I’ve had my eye on these succulent little bites ever since Deborah posted the recipe over the summer. I finally had the opportunity to make them recently, when I was expecting my stepmom and sister to come over for one of our evenings of girl TV. But I guess there’d been a break in our communication, because while I thought they were coming over, neither of them actually was planning to on this particular night. That would have been fine, if I’d known that before I’d put an entire batch of these corn bites in the oven.
I knew it would be dangerous to have an entire batch of these to myself, and I wasn’t wrong. They are so addictive. I finally had to force myself to stop eating them after I’d eaten nearly half a batch all on my own (I KNOW. THE SHAME). These are dangerous not only because they’re compulsively eatable, but also because they’re so darn simple to make, and require only four ingredients. Did you know you were that close to cheesy corn bite Heaven? I bet not.
These are delicious as-is, and they’re also great with a bit of pico de gallo on top (which is how I served them at Will’s birthday party earlier this month). If you serve them for the Super Bowl this weekend, you should probably make a triple batch.
Cheesy Corn Bites
adapted from Taste and Tell and originally from Every Day with Rachael Ray
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
Salt and pepper
48 scoop-shaped tortilla chips
Chopped cilantro, for sprinkling, if desired
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set the chips out on a baking sheet.
2. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, shredded cheese, corn, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper; mix completely. Place 1 teaspoon of the mixture into each corn chip. Bake until the filling sets, about 20 minutes.
3. Sprinkle the corn bites with the cilantro and serve warm.
With all the disappearing I’ve been doing lately, I figure I owe you guys a really, really good recipe to begin the week. So how about a big pan of these chicken bacon ranch enchiladas? I think these babies could bring about world peace.
It’s no secret by now that the chicken-bacon-ranch combo is one of my favorites, and I’ve played with it a lot in the past (in chili, on pizza, etc.). I just had to try the flavors out in an enchilada, and I’ve come up with something truly delicious here. The filling is composed of chicken, bacon, cheese, green onions, ranch dressing mix, and Mexican spices in a creamy combination of cream cheese and sour cream. The topping for the enchiladas is salsa, with some ranch dressing stirred in to highlight that flavor. These are SO DELICIOUS, and all four of us gobbled them up (yes, this was an instance in which I got my boys to eat Mexican food!).
The chicken-bacon-ranch combo lives on...Where will it show up next? (Hint: In a recipe I’ll be sharing later this week.)
Chicken Bacon Ranch Enchiladas
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups chopped or diced chicken
1 tablespoon green onions
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
3 cups shredded cheddar-jack or Mexican blend cheese, divided
1 jar salsa
1/4 to 1/2 cup ranch dressing (as much or as little as you want)
Flour tortillas
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine bacon, chicken, green onions, and all seasonings in a large bowl. Add cream cheese, sour cream, and one cup of the shredded cheese and stir until fully combined.
3. Combine salsa and ranch dressing. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the mixture into the bottom of a greased casserole dish, spreading it evenly to coat the bottom.
4. Divide filling evenly among flour tortillas and roll up. Place seam-side down in the casserole dish, and pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
5. Bake, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned and bubbly.
This second half of January has seriously not been kind to me, health-wise. Last week I had horrible cold, and this week, I came down with strep throat. It was a particularly nasty case, including a fever, chills, fatigue, head and body aches, and, of course, the incredibly painful sore throat. It's been a long time since I've been that sick. I was aboslutely miserable, and didn't even eat anything for nearly three days, much less cook anything or meal plan for the coming week. I pretty much spent the entire time huddled in my bed, trying to sleep, and trying not to cry.
I started feeling more like myself on Friday, and today I feel practically 100% -- my head still just pounds a little bit when I start doing too much, know that feeling? Anyway, I was able to eke out a meal plan for the upcoming week, and it's filled with all of Joe's favorite meals (as well as a couple of things from last week's plan that I didn't get to make, due to The Sickness). I am all about celebrating him for the coming week, since he did such an amazing job of taking care of me and the boys while I was sick. I didn't even see Andrew and Will for a couple of days, so he had to do everything on his own: morning wake-ups, breakfasts, daycare drop-offs and pick-ups, packing lunches, making dinner, doing the dishes, baths, stories and songs and the entire bedtime routine. He did an awesome job keeping the house up and running, and it really made me appreciate having him as a partner on a completely new level. Making a few of his favorite things is the least I can do. And another good thing? Most of these meals are so hearty that I probably won't need a meal plan next week at all.
