Breakfast Corn Casserole

This is a great casserole to serve for breakfast on a weekend morning. I’m making it for Christmas breakfast this year actually. It’s easy to do and better still, you can make it a day in advance. I like to serve this casserole with a bowl of salsa on the side. Yum!

BREAKFAST CORN CASSEROLE

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 ozs. chopped fresh kale
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (can substitute dried)
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• 2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 cans cream-style corn
• 1 lb. ham, diced
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 box cornbread mix (like Krusteaz or Marie Callenders)
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 pyrex glass baking dish.
2. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.
3. Add onions, kale, thyme, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until kale is soft and onions are translucent.
4. Add corn, ham, and sour cream, and cook until hot and bubbly.
5. Pour corn mixture into prepared baking dish; set aside. If making ahead, cover and refrigerate overnight at this point.
6. Next day, remove casserole from refrigerator at least half an hour before baking.
7. Prepare the cornbread batter according to directions on the back of the package.
8. Stir 1 cup cheese into cornbread batter.
9. Pour cornbread batter over corn mixture in baking dish.
10. Top with remaining 1 cup cheese.
11. Bake for 35 minutes or until corn is bubbling and corn bread topping is done.

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Cornbread Trifle

I needed a side-dish to take to a barbecue. Well what could be better than cornbread and a veggie salad? Enter Cornbread Trifle. This recipe has a lot of my favorite components for barbecue side dishes. Plus it looks so beautiful all layered up in your trifle bowl. It’s guaranteed to wow everyone with its gorgeous looks and just wait till you taste it! It’s a guaranteed crowd pleaser for sure!

This recipe makes a lot so you’ll need a large trifle bowl. Otherwise, be prepared to have some leftover veggies (which are great tossed with chopped lettuce and ranch dressing the next day).

CORNBREAD TRIFLE

• 1 box cornbread mix (I used Krusteaz Honey Cornbread mix)
• sour cream (amount according to milk called for on cornbread package)
• ¼ cup milk
• 1-2 jalapeño peppers, depending on how spicy you want it
• 1 lb. thick sliced bacon
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup ranch salad dressing
• 1½ cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• ½ small red onion or sweet vidalia onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cans (15-oz. each) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can (15-oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
• 8 ozs. smoked gouda cheese, grated (If you can’t get smoked gouda, you could use smoked cheddar or even just plain sharp cheddar cheese)
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced

Make the Cornbread:

1. Preheat oven as per package directions and grease an 8 or 9-inch baking pan.
2. Cut off the stem end of the jalapeños, then remove the inner membrane and seeds.
3. Finely mince the jalapeños.
4. Prepare batter following the directions behind the box, but replace the milk with sour cream to make the cornbread moister.
5. Add ¼ cup milk and the minced jalapeños to the rest of the ingredients for the cornbread batter.
6. Bake according to the time and temperature directed on the package.
7. Turn out onto wire rack and allow to cool completely.
8. Cut cooled cornbread into approximately 1-inch cubes.

Prepare the Bacon:

1. Lay the bacon slices on a foil covered sheet pan.
2. Bake at 400ºF for 15 minutes or until brown and crispy.
3. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool.
4. Stack the crispy bacon and cut them into ½-inch pieces.
5. Set aside ¼ cup of bacon pieces for garnish.

Make the Dressing:

1. Place the mayonnaise and ranch dressing in a bowl.
2. Whisk together until smooth and well blended.

Prepare the Veggies:

1. In a bowl, combine tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, corn, black beans, and cilantro.
2. Stir to combine well.

Assemble the Trifle Layers:

1. Place half the cornbread on the bottom of a large trifle bowl. Press down lightly.
2. Top with half the veggies.
3. Next half the cheese.
4. Then half the bacon. Don’t touch the ¼ cup you reserved for garnish.
5. End with half the dressing.
6. Repeat the layers a second time ending in dressing.
7. Garnish the top with the green onions and reserved ¼ cup bacon.
8. Chill in refrigerator at least an hour before serving.

[Adapted from 52 Ways to Cook]

Mini Corn Dog Muffins

Summer is State Fair time in California. The State Fair makes me think of corn dogs. I love corn dogs. Corn dogs bring back warm, fuzzy memories of state fairs and carnivals past. There’s nothing like wandering around the fair taking in all the sights and smells with a corndog-on-a-stick smothered in mustard clutched in your hand.

I saw a recipe for mini corn dog muffins on the Kraft website and thought they looked like fun so I decided to try it. They turned out so good! The Kraft recipe has you poke a little cube of cheese into the muffin next to the hotdog. That actually sounds yummy to me too! I’m going to have to try that next time! I remember eating cheese dogs when I was a kid. A cheese dog was basically a hotdog-on-a-stick but with a log of gooey, melty cheese in place of the hotdog. They were oh-so-good!

If you can’t make it to the State Fair, give these tasty little muffins a try. They’re baked so they’re a healthier alternative to a deep-fried corn dog, but they’re every bit as nostalgic and addictive!

MINI CORN DOG MUFFINS

• 1 pkg. (15 oz.) cornbread muffin mix (I used Krusteaz)
• 6 beef hotdogs, each cut into 4 pieces (about 1-inch)

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF and grease 24 mini muffin cups.
2. Prepare cornbread muffin mix according to package directions.
3. Fill muffin cups half full with cornbread batter.
4. Push a piece of hotdog down center of batter in each cup.
5. Bake 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then remove from muffin pan.
7. Serve warm with dijonnaise.

DIJONNAISE

• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp. dijon mustard

1. Combine mayonnaise and mustard in a small bowl.
2. Blend well with a wire whisk.

Bacon Cheddar Cornbread Muffins

My Old Goat made his special Chili con Carne for dinner tonight. He doesn’t really cook but he does have a small repertoire of dishes that he makes when I’m not around and kitchen duty falls on his shoulders. He makes a mean grilled cheese sandwich, his Chili con Carne is really yummy, and he’s especially proud of his burgers. He keeps tweaking his burger recipe trying “to perfect it” as he says, which is really funny to me because I think it’s already perfect as it is.

Anyway, I was actually home this evening but Old Goat suddenly got a hankering to make Chili so I told him to go ahead and knock himself out. I could always use a break from fixing dinner. Not that I got a break. Instead I ended up making some Bacon Cheddar Cornbread Muffins to serve with his chili. These muffins are a great accompaniment to chilis, barbecues, even soups. They’re really easy to make because you start with a boxed cornbread mix. Give them a try at your next chili cook-off. I promise you’ll love ’em!

BACON CHEDDAR CORNBREAD MUFFINS

(Makes 16-18 muffins)

• 1 (15-oz.) box Krusteaz honey cornbread mix
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 3/4 cup cooked, crumbled bacon
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together milk, oil, egg and full box cornbread mix until moistened.
3. Stir in corn, bacon, cheese and green onion.
4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.
5. Bake 18-20 minutes.