Baked Creamed Corn with Bell Peppers

Summer time corn is one of my most favorite foods. The Pioneer Woman's recipe looked amazing, but I wanted to omit the jalapenos from the dish since we were already having a week full of spicy meals. I originally planned to serve these with Sriracha Chicken Strips, but there was such an amazing sale on pork, Pork Things filled in instead. C went back for seconds and declared it, "super yummy!" Even Miss F ate every single one of her bell peppers. This was after eating about 30 green beans. But she doesn't eat the green bean like a normal person, she peels each bean open and only eats the little beans instead. Edamame style. It is really quite strange.

Baked Creamed Corn with Bell Peppers

4 ears corn, husked
½ red bell pepper, diced
½ green bell pepper, diced
½ cup cream
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees . Slice the corn kernels from the ear into a large bowl. This is done easily by inverting a small bowl inside the large bowl and resting the base of the cob on the bottom of the small bowl while cutting.

Add the bell peppers, cream, salt and pepper. Pour into a two quart baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes, serve.

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Spicy Chipotle Chicken Pasta

I had pinned this recipe awhile back, totally forgetting that I had already made a version of Chipotle Chicken Pasta that we love. Bumbleberry Notebook's version was very different and very complicated. I try to make things as simple as possible when cooking in Aspen since I don't have my full pantry or kitchen tools on hand.  I made this dish our first night in town, so C had been sent to the grocer to do the shopping.  So we ended up with tri-colored penne pasta and no onions.  He insisted he had bought a onion and I just wasn't seeing one in the fridge.  Turns out he was thinking of the lemon.  Luckily there is a grocery store next to his office, so I got a 34 cent onion while we were picking him up from work.  C had two helpings and so did I, it is really good!

Spicy Chipotle Chicken Pasta

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
Juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces penne pasta
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 clove of garlic, minced
4 chipotles in adobo sauce, minced
2 cups cream
1 cup parmesan cheese

In a small dish mix the juice of one lemon with sugar, a pinch of salt and pepper until well blended. Place the chicken in a small dish and pour the marinade over, let marinade at room temperature while you prep the vegetables.

Cook the penne pasta in a large pot of salted water per package directions. Drain and set aside.

Add the olive oil to a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken, onion and bell pepper, sauté for 5 minutes. Add the peas and sauté for 2 minutes more. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds more.

Stir the chipotles and the cream into the chicken and vegetables. Turn heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the parmesan cheese and pasta, serve.

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Secret Recipe Club: Cinnamon Palmiers

It's time for the Secret Recipe Club once again. I took last month of because with C moving to Aspen and everything in chaos, I wasn't sure how much blogging I would be able to do. I received the More Than Occasional Baker for my selection this month and I knew instantly which recipe I wanted to make. Cinnamon Palmiers looked so amazing and I knew Miss F would adore them. I made them one morning before swim lessons and Miss F ran into the kitchen as soon as she smelled the cinnamon, she loves it! I had to convince her to wait until after we were home from swimming to try one, she didn't want to wait. So I went ahead and let her have one hot from the oven, which was a little tricky, but once they cooled and set up, they were easy and delicious to eat.

Cinnamon Palmiers

1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ butter, melted
One sheet of puff pastry, thawed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Stir together the sugar, cinnamon and butter. Roll the puff pastry dough into a large rectangle. Using a pastry brush, spread the cinnamon sugar paste in a thin, even layer over the dough. Starting at the long ends of the rectangle, loosely roll each side inward until they meet in the middle. Slice the pastry cross-wise into ¼ inch palmiers (they'll look like little scrolls) and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until they puff and turn golden brown.

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Recipe Swap: Maple Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops

I haven't participated in the Recipe Swap in quite awhile and after seeing the amazing recipes this last swap, I knew it was time to join up again. This week's theme is Cooking with Alcohol. I submitted Penne with Vodka Sauce and Italian Sausage and in turn, I received Maple Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops from Sweet Beginnings.  I don't keep bourbon on hand at the home, but luckily a friend had gotten me a gift card to Specs for my birthday (she knows me so well!)  I got a teeny tiny bottle of bourbon and a regular sized bottle of champagne with the gift card.  I knew I wouldn't be using a ton of bourbon since I was making this meal just for me.  The pork chops came out beautifully and the dish was quite easy and quick to prepare.

