Chicken Tamale Casserole

My family loves Mexican food.  Tamales are a favorite of ours but they require alot of work. That's fine on a weekend, but after work, forget it.  This recipe only requires a few ingredients and is easy.

Chicken Tamale Casserole:
1 box cornbread mix
1 can corn (any kind, I used creamed)
1 egg (for cornbread mix)
1/3 cup milk (for cornbread mix)
1 1/2 lbs of chicken, cooked and shredded
1 can of enchilada sauce, 19 oz
Shredded Taco Cheese
Sour Cream
Green Onion

Preheat oven to 400.  Mix together the cornbread mix, can corn, egg and milk. Pour into baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove cooked cornbread from oven and pierce with a fork all over.

Mix together the shredded chicken, taco seasoning and enchilada sauce.  Pour over cornbread.  Top with cheese.

  Put back in the oven for 20 minutes.  Let cool about 5-10 minutes.

Dish it out.  Top with sour cream and green onion.

Monkey Bread Muffins with Cinnamon Sauce

This Recipe is extremely easy to prepare and is great to serve to guests.

Monkey Bread:
1 can of flaky biscuits
1 Tbs Cinnamon
1 Tbs Melted Butter
2 Tbs Brown Sugar
1 Tbs Granulated Sugar

Preheat oven to 375.

Cut the biscuits into chunks.  I used a pizza cutter to slice mine.  It is much faster and easier.

Once the biscuits are cut, toss into a bowl with 1 Tbs of Cinnamon.  Toss until all pieces are coated.

Now mix the melted butter and brown sugar together.  Pour over the coated biscuit pieces and stir until coated.  Sprinkle with Granulated Sugar and mix again.

Once coated, place the pieces into a cupcake pan.  I used a silicone pan that I lightly coated with butter.  If you are using a regular cupcake pan you will need liners.

Bake at 375 for 17 minutes. Biscuits will rise a bit and have a crunchy coating.  Spoon some cinnamon sauce over each monkey bread muffin.  Allow to cool, with a silicone pan you can simply push the muffin out.

Cinnamon Sauce:
2 Tbs Water
2 Tbs Brown Sugar
2 Tbs Butter
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Melt Butter in Microwave, add brown sugar, cinnamon and water.  Stir well and allow to cool while muffins are baking.  Sauce will thicken a bit while it cools.  You will need to stir it again before spooning over muffins.

National Pet Dental Health Month - Periodontal Disease

Hooray for National Pet Dental Health Month!  As a Veterinary Technician I love February.  It is an opportunity to educate clients about dental health.  Very few clients know how seriously dental disease can impact their pets health, and it is preventable.

Pets develop plaque just like we do.  Plaque contains bacteria which can damage the tooth, lead to infection, and cause pain. Bacteria from periodontal disease can enter the blood stream and could lead to damage of the heart, kidneys and liver. If not brushed off of the teeth, plaque will turn into tartar. Once tartar builds up it is hard to remove and causes more plaque to accumulate which then leads to more tartar. Over time that tartar will start to develop under the gumline.  If left untreated this can cause damage to the structures that hold the tooth in place.

Gingivitis and Small Amount of Tartar Build-Up

How do you know if you pet has periodontal disease?

You may notice;

• bad breath
• bleeding gums
• pawing at the face
• changes in eating habits such as chewing on only one side or dropping food
• Pain while eating
• excessive drooling
• loose teeth or teeth that have fallen out. 

Tartar Build-up that has caused gum recession

Severe Periodontal Disease, Gum Recession and Root Exposure

If you think your pet may have Periodontal disease make an appointment with your Veterinarian for a dental check up.  Most Veterinary Clinics offer discounts or specials during Dental Month so it is a great time to
address any dental issues.

Country Fried Venison

My husband was lucky enough to get a 7 point buck during Archery Season.  We now have pounds of Venison in our freezer.  The only problem is finding new and delicious ways to cook it.  Why not Country Fried!  I found a good recipe from Cooking with Kay. 

She made the original recipe with 4 lbs of backstrap.  I only used 1 lb and so I quartered the recipe.  The only change I made to the flour mix was adding 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder. I have to say even the flour mix smelled delicious.  The coriander powder really makes the mix fragrant.  Also I recommend adding the Curry powder.  My family normally hates anything Curry, but my husband and daughter didn't notice and it really added an extra oomph to the flour mix.

 I then breaded the venison

 and fried it.

Now I am a notoriously bad gravy maker.  I have tried time and time again.  Even though K's recipe makes it sound extremely easy,  I was not brave enough to try it.  So I cheated and used gravy mix.  All you have to do is add hot water.  That's right up my alley and it really tasted quite good.


Lastly make some mashed potatoes.  Because Country Fried Venison is not the same without some fluffy, buttery scrumptious mashed potatoes.  And Serve.