Saturday, January 29, 2011

Friday Night Family Dinner from Years Gone By

Friday nights have been special for me since I was a little girl.  Food and family made for a good night.  Y'all know that I got my "cooking genes" from my grandmother.  MaMa (pronounced MAW-MAW) cooked dinner every Friday night for our entire family.  Now we weren't a super large family, as family size goes, but my PaPa (you guessed it!  pronounced PAW-PAW) would come in on Friday evenings after working away for the week.  My mother and daddy would be there along with my older brother, Lance and myself.  Sometimes my Aunt Bobbie would come in from Houston for the weekend.  Friday nights were always special at MaMa's house.  We each had our favorite dishes and she would always ask us, "What would you like MaMa to cook?"  I loved it when she talked about herself in 3rd person. 

Okay, I digress.  One of our favorite meals was "Mexican Food Casserole".  I am sure it had another, more fitting name, but this is what we called it.  The thing I love best about MaMa's handwritten recipe for "Mexican Food Casserole" is that it calls for a 79 cent bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos.  Can you imagine how long ago that was when a super large size bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos only cost 79 cents?  I think a bag costs about $3 these days. 

Here's what to do to make "MaMa's Mexican Casserole"

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 lb. ground beef (I use 96% Lean)
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 T. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 (14.5 oz.) can of cream of mushroom (I use the reduced fat version)
1 (14.5 oz.) can of cream of chicken soup (I use the reduced fat version)
1 (14.5 oz.) can of cheddar cheese soup
1 large bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos (I have made this with Baked Doritos, and do so for my family, and they work well, but I suggest using real Doritos the first time you try this)
1 can of Rotel Tomatoes

DIRECTIONS

Brown meat with onion in a large skillet.  Drain any fat.  Return to skillet and add chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper.  Mix well and keep warm.

Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with no-stick cooking spray.  Line baking dish with Doritos, then half of the seasoned beef, and half of each can of soup.  (I mix all three cans of soup together in mixing bowl and add half of that mixture for this step).  Repeat layers.  Top with Doritos.  Spoon an entire can and juices of Rotel Tomatoes over the top of the Doritos.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, or until bubbly at the edges. 


And along with Mexican Food Casserole, we always had Taco Salad.  This salad has been served at every salad luncheon you've ever attended.  It's a tried and true recipe and I serve it to my family with every Tex-Mex meal I make.  In the summer, we add some fajita chicken or ground beef, seasoned for tacos to it and have it for dinner.


Here's what to do for the Taco Salad:

INGREDIENTS
Lettuce (I like romaine, you can use any variety, but stay away from the spring mix varieties.  You can buy the American Salad blend in the bag, hearts of romaine, or just use iceberg.  Any of it works!)
Tomatoes (for a family of four, I use 2 to 3 large roma tomatoes) cut into chunks
3-4 Slliced green onions
1 can sliced black olives, rinsed and drained
1 large avocado, cut into chunks
1 can of Ranch Style Beans, drained and rinsed
Shredded cheddar cheese
Fritos (crunched and used for the topping)1 bottle of Kraft Catalina salad dressing (I have used fat free and it's TOO SWEET!  We used the reduced fat version of the dressing and it tastes great, if you are interested in lightening up the calories)


DIRECTIONS

Mix salad ingredients together and toss gently (ommitting the Fritos and cheese)

Do this just prior to serving or everything will be mushy.  We sprinkle the Fritos on our individual salads so you can have as much (Charlie) or as little as you like.  Not everyone in my family likes cheese, so we also add that separately. Many times I've seen the salad prepared with cheese and fritos mixed in with the salad, and sometimes even dressed.  I don't recommend this because the Fritos will get soggy and I can't think of much worse than soggy Fritos!

Top with Catalina and toss! 

Again, you've probably had this salad plenty of times.  It's one of my standard recipes and my family loves it.  I know you will too.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Breakfast of Champions

I have a confession to make.  I am not a breakfast person.  Breakfast for dinner may be an easy solution for you and your family, but honestly, it turns my stomach.  I'm all about the "spice" and bacon and eggs are just bland to me. 

Ironically, one of my favorites parts of the weekend is Saturday morning and "family breakfast".  Now I'm not usually the one cooking family breakfast, although I am capable of doing so.  It's when my husband, Charlieman, gets his Betty Crocker on.  Our girls LOVE having a special breakfast.  They enjoy their daddy rustling about in the kitchen and really like the extra globs of jelly he allows them to have.  I try to be a good sport, but it's just not my thing.

Recently, we tag-teamed family breakfast on a quest to try something new. 

TEX MEX EGGS BENEDICT


Pico de Gallo
2 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 to 2 small cloves of garlic, pressed
1 serano pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 c. or less of fresh chopped cilantro
Light squeeze of 1/2 a lime
Salt and pepper to taste

I use LaTortilla Factory brand "Mexican Style" white corn tortillas.  I found that it's best to prepare the tortillas and have them warm and ready when the eggs are done.

