A Little Green

I just prepared a creamed corn casserole.  It looks pretty tasty if I say so myself.  As I looked at the ingredients mixed up in the bowl, I knew there was just something missing . . . a little green.  My love for making casseroles comes from my Grandma Wanell Allen.  She could pull any combination of ingredients out of the fridge and make the tastiest eats you could imagine.  If she thought the taste might be a little questionable, she would throw bacon or cheese or Ritz crackers with butter on the top for good measure.  Without fail she always had a little green in her casseroles.  Sometimes she threw in green beans, peas, spinach, dill, parsley, broccoli, or collards.  She always had something green on hand.

My grandparents hosted many of my date nights.  I always jokingly told my dates "watch out for the casseroles, Grandma cleaned out the fridge and you never know what the green is".  I told them to steer clear of the "unknown" at dinner and stick with what they knew they would eat.  Without fail my dates wouldn't scoop out a portion of casserole and without fail my Grandpa would ask my dates if they weren't hungry.  He would keep on talking about how good Grandma's food was and ask why they wouldn't eat more and then offer them more food.  I would often watch as my dates squirmed in their seats as Grandma would offer them casserole as she saw it was missing from their plates.

Only a few passed this little test of mine and took Grandma up on her offer for casserole.  You see, my Grandma would never serve anything questionable, but just the thought made several of my dates squeamish.  I figured, if they didn't have the nerve to try Grandma's casserole, they weren't worth my time.  Many only got that first date, while only a few others moved to the second date.

If only Grandma knew about my little test . . . and that little bit of green, she may have had more fun with dinner.