Hominy is an ingredient that has really surprised me. When I first used it a few years ago, I wasn’t sure I’d like it, not to mention what the rest of the family would think of it. But we learned we loved it! It’s interesting texture and flavor ended up being a winner with all of us. Since then, I’ve used it in several different soups and stews and it always adds a great textural interest that we all enjoy.

But until now, hominy has always just been an interesting addition and never the star attraction. I wanted to change that and decided I could come up with a fun hominy-based side dish to go along with tacos. It turned out really well and we all enjoyed it. The original side dish was perfect with our taco dinner and the leftovers made a great side along with eggs and bacon for breakfast.

Cheesy Hominy Casserole

• 1 c. water
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 1 1/2 c. corn meal
• 1/2 t. cumin
• 1/2 t. black pepper
• 1 15 oz. can hominy, drained
• 1 1/2 c. shredded Colby-Jack cheese, divided

1. Bring water to a boil. Stir in salt and corn meal. Remove from heat and whisk until smooth, about 1 – 2 minutes. Stir in cumin, pepper, hominy and 1 c. shredded cheese.

2. Transfer to a small casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for  about 15 minutes, until cheese is fully melted and the edges are just turning brown.

There are a few options here – if you like mushier, you can just serve it straight from the pan or if you’d like it to have a more “set” consistency, you can let it bake longer.

Veering a little of course of the 1/3 Less Challenge again, but this recipe needs to be shared now for all of you that have asparagus abundantly lining your grocery store shelves!

A little background information for you…I am not a fan of blue cheese. Not at all! I really don’t think it has anything to do with the taste of it since I can’t say for certain if I’ve ever really tried it. So if it’s not the taste, you might be wondering why exactly my dislike is so strong. And it’s a simple reason really. I spent my junior year of high school at a boarding school. The school was located next to a blue cheese factory and my dorm room just so happened to be on the same side as the factory. Can you imagine the smell on a hot day? Seriously, I can still smell it to this day and that was almost 20 years ago!

So, needless to say, blue cheese has never passed my lips and nor will it ever. And that is perfectly fine by me. However, I let my blue cheese dislike carry over to similar cheeses for far too long. It’s only recently that I’ve discovered the awesomeness that is Feta cheese. Now, I can’t get enough of the stuff! I’m even concocting recipes just so that I can use it.

You may notice in the picture below that although I’m calling this recipe “Roasted Asparagus with Red Onions and Feta” there are actually a few other veggies in the dish. That’s simply because I had to toss a few stems from my bunch of asparagus and I was afraid we wouldn’t have enough with what was left. So I just grabbed a couple handfuls of a frozen California blend of veggies I had in the freezer. It worked just fine, but the asparagus was the real star!

Roasted Asparagus with Red Onions and Feta

• 1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2″ pieces
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1/4 – 1/3 c. crumbled Feta cheese

1. Toss asparagus and red onion with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Spread in a baking dish and cook at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes, until tender. Stir halfway through cooking.

2. Immediately transfer to a serving dish and stir in Feta. Serve.