Tag: frozen corn

Categories
Main Dish

With tamale casserole, mi ‘masa’ es su ‘masa’

Chicken tamale casserole gives you all the traditional flavors and textures of tamales without all the time and effort in the kitchen.
Chicken tamale casserole gives you all the traditional flavors and textures of tamales without all the time and effort in the kitchen.

One of our friends likes to say that he won’t order foods from a restaurant that are easy to make at home. Instead, he tries to order dishes that he would never make for himself.

The list includes plenty of time-consuming, delicious meals.

For me, one of those items is tamales.

I did make tamales once. They were awesome. But it was also when we were stuck at home for the pandemic, and time was a little easier to find. Someday, I’ll do it again.

In the meantime, though, I have been satisfying those cravings by ordering tamales from our great local Mexican spots. Except now I have a way to get the same flavor profile with none of the intense work, thanks to a tamale-themed casserole.

This comes from the blog “Life Made Simple.” You can find the original post at https://lifemadesimplebakes.com/chile-verde-chicken-tamale-casserole-9/. I added extra sauce, extra cheese and extra garlic powder in mine.

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Chicken Tamale Casserole

Chicken tamale casserole gives you all the traditional flavors and textures of tamales without all the time and effort in the kitchen.
Course Main Course
Keyword chicken, chile verde, cilantro, corn, enchilada sauce, fresh cilantro, frozen corn, garlic powder, masa harina, Monterrey jack cheese, poblano peppers, rotisserie chicken, tamales

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 rotisserie chicken deboned and shredded
  • 1 cup chicken broth or stock
  • 19 ounce can chile verde enchilada sauce divided
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped (plus more for serving)
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 4 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese divided

Tamale Dough Ingredients

  • 3 cups masa harina
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 12 tablespoons cold butter cubed
  • 3 cups frozen corn thawed, divided
  • 1 roasted poblano pepper deseeded and diced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 1/4 cup chicken broth or stock

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a nine-by-13-inch deep baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray, and set it aside.
  • Add the chicken, broth, half of the sauce, cilantro and garlic powder to a large skillet. Heat it over medium-low, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the tamale layers.
  • Add the masa, sugar, baking powder, butter, two cups of corn, the poblano, salt and pepper to a food processor or blender. Process until everything is in coarse crumbs. Add the broth and process until the mixture is smooth and thick. Fold in the remaining corn.
  • Spread half of the tamale mixture evenly across the bottom of your baking dish. Sprinkle about one and one-fourth cup of cheese over that. Add in all of the chicken mixture, spreading it out over the cheese layer. Add another one and one-fourth cup of cheese. Spread the rest of the tamale mixture on the top.
  • Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on the top, and then finish with the rest of the cheese.
  • Cover the dish with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
  • Serve topped with more chopped cilantro. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

This was absolutely delicious, and it reheated phenomenally. (Thank goodness, because it makes a ton of food.) All of the flavors of a good, chicken tamale were there, and we will definitely be making this again—much sooner than I’ll probably be making traditional tamales.

As a side note, I roasted my poblano by placing it under the broiler until it was charred on all sides and then placing it in a glass bowl with plastic wrap on top to steam for about 10 minutes. Then, I could scrape off the skin, scoop out the seeds and dice it up. Easy peasy. If you’re nervous about a poblano being too spicy, try an Anaheim pepper instead.

Now that I have a good copycat for tamales, I’ll have to explore some other tough dishes at our local restaurants. I’m looking at you, mole.

This piece first appeared in print Sept. 12, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Salad Side Dish

There’s a kernel of summer flavor in this pasta salad

Mexican street corn pasta salad uses lots of fresh vegetables to create a flavor profile reminiscent of elote. It’s an excellent side dish for a summer meal.
Mexican street corn pasta salad uses lots of fresh vegetables to create a flavor profile reminiscent of elote. It’s an excellent side dish for a summer meal.

When the Mexican American Fastpitch Softball Tournament rolls into Newton every summer, Joey and I try to make it out to watch a few hours of the action.

The games are definitely entertaining, but if I’m being honest, I’m mostly there for the food. Trying to pick what to eat from the various vendors is sometimes tough to do. Everything looks and smells amazing.

A couple summers ago, I decided to get elote, which is a roasted ear of corn, slathered in seasoning and mayonnaise and crumbly cheese. Trust me. It’s delicious.

I was thinking about that elote when I ran across this week’s recipe for a Mexican street corn pasta salad. It features a lot of the same flavor profiles, but it’s a bit easier to eat without making a huge mess.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Female Foodie” by Tyler Anastasio. You can find the original post at https://www.femalefoodie.com/recipes/mexican-street-corn-pasta-salad/#recipe. I added extra jalapeno, cheese and garlic in my version and changed up the instructions just a bit.

