Eat Me! ....I'm sweet, buttery, and delicious!

The final installment in this week's challenge.  I've been blogging up a storm - all I want right now is a blizzard and a nap!  The corn cakes have been waiting for me to post them for quite some time now!  I did a pick-and-choose, add-and-subtract kind of mash-up to come up with this recipe.  I didn't like anything anyone had to offer - mostly because I wanted my recipe to be more... convenient for what I had in the fridge the first time I made it.

The consistency of the cakes are what I imagine the British refer to as pudding.  Not really cakes at all.  Just a warning before I give you this photo and you tell me I'm stupid.

This has to bake for an hour - so time yourself accordingly.  Ready, set, get prepped!

What you'll need

• Sink, water, soap, towels....
• Butter (1/2 cup, softened a bit) - real butter, I tried substituting margarine once (I fed it to Tara, it wasn't the best they have ever been - so Tara, give them a retry)
• 1/3 cup Masa Harina - that's finely ground corn flour.  (I have a big bag of it if you want to borrow some.  Then sell it at Kroger, probably Save-a-lot, and International groceries)
• Cream-style corn... yes, from a can... a regular size can, it's not quite 15oz.
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Heavy cream (yes, this is one of my favorite ingredients and I often have it on hand)
• Salt
• Baking powder
• A roasting pan - like the one you use for your turkey during the holidays
• An oven
• An oven-safe dish for baking that has a lid - something like a 9x9.
• A mixer (I used a hand mixer)
• Two bowls
• A scraping spatula
• Hot pads/oven mitts/protection
• Can opener
• Measuring cup & spoons
• Ice cream scoop
• Whisk

I'm hoping that's all you'll need for this one.  Getting right to it - no time to waste with corny jokes - okay okay!

Let's do this!

1. Preheat your oven to 350.  Skip over to the sink with your roasting pan.  Wash then dry your hands, fold up an extra kitchen towel and put it in the bottom of your roasting pan.  Fill the pan about halfway with hot water, and get it out of the way.  Be careful not to dump water everywhere.
2. In one bowl, whisk sugar (1/3 cup), cream (2 Tbsp.), salt (1/4 tsp. - aka, dash), and baking powder (1/2 tsp.), together until well combined.  Set aside.
3. In your other bowl (if you're using a stand mixer, use the appropriate bowl) - dump out your semi-soft butter, and beat it until it is nice and creamy.  Add about a 1/4 cup of water, and 1/3 cup masa harina. Beat it (just beat it!) until well combined.
4. Grab your can of corn and can opener.  Beat the corn can and act like a Neanderthal to be funny, then open it properly. Add the corn to the butter mixture, stir, then dump the contents of the other bowl (you know, the sugar, cream, salt, and baking powder) into the buttery, corn mess.
5. Mix well, scrape the mixture out of the bowl and into your 9x9 (or whatever similar sized) dish.  If you need to grease the pan - use butter so you don't contaminate the batter.
6. Cover your dish, put it in the roasting pan - the towel will help reduce sliding.  It works like those sticky things that old people and hotels put in the shower.  I hate those things!  Tub treads.  Sheesh!
7. Bake your corn cakes at 350 - in the water bath - for about an hour.  Be super careful removing these from the oven.  I suggest the roasting pan - because many of them have good handles so you can avoid the hot water.  If you don't have one, the cheapies get the job done.  
8. Serve the cakes with your ice cream scoop - like mashed potatoes from elementary school!

Now, you can get hopping on this 4 part challenge.  For those of you not making the full menu, ignore that!  This one will be in phoodos, and if you're doing this as part of the challenge - post your results and link up on the sausage links page!  Now, I need to find a blizzard replacement since DQ is closed......... hmmmmmm

Eat Me! ....I'm the health-nut hot friend!

This is the healthiest recipe I have ever posted.  Next in line?  A boozy drink.  I'm not really as ashamed as I should be.  Healthy is DEFINITELY not always delicious - and delicious is often not that healthy.  I can't help it!  Anywho - this little hottie is bilingual, delicious, and easy!  Check her out!

Yep!  Healthy!  Vegetables!  Everyone excited?  I know you are!!!!!

What you'll need

• Spice Mix
• Chevre - that's goat cheese.  If you're not a fan, try feta, queso blanco, or any other cheese you want. You can skip the cheese too, but I the only way we can remain friends if you skip the cheese... is if it is for medical reasons.  If you simply do not like cheese, we cannot be friends. (That's right!  I just said I like cheese better than people who don't like cheese!)
• Olive oil
• A bowl
• A bar pan
• Parchment paper
• A knife, a cutting board, and a garlic press (again, if you have one.... if you don't have one by now, I hope you're realizing why I have one.  Yes, it is because I'm lazy and I don't like to chop garlic when I can press it.)
• Running water, sink, soap, towel.... 
• Something to stir with - something that isn't a spoon that you use to eat cereal.  It needs some muscles.
• Garlic
• Zucchini
• Yellow Squash
• Bell pepper - the color is up to you.  Choose based on flavor or price or a combination
• Tomatoes
• Limes - okay, probably one.  
• An oven and some hot pads/oven mits (I don't know what other people call them, but protection is important!  Safety first!)

Hope that I have you prepared - no promises.... at least not in this post!

Let's do this!

