Corn Casserole

Sweet corn is a vegetable. When the young powers in a family require a vegetable dish, this is perfect. It is also a pantry recipe since all the parts can be stored for a long period of time. The real key is to not let the young see how it’s made, in other words, have dad cook it. It is very delicious, easy to make and perfect for an additional side dish for festive occasions.

History

For Marian and my wedding, Marian’s mother created a recipe box full of hand-written recipes. It was wonderful, Marian knew them and I loved them. Below is the scanned image of one such recipe. Note the name in the upper right corner of the recipe. My assumption is that grandma got the recipe from a church social group and the original provider was Blanch Baker.

Corn Casserole as modified by Larry Krummel

Ingredients

1 package of corn meal muffin mix
½ cup Wesson or Mazola oil
1 small jar of pimentos (I use red or green pepper as an alternative)
4 eggs beaten. Do this in a separate bowl.
2 tsp. garlic powder (the original calls for garlic salt but for me, that is too much)
2 cans cream style corn
½ stick of butter
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Use a casserole with a cover. The cover is for not for cooking but for preserving leftovers in the refrigerator

Use the butter stick to cover the inside of the casserole to prevent sticking.

Put all the ingredients into the casserole except the cheese. Mix thoroughly.

Cover with the cheese.

Place into a preheated oven set at 350 degrees and ask Alexa to set a 45 minute timer.

Ask Alexa to Play Johnny Mercer and do not let grandchildren change it to “Kids Bop”.

The depth of the casserole will affect the actual time. Once the timer goes off or the cheese becomes a golden brown, use a standard dinner knife to go down into the middle of the casserole. If it comes out with corn sticking to the knife, it needs more time.

Another Story Related to Corn Casserole

During one of my one month long stays in a Rehab Center, part of the treatment was called Occupation Therapy. This included putting on socks, etc. but also included a cooking test. They asked me if I had a recipe that I liked to cook and knew the whole thing by heart. I selected, Corn Casserole. In California, the nurses, therapist and most of the doctors tend to be first generation immigrants. They are Korean, Chinese, Philippine, Indian, Iranian and more. The therapist in charge of Occupational Therapy said she would get the ingredients if I wrote them down. Upon looking at the list, she did not know what many of the ingredients were. They simply did not exist in their homeland. Creamed corn is one I remember.

When it came time to cook, I reviewed the ingredients and had a problem. The therapist had purchased olives with pimentos. She did not know you could just by pimentos. Bottom line, I stood at the counter an extra half hour with a broken leg picking pimentos out of olives. Other than a slight olive taste, the casserole was a big hit.

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