Creamed Corn / Corn Pudding

I'm terrible at measuring when I'm tossing things together in the kitchen, so this is just a guestimate on the amounts here but after the first time I made this it's been often requested.  It's so easy and it can be converted to a good rib-stickin' breakfast on cold mornings, so I don't complain about it.  Back when we lived in Tennesucky I could get fresh corn from an Amish fruit & veggie stand for almost nothing and it was SO amazing that I would buy up tons of it, roast it, but it off the cobs and freeze it for later use.  When I got up to about 12 gallon size freezer bags I decided I needed to come up with something to do with all of it, so voila! Creamed corn that turns into corn pudding for breakfast.  As I said earlier, I'm horrible at measuring on the fly, I'd use about 2/3 of the bag - probably about the equivalent of about 4 drained cans of whole kernel corn.  If you're going with canned get the yellow and white mixed vateity, it has the best flavoring of all the canned corns in my opinion.

3-4 cans of whole kernel corn, drained
3 Tbsp butter (or non-dairy equivalent)
3 Tbsp GF all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (I use one can of Pet milk and 1/2 cup of regular milk.  I've used almond milk to make sausage gravy before and it worked like a champ so I'm sure it'd work well for this as well.
1/2 tsp of honey
salt and pepper to taste.  I find that a dash of cayenne pepper, dash of white pepper and a dash of Worcestershire black pepper

1.  Melt butter in saucepan, stir in flour and blend well.
2.  Add milk, about 1/2 cup at a time, and blend with whisk.
3.  Cook over medium heat until thickened.
4.  Stir in sugar, salt and pepper.
5.  Add cooked, drained corn.
6.  Stir together and let cool before serving.

To turn this tasty dish into an even tastier breakfast the next day it's quite simple.  There are no set measurements since there is no way to determine how much left over there will be so I'm going to guess this for having half the recipe left over from the night before.

Put cold cream corn in deep skillet, add 2 Tbsp of brown sugar (I prefer dark, but light works just as well) 1/2 - 3/4 tsp Saigon cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg and 1/8 tsp of ground cloves.  Mix together while warming corn, serve when brown sugar has dissolved.  Since the amount of leftover corn is always unknown these are just suggestions and should be adjusted to your tastes.  

Baked Autumn

Oven roasted miniature pumpkins stuffed with a squash, potato and cheese mixture make a gorgeous thanksgiving side dish that will make everyone think you're a genius chef! =)
This is a terrible picture, I'll have to get a new one in a couple of days when I make these again.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 mini pumpkins
• 2 white potatoes
• 1 cup mashed pumpkin or squash (roasted butternut squash works quite well)
• 1-2 cups honey (maple syrup is traditionally called for, but I hate maple anything - feel free to use it if that's your thing)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• Gruyère, Jarlsberg, Fontina, Chevre, Provolone or even feta cheese to put on top before serving (just one of those, not all of them!)

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Roasting the Pumpkin

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
    
2. Hollow out mini pumpkins being careful not to puncture the bottoms.
    
3. Pour 1/4 cup honey (or less if pumpkins are smaller) in each.
    
4. Oven roast the pumpkins on a cookie sheet lined with foil for about 20min or until slightly tender (the honey may bubble up so the foil will save you some clean up later).
    
5. When finished allow the pumpkins to cool for about 10 minutes then pour the syrup into a small bowl and reserve for later.

Step 2: The Filling

1. Peel and cut potatoes into large pieces, place in a sauce pan of cold water and simmer till tender. (Essentially as if you are making mashed potatoes)
    
2. Remove from heat and drain potatoes
   
3. If using roasted butternut squash remove seeds and scoop out squash meat, add to potatoes.  If using canned pumpkin, add pumpkin to potatoes.
   
4. With a hand mixer, blend the warm ingredients and add butter, salt and pepper.
    
5. Add a bit of the pumpkin honey from the earlier roasting. I use a very small amount, it's really about your taste at this point.
    
