Fried Corn!

Not deep fried corn, so healthier right?!?

Ha, this has become one of my FAVORITE sides! It's definitely more indulgent than plain corn but we have it sparingly. I found it here and have been in love ever since!

Here is what you'll need..

Ingredients:

• 2 cups frozen or canned corn
• 1/3 cup chopped onions
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a medium sized skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp butter and chopped onions. Allow onions to soften and turn transluscent. Add corn, 1 tbsp butter, milk, and salt and pepper (if using frozen corn, add it in first without the other ingredients to allow it to defrost and warm up a little). Saute over medium heat until milk has nearly evaporated. You can add some chopped parsley if you want (we skip this step).

We have this with meatloaf, ribs, fried chicken, or anything that has mashed potatoes! I hope you love it!

Delicious and Easy Cajun Oven Fries

These are absolutely one of my favorite sides. Sorry the picture has some corn in the picture, but that was another fabulous side I'll post later! We have these with ribs, hamburgers, steaks, you name it! Because I've found this fast recipe we no longer buy frozen fries. So good and they pack a little heat so try them! If you're not a fan of the heat, just skip the cayenne pepper. Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients

• 2-4 medium thin-skinned Russet potatoes
• 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil (I just pour it from an oil thingy and guess)
• 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper sauce (I just sprinkle cayenne pepper powder)
• 1 teaspoon paprika (again I just sprinkle)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut potatoes into wedges. The easiest way to do this is to cut a potato in half length-wise and then cut each half into thirds. Place potato wedges on a large cookie sheet (with edges that lip up to keep liquid from draining into oven). Sprinkle all ingredients over the potatoes and then toss the potatoes to cover all sides. Cook in the oven turning them once after ten minutes.

These are my favorite! I hope you enjoy!

Grocery Store Money Saver Idea!

So each time I run to the grocery store I always grab salad. The country boy in our house has fallen in love with vegetables and insists on a salad each night with his dinner. After a year or two of coaxing to give salad a try I won't be complaining for the side dish that always appears on our plates.

I tend to like to grab the bagged salad. I always go generic but I do grab one to two bags of romaine lettuce. At $2.89 a bag that's close to $12 a month that I spend on lettuce. Sometimes it's more because I'll throw in a bag of spinach. I don't know why it's taken so long for the saver in me to switch ways!

Last time at the store Tony was with me and I priced bunches of romaine, uncut, unwashed, just plain. To my surprise there was a HUGE difference! I should have known considering the mark up on all other washed and pre-cut fruits and veggies is HUGE! I guess I just figured lettuce was the cheaper of the options. WRONG!

Today at Sprouts I picked up a head of romaine lettuce for .88 cents! For that price I picked up two. Here are the beautiful and fresh heads of lettuce.

When Tony and I got married we registered for a salad spinner. After a couple of uses it took to the bottom of the pantry. Well not anymore!

First I chopped up one head of lettuce into the same small sized pieces that come in the bagged lettuce.

Then I threw it all in the salad spinner basket and gently rinsed the lettuce.

After that I spinned it dry. Time taken: 5 minutes. Money saved for two weeks worth of lettuce: $4.02 (yes I'm that exact!). Not to mention I got sooo much more lettuce buying a whole head. I only chopped up one but after I spinned it dry I put it in a container to keep it fresh.

Tony came home and his eyes lit up at the fresh, green lettuce as well as the amount of money we saved. If you already do this, great! If you don't give it a try!

Cornmeal-Fried Onion Rings A La Barefoot Contessa

Onion rings...ahh...I can remember when I was little my mom LOVED onion rings and would always ask for them at restaurants when they were an option to french fries. I used to make ugly faces at her and sounds when she ordered them because if they weren't Funyuns I wasn't even going to consider them (I was also the fool that never ate Chinese food when we went to the restaurants I would eat the french fries and chicken nuggets from the buffet...FOOL!)

Anyway, something happened in college and I've fallen in love with onion rings. I love them and would eat them with every meal if I could. I don't think it's a very healthy obsession, but it's a yum one! Now that we're in our new home we love to grill out so I've experimented with a few onion ring recipes. I've tried flour based recipes and those packets you buy at HEB near the onions (yuck by the way!). Anyway good ol Ina Garten won my heart with this recipe and they're so easy to make. The cornmeal helps to make a crunchier onion ring. Delicious in my opinion!

Ingredients:

2 large Spanish onions

2 cups buttermilk

salt and pepper

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 quart vegetable oil

Directions:

Peel the onions, and slice them into 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick, and separate them into rings. Combine the buttermilk, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon pepper in medium bowl. Add the onion rings, toss well, and allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes. (The onion rings can sit in the buttermilk for a few hours.) In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and set aside.

When you're ready to fry the onion rings, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and then paper towels.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees in a large pot or dutch oven (a candy thermometer attached to the side will help you keep the constant temperature.) I used a fryer we got for our wedding that automatically sets the desired temperature. Working in batches, lift some onions out of the buttermilk and dredge them in the flour mixture. Drop into the hot oil and fry them for 2 minutes, until golden brown, turning once with tongs. Don't crowd them! Place the finished onion rings on the baking sheet, sprinkle liberally with salt, and keep them warm in the oven while you fry the next batch. Continue frying the onion rings and keep them warm in the oven until all the onions are fried. They will remain crisp and warm in the oven up to 30 minutes. Serve hot.

The verdict: AMAZING! I only used one large onion because it was just the two of us, but I wish I would have made the full batch! If you make these (and you SHOULD!) let me know how you liked them!