Corn and Cheese Fritters

What do you do with first corn of the season?

In my house we cook the first batch and eat it from the cob with lots of butter and salt.

Then we grill the second batch on the BBQ with some spices.

After that we make Corn & Cheese Fritters.

My kids get all  excited when they see me removing kernels from fresh cobs. They know it is Corn Fritter time.

Ingredients:

• 3 Corn Corn on the Cob
  
• 3 Eggs
• 3/4 cup Flour
• 1/4 cup Cornmeal
• 1/4 cup Oats
• 4-5 Green Onions (thinly sliced)
• 1 cup Colby Jack Cheese
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oil

Remove the kernels from cobs and put them in a large bowl.

Add eggs and whisk it together. Then add flour, cornmeal, oats, salt and pepper. Mix it until well combined.

Add chopped green onions and shredded cheese. Mix together.

In a skillet heat the oil on medium. Add the batter into the hot oil by spoonful and flatten it to make little pancakes.

Cook on both sides until golden brown. About 2-3 minutes each side.

Serve it with ketchup, sour cream, salsa or my kids favorite ketchup and sour cream mix together.

Chicken with Asparagus and Hollandaise Sauce

Don't you just love Spring and all the fresh vegetables it brings?

My all time favorite spring vegetable must be an ASPARAGUS. As much as I love fresh asparagus my children doesn't share this love with me.

Over the years I tried so many ways to prepare asparagus in hopes of my children falling in love with it.....no success till....

...till I wrapped crispy chicken breast around it and covered it with Hollandaise sauce.

The minute the dinner hit the table the youngest one refused to eat the asparagus or the sauce. I made him to take just one bite. Just one bite of this delicious chicken dish and he was asking for seconds.

You can have the chicken breast with or without the Hollandaise sauce. It is delicious either way.

This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Breasts (skinless and boneless)
• 16 Asparagus Spears
• 2 Tbsp Butter (melted)
• 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 2-3 Cloves Garlic (crushed)
• 2 Tbsp White Wine
• 1 cup Bread Crumbs
• Parmesan Cheese (grated)
• Italian Parsley (chopped)
• Hollandaise Sauce

Wash, dry and pound the chicken breast.

In a bowl combine butter, mustard, wine and garlic. 

In another bowl combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Dip the chicken breast in the butter mixture. Place 4 asparagus spears on each breast and roll it tight. Secure with short skewer.

Roll the chicken breast in the bread crumb mixture until well coated.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Serve with or without Hollandaise sauce.

Hazelnut Pesto Pasta Salad

Saturday was my and my husband's wedding anniversary and we decided to have a BBQ for our family and close friends.

BBQ in my house means lots of delicious side salads, veggies and fruit as well as lots of assorted meats on the grill.

I was planning on making all the salads by myself, but unfortunately I had to take care of certain things for most of the day so I ran out of time.

Hubs decided to buy most of the salads at our local deli, but I had to make at least one salad otherwise it wouldn't be "my" BBQ.

I decided to make Hazelnut Pesto Pasta Salad.

I am not a big fan of pesto sauce due to the pine nuts so I decided to make my pesto with hazelnuts instead. It turned out great and it was a big hit with everybody.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups Penne Pasta (cooked Al Dente)
• 1/2 cup Chopped Hazelnuts
• 2 Cloves Garlic (chopped)
• 1/2 cup Asiago Cheese
• 1oz Fresh Basil
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Orange Bell Pepper
• 1/4 cup Scallions

In a food processor combine hazelnuts, garlic and cheese. Add basil and blend until smooth. Gradually keep adding olive oil. Blend in lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste.

Chop the peppers and scallions into small chunks.

Place penne pasta into a bowl. Add the pesto sauce and stir until well blended. Stir in the peppers and scallions. Keep in the cool place before serving. 

You can sprinkle with more Asiago cheese if you like.

 You can serve this Hazelnut Pesto Sauce over hot pasta for a delicious pasta dish.

Silver Hills Bakery Giveaway

This GIVEAWAY is CLOSED.

The winner is comment #3 Sharon



Few days ago I've been contacted by wonderful people at Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery.

They asked me to try some of their products and share my honest opinions with my readers.

