Fully Loaded Cornbread Muffins

These are quite common, but delicious nonetheless, so here we go!!

First step, brown your beef and season it.  Just for shits-n-giggles I used a fajita seasoning instead of a taco seasoning.  Be sure to not get distracted, or you will end up with a few overly-brown pieces like the one that's flipped over and waving at the world above.  Once it is done, take it off the heat and let it cool.

I couldn't make up my mind what cornbread to use, so I used one white and one yellow and mixed them, which turned out to be a good idea.

Next, you'll need one cup of corn (I used frozen), about 2/3 cup of shredded cheese of your choice, half a poblano pepper and half an onion.  Dice up the onion and the pepper, removing the membrane.

Add all the ingredients except the cheese to your meat mixture.  You can caramelize the onions and peppers before cooking the meat if you prefer, but if you don't, it leaves a bit of fresh flavor and crunch to the final product and I like that.

Next, mix up your corn bread mixes according to the directions.

Close-up shot of this little guy because I think he is SO CUTE.  Its a Mini Bakey silicone spatula.  I got a set of two of them off amazon for about 2 bucks and it is some of the best money we've spent as they are always in constant use and they are small enough to scrap peanut butter jars and such clean.  Functional AND cute?  Yes, please!

Anyway, add the skillet mixture and cheese to the corn bread batter, mix it all up, then plunk it in muffin pans.  I used cupcake liners so they wouldn't be a pain to get out.

Bake according to the directions on the corn bread packages.

And NOM THEM ALL!  This made about 2 dozen.  They are freezer friendly and reheat amazingly well - the Wookie took them to work.  He also claims they are great cold, too, but I preferred mine heated or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

<3 WW

Tuna Boats

This is a fun, light, crisp, easy recipe that is just perfect for summer.  The success of this depends on how fresh and nice your cucumbers are, though.  While this was good, the cucumbers I'd bought were a tad on the bitter/tart side, so I'd imagine with a sweeter one this would be ten times better.  I got the idea for this recipe off of Pinterest, but as so often happens, it didn't link back to a source.

This starts out with the tuna recipe I use faithfully - my grandmother's recipe.  I've had a lot of tuna made by a lot of different people, but nowhere else have I ever seen anyone put apples into it and that is a shame because it is just stellar.

Starting off, you'll need 3 cans of tuna in water or oil, your choice.  Drain it well and put it in a large mixing bowl or container.  I knew there'd be leftovers so I mixed it straight into a Tupperware bowl with a lid to save on dishes.

You'll also need 1/2 of an apple - red is best, but green works in a pinch - and half an onion of any color.  The cucumbers are for the little boats.  I made 4 boats and had plenty of tuna left over and could have made about 4-6 more.  My eyes were bigger than my stomach, I couldn't even finish one boat, but the Wookie came to the rescue and ate all the rest!

Other stuff you'll need includes mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip), spicy or brown mustard, salt, pepper, dill pickles or dill relish, and garlic powder, the last two of which seem to have been camera shy on this day.  -.-

Hard boil 3 eggs or one egg per can of tuna and let them cool completely.

Finely dice up the 1/2 onion and 1/2 apple and add them to the tuna along with 1tbsp of the mustard, 1 tsp garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and 2 tbsp of dill relish or finely chopped pickle.  The mayonnaise is up to you.  Some people like their tuna drier than others.  I add mayonnaise until it is to the consistency I like it at, then squeeze in a little more since I'll be adding the eggs in later.

Peel your cucumbers and remove the seeds so they are hollow.  I like to use a melon baller, it gets all the seeds out with one fell swoop.

Next, once they are completely cool, dice the eggs up and fold them into the tuna mixture.  I like to do this after everything else is all stirred up so that some of the chunks of boiled yolks stay intact.  If you mix them in as you mix everything else, they tend to break up and just sort of become one with everything.

Once your eggs are in, pop the whole thing into the fridge, covered, until it is nice and cold, then spoon the mixture into the cucumbers and sprinkle with some parsley.

