Sheila's How To for Freezing Whole Corn on the Cob

Corn has a ridiculously short season. Tempting though it may be to purchase a whole basket full of sweet corn from the farmer's stand, you know you won't eat it all before the sweet begins to fade. It is quite a fun production to remove the kernels and freeze them (though they do fit into your freezer better that way) and you may not have time to do that. So, just freeze a few whole ears for a time when you only dream of summer. The nutrition facts for one ear of unbuttered corn were designed at Calorie Count.

Sheila's Method for Freezing Whole Corn on the Cob

Ingredients:

as many ears of corn as you have room for in your freezer

Directions:

Rinse the ears. Pull back the husks but do not remove. Pull off all the silks as best you can. Recover the cob with the husks, give a twist at the top to seal.

Pop into a freezer bag, remove as much air as you can, and place in the freezer.

Boil, grill, or microwave frozen or thawed ears. If frozen allow more time.

Brandy's Grilled Sweet Corn

Brandy's wonderful hint for grilling corn will work well with whatever seasonings you enjoy.

The nutrition facts for one ear of non-buttered corn was designed at Calorie Count.

Grilled Corn

Ingredients:

1 ear corn
seasoning of your choice: salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic, etc

Directions:

Rinse cobs well. Pull back, but do not remove the husks. Remove the silks.

Season with your favorite seasonings.

Recover the corn with the husk and grill for 15 minutes or so over medium coals turning every now and then. It's fine if the husk burns a bit, just don't cook so long the kernels burn. You can check one just to make sure.

Peel back the husks and enjoy!

Brandy on How to Freeze Fresh Sweet Corn

Brandy is a cousin of mine and fortunate enough to live smack dab in the middle of the best corn growing land there is. The family farms, which means that when it's corn season, there is a LOT of corn! You can't eat it all... though you might try. So, what Brandy and all my other cousins do is freeze it. Here's how.

Freezing Fresh Sweet Corn

First make yourself one of these:

It's a Redneck Concoction for standing corn on end.

You'll need a 2x4 long enough to sit atop a big pan, and a nice long nail.

Sterilize the nail in boiling water. Then whack it with a hammer until it goes all the way through the 2x4 in the middle on the flat side. That's it.

Next you need to do this:

Head on out to the farm and pick as much corn as you can. Get the whole family involved, three generations of Leggetts will do. Take it home and shuck and shuck and shuck. Put the corn in a bucket.

Have your brother, C.O., get the big kettle going. Yet another sister is necessary for handing off the corn for blanching in the hot water (about two minutes in the water is all it needs).

Your brother, and sister Sherry, will plunge the hot blanched cobs into another container filled with icy water. This stops the cookery.

When the corn has cooled, tote the buckets back to the house where Brandy and her Mom Bev await. The toting is best done by the younger members of the family, Abby and Zoie, who must have their hands clean by now from all that shucking.

Brandy and Bev will take the corn and pin it to the nail on the board and centered over a tray big enough to catch all the kernels.

Then comes the fun part. You can use a sharp knife or use the fantastic corn scraper from Pampered Chef. Brandy says it makes short work of the corn.

Here's Bev showing the proper technique for scraping the corn. Her hands are a blur!

Scrape off the kernels right into the pan. Repeat until you have the container filled or run out of corn. Put the corn in small containers or zip lock bags, seal well and place in the freezer. If you use bags, squish out as much air as you can before popping into the freezer.

Enjoy your corn! Man, I wish I didn't live so far away, the corn in Houston is ok, but not as sweet and good as what we grow on the farm in Illinois.

Janice's Microwaved Corn on the Cob

Sometimes it is just too hot to boil water much less get outside and light the grill. But, it's sweet corn season! So, take advantage of the microwave and in just a few minutes you will have delicious summer corn.

The nutrition facts for a single ear of corn was designed at Calorie Count!

Microwaved Corn on the Cob

Ingredients:

1 ear of corn

1 sheet of wax paper

or a lidded microwaveable casserole dish large enough to hold ears of corn (you can cut the corn in half to make it fit!)

Directions:

Remove the husk and clean off the strands from the ear of corn.

If you have time, soak the ear in a water dosed with salt for a short while. The cob will soak up the water and provide an assist in the steaming department. The bit of background salty taste blends so well with the corn that you may not need butter.

Wrap the ear in the wax paper or place in the casserole and cover.

Microwave on high. Now, times for this will vary depending on the age and speed of your microwave. Most new ones can handle an ear of corn in about two - three minutes. My microwave is old, well to be precise, it is 27 years old and not as fast as the new ones. I microwave an ear of corn in about five minutes. Increase the time if you nuke more than one ear at a time. In a new fangled microwave, add about a minute or so per extra ear. In an old antique, add a couple minutes extra per ear.

Enjoy.

Carole's Eggplant Stuffed Peppers

Terrific vegetarian stuffed peppers from our newest contributor. Welcome to the team Carole!

The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count.

Carole's Eggplant Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

1 Red Pepper

1 small Italian eggplant (the long tiny ones)- peeled and chopped small

1 small tomato, chopped small

1-2 T tomato and basil flavored crumbled feta cheese

1 T parmesan cheese, ground

1 T fresh basil, chopped fine

1 T whole wheat bread crumbs (I just grind up one slice of bread in the mini-chopper)- or, 1 T panko plain breadcrumbs

1/4 c. roasted garlic flavored hummus (I like Good Neighbor brand low fat)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the pepper in half, and scoop out the membrane and seeds. 

Mix together all other ingredients in a small bowl. 

Mound stuffing into peppers. 

Put about 1/2 inch of water in small casserole pan; place peppers into pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until peppers are done.

