Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob

I hate fireworks. I have never have liked them and I don't understand the fascination. Part of the reason goes back to when I was little and my mother's family thought that buying m-80's and setting them off would be fun. It wasn't and it pretty much cemented my hate of loud noises. In college I tried going to one of the huge fireworks displays at night and people were paying more attention to each other than the fireworks (if you get my drift, there more clothes on the ground than on the people). Thankfully my kids and husband aren't big fans of fireworks either so it has been almost 9 years since I have seen fireworks on the 4th. I do like sparklers, but with only males in my family they have no appeal to anyone in my house except me. So my family will be celebrating the 4th without fireworks, which is just fine in my book.

The 4th of July always makes me think of cookouts, and cookouts make me think of corn on the cob. While I would love to fire up the grill everyday, sometimes the charcoal grill is just too much effort (and my husband will not allow a gas grill anyone near our house). It's during these times that I grill my corn in the oven. It's easy and literally only takes 30 minutes. The recipe is as follows.

Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob

Summary:

Simple and easy recipe for oven roasted corn on the cob. Never soggy like boiled corn.

Preparation Time: 0h, 5m

Cooking Time: 0h, 30m

Total Time: 0h, 35m

Yield: Serves 4

Adapted from The Food Network.

Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob

Ingredients

• 4 Ears of Corn

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Keeping husks on corn place directly on the middle oven rack.
3. Roast corn for 30 minutes.
4. Pull out and season with salt and butter.
5. Alternatively you may also rub the ears of corn with butter and pull the husks back up before placing them in the oven.

That's it. They turn out great roasted in the oven without the soggy taste that often happens when corn on the cob is boiled. I have a huge corn on the cob obsession and when it gets cheap in the middle of the summer we eat corn almost everyday. 

Have a happy 4th of July tomorrow everyone! 

Summer Vegetable Chili

Summer Vegetable Chili

My son is enamored with a pet rat. The first thing I heard as he got off the bus his first day of school was that his classroom had a new pet, a hairless rat. Apparently they are also getting two hamsters next week. He is obsessed now. At the library he wanted all books on rats and he talks about it constantly. I think it's pretty cute. We have three dogs and three cats, but we haven't had any small pets since before he was born. Before kids my husband and I had dwarf hamsters and I grew up with gerbils. I haven't allowed my boys to have any small pets yet, since they are a little small to be able to understand being gentle. Having a classroom pet is the perfect compromise. My oldest son feels an attachment and responsibility for a small animal and I don't have to do the daily care etc. I love it. With last week being the first week of school I didn't do a lot of cooking, but this weekend it's back to the kitchen. Today I tried a new recipe for Summer Vegetable Chili from the June 2013 issue of the Food Network Magazine.

Owingsville, Kentucky

This recipe has 16 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few modifications to the original recipe. First I always use canola oil instead of vegetable oil, I prefer it for heart health. I bought regular frozen corn since I have never seen fire-roasted at the stores near me. Additionally I purchased regular beans and tomatoes not low sodium since the store I went to only had one variety. I cooked the beans on high for the 20 minutes of cooking time, watching it closely to ensure that it did not burn. Using a dutch oven is a great way to make chili, it heats evenly and is big enough to make big batches. I found that I had to add more salt at the table, but that is more of a personal preference, if you like food with less salt it would be fine as written.

Country Roads Kentucky

The mushrooms in this recipe really made the dish. They allowed for the chili to have a lot of flavor. Plus my husband who isn't a big fan of vegetarian chili really liked this recipe. With the mushrooms it was definitely more male friendly. My two boys were skeptical, but after tasting it they ate their whole bowls. The recipe states that it only makes 4 servings, but after my family of 4 had a dinner sized portions there was more than enough for at least another meal.

For the recipe go to Summer Vegetable Chili.

Summer Vegetable Chili

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

An easy vegetarian chili recipe that has great flavor from the addition of portobello mushrooms. Makes enough servings for multiple meals.

