Dinner Party Side Dish: Sriracha-Spiked Corn Muffins

I like corn bread, but it frequently suffers from being dry and crumbly. I got the idea a while back to make corn bread with creamed corn to give the corn flavor but keep it nice and moist, and it was a total score! The corn chunks also added a nice texture.

Corn bread does nicely when it's spicy (jalapeno corn bread is pretty popular), and I really like the play of sweet and spicy together, so I decided to kick the flavor up with a couple shots of sriracha (or you can use hot sauce). As usual, when given the choice I baked these as muffins :)

Spicy Corn Muffins

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 can creamed corn
1/2 tsp salt
pinch black pepper
1 Tbsp sriracha
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup flour (I used gluten free)

Directions:

1. Blend together eggs, oil, sugar, creamed corn, salt, pepper, and sriracha. Stir in baking soda, baking powder and flour.
2. Pour into greased muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes until edges are golden brown and tops are browned and firm. Cool on a baking rack.

The cost:
eggs: .28
corn: .79
flour: 1.15
other ingredients: <1.00

Grand total: $3.22; store muffins in airtight container

Easy & Cheap Side Dish: Corn Kugel

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes because it's so easy--you pretty much just dump everything in a bowl, mix it up, and pop it in the oven.

Now I have to credit my friend BL with the original recipe--I've adapted it a bit just to make it a little healthier, but she certainly deserves the credit for introducing me to this deliciousness :)

Corn Kugel

Ingredients:

1 can creamed corn
3/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 Tbsp oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup flour

Directions:

1. Mix creamed corn, applesauce, eggs, oil, sugar, and spices.
2. Whisk in baking soda, baking powder and flour until just combined.
3. Pour into a square (8x8) pan and bake in oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until edges are crispy and top is browned and risen.

The cost: cheap (1.29 for the creamed corn, everything else from the pantry)

Easy Veggie Side: Roasted Corn Salad

While shopping last week I saw some beautiful sweet yellow corn on sale. There are plenty of shortcuts to make corn salads without having to husk and cook your own corn (canned, frozen), but the taste and texture of freshly roasted corn is divine. I made this salad as a side dish for the Shabbat lunch I hosted this week.

There are lots of ways you can cook corn on the cob--boil it, roast it in the oven, or throw it on an outdoor or indoor grill. I prefer the indoor grill to get it started, then finishing it in the oven.

Roasted Corn Salad

Ingredients:

4 cobs sweet yellow (or white) corn, husked and cleaned
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, chopped
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 scallions, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Drizzle oil over corn and rub to coat; sprinkle with salt. Place in grill pan over medium-high heat 10-12 minutes, turning to brown each side.
   
3. Transfer grill pan to oven and cooke 10-12 minutes or until tender.
4. Slice corn off the cob; toss with vinegar and spices and cool 10 minutes.
   
5. Add tomatoes, avocado, celery and scallions and stir to combine. Serve warm or cold.

The cost:
corn: 2.00
tomatoes: 1.99
avocado: 1.29
celery: .15
scallions: .25

Grand total: $5.68; serves 6-8