Crock Pot Creamy Corn

I made this a long time ago, but forgot to post it.  I thought it was delicious and easy but made a lot.  It was creamy and is good comfort food.  Bill thought it was only ok.  He thought it was a little heavy plus he doesn't love corn the way that I do.

Crock Pot Creamy Corn
From: deme7 via Tasty kitchen
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen corn (large bag)
1 block cream cheese
5 Tbsp Sugar

Directions:
1. Throw everything into a crock pot set on high for 1 hour.  Cream cheese will melt into a creamy sauce.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

My mom makes the best strawberry jam.  Bill as also raves about it - so this year I finally decided I would try to make it myself.  I asked my mom for the recipe and she told me it is just the one on the Sure Jell box.  Well that sounded easy enough.  And turns out it was.  Only 3 ingredients and now I have a bunch of delicious jam in the freezer!

Strawberry Freezer Jam
From: Mom and Sure Jell
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min

Ingredients:
4 pints Strawberries
3 cups Sugar
1 pkg Sure Jell
1 cup water

Directions:
1.  Discard stems and crush strawberries with a potato masher.  Measure 4 cups of crushed strawberries.

2. In a large pot add sugar and Sure Jell package and mix thoroughly.  Stir in 1 cup water.  Bring mixture to a boil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

3. Stir fruit mixture quickly into hot pectin-sugar mixture.  Sir 1 minute or until thoroughly mixed.

4.  Pour into washed and rinsed containers leaving 1/2 inch space at top for expansion during freezing.  Cover.

5.  Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours until set.  Refrigerate up to 3 weeks, otherwise, store in freezer for up to 1 year.  

Easy Spinach Artichoke Dip

 

I'm sure everyone has a version of this they love, but this one is what I grew up on and has always been my favorite (and the easiest).  I'm actually surprised I've never blogged this before since I my whole family makes this version and I have probably eaten it several hundred times in my life.  Make this, you won't be sorry.  It isn't super fancy, but it is dog gone delicious and perfect for football season this fall.

*** UPDATE: I just learned that this was originally from my Great Aunt Betty.  It makes it even more special! ***

Easy Spinach Artichoke Dip
From: My Mom & Great Aunt Betty
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min

Ingredients:
1 cup Mayo
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (use the stuff in the green shaker, real stuff doesn't work as good!)
1 can of artichoke hearts (drained and cut up)
1/2 a cup of frozen chopped spinach (thaw in microwave and remove excess water)

Directions:
1.  Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until paremsan is mixed throughout.

2. Spread in pie plate and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until the top gets brown around the edges.  Serve with crackers or chips (I prefer wheat thins).

Refrigerator Oatmeal - Pinterest FAIL

I saw this on Pinterest and really wanted to try it. I dragged my feet because I couldn't find Chia seeds at any of my regular grocery stores, so I finally broke down and bought some from amazon.  I was excited for this to be a potential every day breakfast since it sounded so easy and making it the night before even better.  Plus, eating out of a mason jar always makes things that much better.  Unfortunately it was too good to be true.  The consistency was gloppy, the flavor was blah and cold oatmeal isn't all that appealing.  I made 2 flavors and the cinnamon one was better than the Banana Peanut Butter, but neither of us had more than a few bites.  Bill, bless his heart, suggested maybe heating it up would taste better.  It didn't.

Even though this didn't turn out to be very good, I wanted to post it because I know it keeps going around Pinterest and thought people might appreciate hearing about someone who tried the recipe.  Plus, now I have a whole bag of Chia Seeds and don't know what to do with them so if anyone has any recipes that include chia seeds, please let me know!

***Apple Cinnamon***

*** Banana Peanut Butter***

Refrigerator Oatmeal - Pinterest FAIL
From: The Yummy Life
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 0 min

Ingredients:
1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tspn dried chia seeds
1 tspn honey
For Apple Cinnamon: 
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
For Banana Peanut Butter:
1 Tbsp peanut butter
1/4 cup diced ripe banana

Directions:
 1. In a half pint or larger jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, and honey.  Add cinnamon for apple-cinnamon and add peanut butter for banana-peanut butter.  Put lid on jar and shake well until combined.

2.  Remove lid, add bananas or applesauce (depending on which you are making) and stir until mixed throughout.

3. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.  Eat Chilled.

Fresh Corn Soup

I love Corn.  I love corn on the cob, off the cob, creamed corn, corn chowder, corn dip, corn salad... anything you can think of that involves corn.  This one appealed to me because it said it was a creamy corn soup using fresh corn, and no dairy.  So I gave it a shot.  I even doubled the recipe anticipating it would be good and I would want to freeze some of it to save for the winter when I crave fresh corn things.

And it was good.  Great in fact.  It is think and creamy, but not like a dairy cream soup if that makes any sense.  One thing to note though.. it takes a while to make. Most soups need to simmer for a while, but this one seemed to have a lot of hands on time rather than get it all ready and just let it simmer.  I'm glad I made a double batch because I think this is a once a year type of recipe because of the hands on time involved.  This definitely isn't a weeknight quick and easy meal, but it IS worth it.

***I forgot to take a picture of ingredients - pretty much all veggies :) ***

No Dairy Creamy Fresh Corn Soup
From: We are not Martha
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 hr 30 min

Ingredients:
5-6 large ears of fresh sweet corn, shucked
Kosher salt
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 medium red potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
Fresh black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 jalapeno, chopped (not in original recipe, I added it)
Optional Garnish: chopped tomato, sour cream, basil


Directions:
1. Cut corn off cob into a large bowl.  Don't cut to close to the cob.