Maple Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops

¾ cup bourbon
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon ground mustard
4 boneless pork chops
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon canola oil
¼ cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small saucepan, combine bourbon, sugar, maple syrup, garlic, Worcestershire, vinegar and mustard. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce to a simmer and let cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to thicken.

Season chops on both sides with salt, pepper, and paprika. Heat an oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat the bottom with canola oil and allow to get pretty hot (4 to 5 minutes), then add pork chops. Sear on one side for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden. Flip and cook the other side for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off heat, add the chicken broth to skillet, then place in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and spoon the glaze over the top of the chops.

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Creamy Mango Chicken Taquitos

One of my best friends was recently diagnosed with a mango allergy after enjoying champagne with mango sorbet at a brunch. Of course her diagnosis made me crave mango like crazy! Interestingly enough, I first made pulled mango chicken sandwiches with a bottle of Mango Ginger Sauce that she had brought me from a vacation she took to the Caymans.  I decided to change up that recipe to make a taquito for Miss F and I to snack on.  She was a huge fan, as was I.

Creamy Mango Chicken Taquitos

½ onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup mango nectar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon mango ginger sauce
1 teaspoon cumin
1 eight ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1 mango, chopped
12 tortillas

Add the onion and garlic to the bottom of the crockpot. Lay the chicken overtop. In a small bowl, whisk together the broth, nectar, oil, mango ginger sauce and cumin. Pour the broth mixture over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove the chicken from the crockpot and shred with two forks. Stir the cream cheese and mango with the chicken.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spoon ¼ cup of the chicken mango mixture onto each tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place seam side down on a greased cookie sheet. Spray the prepared taquitos with cooking spray, bake for 10 minutes. Flip over the taquitos and bake for 5 minutes more. Serve.

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Blueberry Yogurt Waffles

C requested waffles and bacon for Father's Day breakfast. I had blueberries on hand and a ton of yogurt. Since I was making bacon, I didn't want to fuss with my usual blueberry waffle recipe since it involves separating eggs and all that nonsense. I did some googling and decided to adapt a recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. This was the easiest waffle recipe I have ever made. And the waffles turned out beautifully. Miss F dipped hers in chocolate syrup since she was distraught that I didn't have any cream to whip to top her waffles. Luckily, bacon made it all better. And she dipped the bacon in chocolate syrup as well.

Blueberry Yogurt Waffles

¼ cup sugar
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 ¾ cup flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup blueberries

Preheat the waffle iron. Whisk together the sugar, yogurt, milk and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the flour, baking powder and baking soda until combined. Fold in the melted butter and blueberries. Grease the waddle iron with cooking spray. Fill the waffle iron with the batter, cook until crisp. Serve.

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Salmon with Corn Pepper Relish

I saw a recipe on Pinterest for Salmon with Corn Relish. The recipe involved barbecue sauce, which gets into my aversion of sweet things with fish, so I decided to use the recipe only as an inspiration and to create something on my own that suited my tastes better, especially since I was the only one eating it. Miss F ate the relish, but still wouldn't try the fish.  This is the perfect weeknight summer meal.  It takes less than 15 minutes to make and tastes amazing.

Salmon with Corn Pepper Relish

1 jalapeno
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 ears fresh sweet corn kernels
Juice from one lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 salmon fillets
1 tablespoon butter

Slice half of the jalapeno pepper, seed and chop the remaining half. Set aside the slices. Stir together the chopped jalapeno, bell pepper, corn and lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Salt and pepper the salmon filets, sauté the salmon for 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the salmon and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove the salmon to a plate. Add the butter to the pan, then add the corn pepper relish to the pan and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Serve the salmon topped with the corn pepper relish.

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Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

For our sixth wedding anniversary, I got C an iron skillet filled with cheesecake truffles. There was a mix-up from Amazon and the skillet was delivered to our neighbor, long story short, I ended up with two 8" skillets.  I use the skillets for making steaks (one makes a blood rare steak for me, the other a medium steak for C.)   The skillet mix-up was a win-win, even though I worried whether I would have any gift for C at the time.  This cookie may be my new favorite use of the skillet.  And be warned, the "careful" in the instructions when stirring in the flour is not a stern enough warning.  I had lots of fun cleaning flour from my stovetop.

