Southwestern Corn and Potato Chowder

Winging it in the kitchen doesnt always yield delicious results. There are times my husband looks at his plate in horror and quietly slips away to make a grilled cheese. Tonight was not one of those night.

I boiled five cups of cubed potatoes in two cups of milk until tender. I then added one cup of shredded cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup diced onion, 1/4 cup diced green pepper and half a cup of jarred salsa con queso cheese dip.
Once everything is incorporated well add one more cup of milk. Then I added a cup of corn, a cup of grilled sliced pork chunks and a tablespoon of butter.

The result was a delicious and satisfying meal from my kitchen to your table.

Strawberry Banana Bread

I am not a baker. My sister is the baked goods queen, champion of cookies, sultina of sweets. I have been obsessed with Pinterest lately, and it's a bakers paradise. So I have been dabbling in a little baking. Today I was very successful.

What you'll need:

2 bananas, mashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
A pinch of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

Mix your mashed bananas with your butter. Add your sugar, salt vanilla and egg. Mix well. In a seperate bowl mix your flour and baking powder. Add your wet mix to your dry and mix well. Fold in your strawberries and pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 65 minutes at 350° or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let rest in the pan for at least fifteen minutes before removing the loaf from the pan. And there you have it! A delicious and easy dessert from my kitchen to your table!

Cornbread Ham and Bean Bake

I had half a pound of leftover ham in my fridge and I was low on ideas. I also happen to be low on groceries. So when I grabbed a family size can of baked beans and a can of kidney beans I wasnt too hopeful.

I fried one inch ham cubes in butter and honey. Then I added both cans of beans, half a cup of honey mustard, half a cup of brown sugar, half a cup of bbq sauce and half a cup of diced white onion. I simmered it for twenty minutes before turning off the heat.

I prepared homemade cornbread but any premade mix will do, as long as its big enough to make two loafs. I made sweet cornbread because thats what I love but a cheesy spicy cornbread would be just as tasty.

Pour your bean mixture into a 9x13 baking dish and top it with your cornbread batter and bake for 25 minutes at 400°. You know have a delicious and easy meal from my kitchen to your table.

Slow Roasted Lamb Tacos

This isnt a quick process. But it is SO good and SO easy. Lamb shoulder is tender and delicious, and slow roasting it just amplifies its delicious qualities.

I put my roast in the crock pot on low with two eigthed onions, a cup of chopped cilantro and season it with salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder and smoked paprika.

Now let it cook on low for 18 hours. Yes eighteen. What does that mean? Well if you wanna eat at 5pm the next day, throw it in at 11pm. The night before. Of course you cant just leave it be. You have to add a little water or lamb stock every so often. Fresh outta lamb stock but loathe to water down all that flavor? Vegetable stock works great too.

As you know shoulder roasts have bone. Fight the temptation to take the bone out. Fight it! Bones keep meat moist! The bone can be removed at the last minute.

After the meat is prepared, whip up some mango cilantro sauce (thats another blog) and chop up any fixings you desire. We had lettuce, black olives, onions, cheese, sour cream and taco sauce. Spread refried beans onto your tortilla then top it with your fixings. Drizzle on your mango cilantro sauce and you have an amazing slow roasted lamb taco from my kitchen to your table.

Mango Cilantro Sauce

This sauce is pretty universal. I put it on pork, lamb, tacos, in meatloaf, on a salad, everything. Sometimes I add jalapeno, sometimes I add pineapple.

Cut up one large mango into large chunks. Chop a half cup of fresh cilantro, half a cup of onions and two cloves of garlic. Put all the componants into a food processor and puree. Now you have a light fresh tasting sauce that really adds to any dish from my kitchen to your table.

Sweet and Sour Pork Sandwiches

Sometimes we need to try something new. At least in my house we do. So since I have been trying to do things a little healthier, I decided to make my own sweet and sour sauce. Its very simple.

Pour one can of diet orange soda, a quarter cup of soy sauce and one teaspoon of ginger paste. Fresh grated ginger works just as well. Let this come to a simmer before adding bite size chunks of pork tenderloin. Simmer the meat covered for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the pork is 165°. Uncover and allow the sauce to thicken.

I added half a cup of crushed pineapple before spooning onto a split cibatta loaf. I topped it with white american cheese before popping it into a 400° oven for ten minutes.

The result was a delicious easy meal from my kitchen to your table.

Healthy Apple Strawberry Tart

Sometimes a rich dessert is just what you want, but other times a nice light dessert is really refreshing. I made a beautiful tart that was delicious AND low calorie.

I sliced up two large granny smith apples and a pound of strawberries. I tossed them with a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice and a cup of splenda.

I filled a store bought crust with my strawberry apple filling and brushed the edges with some melted butter. I baked the tart at 350° for 40 minutes. A nice healthy dessert from my kitchen to your table.

Easy Banana Poke Cakes

Need a dessert in a pinch? Only have twenty minutes? Then this is the dessert for you! All you need is two packages of six personal sponge cakes, two ripe bananas, one tub of cool whip some banana cream instant pudding and a plastic straw.

Make your pudding according to the directions on the box and let it set up in the fridge while you use the straw to poke hokes in six of the sponge cakes. Once your pudding has set spread a liberal dollop of it onto each cake. Add banana slices onto each cake and top with cool whip. Repeat these steps for the second layer, then add one more slice of banana to each cake for garnish. Then you have a super quick super easy dessert from my kitchen to your table.

Catfish Po'boy Sandwiches

My local butcher shop had fresh catfish nuggets on sale for $1.50 a pound. What is a catfish nugget you ask? Basically the leftover chunks of catfish fillets. Thats why its so cheap. I dont cook a lot of seafood and this was my first time cooking catfish. I am very pleased with how this turned out.

To start, I cut my catfish into bite size chunks, careful to trim off any skin that was left. Then I soaked it in a bowl full of milk to plump it up and leech out any extra fishy flavor.

Then I drained the milk off and prepared my shake n bake. I chose shake n bake for this because I wanted a healthier alternative to breaded, fried fish. I dropped in my catfish pieces and coated them well.

I baked my fish for 35 minutes at 350°. While my fish baked, I prepared the other componants to the sandwiches. Since I bought pre made cole slaw I only needed to jazz it up a bit. I added some hot sauce, cheddar cheese and cracked black pepper. Then I made a special sauce composed of honey mustard, buffalo sauce and sour cream. Then I split my beautiful ciabatta buns.

I put sauce on the buns, then the catfish. I topped the fish with some of my doctored cole slaw. I served these beauties with steamed broccoli and cheese sauce.

This is a delicious and quick meal for the whole family to enjoy. From my kitchen to your table!