Lunch was wonderful!

Lunch was wonderful and now I'm so full I need a major nap! And if you're reading, David, you can just guess what you're having for supper tonight. Me I don't think I'll be eating again for the next several days. LOL!

Sweet P asked how many people I was cooking for. It would have been 8 but one of the guys wasn't able to come in.

quiltingfitzy asked for the recipes for the corn and squash casserole. I'm hapy to share since they're not MY secret recipes. LOL! I call the corn J. Cody's Corn after a BBQ restraunt in Bryan, TX called J. Cody's. Their ribs and brisket are both pretty good. Not the best I've ever had but not the worst either. But what kept me going back was their corn. I love the creamy texture and slightly tangy flavor and kept trying to figure out what was in the sauce. Definately not a cream sauce and not sour cream either so I thought maybe one of the white cheeses although it didn't really taste cheesy. And of course they won't give out the recipe because it's a "secret". One day my friend, Mary, was reading the paper and someone had written in to the food editor asking if she could get the recipe for "that corn they serve at J. Cody's". Her answer was that the owner never gave out the recipe. But that if you were to saute some diced onion and jalapeno in about 1/4 a stick of butter. Then add a couple cans of (drained) whole kernal corn. Then toss in about 1/2 block of cream cheese that had been cut into cubes and stir until the cheese melted that she was pretty sure the writer would be happy with the resulting dish. DING, DING, DING!!!!! So THAT'S what the secret ingredient was. I was close with cheese but cream cheese has a whole different taste and when mixed with the corn it doesn't really taste like cream cheese. So now I make it myself and haven't been to J. Cody's in a while. Which is probably why he doesn't give out the recipe. LOL!

I have tweaked it a bit over the last couple years. This is what I use now.
3 cans whole kernal corn (drained)
1 can cream-style corn (not drained)
1 whole fresh jalapeno, seeded and diced into small pieces. Use 2 if you like it hotter)
a couple stalks of green onions, sliced.
1/2 stick butter - the real thing
salt and pepper to taste.

Just heat it in a saucepan until the cheese is all melted and it's warm thru. When making it for a pot luck type function or for things like my meal today I transfer it to a medium sized crock pot and let simmer on high a little while (30 min to an hour) then I turn it on low until we're ready to eat.

The squash dressing is an adaptation of a recipe I got from a lady named Joan Mershon on the FidoNet NationalCooking Echo back in the mid 90s. (Anyone else remember the days of bulletin boards?) Somewhere I have her original but it's been adapted over the years so I can't really remember what called for. My adaptation is:

2 packages of Jiffy Corn Bread Mix (plus eggs and oil per package instructions)
2 to 3 lbs. summer squash (about 6 to 8 small to medium) I use yellow or zucchini depending on what is the smallest, most tender I can find that day.
1 medium onion, diced
a couple ribs celery, diced
a couple tablespoons butter (to saute vegetables in)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 eggs
about 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Make corn bread mix according to package directions. When done cool and crumble into small bits.

Slice squash. Cover squash with water and cook until tender. Drain squash reserving cooking liquid. Mash squash.

Saute onions and celery in butter.

Mix corn bread crumbs, mashed squash, onion/celery/butter, soups, cheese and eggs. Add liquid drained from cooking squash and mix together until the consistency of oatmeal. A bit lumpy, a bit soupy. Bake in a large casserole at 400 for 45 minutes to an hour.

The original recipe and most of the ones you'll find on the internet use velveeta cheese. And in particular Mexican Velveeta. But my sweetie doesn't care for foods that are real spicy and as I rarely have Velveeta on hand I use the grated cheddar which I is a staple in my kitchen. Also the cream of chicken/mushroom soups are interchangable. If I buy the ingredients specifically to make this I use a can of each but since I don't have chicken in my pantry that often and mushroom is another staple in my house I often just use 2 cans of the mushroom.

Believe me this might not sound all that appetizing but it's the dish that I brought the most of and the one I'll barely take any home! They were going back for 2nds and 3rds of it. It really is yummy.