Oven 'Fried' Corn Tortilla Chips

It’s late at night. You’re craving something crunchy to munch on while watching some bad TV. You don’t want to eat just any old junk food, you are health conscience and care about what you feed your body. I have been there, my friends, with nothing in the pantry that fits that bill. Usually, I have a stack of good corn tortillas in my fridge, which brings me to this post.

In my quest for healthy, yet decadent tasting snack foods, I have been experimenting with different ways of making home *fried* corn chips. The key was to have a chip that tasted like it had been put in a deep fryer, with crispy pockets of air and big flavor. After many tests, I arrived at this chip. Crispy and seasoned well, this chip is great with salsa, hummus or just eaten plain. Plus the calories are so much lower than anything you can buy in the store (that are made from natural ingredients, not chemicals). These chips are easy to make and can be baked in advance, although they are best eaten the fresh from the oven. So, the next time the chip munchies come along, try this recipe.

Start with a good corn tortilla. I like Pepitos brand because they don’t use lard and they are super low in calories. At 11 calories a chip they won’t blow your diet.

Make a stack of the tortillas and cut in half.

Now cut the stack in quarters.

Put the wedges in a good size bowl and add about 1 1/2 Tbs. of good oil. Canola is what I like to use.Peanut oil makes the crispiest chips, but the health benefits fly out the window, so I don’t recommend that oil.

Now add your spices. Here, I used a combo of onion and garlic powders, chili powders, seafood seasoning and a bit of salt.

Now toss really well. You need to make sure that all the chips have been fairly well coated to get the maximum crunch.

Lay them out on a non greased baking sheet.

Bake the chips at 425 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Make sure to watch them because they can literally become little coal chips if your oven runs hot.

Serve with your favorite dip and enjoy!

ZUCCHINI, CORN, AND BASIL FUSILLI WITH BACON

SERVES6

• ACTIVE TIME:10 MIN
• START TO FINISH:20 MIN

Summer's bounty gets even better when it's combined in a fresh-tasting pasta.

• 6 bacon slices
• 1 lb fusilli
• 3 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
• 1 1/2 lb zucchini, coarsely chopped (1/2-inch pieces)
• 1 (5- to 7-ounce) container basil pesto

• ACCOMPANIMENT:

  grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

• Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp. Drain on paper towels; discard drippings from skillet.
• Meanwhile, cook fusilli in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then add vegetables to pasta in pot and cook, partially covered, 2 minutes (water will stop boiling). Drain.
• Add pasta with vegetables to skillet along with pesto and 1/4 cup reserved cooking water and toss. Season with salt and moisten with additional cooking water if necessary.
• Top with crumbled bacon and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper

Spaghetti with Corn and Yellow Pepper

Ingredients: spaghetti, 2 onions, thyme, 250 grams minced beef, 1 yellow pepper, 50 ml white wine, 1 can diced tomatoes, 200 ml stock, 1 jar corn, salt, pepper,

Cook the spaghetti in boiling water with a little salt. Bake in hot oil 2 chopped onion and thyme to soft. Add 250 grams minced beef and fry it brown. Add 1 chopped yellow pepper and stir fry 2 minutes. Pour 50 ml white wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Add 1 can diced tomatoes, 200 ml stock and 1 jar corn. Bring it to the boil and let it all simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Bring to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with spaghetti. Enjoy!

Farfalle with Chicken, Corn and Mushrooms

Ingredients: farfalle, salt, 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, 250 grams mushrooms, 1 small pot of corn, 1 smoked chicken breast, 5 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce,

Number of persons: 3

Cook the farfalle in boiling water with a little salt al dente. Bake in hot oil 1 chopped onion with 1 finely chopped garlic clove until the onion is soft. Add 250 grams sliced mushrooms and 1 small jar (leaked) corn. Bake until the mushrooms have softened. Add 1 diced smoked chicken breast and 5 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce and heat all well. Add the farfalle, and stir with the sauce. Enjoy!

Pasta Dish with Corn and Marrowfat Peas

Ingredients: farfalle, salt, 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, thyme, 1 small tin corn, 1 small jar marrowfat peas, 1 tin diced tomatoes, 150 ml stock, mozzarella, grated cheese,

Number of persons: 3

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Boil the farfalle al dente in boiling water with salt. Bake in hot oil 1 chopped onion with 1 finely chopped garlic clove and thyme until the onion is soft. Add 1 small tin of corn, 1 small jar marrowfat peas, 1 tin diced tomatoes and 150 ml vegetable stock. Heat about 10 minutes on medium heat. Stir the farfalle through. Put all in an ovenproof dish and put pieces of mozzarella and grated cheese over it. Place the ovenproof dish about 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Enjoy!

FREAKY FRIED CORN-FLAKY CHICKEN

Who get's freaky? Who do? You do! Now freaky fry your way to shangri la!

