Surely you have noticed the trend toward putting cream cheese in everything; it's not just for dessert any more.

Last summer I was planning on doing a lot of cooking, so I bought about 5 pounds of it to try out in various dishes, and it was okay, but I think it's possible to achieve a tasty vegetable or dessert without cream cheese.

Anyhow, here is a slow cooker recipe for corn with cream cheese in it. If I was going to make it, I'd use Neufchatel cheese, which is lower in calories.

Slow Cooker Creamy Corn

This potluck pleaser is a breeze to make and feeds a crowd! Don't be surprised that the cream cheese still retains its block shape after 4 hours of cooking...it's very soft and blends easily when stirred.

Serves: 10
1 (32-ounce) bag frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup water
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup butter

Place corn in a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle corn with salt and sugar; drizzle with water. Place cream cheese and butter on top of corn mixture (do not stir). Cover and cook on LOW setting 4 hours. Stir well before serving.

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I use the following general recipe for corn. I buy Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon and keep the bag in the freezer so I always have cooked bacon for seasoning. You don't need it, but if you wanted to get some creaminess, and had some half-and-half, you could add it.




Sauteed Corn with Bacon

Olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
(Diced bell pepper)
Frozen corn, thawed or not
Crumbled cooked bacon
(Ground cumin)
Salt and pepper
(Half-and-half, or heavy cream)

Saute the onion and optional green pepper in the olive oil. When the onion is translucent but not browned, stir in the corn and bacon. Cook until the corn is heated through, and if you want, toasted a little bit. Season with the cumin, salt, and pepper. Add the half-and-half or cream, if desired, and heat through, but don't boil.