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Total Time: 0h, 40m

Yield: Serves 4

Tuna, Cotija and Corn Tacos with Lime and Mango

Tuna, Cotija and Corn Tacos with Lime and Mango

Growing up I told everyone that would listen that I was never having kids. If I did I had already decided that I would adopt and then it would just be one. I grew up an only child, but my mother was the oldest of 12 so at all times one of my aunts, uncles or cousins was either living with us or at our house. It could be a little crazy. Then I met my husband and everything changed. I was overcome with this strange new emotion of wanting kids. Not just any kids, but our kids. It's funny how life can hit you without much warning. What I didn't expect at that time was that I would have two boys. I love my boys tremendously, but having two boys is more work than I ever expected. Right now they are at each others throats everyday, all day. This morning they had a big fight over magnets. While this might sound harmless I have boys so they aren't just verbal fights, they wrestle, shove etc. My oldest starts school next week and I am more than ready to going back to only having one child during the day. I think that I needed a better manual before having all boys, my house can be complete chaos. One of the few things that my two boys can agree on is seafood, they both love it. Today I tried a new recipe for Tuna, Cotija and Corn Tacos with Lime and Mango from the May 2013 issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine.

Cabell County Courthouse Huntington, WV

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 12 tacos. I did make a few significant changes to the original recipe. First, the original recipe is vegetarian. With three males in my house they just wouldn't have gotten full with just corn and cheese. Therefore I used frozen tuna steaks, which I grilled and then sliced. Then I added the tuna to the tacos along with the rest of the recipe ingredients. I cooked my tortillas in a pan on my gas stove until they had grill marks. My cilantro went bad before I was able to make the recipe so I left it out.

Ritter Park Huntington, WV

The fresh corn in this recipe was delicious. Without the tuna this dish would not have much protein. The addition of the tuna made the recipe for my family. Tuna steaks really are a great source of protein and they have great flavor in tacos. My boys were huge fans of the fresh mango, they ate a whole mango by themselves. If you aren't a fan of tuna, Mahi Mahi would work as well.

The two photos (not of food) in this post are of the town that I live in Huntington, WV. There are a number of large parks which my kids love spending time walking and playing in. 

For the recipe go to Cotija and Corn Tacos with Lime and Mango.

Cotija and Corn Tacos

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A simple recipe for tacos using fresh corn and cotija cheese.

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Total Time: 0h, 25m

Yield: 12 Tacos

Healthy and Low-Fat Southwestern Vegetable and Chicken Soup

I have a horrible habit of trying to eat healthy and then falling off the wagon. Don't get me wrong the majority of the time I eat very healthy, but making big changes in my diet always seem to take a number of failures before they are successful. In college I ate a ton of restaurant food. There were always cheap places to eat and I rarely made food at home. Eventually it caught up with me when I realized that I never seemed to have any energy and I generally felt run down. I vowed to change my habits and I did until I started graduate school and then I was back to my old habits. After getting married I vowed again to start eating healthier, then I got pregnant and the smell of meat made me sick. To compensate I ate a ton of ice cream and peanut butter. After my first son was born I reformed and gave up pretty much any bad food while I breastfed. Then I became pregnant again and my bad food habits quickly came back. So over the years I have started and stopped a lot of healthy eating plans. Luckily since having my youngest and starting this blog my eating habits have leveled off. 99 percent of the time I eat healthy and the other 1 percent I remind myself that I'm human. Since my husband's dad had heart surgery last year I have been determined to make my husband healthier. He has lost 30 pounds in the last year and a lot of it has had to do with dietary changes. This week I made a new healthy recipe for Southwestern Vegetable and Chicken Soup from the February 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 16 ingredients. It takes 1 1/2 hours of total time, 1 hour of which is active and makes 8 servings. I did make a few changes to the recipe. First I made my own chicken stock from scratch. It really does taste better and is a great way to save money. Second, instead of diced canned tomatoes I used one fresh tomato. I am trying to use more fresh ingredients and rely less on canned goods. Plus the price of fresh tomatoes is lower than canned currently. Finally, I also used fresh spinach and I cooked my own beans.

I love that this recipe is high in vitamin C and only has 5 grams of fat and 199 calories. It has great flavor and the lime juice makes the soup delicious. I tasted the soup before adding the lime and the lime makes a tremendous difference. Make sure to salt at the end, especially if you are making your own stock or using low sodium store bought. This recipe could easily be modified to being vegetarian by omitting the chicken and using vegetable stock instead of chickens stock.

For the recipe go to Southwestern Vegetable and Chicken Soup.