2. In a separate bowl take the cobs you just cut kernels off and scrape as much off the cob as you can, extracting all the "milk" and solids possible.  I used the back of a butter knife and it worked really well.

3. Break cobs in half and put them in a pot with 6 cups of water and 1 tsp salt.  bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce to medium low, cover, and simmer for about 30 min.

4. Once done cooking, throw away cobs, but save liquids in a separate bowl and set aside.

5. Put the pot back over medium-high heat and add oil.  Saute onion in the oil for about 3 minutes, until translucent. Then add garlic and cook for another minute.

6.  Turn heat down to medium and add celery (I also added 1/2 a jalapeno chopped at this point).  Cover the pot and continue to cook, making sure to stir occasionally for about 5 minutes, until vegetables soften.

7.  Add the potatoes, pepper, and cayenne.  Stir.  Pour in corn stock.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover and lower heat to medium low.  Simmer for about 20-30 minutes, unitl vegetables are softened enough to puree.

8.  Add all of the corn kernels except 1 cup. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

9. Puree the soup using immersion blender. Taste it.  Add more salt or pepper if needed. 

10. Add the rest of the corn and the corn 'milk.'  Simmer for another 5 minutes.

11.  Serve warm with as many toppings as you choose (I added chopped tomatoes, basil, and sour cream, and one night even added chunks of avocado. 

Oven Roasted Cauliflower

I don't really like cauliflower.  I never eat it raw, and steamed it is just kind of bland.  But I thought I would try roasting it similar to how I do broccoli and it turned out quite good! Cooked through with a little bit of crunch/texture in the roasted parts. I didn't put lemon juice or cheese on it, but it was still pretty tasty.


Oven Roasted Cauliflower
From: Elizabeth
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min

Ingredients:
1 head of Cauliflower, cut florets into small chunks
1 head of garlic, sliced or chopped
Olive Oil
Sea salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 and line a cookie sheet with foil.

2. Place cauliflower and garlic on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil.  Move around to coat.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  Cook for 20-30 minutes, turning once or twice during cooking, until desired tenderness (I like it when it gets a little crispy).  Enjoy!

Carnation Instant Breakfast Smoothie

This is a shake disguised as a breakfast smoothie... yum.  Bill came up with it based on a Men's Health recipe.  It is super easy and delicious... plus an excuse to eat ice cream (or frozen yogurt) for breakfast.

Carnation Instant Breakfast Smoothie
From: Bill & Men's Health
Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup milk
1 carnation instant breakfast packet (we use milk chocolate)
3-4 scoops frozen yogurt (or ice cream)
1/4 - 1/2 cup peanut butter
1 banana

Directions:
1.  Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

 

Dijon Dill Salmon

When we were visiting my brother in California over the 4th of July he made this awesome Salmon.  I asked him for the recipe and made it last week.  It turned out great!!!! Lots of good flavor with a little sweetness in the glaze.  Added bonus... it was super easy and only about 20 min start to finish!

Dijon Dill Salmon
From: David Bos
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min

Ingredients:
2 Salmon Fillets
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
Dill

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place Salmon on aluminum foil on baking seet.

2. Smear mustard over Salmon, add as much dill as you like and sprinkle with brown sugar.

3. Bake at 400 for 10 - 12 minutes (cook time may be longer for larger pieces).  Place in broiler for 1-2 minutes.  Serve.

Farmer's Market Skillet with Quinoa, Feta, Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Corn

 

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and knew I had to make it. When Bill was out of town one night last week I made this for myself since I knew I probably wouldn't be able to get away with a meal without meat if Bill was home.  It was absolutely fantastic! I saved some of it and gobbled it up the next night for dinner as well.  It is very easy and tastes so fresh and filling that I want to make it again already!  The dressing is just perfect and brings the flavors of the veggies and feta all together. I highly suggest trying it for a meatless meal, or a side dish.

Farmer's Market Skillet with Quinoa, Feta, Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Corn
From: Iowa Girl Eats
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min



Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup chicken broth (aprox. 1 can)
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small zucchini, quartered and sliced
2 ears sweet corn, kernals cut off the cob
2 green onions
salt & peper
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup feta
2 Tbsp chopped basil

For the Honey Lemon Vinaigrette:
1 Tbsp lemon Zest
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp Honey
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:
1. Bring chicken broth to boil in a saucepan.  Add rinsed quinoa and cover, turn heat down to medium low, then let cook until the broth is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 25 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and let cool slightly.

2. While Quinoa is cooking, combine all ingredients for Honey Lemon Vinaigrette in a large jar or bowl, then shake or whisk to combine and set aside.  Chop all vegetables.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium- high heat.  Add garlic and saute until golden brown, about 30 seconds.  Add zucchini, sweet corn, and green onions, season with salt and pepper, ten saute until barely tender, about 4 minutes.

4.  Add cooked quinoa and half of Honey Lime Vinaigrette, then stir and cook for 1 minute more.

5.  Add remaining vinaigrette, tomatoes, feta cheese, and basil to the skillet.  Stir well, taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary.  Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Gin & Rhubarb Delight

This is my new favorite cocktail.  It was inspired by a drink we had at DMK Burger bar, and Bill concocted a similar drink after I made Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.  I don't love gin, but in this cocktail, I could drink Gin all day (although I shouldn't).  Everyone we have made these for has loved it!

Gin and Rhubarb Delight
From: DMK and Bill
Prep Time: 5 min

Ingredients:
1 shot of Gin
Tonic (or soda if you prefer)
juice of 1/2 a Lime
2 spoonfuls of Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

Directions:

1.  Fill a glass (or mason jar) with ice, add gin, lime, tonic, and Jam.  Stir until jam is mixed in.  Enjoy!