Tamale Pie

One of the things I miss about the United States is the plethora of casserole dishes.  This dish is truly the embodiment of the 'Melting Pot' culture.  I am a huge fan of tamales, but unfortunately I have not been able to find the corn husks that tamales need to be wrapped in.  This dish tastes spectacular and is a good substitute.  Credit for this recipe goes to All That Splatters. Of course, serve with a generous dollop of sour cream!

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1-1/2 cups corn
1/2 cup pitted ripe olives, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons chili powder
Dash black pepper

6 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (I used grated Gouda)

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water
1 tablespoon butter

Cook meat, onion, and bell pepper in a large skillet until meat is lightly browned and vegetables are tender.  Stir in tomato sauce, corn, olives, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, chili powders, and black pepper.  Simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until thick.  Stir in cheese. Turn into a greased 9x9x2-inch baking dish.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Stir cornmeal and 1/2 teaspoon salt into cold water.  Cook, stirring constantly, until thick.  Add butter, and mix well.  Spoon cornmeal mixture over hot meat mixture.

Bake 40 minutes.

Hazelnut Brownies

This is a yummy German/American infusion I thought up.  I had to find a brownie recipe because unfortunately here in Germany they do not sell brownies mixes cheap.  I found this on Pinterest and the original recipe is from the Fake-It Frugal website, which I totally think is a great concept.  The great thing about these is how cheap they are to make.  What I also find great is that you probably already have these ingredients in your cupboard.  If you don't have unsweetened cocoa, use a sweetened kind and then cut a bit of the sugar out of the main recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup crushed hazelnuts

Mix all the ingredients together and place into a oiled 9x9 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Chicken and Dumplings

This has always been one of my favorite dishes.  I know Cracker Barrel has an awesome version; however here in Germany they don't have any, so I've got to make my own.  Albeit I used the dumpling recipes from this link (http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2011/11/homemade-chicken-and-dumplings/), I decided to make my own stock by simmering a chicken in some water for 1.5 hours until it was nice and tender and began to fall off the bones.  This is a great method because you can also make some tasty chicken stock at the same time.    This dish takes a bit of time to make, but the stock and chicken can be prepared ahead of time.  It's well worth the wait.  Here's what you'll need:

1 2-3 lb. chicken
Enough water to cover chicken in pot
1 onion, cut in half
Dry herbs (whatever you would like to season your stock with)
2 bay leaves
3 Allspice kernels
Salt and pepper

In a large stockpot, place the whole chicken in the pot and fill with enough water to cover.  Wash the onion with the skin, cut in half, and add to pot.  (Leaving the skin on the onion gives color to the broth)  Add the 2 bay leaves and allspice kernels, dry herbs, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, lower to a simmer and simmer for about an hour and a half.  Afterwards, take chicken out of the pot, strain the broth, discarding the onion, bay leaves and allspice.  Reserve broth.  Allow chicken to cook.  Once cool, pull meat off the bones and reserve meat.

For Dumplings:

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons butter
a little less than 1 cup milk
2 quarts of chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken

This is where it gets fun.  Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and butter with your hands untin incorporated, similiar to how you would make a pie crust.  Then add the milk and stir until well blended.  On a well floured (the flour will later thicken your stock, so don't be shy) surface, roll out dough.  Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut the dough into 2x2 inch squares. You could probably also use some small cookie cutters if you wanted.  Bring the chicken broth to a rolling boil.  Then drop the dumplings in one at a time (this is to avoid them sticking).  Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 15-20 minutes until done.  You can test a dumpling and see if its cooked all the way.  Then, add the reserved chicken and cook until the chicken is warmed through.  Its now ready to serve!

Next time I plan on making the chicken stock well ahead of time, then refrigerate, so all the fat rises to the top of the container and solidifies.  I will then use the chicken fat to help make the dumplings.  I know this will make it more fattening; however, sometimes for me, taste usurps health :)