One of my most favorite sandwiches growing up was pimento cheese. My mother made the best and I think mine is pretty darn close to hers.. When I went to the beach with my two younger sisters this month I took this for us to enjoy at lunch. I was reminded by them of picnics consisting of cold fried chicken (which I haven’t made in decades), pimento cheese sandwiches, deviled eggs and sliced tomatoes. That really conjured up some memories.
Filed under Cheese, Sandwiches
Everybody loves a good cheese dip. This one is a little different, but is so good. I found the recipe on an Atlanta Gas Light calendar that was published by their home economists. Which means that it was tested many times before it was published. I have a great cookbook published by the Atlanta Gas Light Company that so far has not produced anything but good food. My point is that these are tried and true recipes.
Filed under Cheese, Cheese Dip
You either love it or hate it. Canned tuna that is. In my case I love it. When I was in college my mother would make a Tuna Noodle Casserole for me every time I came home. It was comfort food for me. It made me feel loved and at home. Some of you are probably thinking that I was probably starving and I would have loved anything that mother made for me, but that was not the case. We had great food in the college cafeteria and believe me I ate my share of it. We never had dessert growing up and I quickly learned after eating dessert after every meal in college that I had to give it up because I was too broke to buy new clothes! Filed under Cheese, easy, pasta, Tuna and Shells
Today was our last lab for quick breads and the students ended the unit with a bang! All the biscuits that were made today were so good! Biscuits are not the easiest bread to make especially for beginners. At first you are not quite sure how the dough should feel and how much to knead it. And then there is always the question of how much flour to add to the dough to keep it from sticking to your hands. I was very impressed when I talked with each group about what they learned. Here are some of their comments
So my mission for this unit is accomplished and we are ready to move on.
You will find the recipe for Basic Biscuits here and to make the Cheese Biscuits make the following changes:
Our 1st Place Winner!
The recipe and all the interesting things that happened in our first lab of the semester is located on the previous post.
Here are the results of today’s bake-off. Everyone did just great. Vote for the one that you think deserves the top of this post. Voting ends Sunday! Good luck!
To vote go to the comments. Remember that your e-mail address will not be shared. It is just for my use to answer questions that you might have. So here you go with today’s reults:
And a very close 2nd place winner!
If you are in a hurry and are craving homemade bread this recipe is for you! The Athlete loves these drop biscuits and and I have been known to put them together at the last minute because I saw a look of disappointment on his face. They only take about 10 minutes to put together so it is hard to say no. So just get in the kitchen and whip these little drops of cheesey goodness into shape and wait for the compliments to come your way! Recipe and how to photographs can be found at the end of the post.
Deviating from the usual muffin lab that I do for the first lab of the semester was quite interesting. Why change something that works you might ask? Well, having all of the ingredients for a recipe helps. My pantry had several boxes of Bisquick and the drop biscuits put it to good use.
I gave the demonstration yesterday. With new cooks their knowledge is very limited so they ask me lots of questions or they just watch and try to soak it all in. It is as if they are learning a new language. For some of them it is very difficult and for others it comes very easy.I’ve never done these drop biscuits as a lab before, therefore have nothing to compare it to. All the biscuits were edible! That is always good. Everyone enjoyed themselves.
I have to say this about tasting what each group prepared. Some groups will not start eating until I come to their table and taste their food. They all sit there speechless waiting for me to let them know how it taste. Even the slight hesitation as I am talking will scare them. My approval is a very powerful tool. Sometimes it is a little scary. I don’t want to say the wrong thing and discourage a student. I know you are all are wondering what I might say if the food is bad. And yes, I have had the pleasure of tasting bad food !! I always try to remember what a good friend of mine told me. She saw a friend’s new baby for the first time and it was NOT a pretty baby. She said, ” Oh my goodness, what a pretty blanket.” Focus on the positive!
As a sideline here, one of the department heads observed me yesterday and an administrator today. It is the first time anyone has ever observed the first lab of the semester. All kinds of things can go wrong during the first lab. You can have students that hate each other working together. Then you might have a group that every member is scared to do anything so nothing gets done. This list goes on, but all went well! Thank goodness.
Cheesy Drop Biscuits with Garlic Butter
From Betty Crocker
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl mix Biquick and shredded cheese together. Add milk. Stir with fork until soft dough forms. On a cookie sheet, drop dough by 10 to 12 spoonfuls about 2 inches apart. I like to used parchment paper to line the baking sheet . If you do not use the paper I would lightly grease the baking sheet because the cheese will cause the biscuits to stick.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. In small bowl, stir butter and garlic powder until well mixed: brush on warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm.
Here are photos to show the steps:
2 cups of Bisquick and 1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese
Mix Bisquick and cheese . Then add milk and stir until a soft dough forms
Place on baking pan and bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Mix 2 Tablespoons of melted butter with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
Brush butter and garlic powder on warm biscuits
Enjoy!
