No pictures for the holidays

So my camera that I got for birthday had a little accident and is in the hospital to get fixed. Good thing we bought the warranty at Best Buy and besides going 3 weeks without there will be no cost to fix the lack of focus. What this means is that most of my posts will be picture less for the next couple of weeks. I hope they don’t bore you too much and that you will stay with me in the meantime.

Tonight I made two new delicious recipes that I wanted to share. If I had a camera my first recipe would have looked close to this.

I had some small 80 calorie brie that I bought at Costco a couple months ago and needs to be used up. So this was a perfect appetizer.

Baked Brie Recipe

Can be prepared in 30 minutes or less.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large sheet of puff pastry dough or 1 tube of refrigerated crescent dinner rolls (I used reduced fat crescent rolls)
• 1 round or wedge of Brie cheese (do not remove rind)
• Raspberry Jam, or other sweet jam(I used sugar free apricot preserves)
• Brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup (again sugar free syrup)

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2 On a stick-free cookie sheet, lay out the puff pastry or the crescent rolls flat; put brie round or wedge on top.

2 Spread jam on brie, fold dough over top, cutting off excess dough. Drizzle maple syrup and place a handful of brown sugar on top.

3 Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes, pastry should be golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. (Since my brie was small 15 minutes is all it took)

Serve with crackers and apple slices. Or enjoy with a fork by itself.

 

The second recipe is even better and so easy and cheap. Again if I had a camera it might have looked like this.

COWBOY CORN CASSEROLE
From "Cooking the Cowboy Way" by Grady Spears with June Naylor

Make sure that you do NOT drain the can of whole corn kernels (I have to be extra mindful of that, as automatically draining is a habit). If you like the casserole more cake-like, you can add more of the packaged corn bread mix. I've used up to a cup with great results.

• 1 15-ounce can creamed corn
• 1 15-ounce can whole corn kernels, undrained
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons sugar ( I used 1 tsp agave syrup)
• 1/3 cup corn bread mix (from package) we like more cake like so I added the whole Jiffy package
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and minced ( 1 used 1/4 of a poblano pepper, would also be good with a can of green chilis)
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided (used 2% to cut the fat)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir together in a bowl the corn, eggs, sugar, corn bread mix, melted butter, jalapenos and just 1/2 cup of the cheese. Transfer the mixture to a buttered 8-by-8-inch baking pan. Bake for 40 minutes; sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top and bake for 20 minutes longer. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

 

Both recipes are really good. I am so happy to be on a break from school and get the chance to try new recipes.  I have also cleaned the fridge inside and out, cleaned our stove, and gone through 3 junk drawers. I call them junk because I had no idea what was in them. I still have some paperwork to organize and other stuff to clean but will take a break till after Christmas.

I am trying out The Perfect Turkey recipe that I posted last year and have never tried. The sides are green bean casserole and stove top stuffing as well as a cranberry orange relish recipe. If it turns out of course I will share the recipe.

For now I am going to join my hubby on the couch and watch our tree lights twinkle. I really love Christmas – and to all a good night!