Slow Cooker Corn Chowder with Shrimp

My family enjoyed the last of our Thanksgiving leftovers tonight. Right now I am eating the remainder of the sweet potato pie with a big helping of whipped cream. I survived all the chaos of the Thanksgiving cooking and was able to get a few great deals shopping this weekend. Now the craziness of December starts with my youngest son's birthday next weekend. I can't believe that my youngest is turning four! Since the holidays always mean crazy schedules and a press for time, I love using my slow-cooker to make dinner just a little bit easier. Eventually I will also learn to use the pressure cooker that I have in my pantry. So far I have used it to can veggies and soups, but I seem to never use it as an actual pressure cooker. Maybe that will be my New Year's resolution this year. Then again I am horrible at keeping resolutions, so maybe not. Either way I fall back on my crock-pot extensively during the holidays. Last week before the massive cooking endeavor of Thanksgiving I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Corn Chowder with Shrimp from All You magazine, which looked perfect for the full house of company I had for the week.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes a total time of 6 hours and 15 minutes, 15 minutes of which is active and makes six servings. I always have to go to multiple stores in my area when making seafood recipes. For whatever reason my local superstore insists on only carrying farm raised fish and shrimp. Having grown-up in the Northwest I shudder at the idea of eating farm raised seafood. I had too many friends that worked in the fisheries dept. and instilled in my head never to eat anything farm raised. So in order to find wild caught U.S. shrimp I have to drive to the grocery store in the suburbs. I had no problem finding any of the ingredients. I made my own chicken stock and as I always do I bought Italian flat leaf parsley. I am not a fan of curly parsley, the texture isn't something that either my husband or I enjoy. Make sure to fully salt this dish. I had to add a decent amount of salt after this recipe was done since the potatoes had soaked up any of the salt added to the soup in the slow-cooker. Finally I did add the heavy cream, without this step it is more of a soup than a chowder. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I served this recipe while my in-laws were at my house and everyone enjoyed it. My oldest son thought the shrimp was the best part, but he always eats more shrimp than anyone else in the house. Make sure that your potatoes are diced small or they won't fully cook in the slow-cooker. My potatoes were a little larger than I would prefer so I would change it if I made this recipe again. For an extra flavor I would suggest adding crushed red pepper. It really would make this dish better since the spices weren't noticeable the way that the recipe is written.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Corn Chowder with Shrimp.

Gluten Free Jalapeno and Cheddar Cornbread

I really love bread and baked goods. As far back as I can remember I have wanted donuts over potato chips, bread over Cheetos. My mother on the hand had a rather large potato chip and popcorn obsession. She could take or leave bread, but anything salty she would go to town on. When I had my doctor confirm my fears that gluten was the reason I was having a vast array of problems I had my food life flash before me. No more bread or baked goods, I was devastated. However, I then got determined. There was no reason I couldn't still eat the foods I love with a few changes. So I set about re-working recipes to be gluten free. I have been lucky that I have had far more successes than failures. Next week is Thanksgiving and then Christmas will be here before you know it. I am a little nervous about dealing with being gluten free during the holidays. I have a major sweet tooth and I know that almost all the food will be things I can't have. So I have been making all my favorites at home modified. Last week I made pumpkin bread and muffins and they were delicious. Next week I am going to attempt a gluten free pumpkin pie. One of my favorite baked goods is cornbread. Cornbread with butter and honey is so good! Last month I tried a new recipe for Gluten Free Jalapeno and Cheddar Cornbread from the November issue of the Food Network Magazine, which looked easy and flavorful.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes a total of 1 hour, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 6 to 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and I made no ingredient modifications. I found a great gluten free flour that uses coconut flour. It is perfect for gluten free baked goods, my two boys can't tell that they are eating gluten free. I have a horrible time with cast-iron skillets. Growing up in the Northwest I never owned one until I moved to West Virginia. The first year my husband and I were married my mother-in-law gave me a cast iron skillet. I washed it and it rusted. That was a lesson I learned quickly. I also decided that I am horrible about keeping cast iron seasoned. So I rarely use cast-iron skillets, I just can't seem to get the hang of them. For this recipe I made muffins instead. The recipe made a total of 12 muffins, which I cooked at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Make sure not to overly stir the batter. Stir just until combined, it will make your cornbread rise more effectively. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

For gluten free cornbread this turned out pretty well. I would suggest a few changes though. First, I would not seed the jalapenos. The cornbread needed more flavor and keeping the seeds would definitely provide this. Second, I would add more fat into the batter. I always use bacon grease melted into the bottom of the pan or muffin tin. This method would definitely help this recipe. Most cornbread recipes have at least 1/4 cup of butter, so the fat in this recipe needs to be increased. Finally, instead of cheddar cheese I would use Monterey Jack. The cheddar cheese just ends up tasting a little on the bland side. With these changes I think this recipe could be a great gluten free option.

