Beefy Cornbread Casserole

Ah, a semi-cold day in Oklahoma. Just kidding. When I made this a few days ago it was seventy degrees. It's January right?? But despite the fact that we have had warmer than usual weather recently, my husband wanted a warm comfort food when he got home from work. For him I'll try and cook anything he wants. Keyword is try. 
I'm getting better at just kinda throwing stuff together and hoping for the best. My grandmother was the best at this. If she didn't have an ingredient she would substitute with the next closest thing and I don't remember a dish I didn't like from her.
I bring this up because it has been one of those "I'll just make whatever we have in the pantry" weeks. Cream style corn for example. I had corn and I had cream cheese. BAM cream style corn. The list can go on...

Ingredients:

1 box corn muffin mix (I used Jiffy)

1/3 cup milk

2 lg eggs

1-3 cups cheddar cheese (depending on your level of cheese loving)

1/3 cup diced Jalapenos or bell peppers for a milder taste

2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 can cream style corn (or 3/4 cup regular corn with added dollop of cream cheese)

1 lb ground beef

1 lg onion diced

1 T vegetable oil

salt, pepper, garlic powder and whatever else to taste

Directions:

In a large skillet, brown beef until only a little pink is left. Add in diced onion and bell pepper/jalapeno and cook down.

In a mixing bowl add together corn muffin mix, milk, eggs, cheese, corn, oil, and spices to taste.

In an 8x8 pan grease and then pour a layer of the corn muffin mix. Add the beef mixture then top off with the rest of the corn muffin mixture. It's okay if the last of the muffin mix doesn't cover the beef entirely.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until the top layer is firm and browned. 

Mod Podge Letter

So, I got married... YAY! and I have a new last initial. I wanted to make something cute but not too time consuming to celebrate this and make our new place a little homier. I had done mod podge letters many times before for my sorority sisters but had never made one for myself. And of course I went to Hobby Lobby and found the perfect pieces for this project. Time to get crafty.


 

 

For my letter, I selected a wedding photo that would fit nicely on the letter once it was cut down to size. I got a cheap print from Walgreens done so I wouldn't be using a nice print that we had ordered. 

I flipped both the letter and photo over to trace. 

I cut it out so that it wouldn't be just a cropped picture.

I chose three complimentary papers from my favorite place Hobby Lobby (they were on sale too!) and lined them up to show how much I wanted of each one.

Then again I traced around the letter and cut out the paper.

I mod podged the paper down. I would recommend using a little liquid glue too just to help the edges of the paper.

I glued down the photo and put a layer of mod podge to finish it.

Poppy Seed Chicken

For my entire life there has been one constant comfort food (that isn't chocolate) that I always go back to. Poppy seed chicken is a family recipe that has been passed down through at least three generations. The first time I had it at my grandparents house, my brother and I begged my mom to make it again for us. And to this day neither of us are tired of it and we still fight over who get to crush the Ritz crackers.
With my lack of cooking skills and my record of being accident prone in the kitchen or around hot things, it's perfect. My husband enjoys it too (mostly because for once he doesn't have to cook!).

According to my mother...

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken breasts, cooked and cut into large pieces
8 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 c Ritz cracker crumbs (1 sleeve)
1 T poppy seeds
1 stick melted butter (don't use light!)

Directions:
Boil chicken till done and cut up.
Mix sour cream and soup and add chicken.
Put in 8x8 casserole dish that has been greased.
Mix crushed Ritz crumbs, butter, and seeds and sprinkle over the top.
Bake 30 minutes or until hot at 350 degrees.




You also get a bonus picture of my brother and I. Aren't we just the cutest?! :) (please note that this is from 2007... haha)