By Dad's sweet corn came in. He called Thursday morning — seven AM, because Roger Weber believes phone calls before eight o'clock are a sign of important news, and sweet corn being ready is, in his world, important news. "Corn's ready," he said. No hello, no preamble. I said I'd come Saturday. He said bring bags. I said how many. He said all of them.
I drove to Grinnell with Jack. Just the two of us, because Noah was at robotics camp round two and Emma had a sleepover, and Jack is the one who wants to be there when things are picked. We arrived at nine and Dad already had three dozen ears stacked on the porch, husked and silked, the kernels so plump and golden they looked fake. This is Bodacious — the hybrid Dad swears is the best eating corn in Iowa, a claim contested by every farmer in four counties and verified by anyone who's actually tasted it.
I blanched the corn in Dad's kitchen, cut it off the cob with a serrated knife, and bagged it in quart freezer bags — the real ones, the thick ones, not the cheap ones that get freezer burn. Sixteen quarts from three dozen ears. Jack sat at the table and ate raw corn straight from the cob while I worked, butter running down his chin, and Dad watched him from the doorway with that softening in his face that passes for a Weber smile.
This corn is different from the Green Giant. I know that sounds like food snobbery, and I am the last person to be a food snob — I use boxed cornbread mix and Old El Paso taco seasoning and I'm not sorry. But there is a difference between corn that was picked this morning from soil that your family has known for a hundred years and corn that was processed in a factory and sealed in a can. The difference isn't just flavor. It's biography.
I drove home with sixteen quarts of frozen corn in the cooler and Jack asleep in the back seat with a corn silk stuck in his hair. When we got home, I put the corn in the deep freeze next to the Green Giant bags, and the two sat side by side like estranged relatives at a wedding — same family, completely different lives. I'll use the farm corn for Thanksgiving. The Green Giant is for Tuesdays. Both are fine. One is sacred.
I came home from the Weber farm with a cooler full of corn and a kid full of sunshine, and I wanted dinner to feel like that — easy, warm, a little festive without requiring anything of me. Fiesta Chicken is my answer to that particular kind of good tired, the kind where you don’t want to think but you still want the table to feel like something. It uses that Old El Paso taco seasoning I mentioned, and yes, frozen sweet corn, because the farm corn is for Thanksgiving and this is a Tuesday. Here’s how it comes together.
Fiesta Chicken
Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups frozen sweet corn kernels
- 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles (such as Ro-Tel)
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Sour cream, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Season the chicken. Place chicken pieces in a bowl and toss with the taco seasoning until evenly coated. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Brown the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned chicken in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes until cooked through and lightly browned on the edges.
- Build the skillet. Add the black beans, frozen corn, diced tomatoes with chiles, and chicken broth. Stir everything together and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the liquid reduces slightly and the corn is heated through.
- Melt the cheese. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the top of the skillet. Cover with a lid and cook for 2 minutes until the cheese is fully melted.
- Serve. Spoon into bowls and finish with a dollop of sour cream, a pinch of fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime if you like. Goes well over rice or scooped up with tortilla chips.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 345 | Protein: 36g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 27g | Fiber: 6g | Sodium: 790mg