If I had to choose just one vegetable to eat for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t even have to think about it. Corn had always been my favorite vegetable, and good homemade creamed corn on occasion was an extra treat!
Being from the midwest, I grew up quite spoiled on fresh corn right from the field to the table. There was nothing better than good sweet corn in the summertime!
The corn was so sweet it was like eating candy! What fun it was eating from the cob all slathered with melted butter and a pinch of salt! I can still taste it!
I get sad cravings for it starting about mid-summer! “Knee high by the 4th of July” was the saying telling of how tall the corn stalks should be by that time!
Farmers have learned a lot and have perfected growing corn since I was a child, and it’s ready to be harvested even sooner now. But by the time those golden nuggets of heavenly goodness make their way across the country to where I live now, it isn’t worth the crate it was shipped in.
Picked over so many times that all we get are the ones no one else wanted.
But, thankfully, companies have learned how to preserve them even better too, over the last 4 decades, so that corn can still be enjoyed even if you don’t live near farm fields anymore!
Canned or fresh-frozen will never compare to fresh off the cob, but I’ve found that the closest to the “real thing” is white shoepeg, so that’s what we mostly enjoy now. It’s cut close to the cob preserving that “pop”, and has that wonderful, sun-kissed sweetness that corn should have.
Though I love homemade creamed corn as I mentioned, I don’t really care for any of the store-bought canned creamed corns. I actually used to have to use one can of creamed corn mixed with one can of regular, drained, just to actually get some corn mixed in with that strange, semi-transparent goop they pack it in.
Now I just make it myself all different kinds of ways. Sometimes with a simple béchamel sauce, and other times when I just want something super quick and easy, I make versions such as this one!
Rich, creamy, velvety cheese that’s just the right consistency, and compliments just about any meal made in a snap! Definitely gotta love that!
And such a fun, special treat in mini dishes! Who doesn’t love their own little dish?!
It’s also nice for those who just don’t care for one food to touch another. We all know a few of those! 😉
But don’t worry. If making in one casserole, this corn dish isn’t runny at all. Just creamy without too much sauce as it should be.
Hope you enjoy and try this one soon! The kiddos will appreciate it, too! Because as we know, corn is the universal kid-approved vegetable! 😉
Have a fantastic day, and relax. This dish almost makes itself. 🙂
Update: How cool!! After sharing my recipe on Ritz’s FB page, this is what they did! 😀 How kind of them!! 😀
CREAMY CHEESY CORN
4 servings
1/2 Tbl. butter
1/2 small onion
6 oz. cream cheese, cut up (*sub Light or Neufchatel for lower fat)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. garlic salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp. coarse ground black pepper, or to taste
1 (11 oz.) can white shoepeg corn, drained well
4 Ritz crackers, crushed to very fine crumbs
butter-flavored cooking spray, I like Crisco’s
finely minced fresh parsley, can sub dried
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In small sauté pan, melt butter and cook chopped onion until soft. About 5 minutes. Set aside.
In medium bowl, place cream cheese, milk, garlic salt, and pepper. Microwave on medium-low for 30 second intervals, stirring well each time, until cheese has melted and mixture is creamy. *Use a whisk to get all of the lumps.
Stir in well-drained corn and butter/onion mixture, and spoon into sprayed mini casserole dishes or into one main casserole dish.
Sprinkle top(s) evenly with cracker crumbs, spray lightly with cooking spray, and place mini dishes onto a baking sheet.
Pop into oven and bake for 30 minutes uncovered, or until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and garnish with fresh minced parsley. *If using dried, add before baking.
*Baking time is for mini dishes. A full casserole dish may take a bit longer.
