Cornbread Stuffed Taco Peppers

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For the life of me, I can not think of things that sound appealing to make for dinner.  It is quite a contentious topic in our house.  I hate asking what my husband wants for dinner, and he hates when I ask, because deep down (or not so deep down) neither of us has an answer to this inevitable question.  Despite having numerous wonderful bloggers and their ideas at my fingertips, I still can never find something.  Oh, I have a list of about a million desserts that sound good that I would like to make, but never, ever, anything for dinner.  Through some stroke of luck a few days ago though, I came across a recipe for Jalapeno Cornbread Poppers from Oh Bite It.  Oh my gosh they looked amazing!!  That inspired me to come up with this adaption, which turned them from a snack, into a full on delicious dinner.  I warn you though, the combo of sweet and heat is incredibly addicting, and you won't be eating just one...I had three before I even stopped to think about :)

I made taco meat when I made this since I didn't have any leftovers, but this would be a fantastic place to make use of taco meat that is leftover.  Otherwise, just make up your favorite taco meat, I use ground turkey to make my taco meat filling.

CORNBREAD STUFFED TACO PEPPERS
(Inspired by Oh Bite It's Jalapeno Cornbread Poppers)

Makes 10 halves

Ingredients:

• 5 large, fresh, Anaheim chili peppers (green chilies, New Mexico chilies)
• 2 ounces Colby jack cheese, shredded
• 2/3 cup corn kernels (canned, frozen, or fresh)
• 1 box cornbread mix (I used Krusteaz Honey Cornbread mix) plus ingredients called for in the mix
• 8 to 10 ounces of cooked taco meat filling (leftover from tacos the night before, or your favorite taco meat filling)
• hot sauce/enchilada sauce for topping

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.
2. Wash and dry the peppers.  Carefully slice each pepper lengthwise in half, and remove the ribs and seeds.  Place on lined baking sheet cut side up.
3. Prepare the cornbread mix as instructed on box.  After it is mixed, add the corn and the shredded cheese and mix well.
4. Place about an ounce (about 2 level tablespoons) of taco meat into each pepper, depending on how big they are.
5. On top of the taco meat, place approximately two level tablespoons worth of the corn bread mix, spreading evenly over the taco filling and the length of the pepper.
6. Place in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until the cornbread is firm, slightly browning on the edges, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Drizzle with some hot sauce or enchilada sauce to serve.
8. There should be enough corn bread batter left over to make about 6 muffins (if you use the Krusteaz box).  I just greased a 6-muffin tin, evenly divided the batter, and baked according to the box directions.

Homemade English Muffins

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Nothing screams breakfast food like an English muffin slathered in boysenberry jam and butter, at least in my house.   I used to by them by the two pack at Costco, and go through them in a week.  They are so incredibly versatile they worked for every meal.  English muffin sandwiches with eggs, cheese, and bacon for breakfast, or mini english muffin pizzas for lunch, or as a bun for a hamburger at dinner.  They are the perfect bread item.

Imagine my absolute astonishment when I found out that not only can you make these at home, but they are easy, and 100 times tastier!  I now refuse to by English muffins.  Every other week or so I make a double or triple batch.  We eat a bunch right then and there, I send some home with my mother-in-law, some to my parents, and stick the rest in the freezer.  A few seconds in the microwave and they are good as new.  Here is a care package I sent with my parents the morning of a road trip they were taking to Vegas.  Some English muffins hot out of the skillet, banana chocolate chip mookies, s'mores truffles, and some butter and black raspberry jam for the English muffins.

As I confessed in my first ever post, I am a King Arthur Flour recipe and product addict.  If I had to move somewhere in the country, away from my wonderful Southern California spot, it would be Vermont.  For the sole reason that this is where King Arthur Flour's bakery and shop is located.  This would be my dream job.  Anyways, enough daydreaming.  This recipe is their creation.  I do it by hand with no stand mixer, just a little elbow grease, but believe me, it is doable and worth it.  The recipe from KAF was written for a bread machine, but I have adapted it for no equipment necessary.  If you want to prep the dough in a bread machine, check out the link below. 

Just a note though: To get the traditional English muffin nooks and cranny's, make sure you use a fork to split them, because you wont get them if you cut it with a knife.  Or, you can just do it my husbands way and grab one warm out of the skillet and eat it plain, no waiting for splitting or toppings of any kind.

IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO PIN IT :)

English Muffins  
(Adapted from King Arthur Flour's English Muffin Recipe)


Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) milk, warm (can sub soy milk)
• 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter (or shortening, or vegan butter like earth balance sticks)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 4 to 4 1/4 cups (17 to 18 ounces) Unbleached Bread Flour (if you don't have bread flour, all purpose will work, but the texture will be a bit different
•  2 teaspoons instant yeast (*if you don't have instant yeast, make sure to proof your yeast for 5 minutes with the milk and sugar first before incorporating the rest of the ingredients)
  
  **You will also need cornmeal for covering the surface of the pans.

Directions:

