions:

1. Melt the chocolate in microwave.  Make sure to stir it every 30 seconds or so, so that it doesn't scorch.  When melted, mix the chocolate and condensed milk in a bowl.
2. Put your pie crust into a pie plate.  Then, pour chocolate mixture into your prepared crust and sprinkle with nuts.
3. Beat milk and pudding mix, spoon 1 1/2 cups of the mixture over the nut layer; mix half of the tub of cool whip with remaining pudding and spread onto pie.
4. Top with remaining cool whip and refrigerate 3 hours.

Notes:

• I love sweetened condensed milk.  I could eat it with a spoon.  Oh wait, I do.
• Instructions don't say to, but your pie crust should be baked, not raw.
• 1% milk was used.  Slightly healthy.
• I had a bunch of hodge podge pudding mixes in the little 1.5 oz packages, so I used 4 of them. Oh, and they were all the fat free (or is it sugar free) kinds.
• I got lots of raves about this pie.

Holiday Breakfast Casserole

A while back for our Tuesday Night Dinner group we decided to do "Breakfast for Dinner".  My favorite!  So I made a breakfast casserole.  You know, one of those that you make the night before and let set in the fridge?  The recipe was found on a Sunday morning paper insert, that I then altered a little.

Ingredients:
12 oz. breakfast sausage (bulk or links)*
6 English muffins, cut into 1" cubes**
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
12 eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup bacon bits

Instructions:

1. Cook sausage according to package directions.  Cool slightly.  If links, cut into 1/4" slices.
2. In a greased 9x13" baking dish, layer half the English muffin cubes and half the cooked sausage.  Repeat layers.  Drizzle with butter and top with cheese, onion, and red pepper.
3. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt and pepper.  Pour over casserole.  Sprinkle with bacon.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Uncover and bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Makes 12 servings.

Alterations:

• *I'm cheap frugal and bought bulk sausage instead of links.
• **I'm cheap frugal and bought white bread instead of English muffins.
• For one of the casseroles (I made 2), after the sausage was cooked I added some sliced mushrooms and sauteed them a little.