For the recipe go to Gluten Free Jalapeno and Cheddar Cornbread.

Chicken and Three Bean Chili Verde

There is something about fall that just screams for chili. It is comforting and warm even when the weather rages outside. My husband loves chili and has definite opinions about the right and wrong way for it to be prepared. When we first met I had been a vegetarian for a number of years and only knew how to make one type of meat chili. Let's just say that he wasn't impressed. Luckily for him I am a quick learner and I love trying new recipes. After a couple of years and a number of failed attempts I learned the right and wrong way to make a great bowl of chili. While I still like chili with lots of beans my husband insists on meat so I am always looking for recipes that compromise between the two. Last month I tried a new recipe for Chicken and Three Bean Chili Verde from the October issue of Southern Living magazine, which looked like a great compromise chili for my family.

This recipe has 18 ingredients. It takes a total of 45 minutes and makes 12 cups of chili. As I normally do I had to go to multiple stores to find poblano peppers. Some weeks they are easier to find and other weeks not available anywhere. For the chopped chicken I used leftover grilled chicken with a bbq rub. It was a perfect fit. Instead of using bouillon cubes and water I used homemade chicken stock. I am not a big fan of bouillon, I find it way too salty to use in recipes. I don't salt my homemade stock, instead I salt the recipe itself. Instead of tortilla chips I used gluten free corn chips since I am able to eat them. I did find that I had to use additional chicken stock after the chili had cooked. Otherwise the chili would have been way too thick. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

If you're looking for a recipe that can feed a crowd this would be it. This recipe had enough for a meal for my family of four plus leftovers for two more meals. My two boys really loved this recipe. They especially enjoyed the chicken and picked it out and ate it first. The flavor on this chili is delicious. It has a perfect blend of flavors and the chicken was tender. Definitely a recipe I would make again.

For the recipe go to Chicken and Three Bean Chili Verde.

Hearty Quinoa and Corn Chowder

For the last couple of weeks it seemed that fall had by-passed my area. Trick-or-treat was postponed due to snow and power outages, which I never remember having happened before. My oldest son remarked that it looked like Christmas outside....in October. Luckily this weekend the weather was in the 60's and it actually felt like fall. I am someone that absolutely loves fall. The leaves changing and the start of the holidays puts me in a great mood. All the baking and cooking remind me of growing-up in a very large family (my mom was the oldest of twelve). There is something so relaxing about baking an apple or pumpkin pie and a meal with lots of sides. One of my favorite fall dishes is soup. I love pretty much any type of soup that can be thought up and I make soup or stew at least once a week in the colder months. Recently, I tried a new recipe for Hearty Quinoa and Corn Chowder from the October/November issue of Taste of Home magazine, which looked perfect for the crisp fall weather.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking and makes 14 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store, even the super store in my area now stocks quinoa, which is a welcome change. Since I am now eating gluten-free I substituted the all-purpose flour used in the recipe for gluten-free cornstarch. I use cornstarch in recipes frequently, especially soups and stews, it thickens just as well as flour and can be found gluten-free. Since corn isn't in season I used frozen corn and as I normally do I made my own vegetable stock. If you have never made your own veggie stock, you really should try it. Vegetable stock can literally be made with any leftover fridge veggies, onions, carrots and a few bay leaves and let it simmer for a couple of hours. I do not salt my homemade stock since I like to add salt to the recipe directly instead. The recipe stirs in the last ingredients and serves the chowder immediately. I let my chowder cook for another 15 minutes on a low temp in order for all the flavors to blend. With soup I prefer a little longer on the cook time in order for the soup to be just right. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

If you are looking for a recipe to feed a crowd this is the one to pick. This recipe made enough for two meals for my family of four plus a bunch of freezer leftovers. My two boys really like this soup. They both thought that it was corn soup and didn't notice the quinoa at all. I liked that it has quinoa and pinto beans for protein with the traditional chowder consistency and feel. If you are trying to watch your calories and fat the heavy whipping cream could be substituted for milk. I do this frequently in recipes. Just make sure that you add enough flour for the chowder to thicken adequetely. Overall, a great fall recipe that is very kid friendly.

