Butterfly Garden Café Cornbread Pudding

This cornbread keeps well in the refrigerator; just warm in the microwave or reheat in the oven at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes.

1 large onion, chopped
2 T butter
2 T milk
2 large eggs
2-8 ½ oz. boxes corn muffin mix, such as Jiffy
2-14 ¾ oz. cans cream-style corn
4 oz can diced green chilies, drained
chopped pimentos to taste
1 C sour cream
1 ½ C shredded sharp cheddar cheese, optional

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking pan.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until opaque. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together milk, eggs, cornbread mix, creamed corn, chilies and pimentos. Pour the cornbread mixture into the greased pan.
4. Spoon the sautéed onions and sour cream onto th cornbread mixture and swirl throughout, as if you were making a marble cake. Top with cheese, if desired.
5. Bake 35-40 minutes. Let the cornbread cool for 10 minutes or more before cutting.

Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

Caramelized Green Beans

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds green beans, stem ends removed
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat butter and oil over medium-low. Add green beans; partially cover, and cook, tossing occasionally, until green beans are tender and browned in spots, 30 minutes. Add pine nuts; cook until nuts are toasted, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Helpful Hint

It can take a lot of time to cut off the stem ends of green beans one by one. Instead, gather a small bunch, and remove several ends at once.

Sweet Basil Carrots

12 medium carrots, peeled
3 T butter
2 T pure maple syrup
1-2 t fresh basil
½ t salt

Steam carrots for 10 minutes, until tender but not mushy. In a saucepan melt butter, then add syrup, carrots, basil and salt. Stir well to coat the carrots and serve warm.

Mexican Corn on the Cob

Allison’s Mexican Corn on the Cob

Boil corn for 8 minutes with lime (cut in ½).
Broil for 6-8 min, baste with melted butter every 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown.
Squeeze lime over corn.
Baste with sour cream/milk mixture. About 3 T sour cream to a squirt of milk.
Sprinkle with chili powder (1 t) and salt (1 ½ t).
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese or Mexican cheese.

Makes about 6 ears of corn.

Roasted Carrots with Agave-Balsamic Glaze

Haven't tried it, but it looks fantastic.

I used to buy "baby" carrots, but in recent years I've come to prefer whole carrots, especially if they're sweet organic carrots. I cut the smaller ends of the carrots on the diagonal, and halved the larger ends vertically before cutting them on the diagonal. You want pieces that are the same thickness.

While the oven preheats, brush the carrots with the agave-balsamic mixture. I sprayed the pan with olive oil to keep the glaze from sticking.

After 20 minutes I turned the carrots and brushed on a bit more of the agave-balsamic mixture. I turned them again after ten minutes, then cooked ten minutes more for a total cooking time of almost 40 minutes. Watch them carefully the last 10 minutes.

Roasted Carrots with Agave-Balsamic Glaze
(Makes 4 servings, recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from Susan's honeyed carrots)

1 lb. carrots peeled and cut into diagonal pieces the same thickness (One pound is about 8 medium carrots. You can also use "baby" carrots, but I think whole carrots have more flavor.)
1 1/2 T balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 T Agave Nectar
olive oil for spraying roasting pan (or use non-stick spray)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425F/220C. Peel carrots and cut off ends. If carrots are thin, cut into same-size diagonal slices. If carrots have a thicker end, cut off thick part and cut it vertically, then cut into diagonal slices. Carrot slices should be close to the same thickness.

Mix balsamic vinegar and agave nectar with a small whisk. Spray flat roasting pan with olive oil or non-stick spray, then arrange carrots in a single layer. Use a pastry brush to brush about 2/3 the agave-balsamic mixture on the carrots.

Roast carrots about 20 minutes, then use a metal turner to turn them and brush with remaining agave-balsamic mixture. Roast ten minutes more, then turn again and check for doneness. Continue to roast until carrots are fork-tender and lightly browned, not quite ten minutes more for me in my toaster oven. Watch them carefully during the final roasting time because they can go from nicely browned to overly done fairly quickly. Grind over desired amount of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve hot.