Nothing tastes better on a warm summer evening than fresh sweet corn. As delicious as it is straight off the cob, you’ll find that there are many other ways to use it in a wide array of recipes your kids will love.
Our Patient and Family Nutrition Services team helped us find a few recipes that have their seal of approval: summer corn fritters, grilled chicken and corn quesadillas, and fresh corn soup with basil.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup shredded carrot
- 1/2 cup all-purpose baking mix
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup cooked corn, cut from the cob
- 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Microwave shredded carrot 30 seconds to soften, then set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine baking mix, cornmeal, and sugar. Stir in milk and egg, and mix well. Stir in corn, zucchini, and shredded carrot.
- In a skillet, heat a small amount of oil. Gently spoon dollops of fritter mixture into oil and fry, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes.
- Drain on paper towels, serve warm.
Grilled chicken and corn quesadilla
(Modified from this recipe on Weelicious.com)
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast, boneless & skinless
- 2 ears fresh corn
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups jack cheese, grated
- 6 whole grain tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat grill.
- Season chicken breasts with 1 tsp of salt, brush grill with oil and grill corn and chicken breasts for a total of 8 minutes until juicy and cooked through.
- Allow chicken and corn to cool, then remove the kernels from the corn and dice the chicken into small cubes.
- Place the chicken and corn into a bowl along with the remaining ingredients and toss to combine.
- Lower the heat on your grill and place a 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture onto one side of the tortilla and fold over.
- Grill the stuffed tortilla for 2 minutes on each side, being careful not to burn the tortilla.
- Continue to make the remaining quesadillas.
- Slice into triangles and serve.
Try serving these yummy quesadillas alongside this delicious corn salsa.
(Modified from this recipe from Chop Chop Magazine)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
- 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped or put through a garlic press
- 6 large ears of corn, shucked and kernels scraped or cut off
- 5 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves, plus extra for garnish
Instructions
- Put the pot on the stove and turn the heat to medium. When it is hot, add the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender and lightly colored, 10 –15 minutes.
- Add the corn and stock and cook, partially covered, for 25 minutes. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes.
- Using the ladle, scoop out 2 cups of the corn and put it in the blender. Add the basil.
- Put the blender top on tightly. Turn the blender to a medium setting and blend until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Add the blended soup back to the soup pot and stir well. Taste the soup and add salt if you think it needs it.
- Put the soup in a container, cover and refrigerate up to 3 days or if you want to serve it hot, reheat it and fancy it up with some basil and eat it right away.
Variations:
Substitute fresh cilantro for the basil and add 1 chopped red bell pepper when you add the corn.
Let us know: what are your favorite sweet corn recipes? Use the “Leave a reply” tool at the bottom of this post to share with our other readers!
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University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital is consistently ranked one of the best hospitals in the country. It was nationally ranked in all ten pediatric specialties in U.S. News Media Group’s “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals,” and among the 10 best children’s hospitals in the nation by Parents Magazine. In December 2011, the hospital opened our new 12-story, state-of-the-art facility offering cutting-edge specialty services for newborns, children and women.
