Southern Sauteed Corn

Corn is and always has been a family favorite!  Corn on the cob, creamed corn, corn pudding, corn souffle, and this recipe for souteed corn (some Southerners call it fried corn, but to me it's sauteed & not fried!).  Once again, this recipe is versatile; you can omit the onion and green peppers or add chili peppers or pimentos.  It will always bring a smile to your face!

I served this for my recent Hurricane Sandy meatloaf night dinner along with simple green peas & onions, chunky garlic mashed potatoes, and cream of pumpkin soup.   

 Servings: about 10

2 16-ounce packages frozen corn

1 8-ounce package bacon pieces

2-3 Tablespoons butter

1 small onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Place onion and green peppers in skillet and cook until tender, about ten minutes.

Add bacon pieces and corn.  Stir well and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Salt & pepper to taste. 

Grown Up SpaghettiOs

Do you remember SpaghettiOs?  Campbell Soup Company first introduced SpaghettiOs in 1965 and I clearly remember the food advertising jingle, Uh Oh SpaghettiOs!  Click here to view a YouTube video of the jingle!  I loved SpaghettiOs as a child and silly as it seems, I love them as an adult... but I usually make my "grown-up" version as it is much less bland and much more tasty!  This is a budget friendly, kid friendly (of course for kids of all ages), super easy, quick dish to make!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!  I think I'm in a "comfort food state of mind"!  All you need to top this meal off is a loaf of crusty bread and a tossed green salad.  Perhaps a glass of champagne would be nice too!

Preheat oven  to 350 degrees

Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish

 Servings:  about 8

Ingredients:

4 cans SpaghettiOs (or 2 of the large cans)

1 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey)

1 small onion, chopped (optional)

1 - 2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 clove minced garlic

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning

Fresh ground pepper to taste

1 box frozen  spinach, thawed and well drained (optional)

1 cup sour cream

1-2 cups shredded cheese of your choice

In a large skillet brown, heat the olive oil and brown the ground beef and onion.  Add seasonings to beef mixture.  Add all 4 cans of SpaghettiOs.  Pour this into your prepared 9x13 baking dish.  Spoon the drained spinach randomly on top, followed by random drops of sour cream.  Top with shredded cheese (use more or less as desired).  

Ready to Pop into the Oven:

Bake until hot & bubbly, about 25 minutes.

 *Variations to this that I've made include adding chopped fresh spinach, or a can of drained whole kernel corn, or a can of green peas. (You can use frozen spinach, corn or peas).

Eggs Baked in Toast Cup

Oh what fun I had this morning!  Breakfast most mornings consists of Greek yogurt with blueberry granola for me and oatmeal & toast for Ken.  Weekends are our time to splurge and bring out all the stops!  I really had fun this morning making these baked eggs in toast cups!  My original thought was to make eggs in a nest or eggs in a frame or such (you cut out the enter of a slice of bread, break an egg into the hole, and fry it) but I came across a few recipes for eggs in toast cups that just sounded perfect.

This would make a fun time in the kitchen for those of you with small children who enjoy cooking!  It's simple, easy, and you can make it your way.  No fuss, no muss.

Here's a photo of an egg cup that I snapped quickly before it was gobbled down!

Ingredients per egg cup (ramekin or muffin tin)

• 1 egg
• 1 slice fresh bread (use your favorite… regular white, whole wheat, sour dough, cinnamon raison, etc.)
• butter
• shredded cheese (your choice: Cheddar, Swiss, Munster, Smoked Gouda, etc…  whatever makes you smile)
• Cooked chopped ham, sausage crumbles or crispy bacon, optional     
• 
  
  Preheat oven to 375 F
  Butter each slice of bread and press butter side down into lightly greased ramekin or muffin tin, pressing it against the sides so that the crust comes up at least to the rim, making room for the eggs.  Don’t worry if your bread tears; just be sure to cover the hole by patching it with a buttered piece (I usually butter one extra piece of bread in case this happens).
  
  
  Sprinkle about 1 Tablespoon of shredded cheese over the bread.  Top this with about 1 Tablespoon of chopped cooked bacon, ham or sausage.  Break one egg into each ramekin and sprinkle with salt & freshly ground pepper to taste (I like lots of pepper!).  Sprinkle with a little more shredded cheese. Here they are ready to pop into the oven!
  
  
  
  Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes for eggs that are cooked fully through or about 15 minutes for soft cooked (runny) eggs.  I like my eggs hard cooked & Ken likes soft cooked & runny, so I put mine in first and then put his in the oven about 10 minutes later so that they come out at the same time. 
  
  
  To serve, run a knife around the ramekin to loosen the egg cup and slide it onto a plate.  You can also serve directly from the ramekins but they may be a bit  hot for little hands!  Here they are just out of the oven!
  
  
  
  Variations:  you can lightly scramble your eggs before putting them in the cups rather than breaking a whole egg into each cup.  For a vegetarian option, add your favorite veggies instead of bacon, ham or sausage.  If you want to make this more like a quiche, then scramble the egg with a bit of milk before pouring it into the ramekin.
  
  
  Ramekins cone in different sizes; 1 egg fits  nicely in the smaller size and 2eggs fit into the larger size.  You can also make these in regular sized muffin tins, which works perfectly for the one egg size.