Hamburger Corn and Pea Bake

I made a casserole recipe from my SIL Mary's blog for dinner one night a couple of weeks ago. I had thawed some ground beef for something else, but then realized I was missing a key ingredient that I thought I had on hand, so I needed something else to make for dinner. I had some store-bought egg noodles that I needed to use up and some crusty bread that I had used to make up a batch of sausage stuffing to freeze for an easy side dish later on. I browsed through some recipes I had bookmarked a while back and came across Mary's recipe for  Hamburger Corn Bake.  I knew it wasn't very healthy, but then decided to modify it to use healthy ingredients.  I have posted the recipe as I made it below - you can click the link for the original version of the recipe on Mary's blog. I did keep the cream soup because I make my own homemade and can it. If I didn't have this on hand, I'd have just mixed up some milk and arrowroot powder with some seasonings to replace it with. I also have never ever bought cheddar cheese soup, as called for in the original recipe... I didn't even realize they made it. So I just added some shredded cheddar cheese and some milk. My mixture was pretty thick, or I'd have also added some arrowroot powder, but I didn't think it was necessary.

This turned out really well. We all really liked it a lot. I wasn't so sure I'd care for it, but I knew Kevin and Carson would. I ended up liking it quite a bit, though. Its not something I'd make a lot, but its a good winter comfort food. And its much healthier for you this way than using the MSG and preservative loaded canned soups from the grocery store.  I used up the small amount of store-bought egg noodles I had and added some of my homemade soaked whole wheat noodles, as well.  The homemade noodles were awesome in this! 

Hamburger Corn and Pea Bake

1 pound ground beef, grass-fed/finished is best
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
1 pint cream of mushroom soup, homemade if you have it (or 1 1/2 cups milk + 2-3 T arrowroot powder + your fav. seasonings)
1/2 - 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 - 3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups egg noodles, homemade is best
1/2 cup torn up bread or crusty bread
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it, and cook the noodles. I used some remaining store-bought egg noodles that I needed to use up, plus some homemade soaked whole wheat noodles.

Meanwhile, cook the meat with onion until done. Stir in corn, peas, soup, cheese, and milk. I use homemade cream of mushroom soup. If you don't have homemade, you could use organic if you'd like, or else just add some extra milk, arrowroot powder, and your favorite seasonings. Mix well. Stir in noodles.

Put in 2 qt. casserole dish. Mix bread and butter. Sprinkle on top. (I forgot the bread was supposed to go on top and I stirred it up in the mixture. Oops. I used crusty bread (like you'd use for stuffing) and it turned out really tasty.)

Bake at 350 for 45 min. - 1 hr., until hot and bubbly. Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.


This is posted as part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday.

Crockpot Corn and Spinach Enchiladas

I tried another recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking a few weeks back. I've had this recipe marked for ages, but just never got around to trying it. I can't believe it took me this long. These are great! We all really liked them a lot. This is a versatile recipe, too, you could add or subtract different ingredients to make it to your liking. I made it as is for the first try and it was delicious.

The pictures don't look the best, but it honestly was really good!

Crockpot Creamy Corn and Spinach Enchiladas

1 can creamed corn
1 cup shredded already-cooked meat (I used pork tenderloin)
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons chopped, sliced jalapenos (I skipped this since I didn't have any and just added a pinch of crushed red pepper)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheeses
1 can (28 oz) green enchilada sauce
2/3 cup sour cream
corn or flour tortillas (I used flour since that's what I had, but corn would be awesome, I think)
more shredded cheese for topping

I used a 4-quart crockpot for this and made this in layers. You could also fill each tortilla with the filling and later the rolled enchiladas in the bottom of a bigger crock.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the meat, corn, cilantro, spinach, peppers, and cheese. Mix well. This is your enchilada filling

In another bowl, combine the green enchilada sauce and sour cream.

Spray your pot with cooking spray or rub with butter. Layer tortillas with your filling in several layers and top it all with the sauce mixture. I think I had 4 layers of tortillas and 3 layers of filling - tortillas, filling, tortillas, filling, tortillas, filling, tortillas, sauce. I also sprinkled some shredded cheese on top.

Cover and cook on high for 2-4 hours, or on low for 5-7 hours. Let stand for 20 minutes with the lid off before cutting into it.

