Corn Casserole (Slightly) Lightened

Now, this is not the healthiest side dish by far, but it can be lightened a bit and still be delicious!! The usual recipes call for more corn, but I don't like that much in mine. It also usually calls for more sour cream and twice the butter, and no egg, thereby the slightly lightened! 

1 8.75oz can of whole sweet corn, drained

1 8.75oz can of creamed corn

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

4oz fat free sour cream

1 package Jiffy corn muffin mix (Yes, I used premade. It was faster.)

Preheat your oven to 400*f.

Combine both of the cans of corn with the butter, sour cream, and egg. Add in the corn muffin mix, and combine well. Pour into a baking dish, I used a glass square, and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool before cutting. Hope you enjoy!

Shrimp and Pasta with Tomatoes and Peppers

A friend was telling me about a dish he had with fettuccine and a buttered wine sauce. I had some shrimp on hand, and some frozen pasta dough, so I made my own version of it!

1 pound cooked fettuccine noodles

1 1/2 pounds fully peeled shrimp

3 small orange peppers, sliced thin

1 cup diced tomatoes

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 Tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by melting the butter in a large deep pan over medium heat. Once melted, add the oil and allow it to warm for a few moments. Add the garlic and cook until it has softened, then add the peppers and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and cook the until they have softened. Add the shrimp and cook until they are pink and firmed. Remove the pan from the heat, add the basil, and toss some to combine.

To plate, place some of the pasta on your plate, and top with some of the shrimp, peppers, and tomatoes. Top with some fresh grated parmesan if you wish, and eat!! Hope you enjoy!!

Cherry Limeade-rita

I'm not going to try to hide it. I enjoy tequila, and I especially like the combination of lime juice and tequila, better known as a margarita. I've tried various ready to drink mixes, and order one on occasion when we go out (the most recent experience resulted in a *clear* margarita, and was about 90% tequila...), but I have yet to find one that rivals my own!

I'm always looking for a new twist to something old, and while making tequila lime chicken tacos, I saw a jar of cherries in the fridge. Wheels: start turnin'!

3oz sour mix
1 lime, juiced, save one empty half
1/2oz maraschino cherry juice
1/2oz Cointreau
1-2oz tequila
1Tbsp granulated sugar

Select your glass, and rub the empty rind around the edge of the glass. Pour the sugar in a ring in a flat plate, then dip the wet edge of the glass into the sugar until well coated. If you wish, zest the lime into the sugar prior to coating the glass. In a bar shaker, combine ice, sour mix, Cointreau, and tequila, and shake to combine well. Add ice to your glass, then nearly fill it with the margarita. Pour in the cherry juice, which will mostly settle to the bottom, and serve! Stir before drinking of course. Hope you enjoy!

Arctic Char with sautéed White Swiss Chard and Mashed Potatoes

It's always fun to try new things, and even more so when you've never cooked the item before! Enter Arctic Char. Publix had several beautiful fillets recently, so I grabbed a couple!

Fish
2 6-8 oz fillets Arctic char
1 Tbsp shallots, minced
1 tsp fresh dill
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 Tbsp white wine
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups cream, or more if you prefer it to be more thin
Salt and pepper to taste

Potatoes
2 Lbs potatoes, quartered and boiled
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp milk or cream
4 cloves garlic, roasted (peel garlic, place on foil, drizzle with olive oil, enclose in foil, bake at 350 until soft)
Salt and pepper to taste

Chard
1 bunch white Swiss chard, chopped to bite size chunks
1 clove garlic, sliced very thin
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by checking the fish for loose scales, bones, or any bits from the butchering. I steamed the fish in my new favorite bamboo steamer, but frankly and way you prefer to prepare it here is fine, short of drowning it in seasoning. To prepare the sauce, melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium low heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the cream. Once thickened, add the lemon juice, dill, shallots, and wine, and combine well. Add more cream if you feel the sauce is still too thick. Allow to simmer for a few more minutes, taking care not to allow it to burn.

Meanwhile, place the boiled potatoes in a large bowl. Add the cream, butter, salt, pepper, and roasted garlic, then mash well with a potato masher. Don't over mash though, or they will become paste-like. No one likes pasty potatoes! Cover, and set aside.

The chard takes a short time. Start by heating the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook very briefly to warm them, then add the chard. Toss often and cook until wilted and soft.

To plate, start with a bed of the Swiss chard, and place a fillet on top. Top with a helping of the wine sauce. Add a serving of potatoes (several options: piped, scooped, plopped... Piped looks prettiest.), and serve! Hope you enjoy!

Tomato Soup and Grown Up Grilled Cheese

I bought a bunch of cheese for snacking before Christmas dinner, but we ended up not eating it. Any of it. I had Swiss, white cheddar, and chipotle Gouda BEGGING for a tummy to call home, but I wasn't sure just how I wanted to make that happen. Well, after a little cold snap, and passing a picture of a sandwich made with white mountain bread made a Publix, it hit me: grilled cheese.

Tomato Soup:
8 Medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped.
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
4 Leaves fresh basil, chiffonaded
1-2 tsp sugar, depending on how acidic the tomatoes are
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp AP flour
2 Cups chicken or vegetable broth

Melt the butter in a stock pot over medium heat. Once melted, mix in the flour and allow to cook until it turns golden in color. Add in the broth and combine well. Add in the tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt, and sugar, and reduce the heat to low to medium low. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the tomatoes have broken down well. Adjust the salt and/or sugar as needed. Blend the soup either with a blender or (my new favorite kitchen toy) a wand blender to your desired smoothness. Top with a little more basil, or cheese, or crackers, or whatever you prefer!

For the sandwiches:
4 thick slices of bread
6 slices Swiss
6 slices white cheddar
6 slices chipotle Gouda
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

In a large pan, melt the butter over medium to medium low heat. Mop up the butter with one side of each slice of bread. Or butter the bread directly. I prefer the first. Place two slices of the bread butter side down in the pan. Layer three slices of each cheese on the bread, and top with the remaining bread. Cover with a lid, and cook until golden brown. Flip, and again cook until golden brown. If the cheese isn't fully melted, lower the heat, and continue to cook for a few moments longer. Remove from the pan, and rest for a few minutes to allow the cheese to congeal some. Cut in half, and eat!

Hope you enjoy!