That's all there is to it!

A close-up shot of the goodness.

Do you have a special tuna salad recipe that's been handed down?

<3
WW

Turkey!

The holidays aren't the only time of year to eat turkey.  In fact, we probably eat turkey more when its not a holiday.  This turkey breast I caught on sale and only needed half of it for the recipe I was making for dinner that night, so I decided to just bake the rest up for sandwiches or snacks.

This, admittedly, looks pretty gross.  But do not fret!  The turkey breast was pretty massive and came boneless, skin on.  I peeled the skin off the whole thing, cut it in half, and diced up the half I was going to cook for dinner that night.  The other half, I left in one big hunk, rubbed about 1/4 each of spicy mustard and honey (the real stuff only),  sort of wrapped it back into the piece of skin, then popped it into the toaster oven at 350 for about an hour and I had this:

It was simple, moist, and made one hell of a sandwich and wrap.

As with all poultry, once you take it out of the oven let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before you slice it up so it will reserve its juiciness.  :)

<3
WW

Breakfast Croissant Pouches

Damn, the things we make when we're REEALLLLY hungry, eh?

Simple one this time.  Lay out the dough and leave it in the 4 big rectangles instead of splitting it into the 8 small triangles.  I suppose you could make your own dough, but I don't have the space for something like that at this particular moment in time.  Soon, though...Soon...

Add turkey sausage (or whatever breakfast meat it is your family enjoys)...I left mine frozen because they were pre-cooked and warmed fine in the oven, but if you were using bacon or uncooked sausages, then cook it first.  Add some cheddar cheese and scrambled eggs (good way to use up leftovers).

Wrap them up.  Its early.  No one cares if they're pretty.  And you need more coffee.

Bake according to directions on croissant package.

Delicious.  Portable.

<3
WW

Venison Taco Bowls

This is just a variation on my Taco Bowls!! post from a few months back using ground venison instead of ground beef.

I chopped up a poblano pepper and a few tomatoes...

And added the poblanos to a skillet of ground venison I'd browned, and also added a can of corn.

Then, I drained a can of black beans and rinsed them.

And added them and the tomatoes to the mix and seasoned it with chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, sea salt, cumin, cilantro and black pepper (all to taste, just add a little at a time, start with about 1/2 tsp of each and go from there).

Close-up shot of all that goodness!

Stir in some cheese until it looks all gooey and gross and you're ready to go!

<3
WW

Venison Lettuce Wraps

This is one of the best things I've made to date.  Now, since I'm still learning so much when it comes to cooking that will probably be an updated statement next week...Or maybe not.  These were so good I imagine they may stay at the top of my list for quite some time.

First, brown 1/2 pound of ground venison in a skillet with about a tablespoon of olive oil.  Once its browned, add about a teaspoon of minced garlic, stir it up, and let it sit for a minute or two.  Wipe the grease splatter off the stove before photographing.

While the meat is browning, get your sauce ingredients together (soy sauce, olive oil, sesame oil, ginger, sugar, and siriacha sauce) and slice up about 1/2 a small onion and one small poblano.  I only chopped up a half and wished I'd put in the whole thing.

Once the beef and the garlic have simmered for a minute, add about 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 2 more tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1 knuckle pinch of sugar, and 2 tbsp of cock sauce.  Stir it up, then toss in your onions, peppers, and whatever other vegetables you want in there.  I used two different stiry-fry mixes I had in the freezer, so we ended up with squash, cauliflower, asparagus, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, broccoli, carrots, and snap peas in addition to the onions and poblano.  It was a delicious enough mix that I'll be making sure to use the same next time.  If you are using frozen vegetables, let them cook for a minute before throwing in the fresh vegetables, otherwise they will get over-done.

While your vegetables are cooking to the desired softness, prep your lettuce.  Peel off the leaves you want to use for wraps, wash them, then cut off the tapering, bitter end so you're left with something roughly oval-ish.  If you're using cabbage you can skip the trimming and just wash the leaf and use as is.