Cheesy Corn and Peppers

Next up is a recipe that I also made for Kevin's extended family party - cheesy corn and peppers from 365 Days of Slow Cooking. This was super easy and super quick for a crockpot dish. I thought it was really good, too. Kevin really liked it, as well. I'll definitely make it again.

Cheesy Corn and Peppers

2 lbs frozen corn kernels
2 tbsp butter, cubed
1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1 cup (4 oz) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (I left this out since I thought it was cheesy enough and wanted to save some calories)

Coat slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Add all ingredients except cream cheese and Cheddar cheese. Cover. Cook on High for 2 hours. Add cheese, stir to blend. Cover. Cook 15 minutes more or until cheeses melt.

Corn Custard Pudding Casserole

I made this recipe from my SIL for corn custard pudding casserole as a side dish with our pine nut chicken and sauteed broccoli. We all love corn and I've always wondered what corn pudding tastes like. So when I saw her post last week, I wanted to try it. It was so good! I used some of the corn I froze this summer from Eichelberg's. It made it extra sweet - so yummy! It was almost like dessert, the corn was so sweet, plus having the sugar in there. Definitely a keeper and something I'll make often, I think. Just wish it didn't take so long to cook.

Corn Custard Pudding Casserole

1 pkg. frozen corn, cooked until separated (this refers to a home-frozen pkg...maybe 2 cups or so?, I never cook it. I just let it thaw a bit)
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
dash pepper
1 egg, beaten

Beat egg in bowl. Add corn, milk, butter, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir to combine well. Pour into greased 1 1/2 qt. casserole. Place in a pan of hot water. Bake for 1 1/4 hours at 350, until set. (I didn't use the pan of hot water and it was fine.)

Fresh Corn Saute

I tried another side dish recipe from my Simply in Season cookbook for a fresh corn saute. Its very simple, very quick, and very tasty! A great way to use up some fresh corn while its in season!

Fresh Corn Saute

3 Tablespoons butter
1 cup green pepper, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
4 cups corn
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons red sweet pepper, diced, optional
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I left this off)
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I left this out since I cannot eat bacon)

Melt butter in frypan. Saute green pepper and onion for 2 minutes. Add corn, water, honey, salt, pepper, and red pepper and stir well. Cover and cook over medium heat 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle cheese and bacon over top and serve.

Cheddar Corn Fritters

I made cheddar corn fritters from Taste and Tell this week. I've been wanting to try them for ages, but just hadn't gotten around to it. I figured, with all this yummy sweet corn in season right now, this would be the perfect opportunity. These were so, so good! We all loved them. Carson ate a whole one by himself and part of a second one. So I'll definitely have to make these again with the local corn I've been freezing these last few weeks. I've seen fritter recipes using other veggies, too, so I think they'd be good with other veggies in there as substitutes for the corn, too. I'll have to do some experimenting. These made a lot so I froze quite a few... not sure how they'll thaw... but figured I'd try it so they didn't go to waste.

Cheddar Corn Fritters

3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
3 ears corn, plus corn milk (or 2 cups corn kernels)*
3 tablespoons diced red or green bell pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons melted butter
Vegetable oil for pan frying

If using fresh corn, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the shucked and cleaned corn to the water and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from water. *Cut kernels from ears of corn and then scrape the cobs with a table knife to release all the milk. Catch this milk in a bowl and add to the batter. Stir together flour, sugar, chili powder, if using, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Combine corn and corn milk, if available, bell pepper, if using, eggs, water and cheese in a bowl. Add to flour mixture all at once. Stir just until batter is evenly moistened. Stir in melted butter.

Pour oil into large skillet to a depth of 1/4 inch. Heat over medium heat until it registers 350 degrees on a deep-frying thermometer. Using a serving spoon and working in batches to avoid crowding, drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil. You will make about 16 fritters in all. Pan fry on the first side until golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Turn once and fry until golden brown on the second side, 2 minutes more. Drain fritters on absorbent towels and season with salt.

If needed, you can keep the first batches of fritters warm in an oven at 200 degrees while you finish frying the rest. Serve at once.