1. Place the ingredients in a large bowl and combine thoroughly.  Knead for 5-7 minutes by hand, until it is fairly smooth and when poked quickly, the dent starts to spring back.  If you want to do it in a stand mixer, place all ingredients in the bowl and after mixed, use a dough hook and let it go for 5 minutes on medium high.  If you want to let it rise in the fridge overnight for use the next morning, proceed to step 2.  Otherwise, let this rise for an hour or until it has doubled in volume.
2. To rise in fridge for next day use:  Stick this dough in the fridge until the next morning, without letting it do the first rising.  I like to make the dough the night before, do the kneading, then let it do its first rise in the fridge over night.  In the morning take the dough out, and proceed with step 3, just let the muffins rise a bit longer after they have been cut into the circles.
3. Transfer the dough to a cornmeal-sprinkled surface and roll it out until it's about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out circles with a floured 3-inch cutter. Re-roll and cut out the leftover dough. Cover the muffins with a damp cloth and let rest for about 20 minutes. 
4. Heat a frying pan or griddle to medium low heat. Do not grease, but sprinkle with cornmeal. Cook four to six muffins at a time (whatever fits), cornmeal side down first, for about 7 minutes, covering the skillet for the first 7 minutes. Flip and  lower the temp to low, cooking uncovered for another 7 minutes.  Repeat until all muffins are cooked.
5. Check after about 3 to 4 minutes to see that the muffins are browning gently and are neither too dark nor too light; if they seem to be cooking either too fast or too slowly, adjust the temperature of your pan or griddle. 



This is what step four looks like, after they have been flipped




6. When the muffins are brown on both sides, transfer them to a wire rack to cool, and proceed with the rest. If you have two frying pans (or a large griddle), you'll be better able to keep up with your rising muffins. 

Yield: 16 muffins.

Big pile of English muffin happiness!  They even look like the store bought, just better!

Nutrition information per serving, via King Arthur Flour (1 whole muffin, 2 halves, 59g): 140 cal, 3g fat, 4g protein, 23g complex carbohydrates, 1g sugar, 1g dietary fiber, 24mg cholesterol, 194mg sodium, 78mg potassium, 38RE vitamin A, 1mg iron, 77mg calcium, 55mg phosphorus.

Crock Pot No Knead Herb Rolls

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It is so hot!  Just the thought of turning on my oven makes me and my air conditioning cringe...Unfortunately, I love bread.  A LOT.  And I would turn my oven on for some great homemade rolls (and cookies, I would turn it on for cookies).  Then I saw a brilliant post by Artisan Bread in Five on making rolls in a crock pot.  Since I have three crock pots, I figured I could spare one to try this. 

I was doubtful about cooking bread in a crock pot, I won't lie.  I saw an idea for herb rolls, and thought "Ohhhhh that sounds good, I need those, and I need them like right now."  Sadly, they posted the method, but not the recipe for the bread, since it was published in a book they want you to get, so I understand not giving away all the recipes.  I would buy the book if I had the money, believe me.  I told my husband my dilemma, and he responds "then make your own recipe!"  So that's what I did.  I used the five minute no knead bread from The Italian Dish that I blogged about a while ago here as a base, and made the changes below.  I didn't even let it sit in the fridge, I only let it sit out two hours on the counter (which it can be used any time after the two hour period), and got right to making them.  It was hard to wait that two hours even.  I made the rest the next day, yum! 

These rolls come out lighter than air.  Seriously, they are so light and fluffy I wasn't sure they were cooked because when touched the top, they didn't spring back.  It was really just because they rise so much in the crock pot they turn in to a soft, pillow-y roll of herby goodness.

Crock Pot No Knead Herb Rolls

Makes 8 rolls per crock pot batch, or approximately 28 rolls for the entire recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cups luke warm water
• 1 1/2 Tbs. instant yeast
• 1 1/4 Tbs. salt
• 1 tsp. diastatic malt powder (optional)
• 28 oz. all purpose flour
• 3 oz. whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed or chopped into smaller pieces
• 1/2 tsp. dried sage
• olive oil
• garlic salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix water, yeast, salt, diastatic malt powder (optional), basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and sage.
2. Add the all purpose flour and the whole wheat flour and mix well, until it forms into a ball and all the flour is moistened, about a minute. (Add more water if it is too dry, add more flour if it is way to wet, it is a very sticky dough though.)  Refer to this post here for more information on what it should look like.
3. Let sit on the counter, loosely covered for 2 hours, it will rise a bunch, don't worry about it.  
4. Once it has sat for two hours, it is ready to be used, or you can loosely cover it and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, and use it as needed for fresh bread any day.
5. In a large (5-6 qt.) crock pot, line with parchment paper, and then sprinkle the parchment with corn meal.  
6. Pull of 2 oz. piece of dough and roll into smooth balls.  Place up to 8 in the crock pot.  The remainder or the dough can be refrigerated for up to two weeks.
7. Cover the crock pot and turn on high for an hour.  This is where the magic happens.  As the crock pot heats up, it will also proof the rolls, they should get quite puffy and fill the bottom.
8. After an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes, check on rolls.  They will be very soft on the top, but not tacky or uncooked feeling.  
9. Remove the rolls along with the parchment (don't take them off the paper) from crock pot.  Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt.
10. To brown the tops: Turn the oven to 450 degrees (I know, it will heat the house up a little bit, but not as long as cooking them the whole time in there), and place rolls and parchment in for 5-10 minutes until the top is firm and browned nicely.
11. Remove from oven and enjoy!