1. Wash your hands, then wash your produce.  Dry your hands, and set the produce aside to dry.
2. Get your chopping station ready to go.  Find some space on the counter or table, or wherever it is that you normally do your cooking... and set up with your cutting board, knife, garlic press, bowl, stirring utensil, spice mix, and oil.
3. Bring your veggies over to the prep station, give the zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, and squash a rough chop. (REALLLLLLY rough!  Big chunks/slices - try to keep the pieces similar in size for even cooking)
4. Toss the veggie pieces in the bowl, drizzle with a small amount of oil, squeeze the juice of the lime(s) in, press the garlic in, and dump some spice mix on top of all of it.
5. Stir the veggies, make sure they are all coated with spice mix.  Set the bowl aside, get the cutting board, knife and garlic press out of your way.
6. Preheat the oven to about 450.  Get your pan ready..... you know, slap the parchment paper on it and get it out of the way until you're ready for the oven.
7. Dump the veggies out onto the pan, spread the veggies into a single layer, pop the pan in the oven, reduce the heat to 425, and bake for about 25 minutes.  (Because the spice mix has cornstarch, the liquid that comes out of the veggies will thicken up nicely.  You don't have to stir or flip them.... but if your oven isn't exactly perfect, you might need to turn the pan around.)
8. When your veg is nice and roasty, take the pan out (use the protection!!!!) - turn the oven off, and crumble the Chevre (or the other cheese you decided on) over the veggies.  Pop the pan back in.  The cheese will roast up just fine as the oven begins to cool and it will keep your dish hot.

Here's the disclaimer..... If you don't have two ovens, then you will want to cook your veggies on the grill with your meat.  The corn cakes need the oven at 350 - realllllly not simpatico with the veggies.  BUT - if you can keep your corn cakes hot for 25 minutes, I suppose you can make them first.  I have three ovens.  Yes, three.  I know, and yes, it is necessary.  I think you can probably keep the corn cakes warm for 25 minutes - they are really freaking hot when they get done anyway.... and because you will cook them in a dish with a lid.... you can probably just wrap the dish up in some kitchen towels to reduce heat loss (like blankets for your side-dish) - or maybe you have some other fancy stuff... I don't know!

Enjoy the veggies!  The recipe will be on the phoodos page.  Be sure to share your sausage links - and look out of the corn cakes! Adios des amis!  (Oh!  The fusiony insanity!)

Eat Me! .... I taste delicious on taco-like stuff!

Welcome back!  This quick post doesn't come with a photo. Who really wants a photo of a spice mix?  That seems silly to me.  Why?  Mostly because I don't house this one in a fancy glass grinder, or even one of my spiffy magnetic containers.  That's right.  I keep it in a plastic container, hidden in the lazy-susan.  It has frequently been questioned, but has never fallen victim to the trash can.  It looks like a weird mess that my nieces tossed together - but it is a tasty base for tacos, fajitas, or in this case - the veggie side dish follow-up post.  This should take you about three minutes - but I'll gift you ten.  You do have to get a lot of different spices out.  So, in case you aren't organized like me (HAH! The spices are strewn about here - but they are in the same area) you should have plenty of time to gather everything. Again, if you can't grab it all at once, grow longer arms and quit whining!

What you'll need

• Chili Powder
• Salt
• Paprika
• Cornstarch
• Sugar
• Chicken Base (Bullion not in cubes.  I can buy this at Kroger in Anna - so I'm sure most people reading this can get some of it.  If not - you'll want bullion cubes or granules.  You can read the back and it typically tells you a conversion for measuring.... if not, put it in a ziplock bag and beat the hell out of it with something.  That's always fun - so maybe you should just do that anyway!)
• Onion Powder
• Ground Cayenne
• Ground Cumin
• Garlic Powder
• Measuring Spoons
• Whisk - appropriately sized for the bowl you use.
• Small bowl with lid (tupperware, gladware.... you get the point)

Okay, I'm positive that's all you need.  Probably never going to happen again!

Let's do this!

1. Gather all of your spices and hardware on the counter.  If the lid is on your bowl, take it off and get it out of the way for now.
2. Get your measuring spoons ready - pop the lids on all of your ingredients, and prepare yourself for measuring madness!  (Since you know I don't measure - please don't think I expect you to be precise.)
3. Dump the following ingredients into your bowl:
1. ~ 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2. ~ 2 Teaspoons chili powder
3. ~ 1 Teaspoon salt
4. ~ 1 Teaspoon paprika
5. ~ 1 Teaspoon sugar
6. ~ 3/4 Teaspoon chicken base
7. ~ 1/2 Teaspoon onion powder
8. ~ 1/4 Teaspoon garlic powder
9. ~ 1/4 Teaspoon cayenne
10. ~ 1/4 Teaspoon cumin
4. If you are confused.... "~" is "about equal, or similar" in math.  Also - please note, that will make enough for about 1 recipe of whatever you are putting it on - if you're feeding 4-6.  So, if you're planning to keep it on hand for fajitas, tacos, whatever else.... double it.
5. Whisk it together, make sure there aren't lumps.... pop the lid on, and DONE!

Enjoy the spice mix!  This will NOT be in phoodos, I'll like back to the post from the upcoming veggie side-dish.  While I don't expect you to keep us posted on people eating this straight.... (that would be hilarious, though... so maybe I do expect you to tell me that!) I hope you'll share uses you find for it!