Mexican Soup

Tony made this Mexican soup, which he adapted from Taste of Home: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/super-fast-mexican-soup/

See notes below for his changes. This was an excellent soup.
 
Prep/Total time: 25 minutes
Serves 4
 
Ingredients
 
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium taco seasoning
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup salsa [red]
1 carton (32 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
 
Directions
 
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir in taco seasoning.
 
Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Skim fat before serving.
 
Notes:
 
Used 1.5 lbs chicken thighs, lightly salted.
 
Used 1 t chili powder, 1 t Tajin, and 1 t paprika in lieu of the taco seasoning. This was so flavorful!
 
Added minced garlic and some diced celery.
 
Added 1/2 c green salsa and  1 4-oz can diced green chili’s.
 
Added some fresh chopped parsley; and a handful of fresh spinach.
 
Added a couple of small potatoes (about 3/4 lb), diced, microwave until half cooked; then added to the pot.
 
To serve: We added some tortilla chips, crushed, and a dollop of sour cream.
 
Next time:  Will use cilantro instead of parsley. Will add beans and will double the amount of potatoes.
 
Other optional toppings: diced avocado, a fresh squeeze of lime juice, or shredded cheese.

Mexican Street Corn Salad

I made this for a Mexican-themed dinner party at a friends house (November 2023)

Adapted from this recipe in [  ]: 

https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/mexican-street-corn-salad-esquites/

Ingredients
 
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups fresh corn or thawed frozen corn
1/2 cup mayonnaise  [I started with less mayo and added some yogurt]
1/3 cup crumbled Cotija cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon lime juice  [This is about  one half of a medium lime]
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
 
[I added about a tablespoon of minced red onion]
 
Directions
 
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the corn [and garlic – I didn’t want to toss in raw garlic at the end]. Cook and stir for 8 to 10 minutes, until the corn is slightly charred.
 
Transfer the charred corn to a large bowl. Stir in the mayonnaise, cheese, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno, lime juice, garlic cloves, chili powder, salt and pepper [and minced red onion].
 
If desired, top the corn salad with any remaining cilantro and crumbled Cotija cheese. Esquites is usually served warm, not piping hot, so let the dish cool slightly before serving.

My Notes:

This came out very good. you definitely want to serve it right away. 

Corn Casserole

This is a very easy recipe to make and a great dish to serve at Thanksgiving.

Serves 8 to 10

2 eggs, beaten
1 (15 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies, drained
1 (8.5 ounce) package dry corn muffin mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, cream style corn, sour cream and melted butter. Stir in whole kernel corn, cheese, onion and chilies. Stir in the corn muffin mix until just moistened.

Bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven for 75 minutes; or until an inserted knife comes out clean and the top is golden. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Note: I sometimes prepare with 2 cans of cream style corn with 1 can of whole kernel corn (drained) for a thicker texture.

Black Bean and Corn Salad

Monica Pileggi, January 2005
I found many bean and corn salad recipes. This is my version as I wanted something very low fat. I also calculated weight watchers points.
2 15.5oz canned black beans, drained and rinsed
2 15.25oz canned corn, drained
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped green chilies
1 T. olive oilJuice of two limes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

Combine all ingredients and chill overnight.

Make 8 1-cup servings (2 WW points) or 16 1/2 cup servings (1 WW points).