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Compound Butters

This is from my Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook. We've grilled corn on the cob every year when its in season for as long as I can remember, so this is nothing new, but I've almost always just used plain old butter when grilling them with a little salt and pepper. So this is basically for the compound butters. I'll post all four of the compound butters, I used the lemon thyme butter - so tasty!! I think we'll try the ancho scallion butter next time. And I just used the foil method, which is generally how I grill corn on the cob. I've done them in the husks, but I like the foil best. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture, but I think you can get a pretty good visual since most corn on the cob looks the same. :)

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Compound Butters

Husk method: Pull husk back on corn without removing it. Remove the silk, then pull husks up over corn. Twist top of husks to help close them. Soak corn in a bowl of water for about 10 minutes, then put onto a hot grill. Grill for about 20-25 minutes, turning the corn so that each side cooks evenly. Be careful when opening the husks - they're hot. Serve plain or with compound butters.

Foil method: Remove husks and silk from the corn and soak the cobs in water for about 5 minutes. Smear about 1/2 tablespoon of butter on a square of aluminum foil, then place the cob onto the foil and wrap tightly. Put foil packets onto hot grill and cook about 20 minutes, turning so corn cooks evenly on all sides. Pass the compound butter and dig in!

Compound butters: The method is the same for the following butters. Put all ingredients in a mini food processor and pulse until all ingredients have combined. The butters can then be rolled into logs in plastic wrap and refrigerated or frozen for future use.

Jalapeno Lime Cilantro Butter:
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon finely minced jalapeno
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon minced cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt

Lemon Thyme Butter:
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt

Ancho Scallion Butter:
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1 Tablespoon finely chopped scallion
1/2 teaspoon salt

Roasted Pepper Butter:
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon minced roasted red pepper
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
dash fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Buttermilk Cornbread

I changed up all of the meal plans this week (reflected in the meal plans post) since we ended up at my parents' house for dinner on Sunday as a last-minute plan. I had been thawing some chicken to grill that evening, so I needed to change things up so I could use it up. So we had the grilled balsamic BBQ chicken tonight instead of on Friday. I still have some buttermilk to use up, so I decided to try out a recipe for buttermilk cornbread that I'd found on AllRecipes. I threw it together and baked it this morning before I left for Windsor. We ate it tonight with dinner. This was absolutely delicious!

Buttermilk Cornbread

1/4 pound butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs (local, organic, free-range)
1 cup buttermilk (organic)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal (organic)
1 cup all-purpose flour (organic)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.

Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Crockpot Corn Chowder

I realized I never posted that I made some corn chowder from A Year of Crockpotting last week. This was a little different than most of the corn chowders I've had in restaurants - mostly because this doesn't use any milk/cream. It was still good, though... and much healthier than the versions using milk/cream. Kevin really liked it because it pretty much tasted like creamed corn with a little kick. Next time, I won't puree it quite as much so it doesn't have as much of a creamed corn texture.

Crockpot Corn Chowder

2 quarts of chicken broth (I used organic BTB and water)
1 small onion
1 red pepper
1 peeled and chopped carrot
2 (16-ounce) bags frozen corn
2 medium potatoes

Finely chop the onion and brown in a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan. (I skipped this step) You want the onion to be cooked, but not totally translucent since it will continue to cook in the crockpot. Finely chop the carrots and the red pepper. Wash and coarsely chop the potatoes. I kept the skin on - it's up to you. Dump all the veggies into the stoneware insert. Add the bags of frozen corn. Empty both cartons of chicken broth (2 quarts; 8 cups) on top. Plug in your crockpot and set on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-9 hours.

After the chowder has cooked all day, use a hand blender to chowderify.

If you don't have a hand blender you can pour into a blender and pulse to desired consistency.

Goat Cheese, Black Bean & Corn Quesadilla

I needed a quick and easy lunch for myself on Friday, so after looking in the fridge to see what my options were, I decided to try out a recipe I'd seen on my SIL Mary's blog a couple of weeks ago for goat cheese and roasted corn quesadillas. I was going off of memory (not a good thing for me these days :), so I missed an ingredient (the salsa). How I forgot about the salsa, I don't know, but they were good none-the-less. I added a spoonful of my home-canned organic black beans to mine for some protein. Definitely something I'll make again - at least for me, Kevin doesn't like goat cheese, but I love the stuff!

