Corn Cakes with Chives

I've found that some of the best recipes are so simple. These savory little corn pancakes prove the point. Simple, fresh, a little crisp, a little tender, and totally delicious. They were perfect as a side to tonight's dinner, but they'd be just fine all on their own as an appetizer.

I started by combining the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a small bowl.


Then I poured 1 cup of boiling water into 1 cup of cornmeal.



Stirred until it became a thick mush.



Added 1/4 cup of milk and stirred until smooth.



Poured in an egg, chives, and fresh sweet corn.



Stirred in the dry ingredients until just combined.



And dropped the batter by tablespoonfulls onto my hot oiled griddle. A skillet will work well here too. Flip. Move to a warm platter while you fry up the remaining corn cakes.



Serve em' with sour cream and fresh snipped chives. These disappeared fast!



Corn Cakes with Fresh Corn and Chives from Better Homes and Gardens...I'm on a BHG recipe kick lately!

Start to Finish: 30 min.

Ingredients
1 fresh ear of corn or 1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup boiling water
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup milk
1 slightly beaten egg
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon snipped fresh chives or cilantro (optional)
1/3 cup dairy sour cream

Directions
1. Cut corn kernels from cob and measure 1/2 cup. In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl stir boiling water into cornmeal to make a stiff mush. Stir in milk until smooth; then stir in fresh or frozen corn, egg, and the 1 tablespoon chives. Add flour mixture and stir just until combined.

3. In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Drop batter by rounded tablespoons into hot oil. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Transfer to a serving platter; cover and keep warm.

4. Repeat with remaining batter, adding the remaining 1 tablespoon oil.

5. Meanwhile, if desired, stir the 1 teaspoon chives into the sour cream. Serve sour cream with the corn cakes. Makes 6 side-dish servings.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 215, Total Fat (g) 11, Saturated Fat (g) 3, Cholesterol (mg) 42, Sodium (mg) 295, Carbohydrate (g) 25, Fiber (g) 2, Protein (g) 4, Vitamin A (DV%) 6, Vitamin C (DV%) 2, Calcium (DV%) 10, Iron (DV%) 9, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Chicken Kiev

My first experience with Chicken Kiev was in college. We'd have an assortment of pre-made, pre-frozen, stuffed and breaded chicken breasts for our weekly formal dinner at my sorority house. I can just see our house mom and the cook deliberating over the order form while the frozen food delivery guy looked on. When they saw "Cordon Bleu" and "Chicken Kiev" they probably thought, "That sounds fancy enough for formal dinner." What ended up on our plates was anything but fancy. It was actually kind of spongy. Ewww. One of my roommates took to calling them hamsters. Why, you may ask. Well, because those pre-made, pre-frozen, breaded chicken bundles were roughly the size and shape of hamsters. Gross. I can still hear my roommate hollering down the hall to me, "Hurry up, Bailey!(My maiden name) Hamsters tonight! You don't wanna miss out on hamsters!"

Last night, I decided to give Chicken Kiev another try. I'm glad I did, and so was my family. I thought it was delicious and to our two small children, it seemed like a fancy chicken nugget, so of course they ate it.

It's not too tricky, you just need some chopped green onion, a minced clove of garlic, and a tablespoon of fresh parsley. When I grabbed for my parsley in the crisper drawer last night, it was less like fresh and more like decomposed. Ick. I used the dried version from my spice cabinet.



You also need butter. Slice it into 2 1/2" X 1/2" strips.



And chicken. 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts.(I only used 3) Use a meat mallet to flatten the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap to about 1/8" thickness.



Then salt and pepper the chicken generously and spread the mixture of green onion, garlic, and parsley. Place the slice of butter in the center.



Now fold in the sides and roll it up.



Here's my breading station. First flour with a little seasoning salt, then 1 egg with a tablespoon of water, and last plain old bread crumbs.



Dredge the chicken rolls in the flour.



Dip in the egg.



Coat with bread crumbs.



Repeat the egg and bread crumb step again and then cover and chill for 1 to 24 hours. That's a bonus about this recipe. You can make it ahead then pull it out to brown and pop into the oven after work or before your dinner party.



When ready to cook, melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet. Then add a tablespoon of cooking oil. Cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Turn to brown all sides.



They bake in a 400 degree oven for an additional 15-18 minutes until the chicken in no longer pink or 170 degrees internal temp. Here it is, Chicken Kiev. A far cry the hamsters of my college days, thank goodness.




