An Old “New” Family Favorite for Your Holiday Table!

Every family has their own traditions. Finding what’s right for you and your group is a matter of personal taste. For my family, we gather at my home annually for our Christmas celebration and we enjoy big meals on BOTH Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The main focus of our celebration in terms of both food and festivity is the Christmas Eve dinner – more to come on that meal specifically later this week!



For Christmas day, we partake in a table filled with turkey, our ages-old family recipe for cornbread dressing and, of course, several delicious and rich side dishes! I thought I’d share one that isn’t the oldest on our table, but is so easy and delicious that it has quickly become a family favorite.

We fight over the last spoons of it (OK, not literally) in the same way we do my mom’s cheesy green bean casserole! (By the way, if you’d like the green bean casserole recipe, I’ve previously published it on my Yahoo! Contributor Network page. You can find a link to that site and the pieces I’ve published lower on this page.)

Back to the recipe – This one is rich and savory with a hint of Jalapeno kick. Don’t let the incorporation of jalapeno scare you from trying it. It isn’t overtly “spicy” nor does it taste Hispanic at all or even Southwestern (although it would be fantastic incorporated into Dinner Club meals of either of those themes!). The jalapeno just leaves it with a slight spice and a smokiness that we enjoy. If you don’t like jalapeno or you are not a fan of spice, you can certainly leave it out and this would be delicious just the same.

Give this one a try! It’s a great replacement for the boring creamed-style corn that is so prevalent on holiday tables. Enjoy!

Creamy Jalapeno Corn Casserole

1 – 8oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

¼ c. milk

24 oz. frozen shoe peg corn

1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

Paprika

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the first three ingredients and stir to melt until smooth. Add the frozen corn and the jalapeno and mix together well. Pour into a greased 1 ½ - 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle paprika to taste on top as garnish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes until bubbling.

This casserole can be prepared and refrigerated for up to two days before baking.