Somewhat Creamless Corn Chowder

I didn't have any fresh corn on the cob on me as that season was well done with when I came across this recipe. I did, however, have corn off the cob in the freezer. This did cause a problem as I didn't have enough corn to puree and put in the soup. Therefore, I did have to turn to a cream, cream of cheddar soup. I gave the husband the choice of  cream of celery or cream of cheddar, he picked cheddar as he doesn't like celery. It surprises how many people don't like celery. I wanted to use the celery as I thought the cheddar was just weird and it smelled weird when it was cooking. I'm not sure is using this cream is any healthier then using like heavy cream (which would make sooo good) or half and half. There's still salt, sugar, fat and other stuff.

oh look at that bacon goodness

The cream of cheddar did mellow out when I added the can of milk to it.  We ended up liking it. It's soup and you really can't go wrong with soup. I like soup a lot, specially the creamed based ones like potato or corn chowder. You can usually get by using whatever leftovers you have and throwing it into a soup. Maybe I'll do an entry about soup.  Starting using up those end of the season produce and make some soup or stir-fry. Have you ever garnished your plate with green onion? It gives it a nice freshness and the onion is not overpowering. It's one of my favorite standbys to add color to the plate.

2 cups frozen corn
1 large onion, peeled and sliced very thick
½ red bell pepper, stemmed and seeded
1 pound new potatoes, halved
1½ Tbs. olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 quart chicken broth
1 can cream of cheddar
1 can milk
Green onion to garnish

We did the short cut to this recipe and used the frozen corn and the cream of cheddar soup as I didn't have the puree. I fried up the bacon and then added the vegetables and saute until tender. I used a green pepper. The recipe says red, but I didn't have a red did I? I then added the chicken broth and corn and simmered until all the veggies where done 12-15 minutes. To see if the potatoes are done, stab a fork in them and if they go through and kind of break then they are done.
Orignal Recipe

Menu for September 19-23

Since the weather is cooling down, I think it's a good time to start using the oven more regularly. If you're one of those people who like to wait to the last minute turn on the heat, like me, you can use the oven as a source of heat.
This week I have decided to go retro with the recipes. I bought out my Ramsey Cookbook, my Waldorf Cook book and a Campbell Cookbook. I have meat in the freezer that I need to use up and I thought it would be fun to start rummaging through those old recipes. Plus they make a lot of food with not a lot of extra ingredients. I found I had most of the items in my pantry. What do you have to use up in your freezer?

Meatless Monday 
Oven Pancakes (Waldorf Auxiliary Cookbook)

Tuesday
Colossal Chicken (Recipe Roundup at Ramsey)

Wednesday 
Pharmacist Softball Night

Thursday
Marinade Steak Recipe Here

Friday
Porkchops and Potato Scallop (Campbell Cookbook Cooking with Soup)

Yesterday I used up a bunch of tomatoes and made chili starter. I'm hoping I can get a big bag of apples and make some apple butter. The smells of fall.

Playing it by ear

Busy week, not sure if I'll have a menu for this week. Happy Birthday Barry!

Outdoor Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Pesto and Tomatoes

 I found this recipe on Hy-Vee.com in meal solutions. It's a Curtis Stone recipe that he contributed to the website as part of his partnership. It orginially had Gruyère cheese and wedge Brie cheese (such as St. Andre), something that we didn't want to buy. We bought some provolone and used up whatever cheese we had left in the fridge. In order to sell this recipe to the husband, I told him that we can put bacon on it.(It has tomatoes in it!)

This was a winner for us. We like how the bread was soft but had a crunch from the grill. The cheese melted well, the tomatoes brought a tangy freshness and the bacon brought it all together. I paired it with  some green beans from the garden and I fried them with some butter and garlic. I'll show how to do that later. Sorry about not having a picture of Barry grilling.


Serves 6.

