[30 Day Challenge] Something on the Spot

Random Observation/Comment #390: The best meals I’ve ever made have been invented on the spot with the different ingredients I had available. Yay, backpacking!

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Recipe: Something on the spot – zucchini and sweet corn stuffing

DSC_0860What do you do when you A) ran out of casserole dishes for making the planned zucchini and corn meal and B) have the last casserole dish filled with extra stuffing? Clearly, the right answer is to add stuffing into the existing recipe.

This is exactly what I did in every sense without any regard for adjusting proportions. I chopped up the zucchini and bacon, and then poured a whole can of cream of corn into the leftover stuffing.  From there, a bit of salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper was added by guestimation, and I just hoped or the best as it baked for 35 minutes right after the turkey came out.

Lessons Learned:

  • Cook the bacon before baking, or bake at a higher temperature for longer than 35 minutes. I think adding crispy bacon on top first would have worked well.
  • Make sure to keep the moisture of stuffing the same or else you get a mushy soup. This means adding less cream of corn.
  • Combining a sweet cream of corn with salty bacon is not always bad. Embrace the clash by adding a sweet/bitter alcohol like burbon.
  • Not all recipes can be combined, but don’t be afraid to keep experimenting. Good things will come of it!

Final Thoughts:

DSC_0931I wouldn’t say this was a huge success, but I felt I really grew from this experience. This taught me that it’s important to think through your recipes a little bit more before making it. There are certainly ways to turn the whole thing around especially if it’s savory. Maybe I’ll just add mashed potatoes to it next time thicken the texture.

Everything tastes better with mashed potatoes.

~See Lemons Eat Zucchini and Corn Stuffing