Corn And Green Chili Spoon Bread (side dish) Paired with Salsa Chicken (optional)

I scour the internet in my spare time (which I have A LOT of since I am currently unemployed) looking for healthy recipes. I have a folder full of them. I will not post a recipe on this blog that I have not made myself and approved. The Corn and Green Chili Spoon Bread was good...but it wasn't great. I think the reason I didn't LOVE this recipe is because I was expecting the caserole to be a different texture. I was expecting it to be thicker and drier...like bread, but it was moist and had the consistency of quiche. Maybe I didn't cook it right...who knows. This is a side dish. Since this was the recipe for dinner I needed to pair it with a main dish that was I already knew how to make and was quick. I chose to bread a chicken breast, bake it, and top it with salsa. For the breading I used regular bread crumbs and put in some taco seasoning (the spoon bread has a Mexican vibe to it, so I wanted the chicken to go enhance it). After the chicken was done baking I just put salsa on it and called it "Salsa Chicken". Tips on baking breaded chicken: Pour the bread crumbs in a big Ziploc bag and coat the chicken that way. Pour breadcrumbs ALL OVER bottom of baking sheet..that way both sides will be crispy. IMPORTANT: For this recipe you have to use 2 pans...one pan that has the ingredients of the spoon bread and another  larger pan that you fill with warm water...the pan with the ingredients goes inside the larger pan when you bake it. This little step at the bottom almost ruined my recipe as I have limited baking pans. 

Corn and Green Chili Spoon Bread

Plated Spoon Bread served with Breaded Salsa Chicken

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (I used frozen)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (I used a combo of red, green, and yellow peppers that were already sliced and diced...I highly recommend that)
• 1/2 cup diced green chilies
• 1 - 2 jalapeño chilies, stemmed, seeded, and diced (I used jalapenos we had in a jar and just cut them up until it filled 1/4 cup_
• Egg substitute equivalent to 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt (to taste)
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 1 - 2 tbsp Parmesan/Romano cheese, grated

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. If using fresh corn, cut the corn kernels from the cobs and set aside. If using frozen, microwave before using.
3. Bring the chicken broth and milk to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce the heat to low. Slowly add the cornmeal, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the corn and set aside.
4. Spray a medium skillet with a nonstick vegetable coating spray and place over medium heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and both chilies, and cook until softened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion mixture and egg substitute to the cornmeal mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with sugar until stiff (I didn't know what "stiff" meant...just beat the egg whites/sugar until whites thicken). Fold some of the whites into the cornmeal to lighten the mixture.
6. Spray a 2-quart oblong pan with a nonstick spray and pour the batter into the pan (I did not have an oblong pay...I used an 8 x8 baking dish). Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Place the pan in a larger pan, partially filled with warm water. Bake for 1 hour.
7. You may turn the oven down to the lowest setting, leave the door ajar, and "hold" the spoon bread up to 30 minutes. Allow the oven to cool down by leaving the door wide open for 5 minutes.

Note: If you want to serve the baked salsa chicken with the spoon bread go ahead and prepare it once the dish is in the oven. I guess I baked the chicken for 20 minutes or so...when there is 20 minutes left for the spoon bread...pop in the chicken and they will be ready at the same time :-)