Grilled Balsamic Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese

It was HOT here a couple of weeks ago, and I felt that was a good excuse not to go to the grocery store for awhile. So this salad is what I threw together with some chicken I had in the freezer, the cheese I had on hand (I always have cheese on hand) and the veggies I picked up at the farmer's market outside of my building. Some heirloom cherry tomatoes and sweet jersey corn were the highlights at the farmers market. I was excited because I recently learned that you don't even have to cook the corn, you can just cut it off the cob and throw it in the salad raw. I made a balsamic dijon for the salad dressing and the end result was a refreshing dinner on a hot summer night.  Before I share the recipe, I'd like to tell you that I can never spell balsamic right on my first try. Keep reading for the recipe.

Chipotle Creamed Corn

Remember that Trader Joe's Trip-Tip Asada I told you I bought  in my last post?  Well you can see below how juicy and delicious it was. It's so easy since you just pop it in the oven and let it roast that it doesn't get it's own post, so I wanted to share a side that was perfect with this meat.

The side is chipotle creamed corn. Let me start by getting a little off topic and sharing that I love the sides at Thanksgiving. My mom's stuffing is my absolute favorite, but I also love the simple creamed corn we would have. Nothing fancy about it at all; heat up some corn, throw in some cream cheese, stir, and devour! My chipotle creamed corn was pretty much that with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Since corn off the cob is rampant at the farmers market I used some corn cut off the cob, rather than the frozen my mom usually used. Now the picture below of this corn does not do it justice, but trust me, I couldn't stop stuffing my face with this side dish.

Keep reading for this simple recipe.

Stacked Tomato, Onion, and Corn Salad

It's that time of year when I can always find fresh tomatoes and sweet corn the cob at the farmers market. They both taste great on their own, but you'll see me cutting the corn off of the cob and throwing it in a lot of dishes this summer. Tonight I decided to make this simple and refreshing stacked tomato and onion salad that allows you to enjoy the flavors of both. 

Corn and Tomato Scramble

Corn and Tomato Scramble

This corn and tomato scramble from Epicurious is one of my favorite side dishes, especially when I can find some fresh corn on the cob (which I didn't this time, but it's still tasty).  The only changes I make to this are using balsamic vinegar instead of cider vinegar, I also try to use about a 1/2 to 2/3 of the butter it recommends, and sometimes I throw in avocados.  As soon as you can find corn on the cob at your market, do yourself a favor and make this.

Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

It's going to be a hectic week of eating leftovers and takeout, so I thought I'd share this lamb recipe from Cooking Light that I made this summer.  Lamb is delicious, and this is an easy recipe that would be perfect to serve to any meat lovers you have over for dinner.  Since it was summer time and Jersey tomatoes and sweet corn were fresh, I layered sliced tomatoes, onions, avocado, and corn (cut off the cob) to have on the side.