Mexican Street Corn Casserole

Mexican Street Corn Casserole

24 ounces frozen corn, thawed (if you use canned corn, please ensure you drain well)
1/4 cup mayonnaise (don't use that Miracle stuff...it's gross)
1/3 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon chili powder (or more if you are like us and like a little more spice to your life)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or more if you are like us)
Salt & Pepper, to taste
4 ounces of cojita cheese (if I can find it in Walmart in the middle of Missouri, I think everyone else can find it, but if you can't, you can use queso fresco or as a last resort, feta, but try to find cojita)
2 Tablespoons of cilantro (if you are one of those people who like, it, I don't like it, so we leave it out)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease a 2-3 quart casserole dish.

In a large bowl, mix together corn, mayonnaise, sour cream and lime juice.  Add chili powder, garlic salt, cayenne and mix well.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in half of the cheese.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, making sure it's heated through and bubbly.  Before serving sprinkle with the remaining cheese and sprinkle with a little more chili powder and if you want to make it pretty and like cilantro you can throw some on there too.

Creamy and Spicy Corn Soup

I should have pulled out my good camera and taken a pic but I didn't, sorry!

Facebook is apparently the place to share recipes.  My feed is constantly flooded with recipes and occasionally I'll try one.  Our weather here in Missouri is finally cooling off and today actually felt like fall!  I saw this recipe yesterday and decided today would be a good day to try it out.  I had everything at my house and whipped it up.  I have to say I was quite pleased with it.  Because it's a "healthy" recipe, it isn't heavy and it has a very refreshing taste.  It's so simple to make.  I didn't fancy it up with any garnishes and still enjoyed it!

Creamy and Spicy Corn Soup
(original recipe posted here)

Ingredients

• 5 ears fresh sweet corn
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 a medium yukon gold potato, chopped
• 2-3 cups vegetable stock (the more stock you add, the thinner your soup will be) I actually used half vegetable stock and half chicken stock
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1.5 tsp chili powder
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

Cut the onion, potato, and trim the corn kernels off the 5 ears of corn.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, saute for 5 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the potato and broth, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are very soft – about 10 minutes. Then add the fresh corn and cook through for a couple minutes more.

Add a bit more vegetable broth if your soup mixture looks too thick. Add all of your spices (cumin, chili powder, cayenne, black pepper). Then puree with an immersion/hand blender, or with a regular blender/food processor.

Top with a variety of toppings: cilantro, tomatoes, fresh corn, crushed corn chips, avocado, or anything else you can think of! Enjoy!

Tip: Oven Roasting Corn

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse corn with husks still on.  Place corn husks directly on the oven rack and roast for 30 minutes or until corn is soft. Peel down the husks and use as a handle when eating.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Ingredients

20-25 tomatoes
8-10 peppers (we used about 4 small Bell peppers, 2-3 Anaheim, and 2-3 Jalapenos)
2 onions
1/2 cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons
6-8 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons cumin
2-3 tablespoons chili powder
2-3 teaspoons red pepper
3 cups corn (cooked and cut off the husks) (Click here for a tip on how to roast your corn easily)
1 can black beans drained
salt to taste
2-3 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Cut the tomatoes, peppers and onions in half, and roast them on the grill.

1. When the vegetables are fully grilled, and lightly blackened, pull the vegetables from the grill.  Place the tomatoes in their own separate bowl to let the juices drain.

1. When the vegetables from the grill have cooled, in batches, food process the drained tomatoes and grilled vegetables, along with the olive oil. Set aside.

1. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the garlic until fragrant.  About 1 minute.
2. Add the chili powder, red pepper and cumin and cook for another minute or until fragrant.
3. Add the corn, drained black beans, and the food processed garden vegetable mixture from before.  Stir well.  Add the sugar and salt, and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

The salsa is now finished.  From here you can eat it fresh, can it, store it in the fridge, freeze it, or use it in your favorite Mexican recipe. 
When canning I use the boiling-water method.  Basically you ladle the hot salsa into hot jars, leaving about 1/4 inch head space.  Put on the two-piece caps and boil for 15 minutes in a pot of boiling water, the jars should be totally immersed in water.

Preheat oven to 350°F 2 Rinse ears. 3 Place corn cobs in middle rack in oven. 4 Bake for 30 minutes. 5 Remove corn cobs. Pull back husks and enjoy!

 

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Ingredients

20-25 tomatoes
8-10 peppers (we used about 4 small Bell peppers, 2-3 Anaheim, and 2-3 Jalapenos)
2 onions
1/2 cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons
6-8 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons cumin
2-3 tablespoons chili powder
2-3 teaspoons red pepper
3 cups corn (cooked and cut off the husks) (Click here for a tip on how to roast your corn easily)
1 can black beans drained
salt to taste
2-3 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Cut the tomatoes, peppers and onions in half, and roast them on the grill.
2. When the vegetables are fully grilled, and lightly blackened, pull the vegetables from the grill.  Place the tomatoes in their own separate bowl to let the juices drain.
3. When the vegetables from the grill have cooled, in batches, food process the drained tomatoes and grilled vegetables, along with the olive oil. Set aside.
4. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the garlic until fragrant.  About 1 minute.
5. Add the chili powder, red pepper and cumin and cook for another minute or until fragrant.
6. Add the corn, drained black beans, and the food processed garden vegetable mixture from before.  Stir well.  Add the sugar and salt, and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

The salsa is now finished.  From here you can eat it fresh, can it, store it in the fridge, freeze it, or use it in your favorite Mexican recipe.  .
When canning I use the boiling-water method.  Basically you ladle the hot salsa into hot jars, leaving about 1/4 inch head space.  Put on the two-piece caps and boil for 15 minutes in a pot of boiling water, the jars should be totally immersed in water.

Creamy Corn Dip

*Maybe one day blogger will let me upload pics again*

One of the ladies that works at the building I do most of my volunteer work at shared this recipe with us. I was apprehensive at first because it didn't look like much and I'm not a big fan of sour cream but I really enjoyed this.

I had my 13 year old whip this up the other day and my family LOVES it. In fact they were disappointed when the bowl ended up empty.

Creamy Corn Dip

1 cup sour cream
1 can Rotel
1 cup mayo
1 can fiesta/mexicorn, drained
2 cups cheese (whatever flavor makes you happy)
chopped green onions

Roasted Corn & Black Bean Salsa

(Ignore the green pepper that obviously wanted to be a part of this salsa!)

Roasted Corn & Black Bean Salsa

4 cups (or two cans) black beans, drained and rinsed

3 ears roasted corn, kernels cut away (about 2 cups) (directions for roasting corn are at the bottom of this entry)

1 large tomato, chopped

1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

1 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, torn

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (or as you can see, I used lime juice from the bottle)

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cover (and refrigerate if desired) for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to develop.

How to Roast Corn

Preheat the barbecue grill to a medium temperature (350 degrees F).

If you have soaked your corn, remove the corn from the water and shake off any excess water.

Tear off squares of aluminum foil and place ears of corn diagonally in the center of each square of aluminum foil.

Brush the kernels with olive oil.

Roll the aluminum foil around each ear of corn and close it up by twisting the ends.

Place the prepare ears of corn on a medium heat grill, rotating the corn every so often.

Allow the corn to slowly continue cooking for another 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the corn from the grill. Be careful the foil will be very hot!

Once the corn is cooked, remove the aluminum foil.