A Cooking Challenged Side Dish - Corn Casserole

A few years ago my mom, being the matriarch of the family, decided it was time for me and my cousins to start contributing something to Thanksgiving dinner other than our mouths and bellies. Since cooking isn't my strong point, I'm always stuck making the green bean casserole because it's easy. Have I ever mentioned that I HATE green beans? As easy as the recipe is, since I don't eat it, I'm not sure how it is supposed to taste. Every year, I call my mom while I stand and stare at the frozen green beans in the freezer aisle, complaining about how I hate green beans and how I conveniently forgot how to make them. It never works by the way. This year, I made a preemptive strike and volunteered to make my PECAN PIE from last year. Luckily, my cousin also volunteered me to make corn dish before I got assigned green beans again.

Corn dish (or casserole) was something I learned how to make from an old boyfriend's mom who knew I was cooking challenged. What is corn dish? It's baked macaroni and cheese with creamed style corn. Okay, I know what you're thinking and I thought the same thing too when I first tried it. I am a mac and cheese purist...just give me a bowl of plain, creamy mac & cheese and a spoon and I'll call it good. Trust me on this one. It couldn't get any simpler to make either.

Corn Dish (or Corn Casserole)

1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, with liquid

1 (14.75 ounce) can cream style corn

1 cup small uncooked elbow macaroni or seashell pasta

1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

1 cup cubed processed cheese '

1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium baking dish, mix the whole kernel corn, cream style corn, uncooked pasta, butter, and processed cheese.

Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove cover, stir, and continue baking uncovered for 30 minutes.

Sueshine Notes about this recipe:

-This fits perfectly into a 9 inch deep, dish Pyrex pie dish. You can double the recipe and cook it into a 9x13 dish if you need to bring it to a larger gathering.

-I tried making this recipe with shredded cheddar cheese and because of the all the butter and the oils from the cheese, it became pretty greasy. Oddly, I've never experienced that with Velveeta. Velveeta comes in a crumble form now in the shredded cheese aisle, making it easier to melt evenly.

-When you stir it after 30 minutes, be sure to cover all the pasta with the sauce. Any uncovered pasta will not cook and you don't want any crunchy bits.

There is something very comforting about corn dish. I love the sweet taste of corn (reminds me of summer) cut by the saltiness of slightly burnt cheese. I haven't made this in about 4-5 years but I still remember exactly how it tastes. It took a lot for me not to dig into the bubbling hot serving dish when I took off the cover.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Gobble Gobble!