Foodie Friday -- Fiesta Corn Casserole

This summer has been fantastic! The weather has been hot, but not drought/desert heat of the previous two summers, which makes it enjoyable to lay outside and read. And I have been reading lots and lots of books. Bliss!

Along with reading, we've had a couple of pool parties. I've tried a couple of new recipes, and have tweaked, a few of those recipes. This recipe is for a 13 x 9 inch pan, but it needs to be very deep (3-inches) pan instead of the normal 2-inch deep pan. Of course, you can cut the recipe in half or even one quarter of the amounts given here. Be sure to check out the tips and tricks at the bottom of the recipe.

Fiesta Corn Casserole

4 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. salt

1/2 jar (2 oz.) chopped pimentos, drained

1 7 oz. can green chilies, drained

1 poblano chili, seeded, deveined, chopped

2 Serrano chilies, seeded, deveined, chopped

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded, deveined, chopped

2 36 oz. packages frozen corn, thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Spray oil in 13 X 9 inch pan. 

Thoroughly mix softened cream cheese with spices. Taste for flavor. One ingredient at a time, add the next five ingredients, mixing in thoroughly until incorporated. Mix in corn. Place in a corn mixture in prepared pan, smooth top. 

Bake for about 45-60 minutes until hot and slightly brown on the edges. 

Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• You could probably use the 1/3 less fat cream cheese. Let me know how it works. 
• All the spices can be adjusted to your family's personal tastes. I would probably add a touch more salt to this mix the next time I make it. 
• I added only a half jar of pimentos because that was all I happened to have on hand. A 4 oz. jar would add a bit more red color to brighten up the mix.
• I seeded and deveined the peppers because I didn't want the casserole to have too much heat. In hindsight, I probably would add the seeds and leave in the veins of one Jalapeno to give it a little more kick. 
• If you decide to half this recipe, don't forget to decrease the baking time. I'd start checking on it at the 30 minute mark.  

Later, Peeps!

FOODIE FRIDAY -- Edamame Succotash

I don’t know about you, but I was never a big fan of succotash. For those of you lucky slobs who have never had the pleasure of eating it, succotash is usually a mixture of lima beans and corn. Corn, I like. Lima beans, not so much. They taste like I would imagine a teenager’s gym locker would smell like. The texture isn’t much more pleasant with the slimy little kidney-shaped beans that have a gnarly grainy texture with zero flavor.

This explains why I don’t eat succotash . . . until I found this recipe.

I don’t know where I found this recipe, but since I feel like it’s a winner then it must be a Bon Appetit recipe. But then again, when you add bacon to anything--it’s a winner of a recipe.

The only difficult part of this recipe is shelling the edamame. In the long run, this recipe is worth the soggy fingers.

Edamame Succotash

2 Tbls. toasted sesame oil

½ cup finely diced red onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 thick strips applewood-smoked bacon, finely chopped (1/3 cup)
1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
½ cup fresh corn kernals (frozen works well)
¼ cup small diced red bell pepper (I don’t use)
Kosher salt and white pepper

In large skillet, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the bacon and cook until it has rendered its fat and begins to crisp, about 5 minutes.

Add the edamame, corn and bell pepper and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Season with ½ tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp white pepper. Remove from heat and serve hot.

 Enjoy, Peeps!