Lemongrass Marinade for Shrimp

Nutrition facts were set for one shrimp and an estimate that 1/4 t oil would be retained by one shrimp. The nutrition facts were made at Calorie Count.

Lemongrass Marinade for Shrimp

Ingredients:

1/4 cup good quality olive oil

1 T Ground Chili and Garlic Sauce* – or equivalent amount of ground chilis and ground garlic
1 T chopped fresh garlic

1 4 inch stem fresh lemongrass – peel the outer layers, rinse, and smash with a mallet, do not chop

1 T fresh lime juice
1 T low sodium soy sauce

¼ t fresh cracked black peppercorns

smashed lemongrass stem

12 shrimp, peeled, deveined, and rinsed

*Ground Chili and Garlic Sauce found in the Asian section of your grocers. Look for the little jars with a rooster drawing on it. If you prefer, you can sub in Sriracha sauce.

Directions:

Mix the oil, chili and garlic sauce, the stems of lemongrass, lime juice, soy sauce, black peppercorns and place in a zip lock bag. Prepare the shrimp and add to the bag. Squish out as much air as you can and seal the bag. Marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours before grilling. Discard all remaining marinade after skewering the shrimp.

Janice's Louisiana Style Marinade for Shrimp

Calories for marinades is difficult to determine. Most of the marinade does not stay with the food to be cooked. I used 1/4 t of olive oil as a reasonable estimate of oil calories added to the shrimp and have set the nutrition facts for one shrimp at Calorie Count.

Louisiana Style Marinade for Shrimp 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup good quality olive oil
1/4 cup white wine

1 T Paul Prudhomme’s Toasted Onion and Garlic seasoning – can substitute ground garlic and onion
1 t dried parsley or 2 T chopped fresh parsley
1 T chopped fresh garlic

¼ t fresh cracked black peppercorns
1 T lime juice

Dash or three of hot pepper sauce, oh what the hey, make it a whole bunch of hot pepper sauce!

12 shrimp, peeled, deveined, and rinsed

Directions:

Mix oil and seasonings. Place in a zip lock bag. Add the prepared shrimp, press out the excess air and seal. Marinade in the fridge for 1-2 hours before grilling. Discard all remaining marinade after skewering the shrimp.

Paul's Pasta with Veggies

Pure Vegan deliciousness. The nutrition facts were designed at Calorie Count with wine instead of olive oil. If you use olive oil, remember to add the calories.

Pasta with Veggies

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup wine (or 1 T olive oil)

2 cups cremini or Portobello mushrooms, sliced

2 cups Brussels sprouts (frozen or fresh, cut in half outer leaves removed)

2 cups broccoli florets (frozen or fresh)

28 ounces Roma tomatoes, crushed

1 t dried basil or thyme

salt and pepper to taste

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti, thin

Optional:

tomato paste for a thicker sauce

vary the proportions of the veggies to suit your taste.

Directions:

Saute small onion and 2 cloves of garlic in wine or 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 3 minutes over medium heat.

Add wine or water if pan gets dry.

.

Add 1 or 2 cups of sliced cremini or Portobello mushrooms.

Saute for another 3 minutes.

Add 1 or 2 cups of brussel sprouts.

Add 1 or 2 cups broccoli florets.

Cover the pot and steam veggies until soft. Add water or wine if pot is dry.

Add 28 ounce can of roma tomotoes.

Add basil or thyme, black pepper, and salt to taste.

Add some tomato paste if the sauce is too thin.

Simmer for 15 minutes or more.

Serve over whole wheat spaghettini pasta. 

Yum!!

Susan’s Apple, Almond, Curried Quinoa

Susan makes enough of this to last her a week - it's great cold! Make it up on Sunday, divide into containers, and take it to work for a deliciously healthy lunch! The nutrition facts were created at Calorie Count!

quinoa

Apple, Almond, Curried Quinoa

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa

1 Apple (seeded and cut into little pieces, like 1/2 inch squares)

2 t Dried Onion Flakes

1/4 cup Slivered Almonds - toasted for crispness - (a small handful)

1 t Curry Powder (I use boring old regular spice aisle kind, you might like more curry powder when you make it, so taste!)

1/4 cup Dried currants (a small handful)

2 T Honey (to taste)

Pinch of Saffron (for color, so just use a smidge)

6 Cardamon Pods, whole

Directions:

Get water boiling and add honey/onion/curry powder/cardamon pods/saffron/ - then add quinoa and cook until done.

Find and remove cardamon pods (they were just for flavor and I hate biting into one of those pods!). Let cool a bit.

Add apple and almond and mix well.

Dress with a bit of salt and lemon

Options:

Make a mixture of olive oil/lemon and salt and drizzle that and mix it in.

Adjust the seasonings and amount of almonds and currants to your taste. 

Joan L's Stove Top Italian Hamburger

Instead of buying a pack of Hamburger Helper, I save a lot of money by making this cook on the stove top casserole. The nutrition facts were made at Calorie Count.

Stove Top Italian Hamburger
6 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion
32 ounces tomatoes
2 cups elbow noodles
1 t salt
1/4 t ground pepper
1/4 t oregano
1 t ground garlic
1 t basil
1/2 cup Mozzarella

Directions:

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef, breaking up the clumps with a wooden spoon. Drain excess fat and return the beef in the skillet to the stove over medium heat.

Chop the onion and tomatoes. You can peel the tomatoes or not as you prefer. Add onions and tomatoes to the ground beef.

Add the elbow noodles and seasonings. Stir til well blended, reduce the heat to low and cook slowly until the noodles are tender (about 20 minutes). Top with cheese and continue to cool on low until the cheese melts.