Lightened Corn Casserole

For anyone who enjoys corn casseroles, you know what they entail, the fattening C's: cream, carbs, calories. I love corn casserole, but I don't love the C's. Or the dairy. Sour cream and milk are both HUGE no-no's for me, since I'm lactose intolerant. So, I decided to lighten it up and make it dairy-free.

Let me tell you, this worked marvelously. I was a little nervous because I know the cream adds a much needed fluff, however, it was still very good without it.

 

The Cast of Characters

3 eggs (1 whole, 2 whites)

Whole kernel corn

Cream corn

1/3 cup of soy milk (or other dairy-free milk)

Jiffy corn muffin mix

Instructions

1. Separate two egg whites from yolks. Add to whole egg. Mix.

2. In a medium-sized bowl mix all ingredients together. For me, it look like this.

3. Place in either 9x13 pan or 9x9 pan. If you prefer a thinner casserole, use 9x13. If you prefer a thicker casserole, use the 9x9.

4. Cook at 425 degrees until edges begin to brown. For 9x13 pan this will take about 20-30 minutes. For 9x9 pan this will take longer.

 

Look at that delicious cornbread. With hunks of corn inside. Tastes ah-mazing when topped with a smidge of honey. Corn is probably my favorite vegetable, and when baked into bread form, even better. Try it this weekend, you'll love it! I promise!

Bangin' Broccoli

So, I've seen a variety of these going around Pinterest recently, so I decided to try a simpler version. This was SO STINKIN' EASY! And, more importantly, SO STINKIN' DELICIOUS!

Seriously, I mean, I like broccoli, but this makes it taste so so good. Salty, sweet, and oh so good.

Let's start with the ingredients:

Cooking spray
Broccoli (frozen or fresh)
Salt
Pepper

The squirrrels are my salt and pepper shakers. I love them! My sister got them for me for Christmas. It's a long story, but, my friends and I send each other squirrel things every year. My family caught on to this and have now added to my squirrel collection. You should be jealous. They're pretty cool.

Instructions are also so stinkin' easy.

1. Spray cookie tray and spread broccoli out on tray.
2. Spray broccoli with a little extra spray and then coat in salt and pepper to taste. It should look similar to below.

3. Put in oven at 450 degrees for 15-30 minutes. Broccoli are done with ends start to blacken.
4. Pull out, allow to cool slightly, and add more salt and pepper to taste.

I found that it also reheats fairly well. My husband will not eat broccoli at all, so I couldn't finish it all at once. I popped some in the microwave later, and, voila! Utterly delicious and even easier to make.

Believe me when I say these are bangin'! I cannot wait to share them with my family. They'd be a perfect way to get kids to start eating their veggies, a great party tray to pass, delicious appetizer, and, even better, great with dinner!

So, go ahead, try them! You know you want to!

Homemade Whole Wheat Focaccia Bread

This goes right along with the Simple Spinach Tortellini Soup from the other night. I truly enjoyed this, although my husband was not a huge fan. He doesn't always like wheat breads, and this is very wheat tasting. The bonus about this bread is that it made enough to last me all week long! I literally ate this with the soup for one dinner and five (count that, five!) lunches. And, I'm not gonna lie, I definitely had this for breakfast one morning, too, just because it was so good.

Anyways, the part I enjoyed most about this bread is that it is no-knead. It's not that I'm anti-knead, it just takes a long time and gets the kitchen very messy when I knead bread. Overall, there's really nothing on this recipe that doesn't scream easy, tasty, and healthy!

 

Homemade Whole Wheat Focaccia Bread 

Ingredients

3-1/4 cups flour

1 envelope rapid rise yeast

1 tsp salt

1 3/4 cup warm (not hot) water

Italian seasoning

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese

9x13 pan

Crisco/Pam for greasing

Step-by-step guide

1. Add flour, yeast, and salt. Mix well.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the water to the dry ingredients. Mix well.

3. Grease the 9x13 pan.

4. Add the dough mixture to the pan and even it out throughout the pan. If one section is thicker or thinner than the others it will cause baking issues later.

5. Cover with a towel and put in a warm area.

6. Wait 30 minutes.

7. By now, the dough should have risen and almost doubled in size. Poke holes throughout the risen dough and drizzle olive oil over the entire dough.

8. Sprinkle Italian seasoning and cheese over dough.

9. Cover with a towel again.

10. Wait 30 minutes.

11. Dough will have risen again. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. I'm just going to disclaimer that I live at a high altitude. I actually baked at 350 degrees for more like 35 minutes and it worked for me. I'm guesstimating for a sea-level baking time.

Serve when warm. Tastes really good when paired with more olive oil and Parmesan cheese for dipping. I can't eat too much cheese, but I tried it with just a bit and it hit the spot!

Start with some soup!

I've been telling myself for a long time now that I need to start a blog so I can remember what delicious dinners my husband and I make so that we can refer back to them on the days when we can't decide what to have. I finally worked up the courage and the time to start putting this together. And, what better way to start a blog than with a soup!

I love soup. Probably more than I should. But, being lactose intolerant, my soup choices are typically fairly limited. Any time we go out to eat if I see the words "creamy" next to a soup, I know what it means. There are so few good, non-dairy soups at restaurants, so I like to create my own. This one is similar to one I found on Budget Bytes. I've adapted it a little just because we didn't have everything required.

 

Simple Spinach Tortellini Soup 

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1-1.5 cups chopped onion

2 tsps. garlic salt and/or garlic powder

1 can pasta sauce (at least 16 oz, preferably in the 20s)

1 can diced tomatoes (I prefer the no-salt added)

1-1.5 cans water (use pasta sauce after it's emptied)

1 heaping tsp. basil

1 heaping tsp. oregano

2 tsps. pepper

1 package tortellini

1 package frozen spinach  or 4 cups fresh spinach

Step-by-step instructions

1. Cut the onion into smallish pieces.

2. Put onion, olive oil, and garlic salt/powder in large pot and cook until onion lightly browns.

3. Add in pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, water, basil, oregano, and pepper. Stir together and turn heat to medium-medium/high until soup simmers (just below a full boil).

4. Add in tortellini and spinach (if frozen, no need to thaw). If using fresh spinach, you will want to cut it up into smallish pieces.

5. Cook until tortellini is tender. Add salt, if desired.

I like to top this with a bit of cheese, just enough to flavor, not enough to make my lactose-intolerance kick in. We also had a homemade whole-wheat focaccia bread with this. I'll be posting that recipe later.

Hope you all enjoy this as much as I do!