Cheesy Corn

Every Christmas my close girlfriends have a gift exchange.  That way we all buy one nice gift and don't have to buy 12 mediocre gifts.  Everyone gets something nice off their wish list, and we make an event out of it by bringing different food dishes and having a dinner party.  Sarah brought this delicious cheesy corn, and I immediately copied the recipe which she happened to have with her.  After reading the recipe I realized this must be a special occasion dish only.  It is not the healthiest which is probably why it is difficult to stop eating it.  I made it this mother's day when we had both our families over to celebrate.  My dad brought burgers which Derrick grilled.  Derrick's mom brought scrumptious potato salad - even my dad loved it, and he usually doesn't care for potato salad.  For dessert we had peanut butter brownie sundaes.  (My mom's favorite.)

Now this recipe calls for an entire stick of butter.  I only used a little less than half a stick.  But I really think you could almost leave out the butter altogether.  I will try it next time and let you know how it goes.

1 small bag frozen sweet corn
1 can mexi-corn
1/2 stick soft butter
1 box - prepared Zatarain's yellow rice
1 cup sharp cheddar, grated
1 pkg. cream cheese

Mix all together.  Put in casserole dish.  I used a 13x9 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Crock-pot Salsa Chicken

This recipe seems similar to the other crock-pot chicken I posted, but it tastes (and is served) completely different.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c. salsa (I used Margaritas)
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. sour cream

Place chicken in crock-pot.  Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.  Pour salsa and soup over chicken.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.  Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.  Serve with rice.

We always have this with Spanish rice.  The absolute best Spanish rice we have tried from a box is Near East brand.  Just make a bed of rice and put the chicken and sauce on top.

Italian Chicken

Chicken is healthy, right?  It can sometimes be so boring, though. So I've been looking for ways to spice it up.  Even on the grill I feel like it doesn’t absorb marinades like steak does and doesn’t get real flavorful.  Derrick liked this chicken - said he liked the flavor.  We ate it with green beans and mashed potatoes and gravy.

Chicken breasts
Prepared pesto
Italian breadcrumbs
Cover baking pan with foil and grease.  Spread pesto on chicken so that it is covered on all sides.  Roll in (or sprinkle on) Italian breadcrumbs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
You don’t want chicken breasts that are too thick.  Then you won’t get as much pesto/Italian flavor.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Sara brought these to the lake last summer, and they were the best cookies I'd ever had!!  I made them Saturday for Reilly's birthday tailgate at the Royal's game.  They were a big hit!

1/2 c. white sugar
1 c. packed brown sugar
dash salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup peanut butter
1 c. oatmeal
1 (12 oz) package chocolate chips
1 c. nuts, optional (I left out)

Cream sugars, salt, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and peanut butter.  Add oatmeal and chocolate chips.  Mix well.  Drop on cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned 9 minutes.  If too dry add a few drops of milk.  Mine were not too dry.

In the convection oven (which I am still getting used to - first tray was too light, second tray a little too brown, third tray... jackpot!) they took 7 1/2 minutes.

Grilled Salmon

Derrick and I both love salmon and order it all the time at restaurants, but have never cooked it at home.  My dad’s grilled salmon is what I always ask for on my birthday, so I asked him for some tips.  He uses a dill marinade, which is pretty hard to find.  So I went with Lemon Pepper marinade which was just as good, I think.  I bought fresh salmon from Price Chopper and marinated it for a couple hours (I think 30 minutes will suffice, though).  Derrick fired up his awesome grill and put the salmon skin side down directly on the grill.  It got a little seared where it touched the grill, but I think that actually gave it more flavor.  Derrick would probably disagree.  He grilled them a little less than 10 minutes, coated them with more marinade, flipped them, and left them on about 4 minutes longer.  We checked to make sure they flaked with a fork and removed them from the grill.  I think they were perfect and absolutely delicious.  Derrick liked it, too (maybe not as much as me).  We had wild rice and green beans with it.  I am going to have to find another type of rice that he likes better, though.  Wild rice is not his favorite.  I just love it, though – especially with fish.  Let me know if you have any suggestions.  Anyway, I sure hope I can talk him into grilling salmon again!  I think this is my favorite thing we’ve made.