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
from Sophistimom

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet set over medium-low heat. Stir in sugars and vanilla and remove from heat. Let rest until pan is warm, but no longer very hot, about 5 minutes.

Crack an egg onto the butter and sugar mixture, and use a fork to whisk it well into the mixture. Place flour, baking soda, and salt on top, and very carefully stir into the mixture until smooth and well-mixed. Stir in chocolate chips. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, or until starting to turn golden on the top and around the edges, but soft in the center. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

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Crabcake Sandwiches

Growing up in Maryland, there was usually always some version of a crabcake sandwich on most menus. Even if the sandwich was just a crabcake sandwiched between two Saltine crackers. Whenever we went out, I usually ended up ordering one. Now when I moved to Texas, I got so many great new foods...queso, brisket, fresh tortillas...but I lost my beloved crabcake sandwich. They just don't exist on restaurant menus down here. You may find a crabcake appetizer, but generally they are just not good. It is a shame, since Texas blue crab is acutally quite delicious. Luckily, I can make my own perfect version of the crabcake sandwich here at home. I prefer to fry the crabcake for a sandwich instead of broiling it since it holds up better on the sandwich that way. Now if I could only get my hands on some homegrown tomatoes in Texas. The ones in my mom's garden aren't doing so hot. Feel free to add lettuce to the sandwich, but I leave it off because it makes the sandwich too slippery to eat.

Crabcake Sandwiches

½ cup mayo
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon pickle relish
1 tablespoon capers, minced
1 teaspoon Sriracha

1 egg
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 teaspoons minced parsley
1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Old Bay to taste (I use about 1 tablespoon)
½ pound crabmeat
½ cup crushed saltines
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 sandwich buns
1 large tomato, sliced

Make the tartar sauce by stirring together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, relish, capers and Sriracha. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mix together the egg, mayonnaise, parsley, lemon juice and Old Bay. Add crab and crackers and stir gently to combine. Form into four patties and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Fry the crabcakes, about a minute or two per side until golden brown.

Serve on sandwich buns with sliced tomato and tartar sauce.

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Chocolate Zucchini Bread

My mother-in-law gave me two zucchinis from their garden at the ranch. One was your regular old zucchini, the other was at least four times the size of a regular zucchini. It was huge! I made zucchini fries with the regular one, but the giant zucchini was destined for something greater...or grater...chocolate zucchini bread. Miss F did all the work for the bread with the exception of grating the zucchini. She even helped pour the batter into the pans, she is really becoming quite the sous chef. This bread is moist, rich and delicious. Miss F gobbled it right up. I got the recipe from my favorite spice shop, Penzey's. I used their vanilla and cinnamon, which I am sure made all the difference in the world.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 cups zucchini, grated
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9x5 loaf pans. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla until well blended. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, stir in the cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to cool. Peel and grate the zucchini. Add zucchini and cooled butter mixture to the large mixing bowl and blend well. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to the batter. Stir only enough to blend in all the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the loaf pans. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack.

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Creamy Shrimp Pasta

I have been wanting to make this dish for quite some time and never got around to it. After I made it, I was kicking myself for not making it sooner. It comes together quickly, is simple to prepare and tastes amazing. Miss F kept asking me to twirl more pasta for her while we Skyped with C over dinner. I think we are finally getting into the groove as far as having C in Aspen during the week. All the more seafood for me to cook, but we can still have family dinner thanks to Skype.  Major thanks to Sunny Side Up for the super fantastic recipe.

Creamy Shrimp Pasta

12 ounces linguine
½ cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon butter
¾ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
5 teaspoons Old Bay, divided
1 ½ cups half-and-half
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Cook pasta per package directions. During the last minute of cooking add the peas. Drain and reserve ¼ cup of the cooking liquid.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shrimp and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of Old Bay. Sauté for 3 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in the half-and-half, reserved cooking liquid, Parmesan cheese and the rest of the Old Bay. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat and add the pasta and peas. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving (this gives the sauce a few more minutes to thicken) Serve with extra grated Parmesan cheese.

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