Jana: Chicken Flautas

After a long day at work, sometimes I just want some yummy Mexican food. Who am I kidding... I could go for Mexican food any time.

And, although Rob and I have recently found our favorite Mexican restaurant in this "new" town of ours, we can't justify the cost or calories of going too often.

So, here's our make-at-home answer... chicken flautas with a pick-two combination of black beans, fire-roasted corn, cilantro lime rice, and baked tortilla strips.

Chicken Flautas

Time: 10 minutes prep. 15 minutes cooking.

Servings: 2 or more, depending on how many you make

Ingredients:

• 8" flour tortillas, 2 per person
• cooking spray
• Southwestern flavored chicken strips, we've tried several and found we like the Oscar Mayer DeliFresh brand best

Optional add-ins:

• salsa
• chopped onions... about half of a small onion does the trick for us
• chopped cilantro
• squirt of lime juice
• shredded cheese... if you're into that sort of thing
• avocado slices/guacamole
• other taco-like toppings

Directions:

Spray the tops and bottoms of the tortillas with the cooking spray. Fill the tortillas with chicken and other tasty toppings. Roll them up. Garnish the top with a handful of shredded cheese.

Bake on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes.

Jana: Summer Succotash

To end the month, I wanted to squeeze in one more corn recipe. Inspired again by the America I Am cookbook, I went looking for a good succotash recipe. I mean, corn and lima beans are my fave! (My family always laughs about how we're such picky eaters, yet we all love lima beans!) I ended up using this recipe for Vegetarian Succotash by Jill Harris.

For the other recipes this month I just used frozen corn. However, the other day I decided to "go big or go home," and bought three fresh ears of corn. I had never cut corn off the cob and for some reason was a little nervous. It turned out to be no big deal and made such a difference in the flavor! The fresh kernels added a bit of sweetness that just wouldn't have been there if I had opted for frozen.

I wish that I would have noticed that the original recipe pairs this with quinoa because I've wanted to try that. This time though I paired the veggie side dish with grilled chicken and jasmine rice.

As the comments on the original post mentioned, the lima beans did get a little overcooked, even though I was trying to really watch them (meaning I sampled a lot of limas throughout the process!).

But overall the dish had wonderful flavor! Rob and I both went for seconds... and we had some leftover. That's the problem with these new recipes... they're hard to size down for two people the first time around. Next time, I'll probably use only two ears of corn and a little bit less than half a bag of lima beans. But, yes, there will be a next time!

Jana: Corn Pudding

I purchased the ingredients for Corn Pudding two weeks ago, but things just kept popping up in our schedule that made a 45 minute cooking project almost impossible. However, I'm glad I waited, because although I originally had settled on this recipe from AllRecipes.com, yesterday at the library I checked out a cookbook with a corn pudding recipe. The book is called America I Am: Pass It Down Cookbook and is filled with "soul-filled recipes" shared by African-American cooks. It feels much more authentic to cook knowing the stories behind the recipes.

I was introduced to corn pudding by my Aunt Sally, who is one of the best cooks I know. I had tried to make it on my own once before, but I decided it was worth another go in honor of Corn month.

I mixed all of the ingredients together and then stored the casserole dish in the refrigerator while I tutored from 3:30 to 5:30. I threw it in the oven when I got back to the apartment, and 50 minutes later (10 minutes longer than the original recipe!) I had a batch of corn pudding to complement my pork chops and mashed potatoes.

The dish was really runny, so we let the excess water drain before spooning it onto our plates. I remember the same thing happening last time, so I don't know if it's supposed to be like that, or perhaps it was melted water from the frozen corn?!? (The AllRecipes recipe actually calls for frozen corn, so I'll have to try that one sometime, too.)

But, it was yummy. Sweet, but good. And, when Rob opted for another helping instead of getting a brownie for dessert, I knew we had a winner.

Without further adieu...

Jana: Roadhouse Zalad

A little over a year ago Zaxby's offered a special limited time only salad that they called the Roadhouse Zalad. As you may have guessed, I'm usually not one to choose a salad over chicken fingers and fries. But this salad was amazing; it had just enough different flavors and textures to keep it interesting. Needless to say I was devastated when the limited time was over--every now and then I'll ask the cashier if they can make it again, but it's been a no-go. I don't know why I hadn't tried to recreate it myself.

But in thinking of my favorite corn recipes, I couldn't get that fire-roasted corn and this salad out of my mind. So last night in true Iron Chef Sisters fashion, I pulled all of the ingredients out on the counter and got started. I found this recipe for the roasted corn from My Blessed Life blog. Pretty easy peasy... all ingredients that I usually keep on hand, although because I'm split between two kitchens, I had to restock a couple of the spices.

I tried to mimic the ingredients from the Roadhouse Zalad as much as I could: I layered spinach and bell peppers in the bottom of the salad shells before adding drained black beans, a spoonful of roasted corn, and grilled mesquite chicken. Just like Zaxby's salad, I topped it off with a sprinkle of potato sticks. The combination was wonderful!! Rob and I thought that the potato sticks on top (while a bit unexpected) provided just enough saltiness to balance the sweetness of the corn, beans and chicken.

If you look at the last picture below... I promise there is green stuff in there. Although Rob thought that next time, I shouldn't even bother masquerading it as a salad, and just served grilled chicken with a side of roasted corn. Will do!

Month 6

After taking a brief (well... two month) hiatus, we're back and better than ever!!

Summers are just difficult to cook around here. Especially when you spend every other week taking teenagers on mission trips around the country (Callie) or when your food stash is at a house in Georgia while your cooking paraphernalia is in an apartment in South Carolina (Jana). However, things are wrapping up for both of us, so we're determined to start back up again!

What is your favorite corn recipe?