Pan Roasted Corn

During the warm summer months I am always trying to find new ways to make corn.  A few years ago I discovered this delicious fresh corn salad and a new way to make creamed corn.  Both dishes have been crowd favorites at family gatherings and potlucks. After seeing a post on Pinterest that instructed how to roast frozen corn in the oven, I decided to start experimenting.

The final product was beyond tasty!  It was sweet, caramelized, and just a tiny bit spicy.  My family loved it, and I think it will be my new summer corn dish.  I can't say enough how much I loved it.  Honestly, I probably would have eaten most of it by myself if my family hadn't been around. Next time you need to make a side dish make this one.  ENJOY!

Pan Roasted Corn

Recipe Source: Jenn 

1 tbl. olive oil

1 tbl. butter

3-4 ears of fresh corn, kernels removed from the ears

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/4 tsp. salt

a sprinkle of cayenne pepper (this is all about your taste here)

pepper to taste

chopped fresh parsley

In a non-stick pan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat.  Add the corn, red onion, garlic, salt, cayenne, and pepper. Allow the liquid to cook out of the mixture, then turn the heat down to medium-low.  Keep on eye on it, because once the liquid cooks out, the corn will burn easily.  Continue cooking until the corn begins to caramelize.  Add the fresh parsley and serve.

Green Monster Smoothies

About a month ago my mother in law called me out of the blue and asked, "Do you want a tread-mill?"  to which I replied, "ummm, yes?"  And within the hour I had a treadmill in my garage just waiting to burn all those unwanted calories off of my ever growing hips.


Fast forward a  few weeks to when my mother in law was cleaning out her cabinets and stumbled upon a smoothie maker still in the box and never used.  She asked me if I wanted it or not, and, after considering what I had planned for dinner that night (NOTHING), I quickly snatched it up and became a hero when I made fruit smoothies and peanut butter sandwiches for dinner.  Thus, our love of fresh fruit smoothies was born in my kitchen.  


There are millions of ways to make smoothies both healthy and un-healthy.  So far ours have been relatively healthy.  We have been making them by tossing in fruit, ice, and milk or yogurt and blending away.  But, now I feel an obligation to create a REALLY healthy smoothie to have after I run walk the calories away on my new treadmill and become a healthier version of me.

Thanks to Pinterest it didn't take me long to find a recipe for a healthy smoothie.  What I like about this recipe, well all smoothie recipes really, is that I can change it up.  I can mix in any combination of fruit that I want and know that I am getting a ton of healthy vitamins in one meal.  I'm not so good at eating vegetables, especially those dark green ones that doctors tells us to eat, so the spinach is a great thing for me. I can't really taste it at all, but yet my body is benefiting from all the healthy goodness that spinach offers.

 Iowa Girl Eats, where this recipe came from, states:

• Spinach is fat free, cholesterol free, low in calories, and very low in sodium
• Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A, C, K, iron, fiber, folate, and lutein
• Leutin is an antioxidant that promotes good eye health, and may help prevent cancer of the liver, ovaries, colon and prostate, and even dementia.
• Dole lab tests found spinach juice has twice the chlorophyll, eight times the calcium, six times the magnesium, 10 times the potassium, 15 times the vitamin C and 43 times the vitamin A of wheat grass juice

I stayed pretty true to the original recipe substituting only non-fat milk for the Vanilla Almond breeze and using only 2 cups of spinach.  Using less spinach reduced the bright green color of the original recipe, but that is OK,  it was YUMMY!  My children, as well as three of their friends, tasted it and said it was good, but no one was overly excited about it like I was.  Next time I think I may add a scoop of protein powder, omit the peanut butter, and throw in a few strawberries and blueberries.  YUM!

So go on, mix one up and ENJOY!  

Green Monster Smoothies

Recipe Source: Iowa Girl Eats

1 frozen sliced banana
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 cup 0% Vanilla Chobani Greek yogurt
1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (or other kind of milk)
4 cups baby spinach (or more, or less)




Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Stir Fried Broccoli

It is secret recipe club time again.  My life has been a rush of finals, research papers, and of course all the running around required with baseball, dance, and other family obligations.  I have been on the look out for fast, easy and delicious side dishes to go with our slow cooker dinners.  Melanie over at Fabulously Fun Food has a lot of great side dishes that are not only tasty, but easy too.  She gives a great description of the pros and cons of each dish as well as the changes she plans on making the next time.

For this recipe I listened to her suggestions and eased up on the oil but I didn't know how much ginger to use so I just guessed.  I will probably add more next time or use thicker slices because we really like ginger in our house.  Overall though it was delicious!  Perfect to use as a side dish or to make into a vegetarian main dish with some other veggies.  I really loved the flavor of the ginger with the broccoli and nutty flavor of the sesame oil.

Double Take Stir Fried Broccoli
Recipe source: Fabulously Fun Food

1 pound of broccoli
1 Tbl vegetable oil
10 thin slices ginger (use less if you aren't a huge fan)
1/4 cup chicken broth
sprinkle of salt
sesame oil
sesame seeds

Add oil and ginger to the pan over medium heat.  Allow ginger to infuse into the oil for just a minute.  Toss in the broccoli and cook a few minutes until it is bright green but still firm.  Add the chicken broth and salt continue cooking a few minutes until just fork tender. Don't cover the pan or you will end up with steamed soggy broccoli.  Remove from pan, drizzle with a small amount (remember this stuff is very strong so a little goes a long way!) of sesame oil and some sesame seeds.