Little did they know I was already a fan of Silver Hills breads and bagels.

I started buying their delicious products almost 4 years ago shortly after my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

We were looking for bread products that were organic, high in fiber, low in carbohydrates and fat without sacrificing the taste.

Especially in the beginning of our son's diagnoses it was important to give him foods that won't spike his blood glucose, but it will help him to keep it stable. Silver Hills breads delivered.

I personally am I big fan of Squirrelly Bagels. These delicious bagels are certified organic, BC Kosher certified and each bagel has 8g of fiber and only 1g of fat.

The wonderful people at Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery wanted to give all of you a change to try their products and judge for yourself.

All you have to do is take very short SURVEY and in return they will mail you one coupon for FREE loaf of bread.

They also decided to sponsor my GIVEAWAY.

One lucky reader will receive 5 FREE loaves of bread and Silver Hills Bakery T-shirt.

Mandatory Entry: (you must do this otherwise all your other entries will be voided)

Visit Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery and let me know which product you would like to try.

Extra Entries:

• Follow Gourmet Meals For Less through Google Friends (1 entry)
• Follow me on twitter (1 entry)
• Tweet about this giveaway (1 entry per day)
• Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link (3 entries)
  

Please, leave a separate comment for each entry.

OPEN to USA and CANADA, but only if you live in one of the following areas: Alaska,Washington,Idaho,Oregon,Northern California,Montana,
British Columbia,Alberta,Saskatchewan,Manitoba,Ontario,Quebec,New Brunswick,Nova Scotia,Yukon.

Giveaway will end on May 14th, 2010 at 11:59pm PST.Winner will be selected by random.org and contacted by email. If the winner doesn’t respond within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen.

***All opinions are my own and I was provided only with free coupons to try the products.***

Grandma's Tomato Sauce

I sure miss my grandma and her cooking. Most of it wasn't too healthy or figure friendly, but it was delicious and I enjoyed every single bite.

I don't think there was a dish that grandma make and I didn't like. She even made liver taste good.

I think her secret ingredients was lard and bacon fat. I did say that it wasn't figure friendly, didn't I?

My grandma use to make this tomato sauce that was the bomb. It wasn't a tomato sauce for pasta dishes and I don't think she ever served it with any kind of pasta. Her tomato sauce was served with beef roast, karbonatky ( breaded and fried burger) and side of potatoes or bread dumplings.

Well, last week I decided to make grandma's TOMATO SAUCE and smother my Italian meatballs with it. As you can imagine it was a hit.

I served it with buttered and parsley potatoes.

I changed the recipe a bit and I did leave out the lard. I figured lard left my life the day grandma did.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 1 Onion (finely chopped)
• 3 Tbsp Flour
• 5 oz Tomato Paste
• Water
• 1 Cloves Garlic (crushed)
  
• 2 Tbsp Sugar
• Salt
• Pepper

In a pan make a rue with butter and flour. Add finely chopped onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add water (start with 2 cups). Stir it around.

Add tomato paste and crushed garlic. Stir and add more water if the sauce is too thick. Cook for 5 minutes or so. Just before the end add the sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Baked Italian Meatballs

Who doesn't like big, juicy and tasty Italian Meatballs?

My children love MEATBALLS. They could eat meatballs every single day.

Must be the Italian blood running through their veins.

I used to buy frozen meatballs in Costco, but last few years I decided to make my own.

I make a big batch of meatballs every few months and keep them in the freezer.They are quick to defrost and use in many ways for a quick dinner.

My favorite way is to eat them smothered in my special tomato sauce my Slovak grandma used to make and parsley potatoes.

This recipe makes 30 2"-3" meatballs.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Ground Beef
• 2 lbs Ground Pork
• 4 Kaiser Buns (day old - chopped)
• 4 Tbsp Italian Parsley (chopped)
• 1 Onion (finely chopped)
• 8 Cloves Garlic (crushed)
• 2 Tbsp Basil (chopped)
• 1 Tbsp Oregano
• 2 Eggs
• Salt
• Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl till well combined.

Form 3" balls from the meat mixture and place it on a jelly roll pan. Bake it for 30-40 minutes.

Remove the meatballs from the oven and let them sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Cool them down completely before freezing them.