I'm not really uptight about calories or the nutritional content of the recipes that I test. But Paula Deen is giving me pause, because everything that I've tested from her thus far is just way, way too much. Too much butter, too much sour cream, too much oil, too much cheese. I love fatty food as much as the next person, but I can't base my entire diet around Piggy Pudding or Better Than Sex Cake or this casserole. It's just too overwhelming.

I tried this recipe again with half as much butter, sour cream, and cheese, and liked it a lot better. The texture isn't quite as gloopy, and it tastes really good without being quite so laden down with dairy products. I've given Deen's recipe as it appears in the book, and appended my reduced amounts of sour cream, butter, and cheese in parentheses. Make sure that you cook the casserole until the center is no longer wobbly, and let it stand for at least 5 minutes before attempting to dish it up.

I've made a couple of other small changes for clarity. Deen calls for an 8-oz. package of Jiffy cornbread mix, but Jiffy comes in 8.5-oz. packages, so I've changed the ingredients list to reflect that.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: about 1 hour
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

15.25-oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
14.75-oz. can cream-style corn
8.5-oz. package corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy)
1 cup sour cream (for less fat, use 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup melted butter (for less fat, use 1/4 cup)
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (for less fat, use about 3/4 cup)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 1 1/2-quart casserole with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the canned corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and butter. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until golden and no longer wobbly, about 45 to 50 minutes. Top with the cheese, and return to the oven for about 5 to 10 more minutes. Let stand about 5 minutes, then serve.