The giveaway in this post is now closed, but keep reading for the succotash recipe!

This post is sponsored by Libby’s. All opinions are 100% my own, this recipe is delicious and there’s a sweet giveaway, so lots of goodness to be had!

I grew up on frozen corn. In fact, I don’t remember ever seeing canned corn in the house. I didn’t actually try canned corn until I was married, believe it or not, and I actually love it! Unlike frozen corn, I like how canned corn retains more of a crunch and has a nice sweet flavor. It’s one of my pantry staples for several recipes in my repertoire.

I have a new use for canned corn that I am especially loving: succotash! I was thinking about potential appetizers for Thanksgiving because I stink at Thanksgiving appetizers. I get so caught up in prepping the main meal that I forget to serve food earlier in the day. This recipe for corn succotash flatbreads is a perfect pre-Thanksgiving snack and I promise it’s easy to prepare.

I gave this particular succotash recipe a bit of a southwestern twist, replacing lima beans with black beans, adding tomatoes and bell peppers, as well as adding a bit of cumin and fresh cilantro. The corn is perfect for Thanksgiving but the cumin and cilantro offer a different flavor than any of the classic Thanksgiving foods you’ll be scarfing down later in the day. Just make sure you don’t fill up on succotash flatbreads – save room for turkey!

In addition to today’s recipe, Libby’s is offering up a great giveaway! One lucky, randomly-selected commenter will win a KitchenAid® 6-Quart Slow Cooker With Glass Lid plus an assortment of Libby’s products. I used Libby’s corn and black beans in today’s recipe and LOVE that they have organic canned goods! To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post! Prize must be shipped to a U.S. address and comments need to be posted by Midnight PT on 11/26/14.

One last thing, Libby’s is hosting its Cansgiving sweepstakes through November 19. Participants must post a photo of what they are thankful for on Twitter, Instagram or Libby’s Table Facebook page using the hashtag #Cansgiving for the chance to win a $350 grocery gift card toward their Thanksgiving meals. You can view the full rules at www.getbacktothetable.com/cansgiving.

Get commenting to enter the giveaway and here is the recipe!

Southwestern Corn Succotash Flatbreads

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

An easy and delicious appetizer with a southwestern twist!

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 3 cups

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup chopped red onion (about ¼ of an onion)
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ of a red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 1 can corn
• ½ can black beans
• 1 cup quartered grape tomatoes
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• Fresh shredded parmesan cheese (optional)
• Chopped avocado (optional)
• Flatbread crackers

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and bell pepper and cook for about 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic, which has been pushed through a garlic press, stir, then add corn and black beans and heat for a few minutes.
3. Turn the heat up to medium-high, stir and cook for 1 minute to reduce some of the liquid.
4. Reduce heat to medium again then add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and cumin. Stir and heat for about 2 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
6. Serve succotash on flatbread crackers, topping with fresh parmesan cheese or avocado if desired.
7. You can serve right away or store in fridge and serve cold.

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A few weeks ago my parents were staying at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach (the same hotel we stayed at a few years ago and LOVED). My mom was a head honcho for a work meeting they were holding at the hotel, so the Hyatt delivered a cheese and charcuterie tray to the room as a gift. Lucky for my mom we were all there to help her eat it! (Don’t worry, we left her a few bites.)

On the tray was a jar of sweet tomato jam. Between the six of us, the jar was empty by the end of our snacking and, ever since that day, I’ve been thinking about that tomato jam. Then my friend Gaby mentioned on social media that she was going to do a bruschetta bar for a party, which I then decided to do for my lip sync battle party last Friday night, giving me the perfect excuse to finally try a sweet tomato jam recipe myself.

Not to brag, but the tomato jam I made was just as good as what we had at the Hyatt. And thank goodness since I pretty much constantly crave it now.

The recipe is really simple but oh-so-scrumptious. The only labor-intensive part of the process is prepping the tomatoes, which isn’t hard, just a little time consuming. But it is WORTH IT. And, for those of you into canning, tomato jam can be canned, although you may want to follow the original recipe on Epicurious that has twice as much sugar and, therefore is more conducive to preserving. (Thanks to commenter Alice and my friend Aimee for input on this!)

So, what is tomato jam good for anyway? Everything! It’s a great topping for bread and pairs beautifully with all kinds of cheeses. It’s also a great condiment for just about anything – sandwiches, burgers, whatever your heart desires! It’s sweet but with a savory flavor to it. It’s basically pure deliciousness.

I found the recipe on Epicurious but cut waaaaaaaay back on the sugar. My jam was still super sweet so I can’t even imagine what their recipe would taste like! 😉

Tomato Jam

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Adapted from Epicurious

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Appetizer

Serves: 2 cups

Ingredients

• 4 pounds plum or heirloom tomatoes (I used a variety of heirlooms, all different colors!)
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon paprika (smoked paprika if you have it)

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Make an ice bath in a separate bowl and set to the side. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water in batches, boiling for about 1 minute. Remove tomatoes from the boiling water and place directly in the ice bath. Remove the skins by hand right in the ice water, leaving the skins in the water. I would empty the ice water bowl between batches. By removing the skins in the ice water bowl you cut down on some serious messiness in the kitchen!
2. Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise, seed them, then chop into pieces.
3. Place chopped tomatoes in a large pot. Mix with sugar and stir well. And let stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Bring tomatoes and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat and let cook for 15 minutes.
5. Add salt, pepper and parika and cook until thickened, about 10-15 more minutes.