For the link go to Hearty Quinoa and Corn Chowder. (registration required)

Corn Chowder with Zucchini and Orzo

I love summer for so many reasons. One of my favorite summer things is fresh vegetables. Garden vegetables are absolutely delicious and I love cooking and baking with every single one of the them. In our area zucchini and summer squash seem to grow easier than anything else and I am always swimming in both of them for a good part of the summer months. I have learned to make great tasting brownies, cakes, bread and muffins that my kids love and they have never guessed that they contain garden vegetables. However, as much as I love baked goods I am trying to reduce the amount that my family consumes. So this time when I had a number of zucchini I decided to look for new savory and healthy options. I found a recipe from Everyday Food magazine for Corn Chowder with Zucchini and Orzo, which looked simple, low in fat and delicious.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. All the ingredients were easy to find at my local grocery store and I made no substitutions. I did find that I had to let my chowder cook for slightly longer than the 8 minutes suggested by the recipe. At 8 minutes it hadn't thickened well so I allowed it to cook an additional 5 minutes. Be very careful when using the blender with the hot soup. I always place a towel over the top opening in addition to the plastic lid insert. I have had soup splatter more than once and the towel prevents anything from leaking out the top. Another option would be to use an immersion blender. It would work just as well and you wouldn't have to worry about pouring hot liquids. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

With 8 grams of fat and 9 grams of protein per serving this recipe is a great, light summer dinner option. I loved how sweet the chowder was and the zucchini and orzo on top was not only pretty on the plate, but created a nice texture difference. My husband wasn't as big of a fan of this recipe. He thought that the chowder would be great as a breakfast porridge, but not as a dinner option. My two kids loved it though, so he was the odd one out. Overall, this recipe was a great way to use garden veggies and I would use it again next summer.

Everyday Food currently does not have this recipe online. However, it can be found in the July/August issue or here is a link to a modified version.

Corn Soup

I love this time of the year. The grocery stores and farmer's markets are full of fresh fruits and vegetables and there are so many delicious recipes to try using fresh ingredients. When I was little my mother had a yard full of beautiful tomatoes and our neighbor had wonderful raspberries that grew into our yard. I always loved summer since it meant fresh salads, soups and desserts. My two boys love fresh ingredients as much as I do. I have never met two kids that love going to the farmer's market and picking fruits and vegetables for recipes as much as they do. They have also become quite adept at naming all the things that they see and love to impress people with their knowledge. One of my favorite fresh vegetables to use in the summer is corn, and I was pleased to see a recipe for Corn Soup in a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 1 hour and 40 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients and made no ingredient modifications. I used the whole 2 cups of corn kernels, my family loves a lot of corn in their soup. I chose to leave off the sliced scallions as a garnish since I was serving this recipe to my kids. Additionally, I did not follow the final step and puree half the soup. My husband isn't a fan of pureed soups, so I kept all the kernels whole. Finally, make sure to not be afraid of adding salt. This soup needs a decent amount of salt to bring out the flavor. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I really liked the creamy taste of this soup. My husband normally doesn't like cream soups, but he thought the taste of this soup was pleasant. This made way more than the 4 servings suggested by the recipe. I'm not sure if I ended up making more stock than the recipe or what, but I ended up with enough leftovers for another meal for my family of four. This recipe is a great way to use fresh corn and very easy to prepare.

For the recipe go to Corn Soup.

Gnocchi, Sweet Corn and Arugula in Cream Sauce

I love this time of the year. The weather is still mild and the humidity hasn't made life miserable like it does later in the summer. Best of all, there is always ton of inexpensive and abundant produce at the store. Fall and winter are always a little depressing in the fruits and vegetables sections of the grocery stores in my area. I'm lucky if I can find much more than spinach and greens fresh in the middle of the winter and the frozen selection is limited at best. Later in the spring and summer though there are always a ton of fresh vegetables and fruits to select from and I cook with them frequently. The last few years the corn available in my area has been hit or miss. Last summer it was pretty horrible and I only bought it a few times. This year has been the exact opposite, the corn was available early, cheap, and deliciously sweet. So I have been looking around for new corn recipes and  found one for Gnocchi, Sweet Corn and Arugula in Cream Sauce in the May issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients (8 if you chose to use crushed red pepper). It takes 20 minutes start to finish and makes 4 servings. So I went into this recipe with the intention of buying fresh corn, however, as you can see from the photo I ended up using frozen. Thanks to grocery shopping with a very hyper 3-year-old and a complaining 6-year-old my fresh corn plans were forgotten and I had to rely on the frozen corn in my freezer. I had no problems finding any of the other ingredients. For the dried herbs I used oregano, I love using dried oregano in pasta dishes. Instead of using a dutch oven, I used a stock pot to cook the pasta and then moved the finished pasta and cream sauce to a large saute pan to finish cooking. I have a very large and heavy dutch oven that takes a very long time to boil for pasta, so I prefer to use a pasta or stockpot instead. Additionally, I let my arugula cook until wilted. The recipe just states to stir in the arugula, for me I like my arugula a little more wilted since it has such a strong peppery taste. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

