Creamy Baked Corn Dip (2020)

This weekend is Memorial Day, and people will be celebrating the long weekend with barbecues, pool parties, cold beverages, and potlucks.  If you're my family, you'd be celebrating with a pool volleyball tournament gone rogue that we lovingly call ManBall.  ManBall is a two-day long tournament complete with a trophy and bragging rights for the winning team Captain.  Nicknames are born during ManBall--it's why my father's twitter handle is @JoeTheMasher and why most of his colleagues call him Masher instead of Joe.  There is plenty of sun and sports and trash talking and even more food.

Unfortunately I can't make it this year, but if I were going, I'd wear a lot of sunscreen, secure a spot in a deck chair next to the pool (I don't play ManBall.  I'm what they call a buoy.) and I would bring this creamy baked corn dip with plenty of fritos.  

If you find yourself attending a party this weekend, be it of the pool volleyball variety or otherwise, you should bring this dish.  It's definitely a crowd pleaser and a cinch to throw together.

Gather your ingredients!

Frozen corn (or fresh if you can find it!), shredded cheese, stewed tomatoes with green chilies, lime, jalapeño, half an onion, cream cheese, your favorite hot sauce, and not pictured, sour cream.

Chop up the onion and add it to medium oven safe dish.  Next add 2 cups of frozen corn.

Drain the stewed tomatoes and green chilies and add it to the mixture.  Add the chopped and seeded jalapeño and then chopped cilantro.  Cut half a block of cream cheese (about 4 ounces) into small pieces and add it to the vegetables.

Next add sour cream and gently mix together.  Add a few dashes of hot sauce and lime juice, then season with salt and pepper.

Gently mix that together then top with shredded cheese in a nice even layer.  

Into a 350 degree oven it goes for about 20-30 minutes, until the cheese is perfectly melted and the dip below is bubbly.

Serve hot with corn chips, which if you were me, would be fritos scoops.  Regular tortilla chips work too, I guess.

The cream cheese and sour cream melt into the corn and other vegetables creating a creamy, warm dip that is completely satisfying.  I brought this to a cinco de mayo party and it was gone within 30 minutes.  I'm pretty sure it was dinner for some guests.

Creamy Baked Corn Dip is a perfect appetizer for a potluck.  It can feed a crowd and it's ideal for those guests who want a bite on the way to the drink table.  Oh, and it couldn't be easier to make.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend, friends.  For those affected by the heartbreak and devastation caused by the tornadoes in Oklahoma, this weekend will be spent rebuilding and recovering.  If you want to know more about what you can do to help, native Oklahoman Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, has a great post that lists multiple resources and ways you can contribute.  

Here's the recipe!

Creamy Baked Corn Dip

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1 16-ounce can stewed tomatoes and green chilies, drained well
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, lightly packed and chopped
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into smaller pieces
• 1 cup sour cream
• A couple of dashes of hot sauce (your preference!)
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese

Method 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium sized oven-safe baking dish, add chopped onion, corn, drained tomatoes and green chilies, chopped jalapeño, cilantro and lime juice.  Stir together.  Add cream cheese and sour cream and gently mix until well incorporated.  The cream cheese will melt in the oven so it's OK if it doesn't completely break up.  Season with salt and pepper and add hot sauce.  Cover with shredded cheese.
2. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the corn mixture is bubbly.  
3. Best served warm with tortilla chips but if it cools on the potluck table, people will still eat it, promise.