Goat Cheese and Roasted Corn Quesadillas

1 cup fresh corn kernels (I used frozen)
2/3 cup (5 oz) goat cheese, softened (I used a sun-dried tomato and garlic goat cheese)
8 corn tortillas
salsa verde (I forgot this part)
(I added some black beans)

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add corn; saute 2 minutes or until browned. (I skipped the browning of the corn step) Place corn in small bowl. Add goat cheese to corn; stir until well blended. (I just spread some goat cheese on a tortilla, topped with corn and beans, then spread a little on the top tortilla and slapped them together.) Divide corn mixture and spread evenly among 4 tortillas. Drizzle each with 1 1/2 tsp salsa, top with remaining tortillas. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Place 2 quesadillas in pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove from pan, and keep warm. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Cut into wedges and serve with a side of black beans and plain yogurt.

Tilapia with Roasted Corn

Last week, we tried out a Rachael Ray recipe for tilapia with roasted corn. Sounds like a very strange combination when you do a read-through of the recipe, but trust me, it works. This was super easy and was very tasty! Even using frozen (thawed) tilapia fillets, it was very good! I'll definitely try this out again - with some fresh fish next time, though, since I've sworn off frozen fish. (When I bought this tilapia, it was the first time I'd bought frozen fish (along with some frozen salmon) and it just isn't the same. Neither Kevin or I really like the frozen stuff, we'd much rather have it fresh.)

Tilapia with Roasted Corn

1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons chili powder
Salt
4 tilapia fillets (1 pound total)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

Preheat the broiler. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with 1 teaspoon of the mayonnaise mixture. Place the tilapia fillets in the baking dish and coat with the remaining mayonnaise mixture. Top with the corn.

Broil until the corn is lightly browned and the fish is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Serve with the lime wedges.

Corn Souffle

This year I actually was able to make something to contribute to my family's Thanksgiving feast. I decided to make a corn souffle recipe that my SIL Julie had made for a family gathering back in October - its from one of those Kraft Food and Family magazines. Its very easy to make and very good, too. Its a corn bread, not a souffle, but that's what the recipe is called. I was able to throw it together on Thursday morning before we left for my Aunt Jeri's house.

Corn Souffle

2 Tablespoons butter
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed (I used the 1/3 less fat stuff)
1 can (15-1/4 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (14.75 oz.) cream-style corn
1 pkg. (8.5 oz.) corn muffin mix (I used Jiffy brand)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Microwave butter in medium microwaveable bowl on high for 30 seconds or until melted. Add cream cheese; continue microwaving 15 seconds or until cream cheese is softened; stir until well blended. Add both cans of corns, muffin mix, and eggs; mix well.

Pour the mixture into a greased 13x9-inch baking pan; sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly

Variations:
~ This dish is versatile enough to pair with your favorite barbecued meat, beef stew, chicken soup or even chili.
~ Add 1/4 cup sliced green onions along with the corn, muffin mix and eggs.
~ Prepare as directed, using 1 can (11 oz.) whole kernel corn with chopped red and green peppers.

Turkey and Cornbread

Tonight I roasted my first turkey. I couldn't believe how easy it was to cook a turkey. I don't know why I always thought it was some difficult, time consuming thing to do... because it wasn't at all. I bought one of those Rival roaster ovens this week, so I wanted to try it out with the turkey. It turned out awesome! I made a 12-pound turkey and we invited my parents over for dinner. We still have tons of leftovers, which I'm happy about. I put the leftovers in different containers to freeze - some shredded for BBQ turkey sandwiches, and most of it is chopped for use in casseroles, soups, etc.

I tried out a new recipe for cornbread today, too. My ambition was to make cornbread stuffing, but when it came time for it, I just didn't feel like doing it. So we just had cornbread with our turkey... and some StoveTop stuffing that needed to be used up (not buying that stuff anymore). Back to the cornbread. I got this recipe off of the cornmeal package (Bob's Red Mill Organic Medium Grind Cornmeal). I think I will make it again, just with some modifications (more sugar and maybe throw in some creamed corn, too). I thought it was really good as is, but Kevin thought it was too crumbly and needed to be sweeter. My dad thought it was good as is, too, but would like a little more sugar.

I'll update with pictures later on.

Golden Cornbread

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

Sift together the dry ingredients into a bowl. Add egg, milk and butter. Beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Do not overbeat. Bake in a greased 8-inch square pan for 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees.