Cooking with Grammie: Corn Salad (the perfect side dish)

When I moved to Texas, I learned something very important:

You do not need lettuce to have a salad.

Nope.  A salad can basically be anything you want - including jello - thrown together and chilled.

This is my favorite non-lettuce salad EVER.  Seriously...I could eat it all day long.

Initially, I didn't want to eat this.  My mother-in-law (Grammie) made it for an event, and I passed it over because I don't really like any of the ingredients.  But then, for whatever reason, I did try it - and my mouth fell in love with it.

I love this Corn Salad so much that I always request it for special events (and even non-special events).  For some reason, it never occurred to me that I could actually make this myself until very recently. This week, I rounded up the ingredients and made my first batch of Corn Salad...and guess what?

I NAILED IT.

Here's how you make it.

Grammie's Corn Salad 

Ingredients
- 3 cans whole kernel corn
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup Miracle Whip
- small jar pimentos
- 3-4 chopped green onions
- 1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped
- 4 1/2 ounces of Chili Cheese Fritos (added just before serving)

Not pictured: green bell pepper.

Time Involved
15 minutes or so to prep and mix, and a couple of hours to chill

Servings
A lot.  I don't know how many because I always eat, like, three time the "normal" serving size, but this makes a large bowl and feeds a lot of people.

Suitable For
Everything!  Seriously...this is a great side dish for holidays, barbecues, typical family dinner, and potlucks (another weird Texas fact - instead of calling a potluck a potluck, it is often called a "Covered Dish" because I guess everyone is supposed to bring a covered dish with food inside).

A couple of notes about the ingredients (personal notes, not anything you really need to know to prepare this).

First of all, I have never purchased Miracle Whip, Chili Cheese Fritos, or pimentos prior to this week. In fact, I'm not sure that I've ever purchased canned corn, either.  So, those were all firsts.

Secondly, along with the fact that you don't need lettuce to make a salad, Texas has also taught me that Fritos are a legit ingredient in many recipes (I'm sure eating habits like that have *nothing* to do with the weight I've gained since moving to Texas, right?).

OK, so back to the awesomeness that is Corn Salad.

Mix everything in a big bowl except for the Fritos.  Stick in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill (because warm Miracle Whip is...not good).  While it's chilling (chillin' like a villain, no doubt), pour the Fritos into a plastic baggie and crunch them all up (you could probably use a rolling pin - I couldn't find mine). Mix the crushed Fritos into the Corn Salad right before you serve (so they'll be all crunchy and crispity and not soggy).  Save the extra Fritos and you can crush them up and add them to the leftovers (if you have any).

And that's it.

See how easy that was?

Now go make some and impress everyone with your delicious side dish.

"Cooking with Grammie" is going to be a monthly-ish event on the blog!  I'm excited to practice my cooking skills and share with you some of Grammie's most delicious (and easiest) recipes.

If you want to see more of Grammie's greatness, check out her Homemade Hot Chocolate recipe (it's great for gifts and is AMAZINGLY delicious!).