I am sharing this recipe not because I specially liked it, but because since the beginning I said I would share my failures along with the exceptional recipes.  I can usually spot a good recipe but this one was didn’t have many redeeming qualities once it was baked.  It was OK, not bad, not terrific.  I got it from Raleys.com and didn’t alter at all.

I am not much for casseroles.  My mother never made them.  I don’t have the experience of eating Green Bean Casserole at Thanksgiving or Tuna Casserole, which sounds so disgusting to me.  My mother loved Cream of Mushroom soup.  We always had a can of Campbells Cream of Mushroom soup but she just made soup with it.  I don’t have the experience of adding “cream of soup” cans to vegetables and meats with the crispy onion toppings.  The closest thing we had to a casserole was canneloni.  My mom’s canneloni was made with crepes instead of pasta.  I make them with crepes, too.  It makes for a more delicate dish and allows the filling to be the star.  Mom’s filling was always calf brains in a white sauce, sometimes with a little spinach and sometimes without.  I thought it was OK but I’d rather put in a homemade ricotta and spinach or chicken and spinach filling.

Thanksgiving is coming up soon.  Maybe I’ll share some of my Thanksgiving recipes with you. They are not very elaborate.  We had our first Thanksgiving when I was in the Third Grade.  We had just moved to a new city and I had started in a new Catholic school.  The neighborhood was quite nice and if I remember correctly, I was one of two hispanic students in the school.  It was run by priests and nuns that where mostly from Ireland.  I guess they thought that we were needy and so they sent us all the fixings for a Thanksgiving feast.  Mom had made turkey before for Christmas or New Year’s.  We just had never had it at Thanksgiving before.  It wasn’t your typical American meal but we continued the tradition from then on.

This recipe will go on the must improve pile.  I’m not sure if I will tinker with it and make it more my taste or just leave it and start from scratch.  Send me any ideas you may have to improve this recipe.

Ingredients

6 strips Peppered Bacon. thick

1 large Onion, Chopped

6 Tbsp. Flour

3 cups Milk

4 Eggs

6 Tbsp. Cornmeal

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

3 cups Corn Kernels, 2 cans if not using fresh

1 1/2 tsp. Garlic Salt

1 1/2 tsp. Sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly butter a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish.

Cook Bacon in a large skillet until very crisp.  (I only had 5 strips left!)  Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.  Coarsely crumble.  Drain all but 1 Tbsp. grease from skillet.

Add Onion to skillet and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat to soften.

Add Flour and cook for 1 more minute.

Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in Milk, then Eggs and Cornmeal.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Pour into prepared dish and bake for 30 minutes or until center is set.

Each 6 servings has 171 Calories, 3 g. Protein, 9 g. Fat, 23 g. Carbohydrates.

Eat well, drink well, and live well.  Talk to you soon.