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Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

Mexican street corn pasta salad uses lots of fresh vegetables to create a flavor profile reminiscent of elote. It’s an excellent side dish for a summer meal.
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword adobo peppers, chipotle peppers, cilantro, cojita, ditalini pasta, fresh cilantro, fresh corn, fresh garlic, frozen corn, green onions, jalapeno, lime juice, lime zest, mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, queso fresco, sour cream

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces ditalini pasta or another small pasta
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
  • 3 cups fresh or frozen corn
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 jalapeno seeds and ribs removed, diced
  • 1 bunch green onion sliced thinly
  • 1 bunch cilantro roughly chopped
  • 10 ounces queso fresco or cotija cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste

Dressing Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sour cream I used fat free
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
  • 2 to 3 whole chipotle peppers packed in adobo
  • 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
  • zest from one lime
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain it and rinse it with cold water, and set aside.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Once it’s hot, add the corn to the skillet and stir regularly, getting a light char on the kernels. Add the garlic into the pan and saute for just about a minute, and then remove the skillet from the heat. Set it aside to cool.
  • Prepare the jalapeno, green onion and cilantro and add it to a large serving bowl. Crumble in almost all of the cheese, keeping back a handful to top the salad when you’re done.
  • Combine all of the dressing ingredients into a blender or food processor and process until it is smooth.
  • Add the pasta, cooled corn and dressing to the serving bowl, and stir it well. Stir in any additional salt and pepper, if desired. Refrigerate the pasta salad until it’s completely chilled. Just before serving, top with the reserved cheese.

I really liked this, and even Joey, who is a notorious mayonnaise hater, liked the dressing, so you know it had to be pretty good. This will be an especially good pasta salad to put together once everyone’s gardens begin producing this summer.

And if you’re afraid of the jalapeno, you can easily leave it out. It does add a very nice crunch, though.

I’m also not going to pretend that this pasta salad is a perfect recreation of elote, but it does scratch the itch. You can bet, though, once July rolls around, I’ll be on the lookout for the real thing once again.

This piece first appeared in print on May 23, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Side Dish

I ‘corn’not believe how delicious this savory pudding is

Corn pudding uses lots of herbs, along with corn and yellow onion to create the perfect mashup of sweet and savory in a delicious side dish.
Corn pudding uses lots of herbs, along with corn and yellow onion to create the perfect mashup of sweet and savory in a delicious side dish.

We have a serious love of cornbread at our house.

When we discovered the goodness that is cornbread dressing to go with our holiday turkeys, we were understandably excited.

But, being more of a traditional mindset, the rest of the extended family missed the conventional holiday stuffing at our big meals, so I went back to it this year.

Not being completely dissuaded, though, I started looking for other cornbread-like dishes we could try and stumbled on a recipe for corn pudding.

Before you recoil at the pudding idea, trust me. It’s delicious. It’s a fabulous, non-jiggly texture, and it’s savory and belly warming. It is definitely worth a try—especially if you love cornbread like I do. And it’s also worth a try if you normally find cornbread a bit on the dry side, because this is moist and delicious.

This comes from the “Southern Living” magazine. It’s by Karen Schroeder-Rankin. You can find the original recipe at https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/savory-corn-pudding-recipe. I added lots of extra seasonings in my version.

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Corn Pudding

Corn pudding uses lots of herbs, along with corn and yellow onion to create the perfect mashup of sweet and savory in a delicious side dish.
Course Side Dish
Keyword Christmas side, corn, cornbread, fresh thyme, frozen corn, garlic, sage, Thanksgiving side, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
  • 6 cups frozen corn thawed
  • 1 medium-sized yellow onion diced
  • 4-6 cloves garlic minced
  • 6 eggs
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 teaspoons thyme
  • 2 teaspoons sage
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a nine-by-13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray and set it aside.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Add the onion to the skillet. Saute until it is soft.
  • Add in the corn, and continue to saute until it is just a bit browned.
  • Toss in the garlic and saute for another minute or so, or until it becomes fragrant. Remove the skillet from the heat.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream and butter until it is well combined. Add in the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, thyme, sage, onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper. Stir to combine.
  • Stir in the corn mixture and then pour everything into the baking dish, smoothing it out evenly.
  • Bake for about 40 minutes or until the pudding is set and the top is golden brown.
  • Let it stand for five to 10 minutes before serving. Top with a little more thyme, if desired.

The flavors in this paired amazingly well with our turkey. The herbs along with the slight sweetness of the corn and onions just put it over the top.

It also reheated really well as leftovers, which was good, because this made a ton of food.

I’m hoping that I’ll be able to bring the rest of the family over to my side on the subject of cornbread dressing at some point. They didn’t seem to complain about this recipe, so I think they’re well on their way.

Sometimes you just have to start your own traditions.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 29, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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