I made Ina’s chili corn bread salad yesterday – trust me, it was wonderful so I knew I should share it with you guys. It’s quite a lot of work but during this time of year when I have fresh corn, tomatoes, peppers and onions, I always make it at least once.
Chili Corn Bread Salad
1 Jiffy Corn bread/muffin mix
1-4 oz. can chopped green chilies, undrained
1/8 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. dried oregano
Pinch of sage
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (15oz) corn drained – I used fresh corn cut off cob, cooked and chilled
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup green onions, chopped
1 lb. bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Prepare corn bread batter according to package directions. Add chilies, cumin, oregano and sage to batter. Spread in an 8″ greased pan and bake 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool.
Combine mayo, sour cream and dressing mix. Set aside. Combine beans, corn,tomatoes, green pepper, onion, bacon and cheese. Then mix in the mayo mixture.
In. 9×13 pan, crumble half of the corn bread and then add a layer of mayo mixture. Repeat with remaining corn bread and mayo mixture. Pan will be very full. Cover and chill for 2 hours.
Personal note- I divided everything in half before combining ingredients so that the entire 9×13 pan of salad wouldn’t be soggy for tonight’s meal. We ate nearly all of the first smaller pan last night and tonight I will combine the remaining ingredients so it will be fresh. I have the corn and bacon mixture in the frig separately, the mayo mixture in the frig in a container and the remaining half of the cornbread saved back. For a crowd or a potluck the full recipe would be fine.
We also froze corn yesterday – in the heat without the AC turned on. What were we thinking? Rick picks the corn, cleans the corn and cuts the corn off the cob. Then I use this recipe.
Oven Corn
16 cups of cut corn in a roaster
1 pint of half and half
1 pound butter
Combine all and bake in 350 degree oven for one hour.
Cool pan of cooked corn in sink with ice water.
Package in zip lock bags and freeze.
What’s not to like about this? We did 2 batches – can you imagine how hot the kitchen was with the oven on for hours?
I think I touched a nerve yesterday with my post about mom’s birthday. I heard from many of you and enjoyed all of your “stories” as well. I hope all of you read the comments because I love to hear from you and can’t really re-post them. I’m counting on all of you to keep this dialogue going with an opportunity to chat among yourselves, too. I really enjoy my “social life” with all of you!
Tonight I will post Gypsy Wife and tomorrow I have 2 finishes to post so stay tuned – ha! The reality show continues. I knew the cat food in the barn was getting low and sometimes I let it empty just so I can check on Mr. Gray Cat and sure enough he was waiting for me in the barn this morning when I filled the bucket.
Whew – this got to be long! Several dogs going home today.
Your and Ina’s recipe sounds GREAT. Yes, it does sound hot to make the corn, but boy does it sound delicious. We have too many deer to have a garden anymore–sad. I miss my blueberries, raspberries, corn, broccoli, peppers, and tomatoes!! I’m taking Aunt Betty’s Salad to a pot luck today and my birthday cookie:) Everyone have a FUN Labor Day:) It’s going to be HOT here in Central OH–91 degrees–whew.
We hit 100 yesterday here in south central Kansas, and I can imagine your kitchen was hot. Summer is when canning goes on around here and it’s a hot, sweaty mess, but in the middle of winter, all that labor pays off! I can’t wait to try Ina’s recipe.
Hot in Buffalo NY too. High humidity makes it all the worse. We have a grey stray in the yard daily, we like him because he takes care of the mice, moles, and voles. Good job, Greyson (of course we named him, he’s almost family! Except our house kitty does not tolerate visitors of the feline variety!)
The photo of your mom was a lovely shot, you can see her good heart in her eyes. My mom is 85, and is losing her drive, or maybe her will. I’m not sure how much time we have left together but I know every day is important. Thank you for the reminder.
In Iowa we always had a garden and I always had to help get the stuff ready for the jars and there was no A/C. It was not pretty. We froze a lot of chickens, too, and no matter how hard we tried we’d end up with 1-legged or 3 winged birds.
My husband grew up on the creek north of New Underwood, SD, with 2 other families. They all raised a huge community garden with irrigation from the creek and all the kids helped. When canning time came the 3 families all worked together. They liked my husband’s home because his mom had 2 stoves – one in the kitchen and one on the porch. On Labor Day they had a watermelon feed. Everybody came from miles and miles away for that. It was a big event. The kids had their favorite swimming hole in the creek, their ponies and carts and grew up being extremely happy. And one of the kids grew up to become governor of South Dakota!
Oh, what a vision, Betty, of that community Labor Day celebration! Love it!
How many ears of corn would that take approximately to do 32 cups?
Would depend on the size of the ear – maybe a couple dozen large ears?
Mary,
Thanks for the salad recipe…..I forwarded it to the “chef”. Hope he gets it made so we can enjoy it on one of the hot days we have coming this week!! Reading about Betty’s chickens reminded me of the
one year my dad decided to raise some chicks until they were full grown and prime for freezing. He became quite attached to the fast growing flock, but truthfully most of the frozen birds were sent home with his friends who’d drop over for an evening of cards or neighbors who had a taste for home raised chicken.
I’ve always had a thing for chickens. Mom would take me to the brooder house when she tended the baby chicks. One time I stepped on one, but it lived and grew up to be a rooster that would always chase me. I’d yell for the dog and take off running. Don’t remember that the rooster caught me….
Then we moved to town and I missed the chickens. Every Easter I’d get 2 baby chicks and keep them in the bathtub during the day and out by the stove in the living room at night . I’d put papers down, feed them, clean up after them, etc. My chickens always lived. They would go outside in a pen when the weather was warm and they got bigger. We’d bring them in at night putting them in a box with a rack from the oven held down by a sad iron on top and I’d wake up giggling when they were learning to crow. Later we’d eat them but we never told Dad.
Oh, about the bathtub. I forgot to mention that we only took a bath on Saturday. So the chickens didn’t bother that schedule.