Country Corn Casserole

Summer corn is 
some kinda sweet eatin'

We look forward to summer. The sheer delight of biting into an ear of fresh picked sweet corn is nothing short of heaven. Fixin' a casserole of it's sweet kernels is something else too. I am revisiting this recipe as I remade it a few weeks ago and I had forgotten how good it is, and easy to make too.

Summertime in the south isn't exactly the best time to heat up the kitchen. I guess that's why at Grandmother's house, the cooking was done in the morning for serving at the noontime meal. We often dined on leftovers for supper. Like many of her recipes of reaching into the cupboard, this is a quick way to make a casserole and has an awesome sweet corn flavor with a nice blend of cheese.

Country Corn Casserole
6 to 8 servings

2 cups fresh corn kernels, 1/2 cup fresh broccoli florets & 1/4 cup red bell pepper julienne (or 1-16 ounce package frozen corn, broccoli and red pepper mix)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
1/4 cup milk
1 1/3 cups coarse crushed butter crackers or saltines

In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté the onion in butter until tender. Add the corn, broccoli and bell pepper. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook about 3 minutes to heat the corn and steam the broccoli.

Add the soup and milk to the saucepan; fold to combine. Add crackers and fold all together well. Spoon into a greased 8-inch baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with additional cheese and bake until top is golden brown.

Note: To make this dish using your own cheese sauce, blend 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour into the sautéed onions and cook for 1 minute. Increase milk to 1/3 cup and stir until thickened. Add in the vegetables cooking for the 3 minutes. Fold in along with 1 cup cheddar cheese.  Add crushed crackers and continue cooking as above.