Enhanced corn muffins

 

I used a complete corn muffin mix which required only the addition of 1/2 cup milk or water

and instead I added

1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped
chopped fresh cilantro
~ 1/3 cup shredded mexican cheese
~ 1/3 cup sour cream
~ 1/3 cup milk

and cooked according to package directions which was 15-20 min. at 400 degrees

These were very good.

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Chicken Quesadilla

This was just thrown together out of leftovers from a Chicken dinner consisting of Chicken tenders browned in a pan with a nice little sauce, sauteed peppers and onions, and portobello mushrooms.

The leftovers:

Leftover Chicken, peppers, onions & mushrooms are chopped on a gourmet spinach and vegetable flour tortilla, then topped with the shredded cheese and another tortilla, microwave for 1 minute, cut in fourth's or eighth's. Enjoy.

Corn Casserole

16 oz can cream corn
16 oz can whole kernal corn
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 tsp. sugar
1 stick margarine, melted
1 pkg corn muffin mix (can use mexican style)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (or 4 cheese mexican)

Combine corns, sour cream, & eggs. Add sugar and butter. Stir in muffin mix and half the cheese. Pour into large ungreased (I spray mine) casserole dish.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes (depends on size of dish, if deep it can take up to an hour) until top is lightly brown. Remove from oven, top with remaining cheese, return to oven just long enough to melt cheese.

Stuffing Baked Chicken

3 boneless chicken breasts

1 stuffing mix (I used italian)

clove of garlic

1/3 c butter

tsp lemon juice or juice from 1/2 fresh lemon (optional)

salt, pepper

preheat oven to 350°

divide stuffing mix in half - set aside 1/2 (prepare other 1/2 as directed cutting other ing. by 1/2)

spray glass pan with pam, add butter and put pan in oven til butter melts, remove pan from oven, chop garlic into butter and add lemon juice if desired, dip both sides of chicken in butter and add to pan. Add salt and pepper (you could also add other herbs here - chopped fresh chives, a sprinkle of oregano...) sprinkle the chicken with the set aside stuffing mix and then sprinkle generously(but not too much) with the good(fresh - not the powdery kind) 3 cheese parmesan/romano/asiago kraft shredded cheese blend. Bake for 40 min to 1hr or more depending on the size of chicken pieces. I have also used bone in breasts before, works great just make sure you cook the chicken long enough. Add a salad, makes a great fairly easy dinner.

Note: I usually like this crunchy - hence no added water once it's all in the pan, If I am sharing with others or not wanting it so crunchy you can add some water up to the amount appropriate for 1/2 pack of stuffing

Cheese quesadilla

melt a layer of 4 cheese mexican cheese blend between two flour tortillas in the microwave on microwave safe plate for 40 sec to 1 min depending on the size of the tortilla's, cut like a pizza serve with small bowl of salsa in the middle or ranch dressing for dip.

Creamy Crab Sauce

This is one of my make it up as you go along favorites from years ago....

Melt 4 Tablespoons Butter in skillet on medium heat. Chop 1 clove garlic into butter as it melts. Add enough flour (doesn't matter what kind) to absorb butter and make a paste (not too thick). Stir and continue to cook until the mixture begins to look clear. Add about ¾ cup of milk and continue to stir. Pull apart the Louis Kemp crab meat (kinda in shreds) and add to skillet. If the sauce becomes to thick add enough water to achieve the desired consistency(continue to do this if and as needed). Add about 1/3 to ½ cup of parmesan cheese into the mixture. Season with salt and pepper and a dash of nutmeg if desired.

I like it best over angel hair pasta or no yolks dumpling egg noodles, also great on a piece of toast.... Top with more parmesan cheese. Could also top with fresh chopped green onions or chives, fresh parsley, crumbled bacon, chopped tomato.... if desired.

cholesterol dieting

The doctor put me on a diet a while back to get my cholesterol level down. Really kind of simple and I didn't really follow the diet that well. But here's what I did:

limit eggs - no more than one egg yolk a week ( I make great egg-white omelets )

I only cook with olive oil and smart balance butter - the one exception to this is the occasional pot of chicken and dumplings which requires shortening to make the dumplings so I buy shortening in the smallest quantity and keep it in the fridge.

I buy smart balance peanut butter and mayo when I can find it

I quit trying to cook so much and we eat a lot of gourmet sandwiches(subway type toppings), soups, salads, baked potatoes, snack platters, etc., and try to buy more whole grain bread...

I buy only chicken or turkey sandwich meat about 95% of the time

we hardly ever have beef anymore - the occasional pot of chili or some spaghetti or whatever... but I probably decreased the amount of beef consumed in the house by 80% when I do cook meat, it is usually chicken or fish

I drink lots more water, some powerade, more milk and less soda, more tea

we still eat too much cheese and bacon, however I buy more provolone and reduced fat cheeses than before, we also eat the bacon as a condiment to a meal, crumbled on baked potatoes, salad, etc.

and this is probably the most important thing - take fish oil pills 3xday, am still trying to get good at taking all 3 every day lol. if you freeze those... there's no fishy problem...

oh yeah as a long time wic mother 95% of the cereal I buy is wic approved and I only buy 100% juice and REAL cheese.... didn't know what I was missing when I was a kid... one more side note,. this healthier eating is definitely more expensive...

so my cholesterol came down from the 240 range to the 190 range

I lost 43 lbs so far (this also decreases risk of heart attack and stroke from the severe obstructive sleep apnea factor) have to admit here that the weight loss is not entirely due to the cholesterol dieting, and that the walking to catch the school bus twice a day deserves some credit

in spite of all that hard work, my last visit to the dr. showed that my homocysteine levels were elevated which is yet another heart attack/stroke risk factor, good news is I can take a b12, a b6, & folic acid every day and it should bring that down. so now, faced with all that risk and the fact that while I was trying to limit risk from two directions, another risk factor popped up elsewhere... I realize I need to do more and am renewing my efforts to practice daily meditation, and yoga every now and then till it hurts less and for less time afterward lol then I'll step it up a little, and so on.