Chicken Kiev from Better Homes and Gardens

Prep: 20 minutes
Chill: 1 hour
Bake: 15 minutes


Ingredients
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 of a 1/4-pound stick of butter, chilled
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon cooking oil

Directions
1. In a small bowl combine green onion, parsley, and garlic; set aside. Cut chilled butter into four 2-1/2x1/2-inch sticks. In a shallow bowl stir together egg and water. Place flour in another shallow bowl. Place bread crumbs in a third shallow bowl. Set aside.

2. Place a chicken breast half between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet pound chicken lightly into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with one-fourth of the green onion mixture. Place a butter piece in center of chicken piece. Fold in sides; roll up. Repeat with remaining chicken.

3. Coat chicken rolls with flour. Dip in egg mixture; coat with bread crumbs. Dip in egg mixture again; coat with with additional bread crumbs. (Coat ends well to seal in the butter.) Place coated chicken in 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Cover and chill for 1 to 24 hours.

4. In a large skillet melt the 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat; add oil. Add chilled chicken rolls. Cook about 5 minutes or until golden brown, turning to brown all sides. Place rolls in a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Bake, uncovered, in a 400 degree F oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees F). Spoon any drippings over rolls. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts per roll: 328 cal., 15 g total fat (6 g sat. fat), 142 mg chol., 479 mg sodium, 13 g carbo., 1 g fiber, 33 g pro.
Daily Values: 9% vit. A, 5% vit. C, 15% calcium, 12% iron
Exchanges: 1 Starch, 4 Lean Meat, 1/2 Fat

Weight Watcher's Points per roll: A high 7. More like 7 1/2 : )

Meal Plan and Grocery List 5/18- 5/24

I'm playing catch up this week, trying to use some leftovers in the freezer and get some work done around here. I got stacks of ironing and closets to organize, not to mention our landscaping needs a little TLC. I've got some great new recipes coming up this week, but I'm also posting links to a couple of tried and true favorites in the meal plan. Oh yeah, and I'm getting ready for Memorial Day Weekend! You can bet I'll be cooking for the weekend. So stay tuned for my famous rotini salad recipe and a few others.

Monday May 18th

Chicken Kiev

Tuesday May 19th

Spaghetti Pie

Wednesday May 20th

Corn Cakes with Chives

Thursday May 21st

Chicken Chimichangas

Friday May 22nd

Pizza Night

Saturday May 23rd

Pitch in Cookout Favorites

Sunday May 24th

More cookin' out!



Grocery List

Produce

green onion
parsley
garlic
1/2 lb. mushrooms
chives
onion

Meat

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 lb chicken breast

Dairy

butter
egg
egg substitute
grated Parmesan
reduced fat cream cheese
light sour cream
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
milk
tortillas
fat free half and half
reduced fat shredded cheddar

Canned Goods

spaghetti sauce
oil
salsa
chicken broth
green chilies

Dry Goods

flour
bread crumbs
spaghetti
baking powder
sugar
cornmeal
chicken bouillon granules
cumin
oregano

Freezer

corn

Fried Mush

I grew up eating fried mush. Sounds appetizing doesn't it? Mush. Mmmm. I'd like to try some of that. It might make you feel better to call it fried polenta. Same thing. Me, I spent my childhood eating mush. Usually on Sunday mornings before church. In my opinion, it's anything but unappetizing. It's all crispy and buttery on the outside and creamy corn on the inside. I like to smother mine with a generous drizzle of warm syrup. Good stuff, I'm tellin' ya! But not healthy. Not at all. It's fried in a good amount of butter. Oh well. Everything in moderation, right? The good news is it's easy on your pocketbook. Cornmeal, water and salt. That's it. Cheap, cheap, cheap.



Mix your cornmeal and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a cup of cold water.



Pour the cornmeal mixture into 2 and 3/4 cups of boiling water, stirring constantly.



Once the mixture returns to a boil, turn the heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until...


very thick.



Pour the "mush" into a loaf pan and let it cool a bit. Then cover and refrigerate overnight.



When you're ready to start breakfast, remove from the fridge and invert onto a cutting board.



Now slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.



I melted about 3 tablespoons of butter on my griddle before laying the slices of mush on top. You can also use oil. I prefer butter.



Fry until golden brown on one side, about 4 minutes, and then flip and fry the other side too.



That's it! Sunday morning breakfast. Just as good as I remember from my childhood. How about you? Have you eaten fried mush?



Fried Mush

2-3/4 cups water
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup cold water

Directions
1. Bring the 2-3/4 cups water to boiling in a 2-quart saucepan. Meanwhile, combine cornmeal, cold water, and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Slowly add the cornmeal mixture to the boiling water, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture returns to boiling. Reduce heat to very low. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Pour into a greased 8x4x2-inch loaf pan. Cool 1 hour. Cover and chill several hours or until firm. Mush may be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before serving. To serve, remove the mush from pan and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

3. To fry, heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a large nonstick skillet or on a griddle over medium heat. Add mush slices and cook about 4-6 minutes per side or until golden brown, turning once during cooking time.