All you need:
For the pesto:
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 c. (lightly packed; about 1 1/2 ounces) fresh basil leaves, divided
1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted
1/3 c. (about 2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
For the sandwich:
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut into 3/4- to 1-inch pieces
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Take and Bake Artisan ciabatta
Provolone Slices
Cooked Bacon slices
Whatever cheese you got left in the fridge
To Make:
      Make pesto, I used my baby food processor and put in the pine nuts, basil, garlic, and Parmesan and whirled it around until all the ingredients where broken down. I then put in the oil until it formed a paste. I  tasted it and added some salt and spun it again tested it again and was happy.. Oh how I love pesto.
     Preheat barbecue for high heat (500°F). I don't grill so Barry did that part.
     Take your chopped up tomatoes and mix it with the balsamic vinegar and set it aside.
     Using a large serrated knife, cut ciabatta. We bought a bag of ciabatta rolls to make it easier and just cut them in half.
     Spread pesto on each half. We then put the bacon on, if you're adding it, I don't know why not. Then the cheese. We layered it with provolone and then the shredded cheeses.
Now it gets a bit out of my league:
     For a 2-burner gas grill, turn 1 burner off and place ciabatta halves, cheese-side-up, on grill rack over unlit burner. For a 3-burner gas grill, turn left and right burners off, leaving center burner on. Place ciabatta halves on grill rack over unlit burners. For a charcoal grill, pile charcoal on 1 side of barbecue and place ciabatta halves atop grill rack on opposite side. Placing ciabatta over unlit burners ensures it doesn’t char too much.

     Close hood and grill until cheese melts and bread is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Avoid opening hood too often in order to maintain heat inside barbecue.
     Transfer sandwich to cutting board. Scatter tomatoes over bottom half of ciabatta; discard juices in bowl.
Cover with top half of ciabatta, cheese-side-down, and press gently.
Inspired by a Curtis Stone recipe from Hy-Vee Recipe Here

Menu for September 5th to September 11th

This week we are using up more produce and chicken breast/meat that I have in the freezer. Some of these recipes come from food blogs that I follow. Though it took me 4 blogs to find the original General Tso recipe. 
Monday
Cheddar Wurst
Grilled Veggie packet
fresh green beans

Tuesday
Creamless Corn Chowder  (found in USA WEEKEND September 2-4, 2011)

Wednesday
General Tso Chicken Recipe here
Rice

Thursday
Tacos

Friday
End of Summer Chicken Recipe Here

(Barry's weekend to cook)
Saturday
BBQ Pizza

Sunday (MN Vikings play)
Tailgating Food

Stove Top Chili Mac

During the summer months when the temperature is rising and it's heating up in the house, you don't want to do a whole lot of cooking to make it warmer and make the A/C work harder. I try to avoid turning the oven on but that darn husband likes frozen pizzas. Everyday Food Magazine showcased stove top meals in their September issue. I like stovetop and one pot meals, less mess and less dishes.We used ground turkey instead of hamburger and might have added some bacon. Bacon, like butter, makes everything taste better. Which reminds me, I'm out of butter. This recipe mixes late summer produce and hearty fall flavors. Which means you can start using up more of that produced!

We used penne and elbow macaroni pasta, it's what we had in the pantry.

We did like this recipe. Barry is getting use to seeing zuchinni in everything. I topped this off with green onions and more cheese. Cheese, like butter and bacon, makes everything taste good! This does make a lot so plan on having leftovers.

Recipe:
Serves 4, Active time: 25 minutes, Total time: 45 minutes

• course salt and ground pepper
• 3/4 pound  tube shaped pasta (like the penne)
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup corn kernels thawed if frozen 
• 1 small zucchini diced medium ( you can scoop the seeds out if you want)
• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 2 ounces cheddar, grated (3/4 cup)
• Bacon (Garnish)
• Green onions (Garnish)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, cook pasta to what it says on the box. Drain and return to pot but don't do this to far in advance otherwise your pasta will get sticky. Meanwhile, in a large skillet  heat oil over medium. Add garlic and onion and cook until onion is translucent, 3 minutes.
   
2. Increase heat to medium-high, add turkey, and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain that fat off. Get a different wooden spoon as that has been contaminated.  Add cumin and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Season with salt and pepper. Add corn and zucchini and cook until zucchini is crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Open that can and add tomatoes and juice, bring to a simmer, and cook until mixture is heated with salt and pepper. Divide pasta among four bowls, top with meat sauce, and sprinkle with cheese, bacon and green onions

Adapted from: Everyday Food, September 2011, pg 82