Line them up on a plate so they may await their destiny.

Once the vegetables are to your desired consistency, pile that shit into the lettuce leaves and dig in!  This was incredible.  Now I'm hungry again.  I'm going to have to start posting while I'm eating whatever I've made so it doesn't keep making me hungry every time I post.

<3 The Wookie Wifey

Egg Salad

Here's a super quick and easy egg salad recipe I use with TONS of bacon which makes it so very yummy.  We don't use eggs much around here, so its a good way to use the extras up before they go bad.

First off, fry up 5 pieces of bacon.  Whether you want it crispy or soft is totally up to you.

Then, after it has drained, chop it up, (or tear, I find tearing it is easier and quicker), toss it in a bowl with 6 hard-boiled eggs which have also been chopped up.  I suppose you could tear those, too, but that would be pretty messy.

Next, add a teaspoon of garlic powder and two teaspoons of onion powder to the mix.  I like to use these in egg salad because I want the flavor of both, but don't necessarily want to bite into an onion or piece of garlic while noshing down on an egg salad sandwich.  For some reason chunks of onion are perfectly, entirely acceptable in tuna salad, but not in egg salad.  I'm weird that way.

Next, chop up a pickle slice.  This was a kosher dill, the stacker kind that are sliced length-wise.  If you use regular slices, I'd say use about 4, more if you like a very pickle-y flavor to your salad.

Add about 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise (I use the kind made with olive oil), half a tablespoon of spicy mustard, and stir it all up then salt and pepper it to taste and there you have it!

Pile it on a sandwich or a salad - either way it is delicious and super simple!

<3
The Wookie Wifey

Asian Noodles with Chicken

Ok, so I'm way behind.  I've been busy lately and have a gazillion and one pictures on my computer just waiting their turn in line to be blogged/posted.  So I guess I better get fucking started then, eh?

I love this dish...I'm sure it is the farthest thing in the world from being even remotely authentic, but I love it all the same.

It is quick, simple to cook and you can pack it with a gazillion vegetables.  I usually would like to use more than I did here, but we were out of most of what I usually would put into these little guys.

First you'll need some chicken, or meat of your choice.  I'm just using some chicken that was boiled with some spices and broth, then taken off the bone and cooled off.  This was the meat from 1 thigh/leg piece.

Next, cook up some noodles (I used 8 oz) then drain them and rinse them in cold water until they are all cooled all the way through and set them aside.

Next up is prep work!  Chop up everything you want to go in there.  I had to use frozen broccoli because I'm a loser and forgot to buy fresh.  I used lots of cabbage, green onions, fresh chopped garlic, (no measurements for the vegetables, I just threw whatever I could find in there) about a teaspoon of sugar, 1/4 cup of vegetable oil (peanut or just straight sesame works, whatever you have on hand, but I hate the taste of straight sesame oil), about 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, 1/3 cup of soy sauce, and a little salt and pepper.

Add the oils to the pan and let it heat up...I do this on high heat.  I do not own a wok.  /cry

Once the oils are hot, add the garlic and the green onions and let it cook about 20 seconds or so.

Then, add the soy sauce, sugar, meat and whatever vegetables will take the longest to cook...I threw in the broccoli.  I let it cook until the broccoli was basically just thawed since I like mine to have a lot of crunch.

Once the tough vegetables are cooked to the consistency you prefer, toss in the noodles, cabbage, and extra green onion if you want.  Toss it all together until it all gets hot, then if you want a stronger flavor, you can add more soy sauce.

Put it in the dish of your choice, garnish with extra green onion if you want, and there you go!  :)  This recipe serves 4, of if you're like us and there's only two of you,  one dinner then a few lunches.  This stuff re-heats great, you can just heat it in a skillet with a little extra oil in just a matter of minutes and it tastes just like the first night it was made.

<3

The Wookie Wifey