Tag Archives: Celery

Shoepeg Corn Salad with Honey Dressing

I was looking through some old recipes I’d clipped from magazines awhile ago and came across one for Shoepeg Salad. It sounded like a great side dish for summer. I found some other variations on this salad at different recipe sites and ended up making my own version. This is a sweet, crisp salad; some sites describe it as a “relish.” It’s great for potlucks, picnics, or any summer meal. And it’s so easy to make! All the recipes for this that I came across used granulated sugar as the sweetener, but I decided to use honey instead.

Shoepeg corn is one of the main ingredients in this salad, but it can be a little hard to find at the grocery store! I had to do some searching, but finally found it on the top shelf in the canned veggie section. Before I made this salad, I didn’t know exactly what shoepeg corn was. After looking on the web, I learned that, back before the Civil War, this certain type of corn was called “Shoepeg Corn” because of its peg-like shape. Shoepeg corn kernels are also smaller and sweeter than yellow corn.

If you’re having trouble finding shoepeg corn, just substitute white or yellow corn in this salad recipe–it will still taste great!

SHOEPEG CORN SALAD with HONEY DRESSING by NancyC

Makes about 8 servings

3 (11-ounce) cans white shoepeg corn (or substitute 2 [15-ounce] cans of white or yellow sweet corn), drained

1 (15-ounce) can sweet green peas, drained

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

4 green onions, finely chopped (chop both the white onion part and the stems)

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 (4-ounce) jar chopped pimiento, drained

For the Honey Dressing:

1/2 cup honey (or substitute granulated sugar)

1/2 cup light olive oil

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

In large bowl, add first six ingredients (corn, peas, bell pepper, green onions, celery, pimientos); set aside.

In clean glass jar with lid, combine all the ingredients for the dressing and, with lid tightly on, shake mixture until all ingredients are blendeds together well. Pour dressing over vegetable mixture in large bowl and mix well, until all vegetables are coated with dressing.

Cover and chill in refrigerator overnight. Serve cold.

I’m glad I discovered Shoepeg Corn Salad–cool, crispy salads like this are perfect for summer! Have you made Shoepeg Salad before?

Linked to Fiesta Friday and Inspire Me Monday.

Easy Pantry Minestrone from Weight Watchers What To Cook Now-and a Giveaway!

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Like so many people I know, I’m trying to eat a little healthier during this new year. So when I heard about the new cookbook, Weight Watchers What To Cook Now, I was definitely interested in reviewing it! Not only did I receive a review copy, the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, is also providing a giveaway copy! I’ll tell you a little about the book and share a recipe from it with you, and then be sure to enter the giveaway by leaving a comment–see the end of this post for details on how to win!

This cookbook has more than 300 new recipes and lots of color photos. There’s a wonderful variety of great-sounding recipes to choose from–meals and desserts that your whole family can enjoy. And they look easy to prepare, too. All recipes include nutritional information and the Weight Watcher PointsPlus® values so those of you in Weight Watchers can easily keep track of your points. Even if you’re not in Weight Watches, though, I’m sure these recipes would appeal to any of you who are wanting to eat lighter and healthier.

The book starts out with tips and helpful information on good nutrition, the well-stocked pantry, must-have kitchen tools, food safety, and choosing and preparing fresh fruits and veggies. Then you’ll find recipes organized in the following chapters: Breakfasts and Brunches; Lunches; Appetizers and Snacks; Main Dishes–Beef, Pork, and Lamb; Main Dishes–Poultry; Main Dishes–Seafood; Main Dishes-Vegetarian; 20-Minute Main Dishes; Side Dishes; and Sweets. So there’s lots to choose from! Here are some recipes I’d like to try…