Monday: Chicken with paprika cream sauce, egg noodles, steamed green beans. I'd planned to make this last Wednesday, but that's when The Sickness hit. I did not, sadly, make a batch of homemade noodles this weekend (instead I used my baking time to make a mocha cake that I can't wait to share with you), but I found some high-quality spaetzle at the supermarket that I think will be perfect for this dish.
Tuesday: Crescent pizza rolls and salad. I felt better on Friday, but I still didn't make these. I ordered pizza instead, because I was just that lazy.
Wednesday: Bacon pierogi bake. Joe has requested that I double this this time around, so he has plenty to take to work for lunches. I'm happy to oblige, since I love this so much too.
Thursday: Black bean and salsa soup, cheese quesadillas. Okay, this isn't technically one of Joe's favorites, but he does like it. I put it on the meal plan because I was talking about it to someone at work recently, and it just made me remember how delicious it is.
Friday: Swedish meatballs, egg noodles. Technically these aren't Joe's favorite meatballs, but considering all the spicy sausage we'll be eating this coming weekend I figured three in a row was overkill. He does love these, and his eyes practically lit up when I told him I'd be making them.
Saturday: Lasagna and garlic bread. This is the very first recipe I posted on this blog, and even though I've made so many delicious things since, this is still Joe's absolute favorite meal.
Sunday: Chili with Monterey ranch bread. It's Super Bowl Sunday, so it seems like a perfect night to have this for dinner. And Joe's been clamoring for a pot of this ever since the beginning of football season. The bread is the perfect accompaniment, and is too delicious for words.
It’s no secret that Joe and I love Mexican food, and that we eat it frequently. On nights that I plan for Mexican food, though, I usually always have to have a back-up meal in place for Andrew and Will. Their relationship with Mexican food is kind of up and down. Sometimes they love something I make (this Mexican sour cream rice is always a hit with them), but often, they take one bite of the dish I put in front of them and refuse to eat the rest. I didn’t like Mexican food much myself when I was a kid, so I’m hoping this is just a phase and that they’ll grow out of it.
The night I served these tater tot nachos, though, they had no qualms about chowing down. They love tater tots, and would probably eat them if they were covered with dirt (really, they are boys; I wouldn’t doubt that they’d actually eat something covered with dirt). As for Joe and me, we loved these too. Sometimes it’s just really fun to eat like a kid.
Tater Tot Nachos
adapted from Real Mom Kitchen
1 24-ounce package tater tots
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 packet taco seasoning
Shredded lettuce
Shredded cheese
Sour cream
Salsa
1. Prepare tater tots according to package directions.
2. While the tater tots cook, brown ground beef with onion and taco seasoning in a skillet until no longer pink; drain.
3. To serve, place tater tots on a plate and top with the meat mixture followed by lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream, and salsa.
Growing up, I never ate fried rice. Eggs in rice always just sounded strange to me. I stuck with my plain old steamed white rice whenever we ordered Chinese food. Then I met Joe, and in the early days of our relationship we ate Chinese food a lot. And he always ordered fried rice. After much pestering from him, I finally consented to trying it, and realized that I’d been a fool for so long. Fried rice is delicious! In the years since, I’ve even developed my own at-home version that we enjoy frequently.
This recipe, my friends, takes fried rice to a completely new level with the addition of bacon. Yes, bacon! It’s also loaded with tons of fresh veggies to balance out all that bacon, and it’s this wonderful, savory, salty, delicious thing with all kinds of great textures: crisp bacon, soft eggs, peas that pop and bean sprouts that crunch. I served it with honey teriyaki chicken, which was a delicious sweet counterpoint to the rice, but this rice also would have been good on its own. It was definitely the star of this meal. This recipe makes a ton, so you’ll be eating it for days, but trust me: That is definitely not a bad thing.
Honey Teriyaki Chicken with Bacon Fried Rice
chicken adapted from Rachael Ray; rice adapted from Cooking with Cristine
For the chicken:
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
For the rice:
1 egg, beaten
1 pound bacon, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups cooked rice
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup soy sauce
1. For the chicken, heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook until browned and cook through. In a separate bowl, combine chicken broth, ginger, honey and teriyaki sauce. Pour over chicken. Reduce heat and simmer until serving.
2. For the bacon, heat vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet. Pour egg into wok. As egg sets, lift edges letting uncooked portion flow underneath. When egg is done, move to plate and set aside.
3. In same wok, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings.
4. Saute mushrooms and onions in bacon drippings. Stir in rice, bean sprouts, peas, soy sauce, and bacon. Chop egg into small pieces; stir into wok and heat through.
5. Serve chicken over rice.
