Indian Head Yellow Corn Meal Honey Corn Bread

On Tunah Tuesday, Becca made this cornbread for us to accompany our chili for dinner. This recipe is from the back of the package of yellow corn meal. I shall include a link for the website and the original corn bread recipe as well at the end of the post.

Honey Corn Bread or Corn Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup Indian Head Yellow Corn Meal
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup honey

Directions:

Preheat oven: 400 degrees

In a bowl, combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, melted butter, vanilla and honey until well blended. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir until just blended.

Corn Bread: pour batter into an 8x8 greased pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Corn Muffins: Pour batter into greased or lined muffin tins, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 13-17 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.

I was surprised at Tuna. She used to hate corn bread until Becca made it. Now Tuna wants to make this corn bread all the time.

Here is the link to the website with a few other recipes. You'll have to scroll down a bit before you get to the corn bread recipe: http://www.wrmills.com/indian-head-yellow-corn-meal/

Chocolate Oreo Cookie Cake ~Adapted from Frisky Confessions of Crafty Witches~

I helped Tuna with this recipe. We had to adapt it a bit because we didn't have that many Oreos to begin with. We also didn't use the icing recipe or the filling recipe that was originally with the recipe but I'll put it at the bottom.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 c. sugar
1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. Hershey's Cocoa
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. boiling water

(this part we didn't do because we didn't have enough Oreos)

10-15 oreos twisted to separate cookies and reveal cream center

15 oreos, chopped directly in half through cookie

Directions: 

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 9-inch round baking pans, lining with parchment.

*-On one layer of cake, place cookie halves that have been separated into the bottom of one pan, cream side up. Repeat for second layer* (this step step instead, because of the cake pan, we did a crushed version of this)

-Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

-Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.

-Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

-Pour batter very carefully into prepared pans.

-Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

-Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans and place onto wire racks.

-Remove parchment and cool completely.

In the end Tuna's friend, Becca, made a real easy frosting with cream and powdered sugar, we put an extra Oreo on the top of the mini cakes. 

Here's a picture that Tuna took of one of the cooled cakes

And here's the picture of it with the frosting and topped with a mini Oreo

And here's Frisky's icing and filling recipes as well if you want to try those out as well.

Meanwhile, make frosting:
Ingredients:
For the icing:

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted
2/3 c. Hershey's Cocoa
3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: 

-Stir melted butter into cocoa.
-Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.
-Add small amount additional milk, if needed. -Stir in vanilla. (About 2 cups frosting.)

Meanwhile, make filling:

Ingredients: 

For the filling:

1/3 c. whipping cream
2 tsp powdered sugar
small dash vanilla extract
1/8 c. oreo cookie crumbs, made from reserved oreo sides

Directions:

-In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff.
-Gently fold in the cookie crumbs.
-Scoop the mixture into a piping bag (or gallon sized ziploc bag).
-When cake is completely cooled, make icing dam around the top edge of the layer of cake that has oreos baked into it.
-Fill icing dam with a layer of cream filling.
-Place other cake layer on top, and frost with chocolate frosting.
-Place Oreo halves around bottom edge and top of cake

-Serve or store in refrigerator.

Tuna Momma's Mexican Rice

This is how Tuna's mother makes Mexican rice

For Mexican rice

Ingredients:

Enough cooking oil to fill the bottom of the pot
Rice (and water, follow the rice to water ratio)
Tomato sauce
Knorr flavoring
fresh, canned or thawed peas

Directions:

Heat up a pot on medium heat
Pour in enough cooking oil until the bottom of the pan is completely covered
Put in rice stirring constantly until brown
Add water (must be boiling)
Add tomato sauce
Add knorr flavor
Cover and cook like steamed rice
Add peas once rice is light and fluffy

Tuna Momma's Albondiga Caldo

Another favorite Tuna recipe. Her mother makes it really delicious.

Ingredients:

3-5lb chub of carne molida (ground beef)
Rice (half cup per pound of meat)
Eggs (1 egg per pound)
1 1lb bag carrots
1 bag (if possible) red potatoes
1 large onion
Minced garlic
Salt
Pepper
Knorr chicken flavor


*optional: Mexican rice with chicharros (peas)

Directions:

Boil water
Mix rice, egg, salt, pepper and carne molida into meatball shape *size according to preference
Cut carrorts
Slice onions
Put in albondigas into water with Knorr chicken flavoring, carrots, garlic and onion
put in potatoes
At 30 minute mark test albondigas for doneness

Tuna Momma's Mental Soup

This is one of Tuna's mother's recipes for lentil soup. I have no idea why Tuna calls it "mental soup", then again. she's one weird catfish.

Ingredients:

2 1lb bag of lentils
1 large onion diced
1 package of bacon (uncooked and cut into small pieces for easier eating)
1 heaping teaspoon of caldo con sabor de pollo (or chicken flavor bullion) powdered
Black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large stock pot or soup pot fill 3/4 of the way with water.
Add diced onions, bacon, and flavorings
As soon as water begins to boil add lentils and cook for 45 minutes or until lentils are tender.

*Note: Tuna's mother uses the Knorr chicken bullion in powdered form. Of course you do not have to follow the directions and ingredients to the T, but it's still pretty yummy.

Quick Strawberry Jam

Taken from Martha Stewart's website http://www.marthastewart.com/335256/quick-strawberry-jam?center=276955&gallery=275333&slide=264063

Yield Makes 1 3/4 cups

Ingredients
1 quart hulled strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

In a food processor, process strawberries until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a large skillet and stir in sugar and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high, stirring frequently, until jam is thickened and bubbles completely cover surface, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer jam to a jar and let cool to room temperature. (To store, seal jar and refrigerate, up to 10 days)


**I'd like to note that if you don't want the jam to sweet you can substitute the sugar for splenda or whatever other sugar substitute you have.

Tuna's Choco Seanut Butter Surprise Pie

I made this pie on Pi Day for Loki and he loved it.

Ingredients:

1 store bought (or home made) regular sized pie crust
1 package of instant jello chocolate pudding mix
3 cups whole milk (or whatever milk you have)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup confectioner's sugar

Directions

First we're going to make the Seanut Butter special filling. Reserve 1/2 cup of milk. In a bowl put the cup of peanut butter and confectioner's sugar. Mix with a fork, getting as much of the confectioner's sugar in to the peanut butter. Add just a splash of milk and continue mixing. Once the mixture is super creamy but not watery, set aside. Note you will not use the entire 1/2 cup of milk.

Spoon in the peanut butter mixture on the bottom of the crust, don't worry if the peanut butter is sticky and pulls up the bottom.

Make pudding according to the directions on the box.
Spoon the pudding mixture on top of the peanut butter. Spreading the pudding all around.


Put in the fridge for at least 2 hours.