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I wish you all could have known Gram Maynard. She was one of those truly good people that you only come across a few times in your life and I am grateful every day that I had the chance to know her. Gram didn’t cook very much, but, despite that fact, some of my favorite recipes and kitchen tips came from her. Today I’m going to share one of those recipes because we had it on New Year’s Eve and, along with inspiring fond memories, it is simple and delicious and needs to be shared!

This is one of those recipes that almost isn’t a recipe because it is THAT EASY. These meatballs are perfect for parties and for watching football games. Or, in Gram’s case, Red Sox games!

Gram's Super Easy Sweet and Sour Meatballs

 

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From Barbara “Gram” Maynard

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Beef

Ingredients

• 1 package frozen cooked meatballs (between 20-30 ounces)
• 1 12-ounce jar Heinz chili sauce
• 12 ounces grape jelly (yeah, I know, it maybe sounds weird, but it tastes amazing!)
• Cayenne pepper (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large sauce pan, mix together the chili sauce and grape jelly. Place over medium-high heat and add meatballs. Bring to an almost boil (will be spluttering, so you will need to stir regularly), then reduce heat to a simmer (medium or medium-low) and cook until meatballs are hot.
2. Gram never did this, but if you’d like a bit more heat to the meatballs, sprinkle a bit of cayenne pepper in at the end to taste.
3. See Comment #3 below for crockpot directions!

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When I was in college, I had a co-worker who ate Burger King jalapeño poppers for lunch almost every day. I thought she was bananas. I mean, they were good, in a fast-foody kind of way. But every day? For her entire lunch? She was obsessed! Ever since, whenever I see or eat jalapeño poppers, I think of popper-crazy Lily and it makes me happy.

What I have to share with you today is waaaaaaaaayyyyyy better than the Burger King jalapeño poppers. And, in addition to being incredibly delicious, these poppers are beyond easy to make. The “recipe” comes from my mother-in-law Pat, the source of so many of my favorite easy and delicious recipes.

I made these poppers with Pat over the summer when the family was all together on Cape Cod. I didn’t get a chance to photograph them very much because there were about 8 people standing around the pan while I shot a few photos. They were like vultures! Okay, so I was one of the vultures who couldn’t wait to get the camera out of the way and dig in!

If you have latex gloves lying around, wear them when you make these. Pat and I never do, much to our detriment. I rubbed my eyes TWICE within 24 hours of making the poppers and just about blew my eyeball out of the socket. If you don’t wear gloves, just be smarter than me and keep your hands aways from your eyes for about 1 day.

Easy Homemade Jalapeño Poppers

 

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Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• About 20 jalapeño peppers
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• Fresh, shredded parmesan cheese (if you don’t have any, don’t worry about it!)
• A handful or so of chopped chives or green onions (again, if you don’t have this, don’t worry about it)
• About 20 strips uncooked bacon, cut in half
• Vegetarian version: bread crumbs, plain or mixed with a bit of parmesan cheese plus a dash of salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 – 400 degrees F.
2. Cut jalapeño peppers in half the long way. Clean out the seeds and membrane (if you have latex gloves, this is the time to wear them!).
3. If you are adding parmesan cheese and chives/green onions, mix them with the softened cream cheese. Fill each cut jalapeño pepper with cream cheese, filling them to the top but not overfilling too much so that the cheese doesn’t melt all over the pan. Wrap each stuffed pepper with a piece of uncooked bacon. Place on a large cookie sheet. You don’t need to space them apart too much, so go ahead and pack them in.
4. If you want to make the vegetarian version, stuff the pepper with the cheese then roll the stuffed pepper in the breadcrumbs, sprinkling a bit of extra breadcrumbs on top and pressing into the cheese gently.
5. Bake until bacon is cooked. The longer you cook the poppers, the less hot the peppers will be, so if you want them less spicy, cook on the lower end of the temperature range for a longer time. Total cook time will probably be about 20 – 30 minutes.
6. This recipe is easy going and can be modified to your tastes – feel free to experiment!

3.2.2646

It’s Friday, which means in a matter of hours, cool people (not me!) will be hosting parties and, well, being cool. Here’s a great, fast appetizer that is a big hit and could make you even cooler. (My friend Karen introduced me to these ages ago…thanks Karen!)

BOBs (Brie On Bread)

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

3 mins

Total time

8 mins

 

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• BOBs (aka Brie On Bread)
• Baguette, sliced
• Brie, sliced
• Garlic Salt
• Fresh cracked pepper

Instructions

1. Place sliced brie on bread pieces. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Broil on baking sheet until cheese just bubbles and things start browning (don't cook too long or brie will be unrecognizable).
2. Jane's gourmet twist (if you want to make things harder on yourself): Brush baguette slices with a bit of fresh garlic-infused olive oil instead of using garlic salt. Then sprinkle with pepper AND regular salt.

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