Corn Salad/Salsa

Thanks Amy for introducing us to this amazing stuff!

Corn Salad 

Recipe by Our Best Bites 

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
8 ounces queso fresco or cotija cheese***
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped***
1/2 recipe (about 6 ounces) Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette (click the link to find the recipe!)
1 large avocado, pitted, peeled, and cubed
Kosher salt to taste

Instructions:

Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a large stock pot. When the water boils, add the corn and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain and rinse and then add to a large bowl. Toss together the corn, red bell pepper, red onion, jalapeño pepper, and crumbled cheese. Toss with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette. Chill until ready to serve. Right before serving, gently toss in the avocado and season with salt. It's AMAZING with tortilla chips! Serves 10-12.

***i used feta cheese and a green bell pepper instead of queso fresco and a jalapeño AND i threw in a diced tomato and it was still madly delicious!

HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Recipe from my mom!

You'll need:
4 cans chicken broth
2-3 chicken breasts
Noodles- you can use any kind you want. I like regular fettucini noodles, my mom likes to use the bowtie kind- whatever you like will work! Also, I never measure these, I just eyeball them.  I do about 4-5 cups cooked.
Carrots- I use 3/4 bag of baby carrots
1 small onion
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper

Pour in your crockpot the cans of chicken broth and 1 can of water. Chop the carrots and onion and add to the broth. Boil chicken, dice, and add to the broth. Simmer on low for 4 hours or until carrots and onions are soft.

Boil the noodles until they are ALMOST done but not quite. Drain and add to your crockpot. Turn crockpot to high and let cook for 1 hour or until noodles are soft and done- i left mine cooking for over two hours last time and they were way too mushy. So check them periodically, stirring and testing softness.

At the very end, right before you're ready to serve it, salt and pepper to taste {not much salt needed} and stir in the sour cream. You can't add it earlier or it separates as it cooks. This add a bit of creaminess without making it heavy and it's so good!

Serve hot, and it's best with warm rolls of course. Enjoy!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

I was in a baking mood and had some extra fruit lying around the house so I made these little beauties. Not healthy in any way shape or form but oh my are they delicious! Especially with that tangy glaze on top!

Enjoy!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup buttermilk * I did one cup of regular milk and 1 Tbs of white vinegar-let it sit for 5-10 min before adding to the recipe

1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 1/4 cups raspberries *I used fresh and cut them in half since they were large

1 cup confectioners sugar

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix eggs, buttermilk, oil, and lemon zest. Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture until moistened. Fold in raspberries. Fill 18 muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar and lemon juice. If glaze is too thick, add another tablespoon of lemon juice. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins and allow to harden slightly, about 5 minutes. 

NO BAKE CHEESECAKE

This is a SUPER fluffy, delicious cheesecake recipe, and it's so easy. Luc and I make it in 20 minutes!

You'll need:
1 graham cracker pie crust (i always buy mine. feel free to make your own if you know how!)
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese (room temperature)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup white sugar
any fruit sauce or topping you desire

In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the cream cheese (if it's cold, it's very hard to get a creamy texture) and lemon juice until soft. Add the whipping cream and beat until batter becomes thick and creamy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. (This takes a few minutes. Also, I always taste it right about now and make sure it's sweet enough. I usually have to add a pinch more sugar)

When your mixture is very thick and fluffy, spoon it into your graham cracker crust and spread evenly. Chill several hours or overnight (THIS IS IMPORTANT. It melts fast if you don't chill it. Overnight is best.)

Just before serving, top with whatever fruit or sauce you desire!

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

This is a Thanksgiving classic, but it's so delicious, we like to eat it year round!

You'll need:

about 30-36 oz frozen whole green beans
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or milk
1 container French's onions
Salt and pepper to taste

Thaw your green beans in a strainer under hot water. Let them sit to dry.

In a large bowl, mix your two cans of cream of mushroom soup, soy sauce, and heavy cream or milk. (NOTE: I've made this recipe with either one and it always turns out yummy. Milk is, of course, the healthier of the two options so I use it most often.) Mix these together until you have a smooth, creamy sauce. Add salt and pepper generously, and stir some more.

When your beans are dry and thawed, stir them into your sauce until they are all covered. Then dump them into a 9x13 glass dish and cover with tinfoil.

Bake at 375 for 25-30 min or until bubbly.

Remove from the oven and generously sprinkle French's onions on top, covering the entire dish. Leave the tinfoil off and bake for an additional 5-10 min or until onions are crispy and browning in places. Remove and EAT!


P.S. This is a really easy recipe to make smaller or bigger:
For every bag of frozen green beans, it's 1 can of soup, 1 TBSP of soy sauce, and 3/4 cup milk.

30 Minute Rolls

I found this recipe over at Real Mom Kitchen  and I am in love! Making any sort of bread (besides banana bread) terrifies me. I refuse to even attempt it half the time because I don't like failing.

Last Sunday I found this recipe and decided to brave it. Let me tell you, it is the easiest recipe ever! I didn't need to knead it, it only had to rise for 15 min, there was no rolling it out and cutting it, and I had fresh delicious dinner rolls in about 30 min.

Here is the link to the recipe:
http://realmomkitchen.com/20/30-minute-rolls/

The only thing I would do differently is to let the rolls cook a bit longer. They were still delicious but I'll let mine brown a bit more next time.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

We have an obsession with this soup at our house, we eat it at least twice a month during the winter. It is delicious, and extremely easy to make.

I'm posting two recipes because they are both delicious. The first is amazing but I don't always have all the ingredients on hand (I never have half and half,Velveeta, or fresh broccoli) so I have simplified the recipe so I can make it whenever we want.

Here is the link to the first recipe:

http://southerncolor.blogspot.com/2011/11/panera-broccoli-cheese-soup.html


Simplified Recipe:

Broccoli Cheese Soup
1/4 c Butter
1/2 chopped onion
1/4 flour
2 c chicken stock or broth
2-3 c Milk (depends on how much you're making)
1/2- 1 lb frozen broccoli
1/2 c chopped carrot (optional)
2 c cheddar cheese (or more if you like it extra cheesy)
Garlic Salt
Salt
Pepper

In a small saute pan cook onions and carrots in a little butter until tender.

In large pot: Melt 1/4 c butter. Add flour and stir until incorporated. Continue stirring and cooking flour and butter for a few min. Don't brown the flour.

Add chicken stock and milk to the butter/flour mixture. Add seasoning. Cook for about 5-10 min.

While base is cooking, de-frost broccoli in microwave or under warm water. If desire break broccoli pieces up into small bite size pieces.

Add onions, carrots, and broccoli to pot and cook for about 20 min.

Add cheese and stir until incorporated.

Taste, add more cheese and seasoning if desired.

Enjoy!

This recipe is easily adjustable to your taste buds. Add other seasonings if you want, add more cheese, add more milk to make it thinner. Play around with it and figure out what your family like! :)