Man, I cannot WAIT until we folks up here in the northern states can start bitching about the heat. Old Man Winter is rearing his ugly head right now, so it’s only natural that I am missing my beloved second home states of Florida and Louisiana. They are heavy on my chilly brain this week, as is almost always the case when the snow is deep and the air is bitter in Michigan.

Yesterday I remade a lovely chicken recipe that was deserving of a bomb ass sidekick, and since I was Gulf Coast dreaming, I had decided to put together one of my favorite dishes, discovered while I was residing in that region.

Let me give y’all a short piece of my back story. It helps if you, the reader, knows stuff about me, the writer. We are forming a relationship here, after all. Anyone writing a blog is sort of obligated to open up to the folks who take time to read their work, in my opinion. Anyone can write recipes, but if you have no story, it’s not that entertaining to read, now is it??

So, anyway, I moved to Carrabelle, Fla. after several attempts at getting myself clean of substances here in my home state. I tried different cities, but I kept driving back to where the dope was at.

In the midst of my last really awful relapse, a good friend called me and invited me to come live here…

I literally pulled these pics from “Zillow”™️, and found that my rehabilitation house was for sale for less than a quarter million. Please buy my book that’s coming out next year so I can purchase it and take other addicts there to get well. That would be a dream come true!! I’m going to need a few more years of clean living myself, so there is time.

While I lived here, I was introduced to things I never knew. Southern hospitality, unconditional love, the warmth and kindness of strangers and beach life. It’s also a place where Highway 98 separates million dollar beach houses from trailers, but everyone in town gets along like family.

I was so happy down there in the sugar sand and sunshine; and of course being a water baby Cancer, I have never been more balanced than I was at that cozy beach house.

I know we are here to talk about food, and I’m still with ya. Try to understand that without these experiences, there would be no food, no blog, no me. So, these memories directly correlate to my food designs. I swear they do.

Now, I had tried several dishes similar to this one, but I never liked it until I had it in the south, SO whether it is or isn’t a “southern” dish; it will always be fondly reminiscent of Carrabelle in my book.

Is that not making you hungry right now??

Here in Michigan it is called corn casserole or corn pudding. Corn pudding sounds so disgusting to me, and I think of a casserole being a whole meal, rather than a side dish. That little bit of bacon don’t make this a meal by no means!! I’m sorry but I never liked it. It was too mushy and undercooked, or it was too dry and crumbly. It also didn’t have any heat or smoky bacon flavor like the ones I had down there.

Corn pudding is wet and creamy like this…

Corn casserole is dry and reminds me of overcooked cornbread with kernels in it. Like this here…

Now, I’m going to take the risk of getting sued by not crediting anyone for the pics I used, considering I’m using them as an example of something I find inedible. I’m not ripping on them either. To each his own, but here’s mine…

I feel like this is a perfect balance between the two extremes. Plus mine has yummy accents of fire roasted corn, pepper jack and sharp cheddar cheeses and the smoky love of bacon crumbles.

So what are you making for dinner tomorrow night?? Pretty sure this side dish is perfect with any meaty main dish, but I especially love it next to ham, fried or baked chicken, meatloaf, or fish fry. It’s great with almost anything and it usually graces the holiday tables.

You ready to do this?? It super easy.

What You Need:

1 egg

1/3 c melted butter

1 box corn bread mix. I used this one because of the fire roasted corn variety, but I left off the chili lime topping.

1 bag frozen corn

1 can creamed corn

1 c sour cream

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 c bacon crumbles

1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese shreds

1/2 c pepper jack cheese shreds

What You Do:

Preheat your oven to 375.

Grease or spray a 9×13 casserole or cake pan.

In a good sized bowl mix all ingredients EXCEPT the bacon and cheeses.

Pour and spread in the prepared pan.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden on edges.

Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese and bacon over the top.

Return to oven fir 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Remove from oven and allow 5 minutes to cool and set.

Serve and listen for those “mmmmms”. They will happen.

As always, I hope you enjoy this recipe. Please feel free to show off your productions of any recipe you make on my FB Page!! I love seeing reader results!!

Bye, Babes!!

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