Do The Can Can!

After I shared the easy spiffed up Jiffy cornbread recipe, you were probably expecting some real cooking coming from my kitchen. Well, that hasn't happened yet.  I'm still in quick and simple mode. Too many other fun things to do.

We had family here for several days for the long Presidents Day weekend. Little Sister (who is now 13) sang a solo at our church while they were here visiting. They headed home on Tuesday. And came right back on Thursday to see Itzhak Perlman in concert. He was as good as when we saw him perform 20 years ago. A true master of his instrument. A legend. I'm so glad the granddaughters got to see him.

Daddy-O and I stayed in town for the night and had a wonderful get-away. The morning after the concert we visited the SC Upcountry History Museum. And I finally made it to the music museum located next door to the history museum. Oh my goodness! It was a little treasure box. 

I even got to play the wonderful Steinway grand and the Flemish harpsichord that were on display. 

Why on earth had I waited so long to see this museum? It's not all keyboard instruments. There is quite a collection of world music instruments on another level. We made our way home just as it started to rain. And we stopped at a favorite lunch spot as we got closer to the farm. So much good food at each meal.

While we ate lunch, I announced that dinner was cancelled! We had enjoyed a wonderful pre-concert dinner the evening before, a lovely breakfast at the hotel (complete with white tablecloths and stemmed glassware), plus our delicious lunch. Daddy-O said a bowl of cereal would be fine. Then when it was time to actually do something for dinner at home we remembered that we were out of milk. I had used the last to make a chicken pie for the Lenten luncheon at our church on Wednesday. 

 

We were too tired to want to go out again. Then I remembered an old busy day standby that was a favorite when our girls were school age. I usually made it when Daddy-O was away, so he didn't remember this. But he liked it well enough to choose this again for lunch today! I don't even have a name for the recipe. Suggestions???

Supper was on the table in 15 minutes.

CHILI FLAVORED BEANS  

1 can pinto beans, drained & rinsed

1 can light red kidney beans, drained & rinsed

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can corn, drained (I like shoepeg corn)

1 can diced tomatoes

*enough red enchilada sauce to reach the consistency you want (I used about 2/3 of the can)

1 teaspoon chili powder

Mix everything in a large pot and brung to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

That's it! While that was simmering I heated one of those "ready in 90 seconds" bags of jasmine rice. We spooned the beans over the rice and topped with shredded cheese and sour cream.

*I have never used enchilada sauce to make this but it definitely need more liquid. The canned diced tomatoes have much less liquid than a can of whole tomatoes like I used years ago. I was out of tomato sauce which was the first thing I thought of. Tomato juice would be a reasonable choice. But all I found in the pantry was the enchilada sauce. And it couldn't have been better.

Same thing with the beans. You could use other varieties of beans. I happen to like this combination because of three different shaped and colors. But if I had been out of one of those, I would have used another kind. We are too far from town to make extra trips to the grocery store. You learn to adapt.

 

Cornbread In A Jiffy

 

Goodness! How did two months pass without me posting here? Time seems to go by faster as I get older. And we've been crazy busy. But I do have a new recipe I want to tuck into my "online recipe box"—that would be the recipe index here on the blog. 

Since my last post we have celebrated Christmas, New Year's and three birthdays. Had family in residence for most of those big days. Who has time to write with toddlers in the house? I spent a long weekend at a knitting retreat. And I had a mother/daughter weekend away for an early milestone birthday. More doing. Less writing.

Yesterday was the begin of Lent. In our small town the churches that are located next to each other on Main Street join together for a service and lunch on each of the six Wednesdays of Lent. Our church serves the lunch the first two weeks. Our menu is always the same. The first week is a soup and cornbread lunch. I made a new-to-me cornbread recipe yesterday in addition to my usual one. Recipe is at the end of this blog.

When the house emptied out after the December/January holidays I picked up my knitting again. Several little baby hats were mailed to other states for friends expecting new grandchildren. Next on my "to knit" list are hats for another grandbaby and a great-grand baby! I've lost count of how many I've made, but I know it hovers around 100 now.

A big reason I've not posted as much is that I'm been pouring my time into a bucket list item. I want to play jazz piano. I've played piano forever. But jazz piano is a different creature. Currently I'm taking an online class. An actual class that includes homework. I'm learning Summertime now. Not this sheet music version—this is my music from the 1960s—but learning the song structure and learning how to improvise. It's a challenge. I can feel sparks in my little gray cells as I learn so many new things!

Daddy-O has been busy with a lake project. It was time to replace the lake wall. No one expected a record amount of rainfall just as this started. It's taking a while. Fingers crossed it all gets done before summer.

Now back to the new recipe. It was so easy. Yesterday I made two batches of my Corny Cornbread to take to church. Then decided it would be a good time to try this quick recipe also. The two of us in this household wouldn't eat an entire pan of it. But a church crowd might.

JIFFY QUICK CORNBREAD

2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 milk (whole, low-fat or fat-free)

2 eggs

3 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 375º. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray. (Spray the measuring tablespoon while you're at it.) 

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to mix. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated but do not over mix.

Pour into prepared baking pan.

Bake for 25 minutes until slightly golden brown. Do not overtake!

That's it. So easy to stir up. It's a very different texture that my usual. Different taste also. But it's was good. It's nice to have options. I pretty much like all the cornbreads but the sweet ones fall further down my list. Surprisingly, this recipe isn't really sweet. Keep this version in mind for a busy day!