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The Frugal Homemaker

Your guide to turning your house into a home... one DIY project and yard sale find at a time

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

June 18, 2012

Summer recipes

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! Smile

Corn salsa

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:

DSC_0314

  • 3-4 ears of fresh sweet corn
  • 1 lime
  • green onions
  • fresh cilantro
  • Spicy Ranch dressing
  • chips for dipping Smile
  • 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!

DSC_0321

Then get out your chef’s knife and try to imitate your favorite Food Network chef chopping cilantro.  When that fails Winking smile, 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.

DSC_0322

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.)

DSC_0323

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.

DSC_0328

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! Smile

DSC_0341

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!

regrow onions

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. Sad smile

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!

Corn salsa

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?

{cj}

9 Comments LABELS ~ Recipes

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Comments

  1. Sandy says

    June 18, 2012 at 1:28 PM

    We’re having fajitas for dinner tonight and I think I’ll make this as an accompaniment. Thanks for the recipe – it sounds delicious!

    Reply
  2. Donna says

    June 18, 2012 at 2:43 PM

    ummm, I know we would love this salsa. Sounds delicious! We have cilantro in our garden right now doing very well. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I have not seen that idea for regrowing onions! Brilliant! Yes, often 2 or 3 go to waste. Thanks!
    Donna
    PS I’m trying to start blogging again. 😉

    Reply
  3. Katie B. of HousewifeHowTos.com says

    June 18, 2012 at 8:04 PM

    Gosh, this sounds good! I’m not a fan of bottled ranch dressing, though, but here’s my (Low Fat) Spicy Ranch dressing recipe: in a blender whir together 1 cup low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese, 1 cup low-fat buttermilk, 1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix, and 1 tbsp. Sriracha (Rooster) sauce (or your favorite chili garlic or chipotle sauce). Blend until smooth and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

    I bet that would work wonderfully with your salsa recipe. In fact, I’m going to give it a try. Thank you, Christina!

    Reply
  4. Katie B. of HousewifeHowTos.com says

    June 19, 2012 at 2:24 PM

    Just wanted to pop by and let you know I made this last night, using your recipe and my low fat spicy Ranch dressing. To.Die.For. Absolutely a keeper, said everyone in my family. Thanks, Christina!

    Reply
  5. Susan B says

    July 10, 2012 at 12:02 PM

    better spicy ranch: try adding a packet (or less depending on your salt preference) of taco seasoning to a bottle of your favorite Ranch dressing. dump it in a bowl. mix in the packet. pour it back in the bottle. YUM.

    Reply
  6. Sandy Manning says

    July 14, 2012 at 7:32 PM

    I made this exactly like your recipe a couple of times, including for company. It is wonderful! Everyone loved it and one of my guests took the recipe and made it herself. Thank you! So delicious!

    Reply
  7. Jen says

    May 14, 2013 at 10:06 AM

    Made this today….WONDERFUL! I added a few cloves of fresh garlic and only about 1/4 cup of the spicy ranch. Perfect! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
  8. Allan James says

    August 24, 2017 at 7:23 AM

    Thanks a lot for sharing such a fantastic recipe. Looks perfect delicious. I really like to appreciate. I have never made it before, as it seems like a large and daunting task, but I am going to go ahead and get some and try it out now! I am also so much impressed by your glorious images. It’s really awesome.
    Thanks again.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Summer projects + decorating inspiration | The Frugal Homemaker says:
    May 22, 2013 at 8:31 AM

    […] recipes always seem better with green onions – did you know that you can RE-GROW your green onions??    Yep, I can get 4-5 cuttings off of ONE 50¢ bunch of green […]

    Reply

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Hi!  My name is Christina . . .

I love doing simple, frugal things to make our house feel like HOME! Come learn along with me how to have a beautiful home on a budget.

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