Sweet Cornbread

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Combine all dry ingredients. Then add wet ingredients and mix. Pour batter into a buttered/greased baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for ~23 minutes.

This turned out pretty good, but I think I prefer cornbread sweeter. Next time I will probably try this with 1+ cups sugar instead.

Recipe from AllRecipes.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Before baking.

After baking.

• 2 lb. boneless/skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
• 2-3 tsp. cumin
• 3 chili peppers, chopped finely
• 2-3 cups salsa
• 1 package neufchatel cheese
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 6 whole wheat tortillas
• 1-2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Cook chicken in tiny bit of oil for several minutes. Add cumin and cook for few minutes. Add peppers and cook for few minutes. Add salsa and neufchatel cheese, cook until all the cheese is melted. Mix in the black beans and tomatoes. Separate chicken mix, tortillas, and cheese into thirds. Layer chicken, tortilla, cheese (make 3 layers). Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Recipe modified from this one at Kraftfoods.

Can also try this with beef instead of chicken.

7 Layer (9 Layer?) Taco Dip

• 1 package taco seasoning mix
• 1 can refried beans
• 1 package cream cheese or neufchatel
  
• 1 small container sour cream
• 1 jar salsa
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 1 small can sliced black olives, drained
• 2+ cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Mix the taco seasoning and refried beans - spread this layer onto the dish. Mix cream cheese and sour cream - spread this layer onto the dish. Add salsa layer. Add tomatoes, bell peppers, scallions, lettuce, olives, and cheese. If you want you can heat the beans+seasoning mix before adding the remaining layers. Serve with tortilla chips or Wheat Thins crackers. Recipe from AllRecipes.

Apple Cupcakes

This recipe is kinda cheating, but it's yummy. Mix the batter for a regular yellow cake using any box cake mix. Set the cake batter aside.

• 2 apples, peeled and chopped
  
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Bring the above 3 ingredients to boil on the stove. They'll melt together...I only boiled long enough so that I could get the tasty mix, but still have chunks of apples to bite into. If you want, you can keep cooking the apples until it turns into a smooth creamy applesauce. Add this mixture to the cake batter and bake! I baked them an extra 5 minutes than suggested on the box. Top with a cinnamon-vanilla or cinnamon-cream cheese frosting.

Yasai Cha Han

• 3/4 cup cooked rice
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 14 button mushrooms, quartered (or can of sliced mushrooms)
• 3/4 inch cubes of firm tofu
• handful of corn
• handful of peas
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 eggs
• Chili paste (optional)
  

Add oil to hot frying pan or wok if you have one. Add mushrooms and sautee for few minutes. Add tofu and continue stir-frying for several minutes or until tofu is brown on all sides. Add corn, peas, and scallions. Stir fry until cooked through. Add rice, salt, soy sauce, and stir fry. Scramble the eggs and add to the stir fry mix.

I prefer this dip a bit spicy so I added a bit of Sriracha chili paste. You can also try using shichimi (a.k.a seven-spice pepper that can be found in oriental grocery stores).

Serve with miso soup.

Courtesy of the Wagamama Cookbook.

Piyaju/Pakora

• 4 cups masoor daal/lentils
  
• 3 onions, chopped
  
• 1.5 tsp cumin
• 1.5 tsp coriander
• 2 tsp turmeric
• Green peppers, chopped
  

Soak daal for several hours. Blend with a little bit of water until it has a batter like consistency (not too runny). Slice up onions and mix with blended daal. Add all spices. Add green peppers depending on how spicy you like them (I use a lot of pepper). Mix. Heat oil in a frying pan about a centimeter deep. Drop spoonfuls of piyaju mixture and fry on both sides until brown. Serve plain or with chutney.

Piyaju in image are at top.

Triple Vegetable Dip

I've made this recipe COUNTLESS times. It's always a favorite at the party and is completely wiped out of the bowl. Thank you, Kraft Foods!

Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

• 1 1/2 to 2 cups grated parmesan cheese (I use 2 cups because I really like parmesan)
• 1 can asparagus spears, chopped
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed (10 oz. size)
• 1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1 container chive and onion cream cheese (8 oz. size)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

I use fat free cream cheese and mayo. Mix 1 1/2 cups paremesan cheese with all the remaining ingredients, place mixture into baking dish. Top with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.