Simple Mexican Corn & Zucchini Soup with Corn Bread & Sausage Stuffed Jalapenos

Last week was a blur. A whirlwind of work and time in the city for school clothes shopping meant we ate out more than either my husband or I prefer. In fact, despite having a few lovely meals I was starting to feel rather, blah.

And by "blah" I mean heavy and done. Done with all the restaurant fare.

This week I have been back in the kitchen to catch up with some upcoming posts and events. I have also tried to go from scratch and keep our meals simple. Tonight was a product of both seasonal offerings and simplicity. Corn also happens to be the challenge bloggers' food of the week. I have no shortage of corn here on the farm.

I have ears coming out of the my ears!

But what I don't do is cook with corn very often. No, we are guilty of usually just a simple steam and then eating it plain. Freshly picked corn really doesn't need much else. But in the spirit of the challenge I decided to try transforming our usual ear of corn into two dishes; a Mexican Corn & Zucchini Soup as well as a Corn Bread and Italian Sausage Stuffed Jalapeno.

My husband is very proud of his mild jalapenos. They pack all the glorious flavor of the usual pepper without all the heat. My husband usually doesn't like it when I cook or bake with jalapenos but this has given me more creative possibilities. Of course, these recipes would also be lovely if you like the heat from jalapenos.

First up is the delicious, but simple soup recipe.

Mexican Corn and Zucchini Soup

You Will Need:

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 2 c. chicken stock
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced and quartered
• 3 ears of corn, kernels cut off
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced
• 1 c. milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• Monterey Jack Cheese, grated to garnish the top

In a large saucepan with butter and oil, sweat the onion down with a pinch of salt. When translucent, stir in the stock, zucchini, corn and diced jalapeno. Simmer till the zucchini is tender.

Then stir in the milk and warm through. Add salt and pepper taste. Serve topped with shredded Monterey Jack Cheese.

Enjoy!

I served my soup with these lovely little sweet corn bread and sausage stuffed jalapenos.

Sweet Corn Bread and Sausage Stuffed Jalapenos

You Will Need:

• 20 jalapenos
• 1/4 c. Italian sausage
• 1 bag Marie Calendar's Corn Bread Mix
• 1 egg
• 1 ear of corn, blanched and cut off the cob
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 c. sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Brown the sausage and set aside. Slice each jalapeno and remove the seeds and membrane. Place on a baking sheet and set aside.

Mix the  corn bread mix with egg, corn, butter and sugar. Place a teaspoon of sausage in the middle of each  jalapeno half. Top with corn bread batter and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the corn bread starts to turn golden brown on top.

Enjoy.

Weekly challenge to push the creativity of food bloggers. Create an original recipe each week to accomodate the weeks ingredient. If you are a blogger that is interested in linking up your themed recipe, please join the Facebook group to learn how.