Ain’t nothing wrong with getting a little freaky in the kitchen. I get freaky every time I walk across the linoleum. Sometimes I’ll grind against my oven, do the old in-out with my cupboards, or just stick my hand all up in my freezer just because. Sure I could act my age and treat the kitchen with reverence usually saved for a church. But to me, my kitchen is my church and I am a goddamn pagan. Getting freaky with two chicken breasts is my way of giving thanks for all the bounty and booty that comes my way. So ladies, won’t you join me in this freaky heathen worship of the sweet and the savory? This chicken is baked, so it is far less fatty. That means we can get way more chatty, before I drive you batty with desire. So don’t be bratty or catty about getting freaky. It’s natural and oh so delicioso!

Total time: approximately 70 minutes
Projected cost: $9
Drinking Buddy: Beer or a margarita

Ingredients (serves 2):
1. 1 cup of Cornflakes
2. 1 tablespoon of milk
3. 1 egg
4. ½ teaspoon of salt
5. ½ teaspoon of pepper
6. 2 chicken breasts
7. 1 green onion chopped finely
8. 1 handful of shredded Parmesan
9. 2 tablespoons of butter

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Dump the cornflakes into a bowl and punch them into submission. Mix in the Parmesan, green onions, pepper, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg and milk.

Step 2
Pat dry the chicken breasts. Dip them in the egg/milk mixture and then stick the meat in the cornflake breading mixture, making sure both sides are coated. Place in a baking pan. Melt the butter in a pan and pour it over the breaded chicken. Throw it all into the oven and bake until the chicken is crispy on the outside and cooked through on the inside (approx 1 hour).

Serve with garlic

Honey Glazed Salmon and Black Bean Corn Salad

This is a refreshing take on salmon, and comes with a built in side dish. The salad is almost the best part of the meal, and could definitely be made on its own without the salmon. Feel free to drizzle more honey on top of the cooked salmon, if necessary. :) Sometimes Rachel’s recipes are a bit too… simplified? I guess? But this is one of hers that we really do love.

Honey Glazed Salmon and Black Bean Corn Salad

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from Rachel Ray’s 365: No Repeats.

INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon (or to taste) red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 limes, juiced
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 6-oz. salmon fillets
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 10-oz. box of frozen corn kernels, defrosted
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
6 cups baby spinach

DIRECTIONS
Preheat a medium skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

While the onions are cooking, preheat a medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat with the remaining olive oil. In a shallow dish, combine the juice of 1 lime, honey, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Add the salmon fillets to the lime-honey mixture and toss to coat thoroughly. Add the seasoned salmon to the hot skillet and cook until just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

To the cooked onions, add the bell peppers an corn kernels and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Add the black beans and cook until the bans are just heated through. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the juice of the second lime, the cilantro, and the spinach. Toss to wilt the spinach and adjust seasonings to taste. Serve salmon on top of the warm black bean and corn salad.

Zucchini, Corn and Basil Fusili with Bacon

Savor the last few weeks of summer produce with a recipe that really highlights its flavors. This dish a quick summer meal with minimal cooking, yet just as satisfying as something that took hours to prepare. Fresh corn is a must in this recipe. Frozen corn can’t even compare to fresh off the cob kernels of sweet corn. Delicious.

Zucchini, Corn and Basil Fusili with Bacon

Makes 6 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS
6 bacon slices
1 pound fusilli
3 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
1 1/2 pounds zucchini, coarsely chopped (1/2-inch pieces)
1 (5- to 7-ounce) container
basil pesto

DIRECTIONS
Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp. Drain on paper towels; discard drippings from skillet.

Meanwhile, cook fusilli in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quart water) until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then add vegetables to pasta in pot and cook, partially covered, 2 minutes (water will stop boiling). Drain.

Add pasta with vegetables to skillet along with pesto and 1/4 cup reserved cooking water and toss. Season with salt and moisten with additional cooking water if necessary.

Top with crumbled bacon and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.

Corn and Edamame Salad with Miso Tofu

Salads can get old, fast. Sure you can add croutons, and various nuts and fruits and vegetables… mix up the dressing on occasion, but it’s usually still just fancy lettuce.

But not this salad.

What a fresh, wonderful change of pace. So quick, so easy, and surprisingly refreshing. Colorful, healthy, and did I mention quick?

No recipe required for the tofu, really, just a quick marinate with some miso, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and chili flakes.

No lettuce required.

Corn and Edamame Salad

Makes 2-4 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.
INGREDIENTS
2 ears fresh corn, unhusked, or 1 1/4 cups cooked corn kernels
1/2 cup shelled edamame
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup small-diced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped or grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
To grill:
Soak fresh corn in cold water about 30 minutes. Heat grill on high. Grill corn in husk, 10 to 15 minutes, turning once. Let cool. Remove husks. When cool enough to handle, cut corn from cob into a medium bowl and let cool.

To boil:
Remove husks and silk from corn. Carefully cut kernels off of cob. Boil kernels in salted water for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl.

Combine corn with remaining ingredients. Cover and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.