Reader Recipe! Creamed Corn

My only eating encounters with this version of corn preparation have always come from a can, and always tasted like sweet gooey corn.  Not surprising considering the ingredients in commercially made cream style corn. One name brand Cream Style White Corn contains corn, water, sugar, modified food starch and salt. Did you notice what I noticed? There is no cream on the ingredient list! hence why it is only called cream style corn.  It was never a side dish I asked for, nor is it one I make on my own now as a grown up cook.  But, here I am posting a recipe for creamed corn  because my friend and co-worker, who is a creamed corn convert, told me how utterly wonderful this version is.

When I say creamed corn I mean made with cream, not mashed up corn to make a creamy consistency.  There is no added sugar.  I have not added extra food starch.  And there is no added water.  I made this recipe from all things good and wonderful.  Corn, half and half, and butter.  Really just try to convince me it isn't good.  I am now a creamed corn convert too.  I love this recipe.  It is simple, rich, and perfectly lovely as a side dish for almost any meal.  I am thinking of starting a club, Creamed Corn Converts so try this recipe and join me in the happy land of creamed corn, made with real cream!

Creamed Corn
Recipe source: My friend Cindy

6 ears of fresh corn
1/2 stick of butter cubed
3/4 c half and half
Salt and Pepper to taste

Shuck your corn and cut the kernels off the cobs.

 Gently, using the back of a knife scrape the cob to release the starchy milk inside the cob.

 Add the half and half and cubed butter.  Place in a baking dish, covered and bake at 375 F for 1 hour or so. 

Enjoy!

**After this dish is cooled you can place in baggies or containers for your freezer.  A great way to enjoy fresh creamed corn all year round!

Total Cost $1.64 this makes more than what is in a 15 oz can for about the same price.
Corn $.75 (Farmer's markets ROCK)
Half and Half $.64
Butter $.25

Fresh Corn Salad

I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again I love the produce in the area I live.  Not only is there fresh vegetables to be found all summer long, but people love to share their harvests with friends.  My most recent score was a huge box of corn from one of the customers from my work.  He grew the corn himself then brought some into the bank for all of us.  Much like the cherries from earlier in the year my co-workers took what they wanted from the box and I got the rest.

Now, I love corn on the cob but a girl can only eat so much. And aside from the typical, shuck, boil, cut off the cob and freeze method I didn't know what else I was going to do with all this corn.  Then, by mere accident I stumbled onto this corn salad recipe while I was browsing recipes at The Sister's Cafe.  The original came from Ina Garten, and like the sisters I didn't alter it other than reducing the amount of salt. 

Something about the sweet corn, the bite of the onion and the tanginess of the vinegar combining with the fresh basil makes for such a light and refreshing, yet hardy side dish.  We ate it at a family BBQ and the corn paired fabulously with the burgers and brats.  Tomorrow I will post a reader recipe, from one of my co-workers for homemade cream corn.  YUM!

Ina Garten's Fresh Corn Salad
Recipe Source: Ina Garten

5 ears of corn, shucked

1/2 cup small diced red onion (one small onion)
3 Tb cider vinegar
3 Tb good olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone. I boiled the corn for this salad and also for the freezer all in one pot, hence why I have so many ears.

Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop cooking and set the color. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.

Toss the kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.

**Cook's Note-This salad doesn't look like much, but trust me it is dense.  Next time I'm going to grill a few of the ears of corn to add some extra flavor.

Total Cost $.59 If I had to buy the corn it may have cost me a little over a dollar
Corn-Free
Onion-$.33
Basil-Free from my garden
Vinegar-$.01
Olive Oil-$.25

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Finals are over, and after a week of vacation I am back in the kitchen.  I have reacquainted myself with my old friends, kitchen aide, oven, utensils (specifically whisk and bowl scrapers) and of course the pots and pans.  I am ready to make all the recipes I have been looking at for the past three months, but just couldn't make time for. 

These beautiful veggies came from our little garden so the first recipe I am making are these oven roasted tomatoes from one of my favorite sites, Our Best Bites. 

 These girls know how to make real food, in real kitchens for regular on the go families.  When I first started blogging I posted about making my own dried tomatoes as a way to save money.  I LOVE sun dried tomatoes but lets face it, they can be kind of spendy.  Then a few months ago I stumbled on to this recipe and let me tell you I don't know if I will return to my dehydrator or not. 

I'm not a raw tomato eater, it's one of those early childhood things that just won't go away. I can eat a sun dried tomato like it's a piece of candy but if you gave me a simple sliced tomato I will turn up my nose.  So needless to say, I have to find "something" to do with all the beautiful little red gems that are growing in my back yard. This recipe is just the thing.  After roasting slowly in the oven for 2-3 hours the tomatoes are caramelized, and sweet lending a whole new level of flavor to anything you add them to.  Add them to any Italian dish, blend them into a puree for the base of a pasta sauce, make a bread topping with roasted garlic, olive oil and fresh basil...you get the idea. 

P.S. I apologize for the photo quality, I was in a hurry trying to pack for our trip when I took them.  I plan to update them as soon as my next batch is done.

Oven Roasted Tomatoes
Recipe Source: Our Best Bites

A bunch of tomatoes, any variety
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper
a bunch of garlic cloves

Wash and cut your tomatoes.  I halved the smaller ones (I'm using Romas) and the larger ones I quartered.  Toss with a little bit of olive oil in a bowl.  Spread out on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and finely chopped garlic. Now I like my garlic in slivers and use this handy little garlic slicer from a certain company that does home parties for kitchen/cooking supplies but, none of this is exact, do what looks and tastes good to you and your style of cooking.

Place in an oven that has been preheated to 325 F.  Bake 2-3 hours.  The length of time will vary depending on the type of tomato you are using.  When they tomatoes are soft, slightly brown on the edges and making your house smell like an Italian Grandmother's they are done.  Allow them cool and then use right away or freeze for later use.