6. Scoop the filling into the baked pumpkin and return to the oven
   
7. Place a bit of cheese of your choice on top of each pumpkin, then warm up the filled pumpkins for approximately 10 minutes prior to serving.

Light and Fluffy Gluten-Free Pancakes! (no lie, light & fluffy!)

Light and fluffy gluten-free bread products - impossible, right?  WRONG!  With enough determination and a lot of trial & error you CAN achieve light, fluffy, super-tasty, gluten-free yummies!  One word of warning, don't taste the batter and decide that it's going to be nasty.  Gluten-free flour blends are often made from beans, which means your batter is going to taste like - well, nasty bean sauce.  This recipe is the result of reading many, many pancake recipes and taking what I thought would work best.

See that??  Actual fluff bubbles!! ----->

1 1/3 Cup Bob's Red Mill All Purpose GF Baking Mix
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/4-1/2 tsp of Saigon cinnamon (you can use regular, but I truly believe that Saigon cinnamon is the best seasoning ever made)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves (or less, a little clove goes a long, long way!)
dash of Stevia
2 eggs (room temperature is always best when using eggs to bake - if you forget to let them warm up put the needed amount of eggs in a container of hot tap water for a few minutes)
1/2 Cup Milk (ANY kind of milk - dairy, nut, soy... Doesn't matter)
2 Tbsp Sunflower Oil (a light, extra virgin olive would work as well)
1 tsp Pure Almond extract
1 tsp Pure Vanilla or Chocolate extract
(you can use any combination of extracts you choose, I find that almond mixes well with all flavors and almond kicks that bean smell and taste completely out)


Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and soda, salt, stevia and seasonings) in main mixing bowl, set aside.

In separate bowl whisk together liquids (eggs, milk, oil, extracts) till completely blended.  Using whisk pour liquids into dry ingredients and mix till smooth.  Allow mixture to sit for a few minutes while griddle heats (I use a cast iron griddle skillet - works like a champ) then ladle apx 1/3 cup of batter at a time on to hot griddle.  Flip once it starts to bubble and the edges are set.

This batter is very close to traditional pancake batter, possibly even a touch thinner.  All the GF pancakes I've tinkered with until this one have been VERY thick and goopy, and frankly were so dense I could only eat 1-2 small bites.  These are not too dense and even tho the batter is slightly thinner than traditional batter it is not runny at all - just make them, you'll understand. =)

The easiest way to ruin pancakes is to have the heat too high when cooking.  If you use cast iron, like I do, remember that the iron will retain heat and get hotter the longer you cook so after the first pancake is done you'll need to turn the heat down.  By the time I pour the 3rd one I usually have the heat all the way down to the lowest setting.  Also, as with anything you're going to bake, NEVER mix in anything but glass or stainless steel bowls.  Plastic bowls absorb all sorts of things that can cause your batter to not come out as is should.

Super Shrimp

As far as I'm concerned shrimp is about the best thing on this earth food wise, I'd eat it for every meal if I could afford it.  Growing up I thought you could only eat it battered and fried, I love that method but as I've grown I've learned you can prepare shrimp just about any way you can imagine.  Here is one of my favorite recipes for quick, easy, tasty shrimp!

Ingredients:

1 lb raw shrimp - headed, de-veined and peeled (pre-cooked shrimp is horribly loaded with sodium, avoid it at all costs!)

1 small onion - chopped

2 cloves garlic - diced

1 small bell pepper - chopped

2 medium tomatoes - chopped

1 hot pepper (I use chile) - seeded and finely diced

6-7 white mushrooms - washed and chopped

olive oil

1Tbsp dark chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp basil

Directions:

add olive oil to large skillet (I use a wok skillet) the cook onion till it starts to soften, add bell pepper then garlic and cook till browned but not burned.  Add tomatoes (juice and all), mushrooms, pepper and seasonings and cook till mushrooms begin to darken.  Add shrimp and cook till shrimp begins to curl and turn opaque, remove from heat immediately - nothing it worse than over cooked shrimp.  Can be served alone or over rice/pasta/starch of your choice, personally I think it's best all by it's self!