Mary's Oven Fried Chicken

I came across this recipe for oven fried chicken on Mary's blog, My New 30. Not only does she have delicious recipes, she's an animal lover and a star gardener too. I always learn something when I stop by My New 30, and this week it was how to make the best oven fried chicken I've ever tasted! It's marinated then crispy coated and oh-so-flavorful! Best of all, it's less mess than chicken fried on the stove top and it wasn't at all greasy. I'll be adding this recipe to my "favorites" notebook.

For the marinade you just need to mix together buttermilk, oil (I forgot to add the oil), Dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. I swear I don't have some sort of deal with Giant Eagle, I just tend to buy store brand when the price is right.



I threw all of my ingredients together in a resealable plastic bag and shook em' up with my chicken breast halves. I should note here that I only used 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice instead of the 2 tablespoons called for. About 3 years into our marriage, my husband looked up from the lemon chicken I'd prepared for dinner and informed me, "I don't really care for lemon." Almost 7 years of dating and 3 years of marriage and I somehow missed that? "Just in this dish?" I asked. "No, in cooking in general" he answered. Geesh. I guess he just didn't want to hurt my feelings, but I was annoyed that he'd stomached my lemon chicken without saying anything before. Three more years have passed since this little lemon revelation. I've mostly adapted my cooking to avoid lemon. It's just one of those things that I've accepted as a happily married woman. I also don't expect that my husband's socks will EVER make it into the hamper. They may land 2 feet from the hamper, but certainly would not be caught dead (and sometimes they smell like the dead) in the hamper. Someone once advised me to pick my battles. I took it to heart. I've come to realize that lemon chicken and socks on the bedroom floor are SO not worth it.

Here's my chicken all ready for me to shake it up, baby!



I removed the excess air from the bag, sealed it up, and put it into the fridge to marinate for about 24 hours.



When dinner time rolled around last night I prepared the coating. You'll need corn flakes, flour, Parmesan cheese, thyme, lemon peel (which I omitted), dried mustard, paprika, cayenne, kosher salt, and pepper



Crush up your cornflakes (I put mine in a baggie and let my daughter pound away with a meat mallet) and then mix all of the ingredients together.



Remove the chicken breasts, one at a time and allow the marinade to drip away.



Dredge the chicken in the coating mixture, covering both sides well.



You can either line a baking sheet with foil and place a rack on the sheet for the chicken or line the bottom of your broiling pan with foil and place the coated chicken on top. Either way, the grease drips away from the chicken while it bakes, leaving it a little healthier and with a nice, crispy finish. I forgot to take a picture, but I used my pastry brush to cover each breast half with 1/2 tablespoon of melted butter before I popped it into a 375 degree oven. I think the butter gives it a nice golden brown finish, plus adds a little buttery flavor. Baking details can be found in the recipe below.



Here it is, fresh from the oven. I got a little distracted and didn't remove it right on time, so it got a little dark. What is that beep? What keeps beeping? 10 minutes later...oh yeah, the timer! It was really good. The whole family ate it up! Fried chicken puts me in a down-home cookin' kind of mood so I served it up with mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans canned right out of my Grandma Shirley's garden. Yum!



Here's the recipe, straight from My New 30:

Mary's Crispy Oven Fried Chicken

6 bone-in chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons of melted butter

Marinade:

2 cups of buttermilk
1/4 cup of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of EVOO
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 pinches of kosher salt
8 turns of the pepper grinder

Coating:

2 cups of plain (unfrosted) cornflakes, crushed
3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of dried lemon peel or freshly grated
1/2 teaspoon of dried mustard
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 pinches of kosher salt
8 turns of the pepper grinder

Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a medium sized glass bowl. Place the chicken breasts in the marinade and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Allow to marinade at least 6 hours, or overnight is even better! Turn the chicken occasionally.

When ready to cook, line a large, shallow baking pan {a jelly roll pan works well} with aluminum foil and place an oven safe rack on top of that. Spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray. If the chicken breasts are on the larger side, you will want to spread them out over 2 trays, and alternate the trays halfway through the cooking time.

Combine the coating ingredients together and mix well with a fork. One piece at a time, remove the chicken breast and allow the marinade to drip off; then dredge each in the coating mixture, turning to coat both sides. Set on the rack and repeat with each piece of chicken. Allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle about 1/2 tablespoon of the melted butter over each chicken breast. Place into the hot oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes; turn and/or switch baking sheet(s) if using more than one. Bake an additional 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown and reaches 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer.