Luncheon for a Winter Day

I hosted a luncheon meeting yesterday for my Master Gardener committee.  I kept it very simple:  a beef stew that I've posted about here before, Beef Daube Provencal and the best and easiest cornbread ever, Homesteader Cornbread.  Since this was a meeting, we needed to get started, so Fresh Market came to the rescue for dessert with an assortment of their fantastic cookies for easy eating.  They were out of the Kitchen Sink cookies, but the ones I got were almost as good.

I made two batches of the stew, one in the oven per the recipe and one in the crockpot, on low for about 8 hours.  I couldn't tell the difference.  Since I wanted a thicker stew, I coated the beef with flour before I browned it.  There was plenty for my group of 10 plus leftovers for dinner.  My husband hates leftovers, but I told him it was new to him!  He cleaned his bowl.

The bonus?  A great meeting!  I'm so excited about what we're going to accomplish this year in Master Gardeners.  Check out our blog:  Garden Musings.

Homesteader Cornbread

HOMESTEADER CORNBREAD

Submitted by: Patricia Bergstrom

Rated: 5 out of 5 by 715 members            

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 30 Minutes      

Ready In: 50 Minutes

Yields: 15 servings

"A moist, sweet corn bread with a crisp crust is the goal, fully realized with this recipe."

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

2 1/2 cups milk

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder        1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

1.         Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, combine cornmeal and milk; let stand for 5 minutes. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2.         In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix in the cornmeal mixture, eggs and oil until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3.         Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean.

This recipe appears in the Allrecipes "Tried & True Favorites" cookbook. Buy it online at http://www.shopallrecipes.com/

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2007 Allrecipes.com     Printed from Allrecipes.com 9/4/2007

Cornbread Dressing

Grandma's Corn Bread Dressing  

Prep Time: 45 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

Submitted By: Amy Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package dry cornbread mix  (I used leftover Homesteader's Cornbread)

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 small onion

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons dried sage

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare the dry corn bread mix according to package directions. Cool and crumble.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9x13 inch baking dish.

3. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the celery and onion until soft.

4. In a large bowl, combine the celery, onions, 3 cups crumbled corn bread, eggs, chicken stock, sage and salt and pepper to taste; mix well.

5. Place into prepared dish and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 11/25/2010

Dinner with friends

Or, as one of them termed it:  Dinner in Allentown!

Sunday night we had a few friends over for a chili supper.  We had the best time!  Becky & Barney brouhgt nacho fixings; Pam and Steve brought margarita makings (which they had to do after he bragged in New Orleans about how good his margaritas are!  But I guess it's not bragging if it's true, right?)  Joyce and Richard brought a fabulous chocolate cheesecake.  I made the chili and some cornbread and Walter contributed tamales.  He wanted to get some from a joint at Perkins and Knight Arnold, but ran out of time.  These were from Schnuck's and they were ok.

Becky shared her new favorite song, Sugarland's Stuck Like Glue, with me...
...and I shared my new favorite song with her.

Bruno Mars - Just the Way You Are

Homesteader Cornbread

HOMESTEADER CORNBREAD

Submitted by: Patricia Bergstrom

Rated: 5 out of 5 by 715 members    

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 30 Minutes          

Ready In: 50 Minutes

Yields: 15 servings

"A moist, sweet corn bread with a crisp crust is the goal, fully realized with this recipe."

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

2 1/2 cups milk

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder  1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

1.         Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, combine cornmeal and milk; let stand for 5 minutes. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2.         In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix in the cornmeal mixture, eggs and oil until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3.         Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean.

This recipe appears in the Allrecipes "Tried & True Favorites" cookbook. Buy it online at http://www.shopallrecipes.com/

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2007 Allrecipes.com         Printed from Allrecipes.com 9/4/2007