Hhomemade Creamed Corn and Corn Pudding

Ingredients:

10-16 oz of corn (I use fresh corn that I roast and then cut off the cob, but frozen will work.  If using frozen, cook corn first.  If you have to use canned it will work as well, but I generally try to avoid canned anything due to the sodium content)

3 tablespoons butter (you can use margarine, but I'm kinda old school and prefer to cook with real butter)

3 tablespoons flour (to make this gluten free I suggest using coconut flour which works well for thickening)

2 cups milk (I use 1 large can of evaporated pet) milk, which is apx 1 1/2 cups and then a half cup of regualr milk to make the sauce extra thick - you can get evaporated milk in both 2% and fat free, both work and still taste just as good)

1/2 teaspoon sugar (you can use more, but I don't like it too sweet till the next day when I make it into pudding)

salt and pepper to taste (I use a little black and a little red, but I like a little more tang than most) 

Directions:

1.  Melt butter in saucepan, stir in flour and blend well.
2.  Add milk, about 1/2 cup at a time, and blend with whisk.
3.  Cook over medium heat until thickened.
4.  Stir in sugar, salt and pepper.
5.  Add cooked, drained corn.
6.  Stir together and let cool before serving.

Corn Pudding:

To make corn pudding for breakfast from the left overs the night before simply add a bit of brown sugar (light or dark, whichever you prefer), ground cinnamon and a dash of ground cloves, a dash of nutmeg - the nutmeg really brings out the flavors IMO.  There isn't really a recipie for this, you just add as much as you like for your taste, be warned tho that a little bit of clove goes a looooong way!  Heat until sugar has melted and all spices are well blended, serve and enjoy =)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons lime juice
1-2 tablespoons onion powder (more if you like more)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon Tone's chicken base (or chicken bullion cube)
2 cans tomatoes and green chile (I prefer Red Gold, but Ro-Tel works just as well)
1 box reduced sodium chicken broth and equal amount of water
1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (you can use cilantro, but I think it tastes like soap and refuse to use it)
2 boneless chicken breast halves,cut into bite size cubes
crushed tortilla chips
lime wedges
sliced avocado
shredded mexican style cheese
chopped green onions and/or sour cream for garnish

Directions:
In large stock pot add broth, water and chicken - bring to boil for 10 minutes

In separate skillet saute onion and garlic (add garlic after onion has been cooking for about 2 minutes) in oil until soft, add to pot and reduce heat to about half way. Add tomato, chili powder, chicken base, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder let simmer about 10 minutes then add diced parsley (or cilantro), black beans and corn and let simmer another 10 minutes.

Place lime wedge and cubed avocado in bottom of bowl before adding soup, top with shredded cheese, crumbled tortilla chips, green onions and a small dollop of sour cream

**EDIT**
this is one of my old recipes and since I'm cheap and a bit more health conscious I don't use bullion or boxed/canned broth or veggies so I make my own chicken stock (I find that for the best stock you need to use at least half dark meat chicken, I usually get a family pack of thighs or legs and use those - cheaper and great for flavor) and use the chicken from that for this and I use fresh tomato and peppers (in season) or ones I've canned out of season - you can use either. Not all canned things are horrible for you, read the labels to make informed purchases. Always remember that recipes are only ideas, not rules that are set in stone and when you play around with them you find the perfect way for you and yours to get the most enjoyment out of a dish. Happy eating! =)

Denise

I really hope my favorite nurse (well, my favorite one here in MO anyways) actually does hop over here and take a look at my recipe blog and I really hope she leaves me a comment to let me know she stopped by! (hint, hint)  Everyone should be lucky enough to meet a lady like Denise who manages to make me feel better, no matter how icky I'm feeling, every time I get the pleasure of having her for my nurse!  Not only does she make me feel important and not just like an animal being herded through the clinic, but she also ALWAYS has a compliment for me and never fails to tell me how beautiful she thinks I am. An all around wonderful care giver and an amazing person to boot - she's the whole package. ♥