Coconut-Almond French Toast with Tropical Fruit
Asian Burgers with Honey-Lime Slaw
Spinach and Endive Salad with Walnut Vinaigrette
Italian Beef and Mushroom Meat Loaf
Brown Sugar-Dijon Glazed Ham with Sweet Potatoes
Maple-Glazed Grilled Chicken
Pan-seared Tuna with Citrus-Avocado Salsa
Warm Mozzarella and Tomato Flatbreads
Gingery Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry
Garlicky Spinach and Fontina Pizza
Chocolate Brownie Ice-Cream Sandwiches

For this post, I decided to try the Easy Pantry Minestrone from the Vegetarian section, since I had been wanting to make minestrone this winter. It’s a good, healthy soup with lots of veggies (carrots, onion, celery, zucchini), red beans, and chickpeas. Dried basil also flavors the soup, and you serve it with a teaspoon-size dollop of pre-made refrigerated pesto which also adds nicely to the flavor!

EASY PANTRY MINESTRONE from Weight Watchers What To Cook Now

Makes 6 servings

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced

1 celery stalk, sliced

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

7 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth

1 (15.5-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 cup whole wheat macaroni or other small pasta (uncooked)

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

1 small zucchini, chopped

2 Tablespoons refrigerated basil pesto

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery, and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 seconds.

Add broth, kidney beans, chickpeas, macaroni, and basil and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and zucchini and simmer until pasta and vegetables are very tender, 10 minutes longer. Ladle into bowls and top each with 1 teaspoon pesto.

PER SERVING (1 bowl): 307 Cal, 6 g Total Fat, Og Trans Fat, 1 mg Chol, 876 mg Sod, 53 g Carb, 10 g Fib, 14 g Prot, 120 mg Calc.

PointsPlus value: 8

I really like the dollop of pesto–it gives the soup an extra little zing of flavor when you stir it in!

THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! Congratulations to commentor #8, Aline, for winning the book!

Now for the Giveaway…if you’d like to enter to win a copy of Weight Watchers What To Cook Now, leave a comment on this blog post between now and Wednesday, January 22, at 10 p.m. (CST)–the random drawing will be made from the comments on this post only! The winner will be chosen randomly via Random.org and announced on Thursday evening, January 23. Winner will be notified via email (if winner does not respond in 3 days, I’ll do another drawing). Giveaway limited to readers in the Continental U.S. and Canada.

First entry: Leave a comment on this post–it would be great to hear what your favorite healthy dish is!

Bonus entry: If you are a new or existing follower or subscriber, you can leave one extra comment telling me the way (or ways) you are following.

Note: If your comment doesn’t show up right away, it just means I need to click on it to approve it before it’s visible–I do this because of spam comments that sometimes come through!

Juicing Recipes from The Everything Juicing Book

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I haven’t done a lot of juicing, but when I received a copy of The Everything Juicing Book to review, it made me want to juice more! Not only does this book include a wide variety of simple and unique juice recipes, it also has information on just about anything you would want to know about juicing!

So why juice? Co-author Carole Jacobs explains in the beginning of the book, “Juicing is an easy, convenient, delicious, and nutritious way to consume a high level of essential vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting antioxidants and phytochemicals, delivering nutrients to the body in a form that is immediately absorbed and assimilated. Cooking and processing destroys natural nutrients in foods, but juicing helps preserve these nutrients.”

The book goes into detail about the many benefits of juicing, from juicing for weight loss and longevity to juicing for stronger bones, more energy and stamina, and cancer prevention. And the recipes are organized by chapter according to the health benefit they provide…for example, you’ll find juicing recipes that are especially good for reducing food cravings, bloating, and lowering cholesterol in the Juicing for Weight Loss chapter. It really is quite an informative, handy guide to the world of juicing!

Here are a few recipes if you want to try them out! I tried the Orange Carrot, which is a good juice for fasting (although I was not on a fast–I just like the orange-carrot combination 🙂 ).

I pulled recipes from several different chapters so you can get an idea of the various health benefits these different juices have. There are lots of delicious-sounding fruit and veggie juice combinations that I never would have thought of myself! And it’s great to know what the specific health benefit for each particular juice is, too!

ORANGE CARROT (good for juice fasting)