This is a very easy recipe to make. The prep work is very minimal and I was pleased that the amount of salt indicated was perfect. Oftentimes recipes vastly underestimate the required amount of salt, but this recipe was spot-on. My two boys were unsure of the gnocchi since I have only served it to them a few times, but once they tried it they loved it. My husband and I liked that it was different than previous pasta recipes that we had tried and the cream sauce had a nice flavor. We both felt that the arugula is somewhat unnecessary. The flavor of the cream sauce is dominant so the peppery flavor of the arugula doesn't really show through. It's a great way to add greens into your diet, but didn't do much for the flavor of the dish. Since it isn't essential for flavor you could substitute spinach or leave out the arugula completely if you chose. Overall, a very simple pasta recipe.

For the recipe go to Gnocchi, Sweet Corn and Arugula in Cream Sauce. (registration required)

Southwestern Turkey Meat Loaf

Growing up my father could make two dishes, fried potatoes and meatloaf. We ate a lot of meatloaf on the nights my mother was at work, a lot of meatloaf. Now don't get me wrong, my father's meatloaf was pretty good, it was moist and the sauce had a nice taste. It was just that after having the same meatloaf for the first 18 years of my life, I became a little bit burnt out. So in college and most of the first couple of years of my marriage I didn't have meatloaf. Then about five years ago I slowly transitioned myself back into cooking and eating meatloaf. I discovered that turkey meatloaf can be delicious and a lot less fat than its traditional counterpart. As I was looking through the April issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine I noticed a recipe for Southwestern Turkey Meatloaf which looked simple and delicious.

This recipe has 11 ingredients and 5 optional ingredients. It takes approximately 2 hours of prep and cooking, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 8 to 10 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local store and made no ingredient modifications. Make sure to adequately rinse the canned beans or they will taste metallic. I chose to use tortilla chips for this recipe, it was the one type of chip I could guarantee my boys would eat the leftovers. I used mild picante sauce, but if I was to make this recipe again I think I would use a hotter sauce. The taste was a little too mild for me. For the toppings I chose to use cheese, jalapeno and lime wedges. My meat loaf took a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes exactly, I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was very impressed by how flavorful this meatloaf turned out. It makes a very large meatloaf. I made one giant meatloaf, but it could just as easily make two smaller meatloaves. The meatloaf was a little dry by itself, but with the cheese and lime it was much more moist. I think if I made this again I would add the whole bottle of picante sauce and add a tablespoon of taco seasoning. With only a teaspoon of seasoning, the flavors weren't bold enough for my liking. For a turkey meat loaf recipe this dish turned out well and my youngest son absolutely loved it.

For the recipe go to Southwestern Turkey Meat Loaf.

Everday Food Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad

Pasta is a stable in my household. I never have to worry about having too many leftovers that won't get eaten if a dish includes any type of pasta, someone in my house will eat it. My love of pasta goes back to my childhood. Growing up my family didn't have a lot of money, so pasta was a common meal. Luckily my mother was a very good cook and almost every meal she made was delicious. I especially loved pasta and she invented a recipe for Asian noodles, that to this day is one of the best dishes I have ever tasted. My two boys have inherited my love of all things pasta and literally cheer when they realize a pasta dish is for dinner. Recently, the September issue of Everyday Food magazine had a recipe for Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad, which looked delicious and a great way to use pasta as a side dish.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. I makes 6 servings and takes a total of 35 minutes, all of which is active cooking time. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Make sure to add lots of salt to the pasta water when cooking the orzo or the dish will be very under-salted. Even with the pasta water being adequately salted, I still had to add a decent amount of salt to bring out the full flavor of the zucchini and fresh corn. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

