Creamy Confetti Corn

This post is alternatively titled: How to Make Your Vegetables Less Healthy. Just wanted to acknowledge that up front. Nothing makes vegetables yummier than bacon and cheese! Maybe you have picky little kids who you’re trying to convince to eat something other than mac & cheese and frozen chicken nuggets (describing my brother Jeffrey from age 5 to age 21…)? Or maybe you’re just trying to find a veggie side dish that’s a little bit more decadent? That’s what I was doing when making this dish. All I was craving for dinner was chips and dip – since apparently that is not a true meal (says who am I right??), an indulgent side dish was in order.

I’ve had this recipe pinned for a long time – I feel like I type that sentence a lot around here. This one has been pinned 114,000 times! It’s so impressive to me when blogs take off like that – so cool! We have quite a ways to go before we would reach that level – but hey man, one of our recipes, Bay Scallop Risotto, has been pinned 33 times! Given that I’m still shocked to see that people who are not related to me have ever read this, that’s pretty spectacular! I guess that’s the internet for you…

Creamy Confetti Corn

(Adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe)

Ingredients: 

• 6 strips of bacon
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 ears of corn, kernels removed
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, cubed
• 2 tbsp hot sauce (we love Frank’s Hot Sauce!)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Green onions, sliced to top

Instructions: 

1. In a large skillet, cook your bacon until it’s very crispy. Remove to the side on a paper towel.
2. Pour off the bacon grease, except for just a thin coating of the pan.
3. Over medium heat, cook the onions and garlic for 3-4 minutes, until softened and fragrant.
4. Turn heat down slightly (medium-low), and add the rest of the vegetables and milk. Stir together and then cover pan. Cook for 6-8 minutes in this way, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove lid and stir in the cream cheese and hot sauce. Cook for another ~5 minutes until the cream cheese is well-incorporated and coats the vegetables as a creamy sauce.
6. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
7. Crumble bacon into bits and top the dish with this and sliced green onions.

Serves 6-8 as side dish