We’re not being sacrilegious. We’re just offering you a delightful alternative: chili-lime corn on the cob.

It’s how corn is served south of the border.

 
With the calories you’ve saved, have another ear of corn.

A squeeze of lime on your corn instead of
butter? Try it with a shake of chilli powder.
Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

A plate of mini wheels (rotelle)—smaller
than half a cherry tomato. Photo courtesy
Barilla. Here’s the recipe for this pasta salad.
Find more recipes at BarillaUS.com.

Piccolini is the Italian word for “little ones,” referring to small children. The miniature versions of five classic pasta shapes (about half the conventional size) are perfect for small mouths—and for large ones as well.

The smaller size cooks faster (in 7 minutes) and keeps the same al dente texture. Try Mini Farfalle (bow ties), Mini Fusilli (spindles), Mini Penne (quills), Mini Wheels (rotelle) and Mini Ziti (bridegrooms).*

We especially like the miniature pasta for pasta salads. The smaller pasta shape is more in proportion with the other ingredients, so one forkful is likely to include pasta plus bell peppers, capers or whatever you add to your pasta salad.

One cup of cooked pasta contains 200 calories and has 1g fat, 42g carbs and 7g protein.

*The shape doesn’t look like a bridegroom, but is traditionally served at Italian weddings, and is called “bride’s pasta.” Question for Barilla: Why are four of the five varieties labeled with their Italian names, but the rotelle are called Wheels (their English name)?

THE NIBBLE team is off to Washington, D.C. for the Fancy Food Show—to find more great product recommendations. We’ll be back at our desks on Wednesday morning.

www.thenibble.com/blog is on hiatus until then. But you can find plenty to amuse yourself with at TheNibble.com.

How about learning more about one of your favorite products?

Be back soon!

Chicken and waffles may sound like an odd mix of food for people who have never had it. But the sweet and savory blend makes perfect sense. The dish is very popular in the South, at church breakfasts nationwide, and of course, at waffle houses. We have a healthier chicken and waffles recipe below, using frozen waffles.

Here’s a flavorful jerk spiced interpretation of classic chicken and waffles. It’s healthier and less labor-intensive because it does not call for dredging and deep-frying the chicken. We made the recipe with Smucker’s Snack’n Waffles, sent to us by Smucker’s so that our consulting chef, Eric Dantis, could spin his culinary magic. He turned the Snack’n waffles into a family-favorite main course and dessert.

For the main course, Chef Dantis made Chicken and Waffles (the recipe is below the video); for dessert, he made Peanut Butter & Jelly Ice Cream Waffle Sandwiches.

Chef Dantis chose Smucker’s Maple Flavored Waffles for this recipe, and the Chocolate Chip Waffles for dessert. Other flavors include Blueberry and Cinnamon. There’s a store locator on the Smucker’s website.

National Chicken & Waffles Day is October 20th.
 
 
CHICKEN AND WAFFLES RECIPE
 
There are numerous ways to enjoy chicken and waffles: topped with gravy and onions and/or mushrooms, or gravy with chicken livers or giblets. Popular sides include biscuits, candied yams, cornbread, fries, greens, red beans, and scrambled eggs. We had ours with a big, green salad.

This recipe serves 4.

The topping is also delicious on from-scratch waffles from your waffle maker.

Ingredients

[1] Another way to serve this recipe is with sliced grilled chicken (photo © eMeals).

[2] Instead of the melted butter garnish, you can use maple syrup (photo © Runamok Maple).

1. DEFROST Smucker’s Maple Snack’n Waffles.

2. MIX all spices except salt and pepper and sprinkle over both sides of chicken.

3. MARINATE the chicken for 20 minutes and up to 45 minutes.

4. HEAT a pan over medium heat with enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the pan is hot…

5. SEASON the chicken with salt and pepper and place it skin-side down in the pan. When browned…

6. TURN the chicken over and finish cooking until done. When the chicken is cooked…

7. REMOVE it from the pan and let rest.

8. TOAST the waffles. Place the chicken over toasted waffles.

9. MELT the butter in the same pan that the chicken was cooked in, and drizzle butter over the chicken. You’re ready to eat!

If you avoid smoothies because you have a bit of lactose intolerance, there’s an easy solution:

Make your smoothie with soy-based yogurt! You’ll be more than happy with this easy substitution.

(If you typically get abdominal pain within 30 minutes to two hours after eating any dairy-based product, don’t blame it on the sour cream [or whatever]—get tested for lactose intolerance.

If you’ve never made a smoothie, watch this video to see how easy it is. You’ll wonder why you haven’t made one sooner. The Blueberry Banana Smoothie in this recipe uses frozen blueberries, fresh bananas, plain yogurt, honey, vanilla extract, and ice. Just pop the ingredients into a blender and press Liquefy: Out comes the smoothie!

Recipe Tips

 
Let us know your favorite fruit combinations.

More yummy smoothie recipes, which add egg whites for a protein boost.