Many of you already know that I grew up in the Midwest US – I moved to our current location when I met and married my husband. I love exploring so many different kinds of cuisine, but… some nights, nothing but comfort food will do. This is seriously a throwback to my childhood, and tastes like a warm blanket on a plate. I have made adjustments to the recipes that I looked up in the old church cook books my mom and naunt have gifted me over the years to reflect our preferences for less processed foods – though I wouldn’t call this “healthy”, it may just be a stone’s throw away, and I refuse to apologize. Good enough.
Cream Corn Casserole with Noodles
1 package egg noodles
1 – 12 oz package of organic frozen corn
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced,
1/2 bell pepper, (I used 1/4 green, 1/4 red), diced
2 c. low fat organic milk
1 c. low fat greek yogurt (I love the tang it lends to this)
3/4 c shredded cheddar cheese
4 T. unsalted organic butter
1/3 c. all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 package of butter crackers (like ritz)
In a large pot, bring water to boil and cook the noodles according to package directions – I like them just tender, because they will cook a bit more in the oven, later. As the noodles are almost finished cooking, add the frozen corn to cook for just a minute or two. Let the water come back to a boil, and when the noodles are just cooked, drain, and pour them into a large stone baking dish. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Pour the milk and yogurt into a medium size pot and heat over medium. As the milk and yogurt are heating, add 2 T of the unsalted butter to a small saute pan to melt over medium/low heat. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper to the butter, and slowly saute until they become tender and translucent, stirring as they cook. Add the extra 2 T. butter, and once it melts, stir in the 1/3 c. flour. Remove the pan from the heat.
Now that the milk and yogurt mixture are warm, whisk in the shredded cheddar. Once the cheese has melted, add the veg/butter/flour mixture and whisk until incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. If the sauce is overly thick, thin it just a little with a bit of extra milk. I prefer it to stay fairly think in this case, though, to coat the light egg noodles. For example, I expect this to be thinker than a mac and cheese sauce.
Pour the creamy sauce over the noodles and corn in the large stone baking dish. Crush the butter crackers and sprinkle evenly over the top, adding more if needed. Pop into the preheated oven for 15 minutes to finish cooking and incorporate everything together.
Serve with your favorite side dishes. Or by itself to be honest.
Makes 6 family size portions. (And great leftover lunches.)
I can’t wait to share more of my favorite comfort food recipes with you this fall!
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