Happy cooking,
The Teacher Cooks
Today was a great day at school! Especially after yesterday. I was not sure I wanted to return. But, alas I did and have to say it was a fulfilling day at that. There are a few little projects needing some work, if you know what I mean. What would teachers do if every student was perfect? Some of my fellow teachers might say , “A lot!” But in the end it might be quite boring.
We visited the media center today to explore the world of blogging and how it related to Nutrition and Wellness class. As I monitored the class work, I glanced at the computer screen next to me and asked, ” How did you do that?” It really amazes me the computer skills that my students have. Now I am in the other seat. The slow learner!!! The student is so encouraging, ” Oh, Mrs. L let me show you how to do it. It is just a click here and that is it.” Now I am the student and he is the teacher. I feel excited about learning something new and it gave this kid a big smile.
Throughout the semester my class will be commenting on many of the posts. The instructions are different each time but always they are to use good writing skills. If you read the comments you will see that some are very good. Some on the other hand could use improvement.
Let’s get to the baby corn muffins. This is Paula Dean’s recipe. I just kicked it up a bit with some jalepeno peppers. They are quite easy to put together. I can’t lie and tell you that they are healthy, but it is all about the size of the portion. These are extremely small, just don’t eat twelve!
Depending what size pans you use you could possibly make 48. Don’t worry they freeze really well. To reheat just wrap in foil and place in the oven for about 10 minutes. They can be reheated in the microwave wrapped in paper towel.
Here’s how you make them. Enjoy!
Gather all the ingredients
1 1/4 cups of cornmeal and 2 teaspoons baking powder
Add 1/2 teaspoon salt
Then add 1 cup of sharp grated cheese, 1 8 oz. can of creamed corn, 1 cup sour cream, 1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies and I added 1 chopped jalapeno to add some heat.
Chilies, sour cream, corn and cheddar cheese are added then mix lightly.
Beat slightly 2 eggs and 1/2 canola oil and stir until combined. Do not overmix.
Put in greased mini muffin pan
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Just a note here about filling the pans. The ones above are filled just a little too much. It makes it very hard to get out of the pan. At first I thought that I should put oil around the tops of the pan. No!! This did not help. I did find that filling the pans 1/2 instead of 2/3 was the answer. It just did not look as if it would be enough batter, but it will work making them much easier to remove.
Enjoy!
Green Chili Corn Muffins
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease miniature muffin tins wih vegetable oil or cooking spray.
In a small bowl combine the cornmeal, salt, and baking powder. Add the cheese, corn, sour cream, and chilies. ( I stirred in minced jalapeno). Stir until lightly combined. Add the oil and eggs and stir until eveything is just combined. Do not overmix. The batter will be very stiff. Place about 1/2 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
Make 48 miniature muffins
Happy Cooking,
The Teacher Cooks
What are you putting together for your New Year’s Eve party? Want something easy that really is good? Here is a hot cheese dip that is sure to please most everyone! Since October I have made this on four different occasions. When carrying it to a party just bake it there. It will be better right out of the oven. Let’s get cooking!
Filed under Appetizer, Cheese, cream cheese, Eggs, Recipes
Almost perfect!!!
I love teaching!! No, I mean I really LOVE teaching! Today anyway. It makes my day when my students come into the classroom and can’t wait for me to call the roll because they are so eager to get busy with their assignment . There has to be a reason for this other than the fact that they are all starving.
I read something on Monday when I attended the Leonardo DiVinci exhibit that could be the reason for the eagerness . Di Vinci said, ” Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.” Could it be a spark of passion here that has created this excitement? I hope so.
Cheese biscuits are the last of our quick bread labs and we go out with a perfect 10. As you look at the pictures you can see they did great! One group put the cheese in at the wrong time, but recovered very well. They learned from the first time not to add too much flour and surprisingly they were very good . We had a couple of equipment malfunctions. One oven was turned off by mistake and another did not heat properly.
I now feel as if our lab is a small reproduction of ” Top Chef” , because there is so much competition between the groups to be at the top of the post. It is quite comical. You would think that I am giving out money as an award. Competition is good, but I have to think of a way to tone this down before it ruins some friendships.
How do you prepare these little cheesy morsels? Check out Making Biscuits From Scratch and make one little change. Grate 1 1/2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese and add after cutting in the shortening.
Some information about grating cheese:
You might ask why not save time and use pre-grated cheese? I am not totally against it but, it is dry and not as flavorful. It is more expensive, too.
Okay I have to get to the gym . I ate more than my usual taste of each biscuit today. They were just sooo good that I could not resist. Hopefully I can STEP some of these calories off before they attach to my body as fat.
Enjoy the Bake-off pictures!
Happy Cooking,
The Teacher Cooks
Very Good
Here's what we are cooking up in our kitchens tomorrow!!
This is the last lab for quick breads. It should be a good one. They are all ready and eager. Tune in tomorrow for the bake off!!!
Happy Cooking,
The Teacher Cooks
The Teacher Cooks 