Cornballs (an Arrested Development tribute)

Annyong! This one is for all you Arrested Development fans who have always dreamed of finding a way to make cornballs without burning yourselves on an illegal Bluth Cornballer, causing you to scream out a string of obscenities that for some reason comes out as a long BLEEEEEP. I suppose it’s also for anyone who likes corn, round foods or appetizers, but if you know the significance of a stair car, a frozen banana stand, and having your own chicken dance, these will hold a special place in your heart. AD fans, I’m speaking to you.

The wait is almost over!! Seven year after the final episode of Arrested Development aired on television, season 4 is set to be release Sunday on Netflix. To celebrate the occasion, a couple of my blogger friends decided to organize a food blogger “premiere party” where we all posted Arrested Development-inspired recipes the Friday before the big release (to give you all a couple days to buy ingredients and make these for your own premiere parties!). 

I immediately claimed cornballs, as they’re a reoccurring food throughout the series. On the show, George Sr. invented The Cornballer in the 1970s and sold it via infomercial until it was shown to cause serious burns and was made illegal in the United States. The Bluth family still attempts to use theirs from time to time to create cornballs, but someone gets badly burned every time. 

There’s never a recipe or description given for cornballs, so I got to be a little creative here. Originally I thought about making hush puppies, but I decided that since they’re treated like a separate entity on the show, they should be something different. I also didn’t want to fry anything since this is, after all, a “lightened up” cooking blog. I decided that instead of making them cornbread-y like a hush puppy, I’d try to make them more like a round corn fritter that’s baked in the oven instead of pan fried. I tried a few different ways and finally landed on making them in mini-muffin trays. They don’t end up perfectly round, but they’re pretty close.

These cornballs are full of sweet corn flavor and the scallions contribute a nice freshness.  You can certainly serve these with a dipping sauce or drizzle. I think salsa would be good (and Weight Watchers-friendly!) or you could mix a little honey with some melted light butter and drizzle it over the cornballs. There are lots of possibilities - serve them however you’d like! Maybe even with some “spicy club sauce.” 

The other bloggers participating in the AD Season 4 Premiere Party are listed below with links to their recipes. Can’t wait until Sunday! Even if "that's a little cornball."

Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts - Blue Vodka Lemonade Texanerin Baking - 100% Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches

In Katrina's Kitchen - Banana Stand Smoothies
Gimme Some Oven - Salted Chocolate Frozen Banana Bites

Stetted - Afternoon Delight
The Realistic Nutritionist - Bluth Frozen Banana Nutmeg Nanny - Banana Donuts & Homemade Soda
and mine...

Thai Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce

I had a hard time naming this recipe. After I tried it I wanted to name it “OMGChickenInPeanutSauce” or “YUM, Make This Right Now” but neither of those are very descriptive. I almost called it a chicken satay because it’s marinated chicken skewers with peanut sauce, but I think the marinade has to have turmeric in it to be considered a traditional satay. Regardless of what you want to call this, I really encourage you to make it. It’s one of my favorite things that I’ve made in a while and it’s incredibly easy. The marinade makes the chicken really flavorful and the peanut sauce is absolutely to die for. Seriously, I want to put it on everything. I served the skewers with grilled veggies (highly recommended) for dinner and they also went really well with the peanut sauce. 

I generally try to only use ingredients in my recipes that anyone can easily find in their grocery stores, but I made an exception here and finally tried PB2 by Bell Plantation. It is so worth ordering it online. I believe Whole Foods may also carry it, so if you have one of those you can possibly find it there. If you’re unfamiliar, PB2 is a powdered peanut butter that gives you all the flavor of traditional peanut butter but with significantly less fat and calories. I’ve been hearing about PB2 for a really long time, and I am so glad I finally tried it. It’s seriously amazing! I’ve already brainstormed a million things I want to make with it, so you might as well buy some now. Besides making this amazing recipe, you’ll be all ready to go when I start putting it in baked goods and breakfast foods and pasta dishes and smoothies. The sky is the limit!

Just a note about the nutrition information and Weight Watchers Points+ for this recipe: If you plug the full amounts of the marinade ingredients listed into a nutrition calculator you will get different nutrition info than I have listed. Since so much of the marinade gets thrown out, I decided to weigh the marinade before adding the chicken and then again after removing the chicken several hours later. More than ¾ of the marinade was still in the bag so when I calculated the nutritional values I only plugged in ¼ of the amounts of each marinade ingredient. The totals below should be pretty accurate reflections of what actually makes it onto your plate! 

Chocolate Cherry Baked Oatmeal Singles

Woah, is this my second breakfast recipe in a row? I haven’t posted very many breakfast recipes in the past few months and now that Mother’s Day brunch is imminent I suppose I figured it’s time to make up for it! I actually can’t believe it has been so long since I posted a baked oatmeal recipe, because I love baked oatmeal. If you’re looking for more basked oatmeal recipes, try Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Singles, Baked Blueberry Peach Oatmeal, or Pumpkin, Cranberry & Apple Baked Oatmeal!

