Corn Custard - Reimagining a Grandmother's Recipe

Please excuse the lack of blogging the past few days...
I have been feeling ill and, truth be told, have done very little besides sleep, read magazines and watch movies, and I certainly have not done any cooking.

When I finally started feeling better last night, I was so thrilled that I still had a few of these corn custard cups in the freezer from last week's cooking binge! It allowed me to get a quick something into my stomach, without resorting to canned soups or, worse, quick take-out.

Not to mention that the small portion sizes were perfect for not overdoing it with my first real meal in days...

The recipe itself is a reinvention of a dish I remember my grandmother making for Easter brunch. Her recipe is essentially one box of Jiffy corn muffin mix, butter, eggs, creamed corn, onions and green peppers and then baked (in one large casserole dish) until set. But when I set out to make these last week I wanted to spice the recipe (and cut way back on the butter), so with what I had available in the fridge (and pantry) this is what I ended up coming up with.

Overall, I really enjoyed the updated dish. It wasn't as dense, or greasy, as the original dish (which, of course, is what my husband says he like about it in the first place), but instead, was light (like a quiche) and had an airy, bread pudding-like consistency. The thyme gave them a wonderful aromatic flavor, and the small tomato chunks were like pieces of sweet treasure. Plus, I added bacon! You can hardly ever go wrong with bacon!


So, go ahead and eat these for breakfast or lunch! They reheat quickly in these serving size portioned dishes and can even be taken along to work!

Corn Custard with Bacon and Tomatoes
(Makes approximately 5 custard cups)

2 tsp. olive oil
2 - 8.75 oz. cans kernel corn, drained and pureed
(yields approx. 1 cup corn mush)
3-4 slices bacon, cooked and sliced thin
1 small onion, finely diced
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup half and half cream
1 tsp. thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 5-6 ramekin cups (lightly) with olive oil. Set aside.

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a saute pan, and cook the onions 3-4 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Then, mix together the corn, onion, tomatoes, bread crumbs, half and half, bacon and thyme. Add in the eggs and mix until all the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Spoon the mixture into the ramekin cups and place them in a large baking dish. Add enough hot water to come half way up the sides of the cups. Lay foil loosely over top of the dish and bake for 30 (or so) minutes, or until the centers of the custard cups set.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Per serving: approximately 328 calories, 11 g protein and 4 g protein.

FOR MORE BRUNCH RECIPES CLICK HERE!!

Bella

Monday night we finally finished off the last of the left-over produce from the wedding. Just wanting to be rid of it at last, I threw together a very quick and simple stuffed bell pepper dinner. We eat stuffed peppers a lot because they're one of the few vegetables that Jon actually LIKES to eat, and since I make them so often I've started changing up the filling depending on what I happen to have on hand.

This week's particular variation to the recipe was new for us, but so SIMPLE and yet full of flavor that I'm planning on adding it to our regular menu. I'm so glad I had a jar of Bella Sun Luci - Sun Dried Tomato Pesto leftover from the wedding – which is nice and sweet, not too oily, and finely processed with whole roasted pine nuts mixed in. It really pulled this dish together!

Peppers and Onions with Rice,
Sun-dried Tomato and Bacon Filling
(Serves 4)

4 Large Bell Peppers (or Combination of Large Bell Peppers and Large Vidalia Onions)
1 cup brown rice (uncooked)
6 pcs. of bacon – cooked to just crispy
4 Baby-Bella Mushrooms
4 tbsp Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
8-10 thin slices Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Olive Oil

Cook the brown rice as directed by the package instructions. (Lately I've been loving Uncle Ben's 10-Minute Brown Rice, because I don't need to plan ahead a half hour if I decide to use it! It's fabulous and so quick!)

Next prepare the peppers (and/or onions) for stuffing. For the peppers a roast them whole at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. Once cool enough to handle slice off the tops and remove the seeds. For the onions, boil a small pot of water and once boiling add the onions (skins and all) and cook for 10 minutes. Remove and cool – then remove the skins, cut off a section of the top and scoop out the inside flesh (leaving a cup shape of onion rings behind). I also cut a small slice off the bottom to give the onion a flat surface to sit on in the baking step.
**Jon really likes the stuffed onions, but for myself (and many others) they are a little intense, so you can use a variety of bell peppers (red, yellow, green), and even large tomatoes instead.

Meanwhile, wash and finely chop the mushrooms, and crumble the bacon. Combine in a large mixing bowl. Add the sun-dried tomato pesto (home-made or store bought), Parmesan cheese and 2 tbsp. olive oil. Add the cooked rice and mix together thoroughly. Scoop filling into the peppers/onions/tomatoes (this amount of filling should fill 4 large peppers, or 4 large onions, or 4 large tomatoes – or any combination 2-2, 3-1 etc.). Place them upright in a lightly greased casserole dish and top with 2 slices of cheddar cheese each.

Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until the peppers and onions are of desired tenderness. (I'll often place ½ cup (or so) or water into the casserole dish around the stuffed peppers before baking to help soften the peppers while they cook).

Serve along side a big tossed salad and a thick slice of Italian bread. Enjoy.

Per Serving: approximately 600 calories, 6 g fiber, 26 g protein and high in calcium and vitamins A and C.

Sunday Brunch: French Country Omelet

One of my favorite parts about Sunday mornings is making brunch together just before noon and then crawling back into bed with the shades drawn to watch a movie and eat our breakfast together in bed. We aren’t lucky enough to do be able to do this EVERY Sunday, but more often than not we manage to fit it into our busy schedules. This has been a wonderful tradition of ours for probably over a year now. I know it won’t last forever, especially once we have children to turn our schedules upside down and inside out, but until that time comes I continue to relish this little piece of time spent together and hope that it will be a simple (but perfect) little something we can come back to frequently over the upcoming years.

While some Sundays we go all out with an array of mid-morning munchies, there is something to be said for creating a simple, yet hardy dish that satisfies even the largest appetite. This is one of those meals. The following omelet is a wonderful creation I first stumbled upon in Ina Garten’s book, Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics, which was given to me as a Christmas gift last year by my boss. It is based on a French dish served for lunch at the Café Varenne in Paris. We love it because it can be made in one pan and it combines meat, potatoes and eggs into one perfect omelet. Plus, it works great for either breakfast or lunch (or brunch). We often serve it with a big fruit salad, or a creamy fruit smoothie for a fulfilling and well-rounded meal.

Country French Omelet
Original recipe from Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics by Ina Garten
(Serves 2-4, depending on appetite – either serve 1/2 omelet or 1/4 omelet as desired)

2 tbsp olive oil
3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup unpeeled Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
5 large brown eggs
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp fresh chopped chives
1/4 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded*
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil*
*Not in the original recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch ovenproof omelet pan or skillet (e.g., cast-iron skillet ) over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 3-5 minutes over medium-low heat until browned on both sides. Take the bacon out of the skillet and set aside to drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Place the potatoes in the pan and sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper. Cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until very tender and browned evenly. Toss the potatoes occasionally to cook evenly. Remove the potatoes to the same plate as the bacon. Discard the fat from the skillet and melt the butter in the bottom of the pan while adjusting the heat to low. Meanwhile, beat the eggs, milk and basil together with a fork in a medium bowl. Add the egg mixture to the hot skillet. Sprinkle the bacon, potatoes, chives and mozzarella evenly over the top and place the pan in the oven for about 8-10 minutes or until the eggs are just set. Slide onto a plate and divide in half (or quarters) and serve hot. We like to serve this with a big bowl of fresh fruit salad for a well-rounded breakfast meal.

Per serving (based on 4 servings): 315 calories and 18 grams protein