Corn Casserole a/k/a Corn Pudding

I love this sweet little side dish. It is moist and creamy and goes great with a lot of foods. I like to serve along side a BBQ chicken or even along side a Mexican dish.

Take it to a pitch-in and you will be guaranteed to bring home an empty dish.

1 can cream style corn
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 small carton sour cream
1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
1 stick butter or margarine

Mix together all ingredients except butter. Melt butter in a 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Add corn mixture. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

*Note: To make this dish a little more spicy, try using the Mexican style canned corn!

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Creamed Spinach

I almost embarrassed to post yet another spinach recipe, but this one is just too quick, easy, and yummy not to share. I saw it on TV the other day in a segment featuring bar food. Nice, right?

Considering the fact that we don't frequent bars, I was a foreigner to creamed spinach.

My mom used to make creamed peas on occasion. They are nice but totally different.

You can use either fresh spinach or frozen spinach for this. I did not have any heavy cream on hand so I used the half and half that I generously use in my coffee.

spinach (either fresh or frozen)
cream
butter
salt

Put spinach in large stock pot. Allow to cook down until soft.

IMPORTANT: Drain spinach well.

While spinach is cooking down, put desired amount of cream, butter and salt into deep skillet. Allow to reduce by half.

Add well-drained cooked spinach to cream. Heat through. Serve warm.

Spoonbread Souffle

I have been looking for a lower carb side dish - one to serve instead of noodles, rice or potatoes.

While looking through a Weight Watchers cookbook Brian's mom* gave me, I found this recipe. It is 4 WW points per serving and 19 carbs per serving. Not too bad.

Per Serving Comparison (3/4 cup serving size):

Creamette Extra Wide Egg Noodles: 32 grams carbs
Mashed Potatoes made with milk and butter: 22 grams carbs
White Rice: 44 grams carbs
Spoonbread: 19 gram carbs

1 cup fresh or thawed frozen corn
2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup stone-ground white cornmeal
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
pepper
3 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Puree the corn and 1/4 cup of milk in a blender. Place the remaining milk in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the pureed corn, butter, 1/4 tsp. of the salt, and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a shallow 2-quart baking dish and place in the oven while preheating.

Separate eggs. Stir the yolks and baking powder into the cooled cornmeal mixture.

Beat egg whites and the remaining 1/4 tsp. salt in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the cornmeal mixture.

Remove the baking dish from the oven. Pour the mixture into the dish. Bake until the spoonbread is puffed and browned, 35-40 minutes. Serve hot.

*Speaking of Brian's mom, Emmalea, keep her in your prayers for the next two weeks as she is going on a mission trip to El Salvador. She and her sister, Carol, head out tomorrow.

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Sour Cream Scalloped Potatoes

This a recipe my mom wrote out for me and put in the Longaberger recipe basket/box she bought me while I was engaged.

Since I am feeling nostalgic about engagements, I thought of this recipe and decided to make it when my parents come over for Sunday dinner.

I will probably double this recipe for Sunday and bake in 13 x 9 glass dish. Any leftovers will reheat nicely.

2 large baking potatoes or 4 to 5 regular potatoes
1 med. onion, diced
2 Tbsp. butter
1 cup sour cream
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
salt
pepper
paprika

Peel and slice potatoes 1/8" thick. Precook in boiling, salted water for 5 minutes; drain and set aside.

Saute onion in butter until glossy. Stir in sour cream and heat through but do not boil.

Layer in buttered 2 quart baking dish 1/2 of potatoes, egg slices and sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Repeat layers.

Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Be careful not to over bake.

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Ode to Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese - the underrated side dish. Full of protein and low on carbs. And very versatile.

Good with sliced peaches or pineapple for a sweet treat. Good with pepper as a savory dip for potato skin chips.

Brian's Grandma White introduced me to this cottage cheese brand. It may be more expensive than the store brand, but there is just no comparison.

I love the drier consistency. But my experience has found that the lowfat (2 % milk fat) version is not as dry.

Michigan Brand Cottage Cheese

Michigan Brand Cottage Cheese was developed in 1929 by a German immigrant in Michigan. He produced what is called "Old Fashioned" or "Farmers" cheese.

This cottage cheese is very dry and small curded. Because the product is so dry it will have a longer shelf life than other cottage cheeses. Michigan Brand Cottage cheese is excellent for cooking and is a great replacement for ricotta cheese in lasagna.

Available in 4 varieties: Small Curd, Lowfat, Nonfat, and Large Curd...in both a 15 oz and a 24 oz size. The Small Curd is also available in a 3 lb and 5 lb container for families and Food Service cases, as well as an 8 oz individual size!

Thanks Grandma White!

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