If your trying to feed a crowd this is a great recipe. The recipe states that this makes 6 servings, but they would be 6 very large servings. I would say that this salad could easily serve 12 or more people. This dish was light and delicious the day it was made, but was even better tasting after it had sat in the fridge overnight and soaked up all the flavors from the dressing. I didn't feel that the taste of the jalapeno was very apparent. I would suggest either adding another seeded jalapeno, or if you enjoy spicy dishes, keeping the seeds in for extra flavor. Overall, a light vegetable and pasta salad, that makes enough leftovers for another meal. 

For the recipe go to Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad.

Better Homes and Gardens Corn and Bean Fritters with Tomatoes

My two sons absolutely love tomatoes. Whenever I have fresh tomatoes in the house I have to hide them or else they are completely consumed before I have made the meal I purchased them for. Grape and cherry tomatoes are especially susceptible to being eaten, since they can just be popped into my boys mouth and I never know until there are no tomatoes left to cook with. The other vegetable that has been popular in my house this summer, is corn. Corn prices have been low, so I have been using corn as an ingredient in multiple meals a week. I was pleased when the August issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine had a recipe for Corn and Bean Fritters with Tomatoes, which combined two of my household's current favorite foods.

This recipe has 9 ingredients, including the optional parsley or cilantro topping. The total prep and cook time is approximately 30 minutes. For whatever reason finding cherry tomatoes at my local grocery store is hit or miss, so I used grape tomatoes instead. I used fresh sweet corn, I prefer the taste when it's in season over the frozen variety. Finally, I chose not to use the optional parsley and cilantro topping, since my kids can be finicky about 'green' toppings. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These fritter are very high in protein, 14 grams per serving. The taste of the fresh corn was delicious and the fritters turned out great. The one suggestion I have is to make smaller fritters. The size of fritters the magazine suggests, is awkward to flip and parts of the fritter didn't crisp up completely. These problems would easily be changed by making the fritters about half of the size that the recipe states. I appreciated that this recipe re-heats well, and made a perfect breakfast food for my oldest before kindergarten.

For the recipe go to Better Homes and Gardens Corn and Bean Fritters with Tomatoes (registration required).

Food Network Magazine Creamed Corn

I have been making an effort this summer to use as many fresh in-season vegetables as I can. It saves me money on my food budget and is better for my family's overall health, since the vegetables are fresher and haven't traveled as far. Recently, I have been trying to take advantage of the great prices on corn and been making a number of corn recipes. The July/August issue of the Food Network Magazine had a recipe for Grandma Moore's Creamed Corn, which looked very easy and perfect to use fresh corn.

This recipe has 4 ingredients, including salt and pepper. The total time is 50 minutes, all of which is active. I followed the recipe as stated, but found that I had to add additional water, since I wasn't able to get enough from scrapping the cob. I would estimate that I used approximately 1/2 cup of additional water.

I loved the smoky flavor that the bacon provided in this recipe. I had never made creamed corn before and this recipe was very easy to make and follow. Previously, I had only had canned creamed corn and was never a fan, but this recipe has converted me to making it homemade, it was absolutely delicious!

For the recipe go to Food Network Magazine Grandma Moore's Creamed Corn.

Everyday Food Corn and Tomato Relish

I love making tacos and make them frequently. I have tried just about every store bought salsa available and have not found any that are as good as homemade. Since I make salsa so often I try to vary up the type of salsa I prepare based on personal preference and what fruits and vegetables are in season. The last month corn has sprung up all over the place at great prices, so I have been trying a number of corn dishes. The June issue of Everyday Food had a recipe for Corn and Tomato Relish, which was perfect for the chicken tacos I was preparing as a main dish.

This recipe has 7 ingredients and takes only minutes to prepare. I followed the recipe as stated with no modifications. The only problem with working with fresh corn is getting all the silk off completely. The best way I have found to take silk off of fresh corn is to rub them with a dry paper towel, works like a charm and makes using fresh corn much easier!

I loved how fresh and light this salsa turned out. It was a great accompaniment to the Chicken Tacos  I made as a main dish. This salsa would also be great with tortilla chips and is very easy. A great way to use fresh corn, that literally only takes minutes to prepare.

For the recipe go to Everyday Food Corn and Tomato Relish .