RECIPE SWAP: NEW SCHOOL YEAR AND NEW RECIPES

School has started and we are forced to be back into a normal routine, whatever that is. Over the summer months our schedule was fly by the seat of our pants. But now meals, baths, stories, prayers and bedtime all fall according to a schedule that makes all of our lives a little easier. Many of our friends laugh because we are the first to leave any gathering to get the kids to bed by 8 o'clock.

Ross is getting settled into first grade and loves it. As last year, we have a great teacher who is enthusiastic about learning. Lexie also had changes with moving into the 4-year-old class in her preschool. Her teacher is wonderful, and Lexie fell in love with her at the home visit she made to our house. I look forward to a great year with both of our children.

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Laura Glaus of Kelso, Mo., likes to prepare enchiladas as well as other Mexican foods. She shares two recipes with us today, but would like for you to share your favorite Mexican recipes as well.

Chicken Enchiladas

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

6 flour tortillas

Melt cream cheese in skillet on low heat. Add tomatoes and green chilies. Mix well. Add cooked chicken and mix well. Place portion in flour tortilla and place in sprayed Pyrex dish. Melt 2 cups Cheese Whiz with 1/2 cup milk in microwave. Pour over enchiladas and cover pan with foil. Bake in 350-degree oven until bubbly. Serve with sour cream, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Ground Beef Enchiladas

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained well

1 package taco seasoning mix

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies

Melt cream cheese in skillet on low heat. Add taco seasoning, no water added, and mix well. Add tomatoes with green chilies. Mix together. Add ground beef and mix well again. Place portion in flour tortilla and place in sprayed Pyrex dish, seam side down. Melt 2 cups Cheese Whiz in microwave with 1/2 cup milk. Pour over enchiladas and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly. Serve with sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes.

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Recently we had a request for fried corn recipes. Although the fresh corn season is about over, you can tuck these away for next year or use the corn you might have put in the freezer for later use.

Fried Cream Corn For Two

2 slices bacon

3 ears corn

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup milk, warmed

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Drain the bacon on paper towels, crumble and set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the drippings from the skillet. Cut the kernels off the cob and add to the drippings in the skillet. Cook over medium heat until the corn is lightly browned and cooked through. Add butter and stir until melted. Add flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk and cook until the mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer about 10 minutes, or until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the crumbled bacon and serve.

Last year we had a request for fried corn on the cob, and we offered several suggestions but we never had a recipe to share. Now, a year later, a request is answered.

Chicken Fried Corn On the Cob

1 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

6 ears corn, husk and silk removed

Oil for frying

Combine milk and egg in shallow dish. Mix well. Combine flour, seasoned salt and pepper and mix well in another shallow dish. Dip each ear of corn in milk and egg, then roll in seasoned flour. In a large skillet heat oil to 325 degrees. Add corn and fry for 5 minutes or until brown. Drain on paper towels.

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In the past I have mentioned Joan Weeks of Cape Girardeau and her love for soups and her skill and ability to make them. Recently she ate the potato-cream cheese soup served at the St. Louis Bread Company. Unable to get the recipe, she went home and made up one of her own. Her recipe yields about 8 (1-cup) servings.

Potato-Cream Cheese Soup

4 cup chicken broth

4 cups shredded potatoes

1/4 cup minced onion

1/4 cup shredded carrot

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese cut into chunks

Combine broth, potatoes, onion, carrot, bay leaf, seasoned salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream cheese. Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.

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Sometimes we have old favorites shared and it makes us think about recipes that have gotten pushed back in the files. A Cape Girardeau reader has pulled one out, dusted it off, and shares it with us.

Gelatin Poke Cake

1 package (2-layer) cake mix, any flavor

2 packages (4-serving size) Instant pudding, any flavor

1 cup powdered sugar

4 cups cold milk

Prepare cake mix as directed on package, baking in a 9x13-inch-baking pan. Remove from oven. Poke holes quickly down through cake with round handle of wooden spoon at 1-inch intervals. Only after poking holes, combine pudding mix with sugar in large bowl. Gradually stir in milk. Then beat at low speed of electric mixer for not more than 1 minute. Do not overbeat. Quickly, before pudding thickens, pour about one-half of the thin pudding evenly over warm cake and into the holes to make the stripes. Allow remaining pudding to thicken slightly; then spoon over the top, swirling it to frost the cake. Chill at least 1 hour. Store cake in refrigerator. Cover with plastic wrap or lid.

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We have a few requests for area readers to be exploring and looking for specific recipes.

Dolly Duncan of Cape Girardeau has a request for flour and corn tortillas. We have had this request in the past, and will give it another try. We'll have to see what we come up with. Also, she has a question about the Sourdough Bread Recipe that Judy Reed shared back in June. Judy, please give me a call and we can talk about her questions.

Patti Moore of Oran is looking for an old-fashioned soft molasses cookie recipe. She recalls as a child her aunt making them and putting them in a crock to store. She told me the longer they were in there the better they got. She is also looking for a recipe for a "plain old sugar cookie" that is soft. Patti, we will share several with you, as there are a lot of different cookie recipes, and everyone thinks theirs is the best. This will be fun to see what comes in.

A Cape Girardeau reader would like recipes for stuffed jalepeno peppers. I suppose she would like to fry them, but I'm not sure.

Our last requests are from Opal Rodgers of Cape Girardeau. She would like to find recipes for pickled eggs and homemade Ro-Tel style tomatoes to can. Ro-Tel style tomatoes are tomatoes with green chilies added. I think that's all it is, but if someone knows different, please pass on the recipe.

What a great week for Recipe Swap. Your input adds so much and offers wonderful variety. Thanks for sharing your recipes.

Have a great week looking for our reader's requests, and happy cooking.