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Cleaning Out the Freezer: Sweet Corn Tart

March 19, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 4 Comments

We get about four eggs a day from the hens.  Which is very nice.  I love having fresh eggs.

But, four eggs a day adds up pretty quickly.

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I have to get a little creative to try to make sure these fresh eggy’s don’t go to waste.

Hardboiled eggs are a staple in the fridge.  They are great for Adam to grab on his way out the door in the morning.  He never had been much of a breakfast eater so the nutrition guru in me is glad he is finally eating something in the morning.

When I am not traveling, I work at home so I am typically able to take a little more time in the morning. I like to make an omelet or fry a couple eggs to make a little breakfast sandwich.

Thanks to my home office, I also get to eat lunch at home.  I love this because it’s another meal that I am able to be in control of what I eat in terms of portions and ingredients.  It also saves me some cash.  And, some “ZZZ’s” since I don’t have to pack a lunch in the morning. 🙂

When I started my Lent resolution of getting through the veggie’s in the freezer I knew the hardest thing for us to get through would be the sweet corn.  We froze tons of it and I try to avoid starchy vegetables. They don’t bring as much to the table in terms of nutrients and health.

The corn freezing adventures of Summer 2013!

The corn freezing adventures of Summer 2013!

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Trust me, if taste were the only factor I had to worry about, I would be saying, “Bring on the starchy veg!”

I have been a potato kinda girl my whole life.   Baked, fried, tot, mashed… whatever!

But, I also have had thunder thighs my whole life.  (Literally.)

I can’t help but think that there might be a connection…

So, I decided to focus the sweet corn towards a lunch entrée versus dinner. This way, I have more of the day to burn off the natural sugars found in starchy vegetables like corn.

This tart became a great solution.  It used my plentiful eggs and sweet corn.  I made the crust using this recipe. And just used other odds and ends from the fridge so it cost me nearly nothing.

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And, it didn’t cost me too many calories either.

Thanks to my tools and knowledge from a couple years of calorie reporting in K-12 nutrition, I would say a 1/4 slice of this tart is about 400 calories.  Not too bad for lunch when you balance it out with a glass of water and piece of fruit.  And, it gets you nearly a week’s worth of lunches!

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Sweet Corn Tart:

Ingredients

2 slices bacon, chopped

2 cups corn kernels (Frozen works well.  If using ears of corn it will take about four)

½ cup chopped green onions

1 cup 2% milk

¼ cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Pinch of both salt and pepper

2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Cooking Spray

Pizza Dough (You could use a mix too.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cook bacon in a skillet until lightly browned.  Add corn and green onions and sauté mixture for about three minutes.

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Place the bacon, corn and green onion mixture in a large bowl.  Add milk, two tablespoons of Parmesan, S&P, egg whites and egg.  Stir until the mixture is well blended.

Spray a tart or pie pan (10 inch diameter or so is best). Pat dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan to cover the surface.

Pour bacon mixture into the dough and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan Cheese. Place pie or tart pan on a large baking sheet.

DO put a baking sheet under the pie or tart pan.  You will have a mess otherwise.

DO put a baking sheet under the pie or tart pan. You will have a mess otherwise.

Bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until well set.

Let cool for ten minutes on a wire rack.  Serve right away or refrigerate for up to a week.

I just would zap a piece for about 45 seconds on days that I had the tart for lunch.

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It also could make a great entrée for a brunch!

Filed Under: Plant, Recipes Tagged With: Cleaning Out the Freezer, Corn, Healthy Eating, recipe, sweet corn

Cleaning Out the Freezer: Pesto Pizza and Homemade Chicago Style Crust

March 15, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 2 Comments

Weekends are great for pizza.

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Adam and I used to order pizza often, but last summer I canned some pizza sauce and we began making pizza more and more often. We love to make pizza at home so much that if we were to ever able to design the patio of our dreams it would include a large stone pizza oven.

Unfortunately for us, this, and the remainder of our dream patio, would probably require winning the lottery…

But, it doesn’t stop us from making pizza at home.

There are plenty of mixes for pizza crust, but it’s so easy to make from scratch. Not to mention, worlds cheaper.

Here is my go to for a fluffy, thick pizza crust similar to Chicago Style pizza. (… Still working on perfecting a great thin crust dough. Any rec’s out there?!)

Pizza Crust
¾ cups of warm water
1 tablespoon of dry yeast
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 ¼ cup of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of olive oil

In a small bowl, mix together water, yeast and sugar. Let sit for about 5 minutes or until it gets foamy.
Mix flour and salt in a large bowl or using a stand mixer with a dough hook.
Add yeast mixture and oil. Mix until dough is smooth. Should take about five minutes.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl and turn it to coat in the oil.
Cover with either saran wrap or a slightly damp towel. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, about 25 minutes.
Add dough to cookie sheet or pizza stone, pressing outward to create crust. Let rise for another 20 minutes. You may have to press it back into shape. (We like to use a cast iron skillet for the Chicago Style effect. It also ensures the crust cooks evenly really well.)
Add pizza toppings and bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Cast iron is honestly the best.

Cast iron is honestly the best.

Instead of sauce on this weekend’s pizza, I busted out some frozen pesto I had made last August when the basil plant was booming. The pesto recipe is here.

It’s so good and I love the smell of it thanks to the strong, fragrant basil. I used about a cup to cover the crust.

Other toppings included some shredded chicken from the birds that we raised last fall that was cooked a few days earlier, mushrooms, red onions, some crushed red pepper and feta cheese. Random stuff, yes. But, I was just trying to get some stuff out of the fridge.

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The pizza was perfect for a relaxing weekend night. The dough had a great texture and taste.

But, if you are not cleaning the refrigerator out like me, sliced tomato and fresh mozzarella are also excellent toppings for a pesto pizza.

Hope you are all having a fabulous weekend!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Basil, Cleaning Out the Freezer, pesto, Pizza

Meet Claire

Hi, thanks for visiting! I am Claire and I have been sharing my life and thoughts on Bloom since 2013. Welcome to 2023's project, The Farmers Market and The Library. For more about me...

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