These particular baked oatmeal singles are super chocolatey from both cocoa in the dry ingredients and mini chocolate chips scattered throughout. They’re also hearty and filling and have bites of sweet, juicy cherries in every cup. I think raspberries would work just as well, so if you’re having trouble finding cherries or you’re just in a raspberry mood, try those instead ad just use raspberry yogurt as well. 

Baked oatmeal singles are great for a grab-and-go breakfast or as a filling snack. Each one has 5 grams of protein to keep you feeling satisfied and for only 127 calories or 3 Weight Watchers Points+, you can indulge in a sweet, chocolatey treat and feel great about it!

Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

Now, this is a Spring recipe! The bright flavors of fresh lemon and sweet strawberries practically cause birds to chirp and flowers to bloom singlehandedly. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but it certainly tastes like Springtime in your mouth. These pancakes are a cinch to put together and would make a perfect Sunday brunch treat (I suggest making these for Mother’s Day this weekend!) or a wonderful weeknight “breakfast for dinner.”

Though I included nutrition information and Weight Watchers points+ information for bare pancakes as well, I highly recommend serving these with the sweet strawberry topping. It all tastes so good together! I also tossed a few blueberries on my plate for color because I had them on hand and they were delicious as well. I served the pancakes with a side of Oscar Mayer turkey bacon (my favorite kind) and it was a very filling and complete meal. Now you can make your pancakes and eat them too!

Bacon-Wrapped BBQ Meatloaf

This post probably isn’t “seasonally appropriate” for my blog. I suppose meatloaf doesn’t scream “Spring” like asparagus or strawberries or a fresh squeeze of lemon*, but I decided to go rogue on this one because I believe anything bacon-wrapped transcends seasonality. Besides, barbecue sauce reminds you of Spring and Summer, right? Whatever, like I said, I’m going rogue. Join me.

I love meatloaf (especially with a side of mashed potatoes) and when I saw a recipe for this one wrapped up in a layer of bacon and then smothered in barbecue sauce I knew I had to make it. I lightened up the loaf using ground turkey, lean ground beef and turkey bacon. It turned out super flavorful and I loved the bacon-BBQ coating. It’s also a Weight Watchers or calorie-counting steal at only 6 Points+ or 238 calories for two slices! I served mine with ½ cup of mashed potatoes and some broccoli for a very satisfying and tasty meal. 

*The next recipe I have planned has Spring written all over it, so sticklers, fear not! 

Grilled Chicken Pesto Wraps

I am so excited about this recipe. One of my absolute favorite things to order at restaurants and coffee shops is a chicken pesto panini. I don’t get them very often because they can be pretty high in fat and calories, but man are they delicious. This wrap captures all of the delectable flavors from my favorite sandwich and clocks in at less than half the calories and half the points of the panini I’d get at the local coffee shop. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be making these all the time. The fresh basil pesto and ripe plum tomatoes make this wrap taste bright and fresh and Spring-y, while the melty cheese, and seasoned chicken make it decadent and filling. Since it’s a wrap but it’s served warm and golden right out of the pan I think it’s more of a “wrap-ini.” Whatever you’d like to call it, this is hands down my new favorite wrap/sandwich/lunch and I’m so excited to share it with you all. Also to eat the leftovers. Yum.

leftover filling...yum

Chocolate Pistachio Cookies

There was a perfect storm of reasons for me to make these cookies. First of all, I finally got a real, live KitchenAid stand mixer after coveting one ever since I started seriously cooking. If you want to know how excited I am about it, please refer to the exceptionally creepy selfie* phone photo I took posing with my new mixer below. The look on my face is not unlike the star of the “overly attached girlfriend” meme that has been circulating the internet for a few years now. I get creepy about my small kitchen appliances.

The second reason is that my boyfriend was going on a guys’ weekend cabin trip with his friends and two of his favorite flavors are chocolate and pistachio. I thought I’d be an extra awesome girlfriend and make him and his friends cookies for their trip so I started hunting for a recipe with both flavors represented. It turns out I didn’t get a chance to make them in time and their trip was cancelled due to weather anyway, but it’s the thought that counts, right? Maybe?

Anyway, I also love chocolate and pistachios and any cookie that combines salty and sweet is right up my alley. These are dense, chocolatey little cookies, packed with nuts, and they’re a Weight Watchers bargain at just 3 Points+ for two cookies. This recipe can be easily halved if you only want to make 30 cookies, or you can freeze half of the dough for a later date. If you’re craving chocolate, two of these thick little cookies will hit the spot.

*Overly Attached KitchenAid Mixer Fan