"I just put the love in the pan"

There are days that I will look in the fridge hoping dinner will just suddenly appear; beautiful, warm & looking like it came out of a Southern Living cookbook.  Unfortunately, it doesn't.  It's on days like this, when dinner needed to be ready 15 minutes ago, that I become really creative.

Tonight was one of those nights.  I had some leftover Mexican corn bread, an avocado, and some green onions that needed to be eaten.  OK, what do you do when this happens?  You throw it all together & 'just put the love in the pan.'  (and then pray it turns out to be ok so they'll eat it.) 

The phrase "I just put the love in the pan" came from the show The Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker on TLC.  We love this show.  If you haven't seen it we highly recommend it.  On one of the challenges the teams had to bake a HUGE cake as well as prepare an Italian meal.  One of the bakers trying to win & be the next great baker is also a chef.  When they were asking him about what he cooked and why he said:  "I just put the love in the pan."  Elizabeth & I looked at each other & both agreed that this is a great phrase.  Isn't that what you do when you cook or bake?  I cook because I like it, but also because I love my family.  I think even if you just fix your family a box of Kraft mac & cheese you're putting some love in the pan.  It's a heart thing.

Anyway, back to my items that have to be eaten or thrown away...

I decided to brown some ground venison & some onions together.  (if you don't have any venison, use ground turkey or lean hamburger meat)  I seasoned the meat with chili powder, ground cumin & cilantro.  I like to taste the spices so I tend to use a lot.  I crumbled the cornbread in the bottom of my baking dish, drained a can of diced tomatoes & spread those on top with cut-up avocado.  I then layered the meat next.  In a separate bowl I mixed cheese, sour cream & diced green onions together; spread that on top of the meat & baked it for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.  I tossed some raw shredded cabbage with some Hidden Valley Ranch together for a veggie & voila...dinner of champions!

They actually liked it, even the picky one.  :)  Joy is mine:  I didn't have to slave over dinner & they ate it.  That always makes for a happy mommy.   Even though it was a simple fair, I just put the love in the pan!

Y'all be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley