Tag: red pepper

Cornbread and Bacon Muffin’ Stuffin


I was watching The Chew last Friday (again) and saw Carla Hall & Daphne Oz make this incredible muffin stuffing recipe, and decided this was going to be on menu this year since I’m just cooking for one (me). I really love the idea of individual servings, and the fact that you can customize these babies when serving a group. The original recipe calls for using sausage, but I substituted bacon since I had some in the fridge. I also halved the recipe, which produced six “muffins”, but am giving you the ingredients to make a dozen. I made these tonight to test them out, and have to say, they’re seriously delicious! I plan on reheating them tomorrow in the oven to accompany the rest of my turkey day meal.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups prepared cornbread (cut into 1-inch cubes)
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 8 thick slices of bacon
  • 3 tbsp. butter
  • 1 cup red onion (small diced)
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced Scallions
  • 1 cup celery ribs (small diced)
  • 1/2 cup red pepper (small diced)
  • Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 cup Swanson’s chicken broth
  • 2 tsp. poultry seasoning
  • 2 tsp. chopped fresh Sage
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 large egg (beaten)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Have the cornbread in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and add bacon. Once the bacon is cooked, remove it & break into pieces to the bowl of cornbread.
  4. Add the butter to the pan and then toss in the onions, scallions, celery and red pepper.
  5. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
  6. Add the vegetables to the bowl. Then, add the chicken stock, the seasonings, milk, and egg. Toss lightly to combine.
  7. Butter the muffin tins and then spoon the cornbread in. Compress the muffins and then add more stuffing on top.
  8. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until just lightly browned. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from tins.

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Thai Cashew Chicken


I have to admit, you can probably count on both hands, how many times I’ve had thai food. There is a restaurant near where I live called Phuket (pronounced Poo-ket) Thai that serves a cashew chicken dish that I absolutely adore. So, I thought I’d try my hand in making it, or something similar, at home. I found a recipe online that got rave reviews, but did have me raise an eyebrow when I saw fish & oyster sauces as two of the ingredients. I tweaked it a bit and am thrilled to report that it turned out delicious! As a vegetarian dish, this would be equally scrumptious if tofu was substituted for chicken or you just omitted the poultry and added more vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or cutlets
  • 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
  • 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped 
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • Dash black pepper
  • 1/2 cup cashews
  • 1/4 tsp dried pepper flakes
  • 4 green onions, cut into 2″ slices
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch

Directions

  1. Mix fish & oyster sauces, garlic, sugar, black pepper and cornstarch.
  2. Marinade chicken in sauce for 30 minutes in fridge.
  3. Heat oil over medium heat in wok or large skillet.
  4. Saute the sweet onion & bell pepper for a few minutes. Drain & set aside leaving oil in skillet.
  5. Saute the nuts & dried pepper flakes ’til nuts are slightly browned. Add a little more oil if necessary.
  6. Drain & set aside, leaving remaining oil.
  7. Increase heat to medium high  and add marinated chicken with marinade and water.
  8. Cook until chicken is done (no pink in the middle). Add more water as needed for desired consistency.
  9. Add sweet & green onions, bell & dried peppers and nuts to skillet. Mix and cook slightly.
  10. Serve over rice.