1/2 of a 9 oz. package of Mexican Chorizo
2 handfuls of frozen Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes

In a non-stick skillet, cook the chorizo over medium to medium-high heat, until fragrant.  Add the hash browns to the skillet and continue cooking until the chorizo has been incorporated and the potatoes begin to brown.  Remove from pan and keep warm.

Spread refried beans (Ducal brand--from Guatamala are FABULOUS! But any refried beans will do.  We use FAT FREE refried beans for our dish) onto two tortillas.  Next, layer the potato-chorizo mixture.  Keep warm or place in the microwave to warm 15 seconds prior to placing cooked egg on top.

Eggs
In the same non-stick skillet (that you wiped clean), using non-stick cooking spray to prevent sticking, carefully crack and cook eggs (2 at a time) approximately 2 minutes or until desired consistency.  (People are funny about their eggs. Some like them runny and others like a firmer yolk)

When the eggs are finished, add them to the prepared tortillas, sprinkle with Monterey Jack or other shredded cheese of your choice and top with pico de gallo. 

This new twist on breakfast was well received!  It was definitely not our usual bacon and eggs with biscuits kind of breakfast.  I hope you'll give our spiced up "family breakfast" a try!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Cornbread is Good for the Soul

I grew up on cornbread.  I absolutely LOVE it!  My grandmother always made it in a cast iron skillet.  She never measured her flour or cornmeal with actual measuring cups.  She had a HUGE tin of flour in a cabinet below her oven.  Inside the tin, was a white coffee cup with a bright blue ring around the top.  Her "batch" of cornbread filled one large skillet and one very small skillet.  We also did not cut our cornbread in wedges like pie.  Instead, MaMa cut off the round edges, leaving a perfect square in the center.  The "EDGES" were the most coveted pieces of all, and she ALWAYS saved one just for ME!


MAMA'S CORNBREAD

1 c. all purpose flour
1 c. stone ground yellow cornmeal
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. buttermilk (I buy lowfat buttermilk)
1/4 c. oil (vegetable or canola work fine)
oil for skillet


VERY IMPORTANT!  Preheat oven to 425. Add 1 to 2 T. of oil to the skillet and place in the oven as the oven preheats.  DON'T forget you've started heating the oil, and please note that in about 15 minutes, we you take the skillet out to add your cornbread batter, it will be HOT with seriously HOT oil inside.  PLEASE HANDLE WITH CAUTION.
(Now that I have added in my CAUTION note, I can continue)

Mix all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  Add oil and beaten eggs.  Add buttermilk and mix well.

When the oven is preheated and skillet and oil are piping hot, gently pour batter into skillet.  It should sizzle when it makes contact with the oil.  Return it to the oven and bake for approximately 22-25 minutes, or until it is golden brown.

Invert hot skillet onto a large cutting board and slice.  Serve warm with butter.  I strongly urge you to try to cut it as pictured below. 

MaMa always cut the center portion into squares. 
EVERYONE wanted an edge.  They are the BEST!
If you have never had an "edge", you truly do not know what your missing.  And most importantly, I hope you remember that this is how my grandmother made cornbread.  It's not the only recipe out there, but it's the most magical one you'll ever try!  (Miss you, MaMa! xoxoxoxo)

Taking it to the Masses

I love a good story just about as much as I love a good recipe.  So many of you have supported and encouraged my "What's on Tara's Table" Facebook page, but I have several friends who are not facebookers and really wanted to see what the buzz was all about.

So here's my story: 

I've been clipping recipes and reading cookbooks since my first job in PR.  Part of my job was to review several newspapers and magazines and clip articles of interest.  After the "work" part was done with the periodicals, I would do a little clipping for me.  It started out as just a little file.  About that time I became very interested in lightening up the standard Southern recipes I was raised on.  I read.  I clipped.  And I cooked.

I found that I actually had a knack for making a meal into a memory.  I tried to make dinner time special.  As my children grew older and our lives grew busier, I had to find a way to juggle it all, because we were going to have dinner together!  The best time of the day was when we gathered 'round the table, bowed our heads in prayer and opened up about our days.  Dinnertime became my favorite time of the day because I was sharing what I loved with the people I loved most. 

Every now and then, I would post what I was cooking for dinner on Facebook.  Friends started to notice and wanted the recipes.  I started posting pictures and sharing recipes and before I knew it, there were lots of people planning their weekly menus by my posts.  And a new FB page "What's on Tara's Table" was born.

I am hoping to attract more readers and share recipes with more folks.  By all means, please FOLLOW my blog!  Also feel free to share my blog with your friends and family.  I can't wait to inspire more people to get back into the kitchen and back to cooking!