Corn salsa w/ fresh corn, cilantro, and spicy ranch dressing

I have a yummy recipe to share with you today.   I am watching The Next Food Network Star as I work on this post so I got all descriptive in my title on my picture!

If any of you have a Publix grocery store near you and shop there (they have amazing customer service and buy one, get one deals!) you may have sampled some of their “Apron’s Simple Meals.”  Every day around dinner time they have someone at a little stand in the store prepare an entire meal usually meat, side, and dessert and serve up sample size portions to the customers.    The meal is usually a semi-homemade, simple to prepare type meal that is delicious!

This was part of a meal they served a while back.  I LOVED the corn salsa and actually bought the stuff to make it right then so I could make it when I got home!  It is a perfect summer salsa filled with fresh veggies, lime juice and ranch dressing!

Here’s what you will need:

• 3-4 ears of fresh sweet corn
• 1 lime
• green onions
• fresh cilantro
• Spicy Ranch dressing
• chips for dipping
• not pictured or in the original recipe but I like to add 1-2 tomatoes too

Shuck and clean the ears of corn, then cut the corn off the cob and put in a large bowl.  You don’t cook the corn in any way, it is fresh right off the cob!

Then get out your chef’s knife and try to imitate your favorite Food Network chef chopping cilantro.  When that fails , just chop it best you can and toss in about 1/4 cup of cilantro!   (I seriously need to take a food chopping course…)

Also chop and add in 1/4 cup of green onions.

Juice the lime and add in all the juice from it.  Then measure out (or just eye it and dump it in) 1/2 cup of spicy ranch dressing.  (I found that only Hidden Valley carries spicy ranch dressing and it can be expensive unless it is BOGO at Publix.  But I saw at Aldi the other day that they carry their own brand of spicy ranch dressing which I will definitely be trying when I am finish this bottle.)

I totally forgot to add this in the ingredients picture above but I like to add 1-2 small chopped tomatoes.  I like the sweetness and the color that they add.  he original recipe actually called for chopped green chiles so I guess I substitute the tomatoes.

Mix everything all together. Add a little salt and pepper to taste if you want, I usually don’t.

Serve with some fresh corn chips which you can warm in the oven for a minute if you want.  Or just eat them straight from the bag which we do!

It is crunchy, and sweet, with a hint of spice from the cilantro, onions, and spicy ranch.  And the hint of lime just tastes like summer to me!

This lasts for several days in the fridge too.  I usually mix it up to serve with some dish we are having for dinner – grilled tilapia or a mexican dish and then enjoy the leftovers for lunch the next few days.  I even used this salsa in a grilled tilapia fish taco that I made and it was yummy!

And here’s a frugal tip for you to do with your green onions.  You may have seen this idea floating around Pinterest.  You can regrow your green onions in a cup of water!

I have been doing this the last few months and while I am not going to say you are never going to have buy green onions again, you can definitely get 5 -6 “cuttings” or meals off of one bunch.

I love green onions and find that I use them a lot in cooking if I have them on hand.  And they are cheap – usually 2 bunches for $1.00 or something like that.  But if you only use 1/2 of the bunch and then stick it in the fridge I find that in a few days they are either dried up and useless or slimy and gross.

But if you chop what you need (even down all the way to the white part of the root leaving an inch or so) and then put them in some water – they will regrow!  And fast!  They will grow an inch in about 2 days.  Meaning once or twice a a week I can get a full cup or so of chopped green onions off one bunch to use in tacos or quiche or to top some chicken nachos or whatever I am cooking.

You will want to change the water every 2-3 days and add more as needed.  I have not been able to get them to last forever (as I am sure they need soil and nutrients to continue to grow), but I usually can get 1 bunch to last 4-6 weeks and getting 1-2 cuttings off of that bunch each week.

So with corn being 3-4 ears for a $1 this summer and your “crop” of green onions growing by your sink, this will be a cheap and easy recipe to prepare this summer!

Would love to hear if you have a favorite fresh salsa recipe – I would like to try it!

Have you ever tried to regrow green onions?  Or do you grow your own fresh herbs?

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