I was a child during World War II. Like everyone else on the block, my family had a victory garden. We grow potatoes, carrots and lettuce. Our next-door neighbors grew beans and corn. Food was scarce then and all the neighbors shared their crops.
Until I married my husband, I had never heard of Squaw Dish, and my mother never did. Some may find the name offensive, but this dish is still around and goes by the same name. My husband told me how to do it and I did it. This simple dish was tasty and satisfying, perfect for our limited budget.
What is the Squaw dish? I searched the internet and was surprised to see a variety of recipes. The campers make the dish. Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts make it. Effie M. Hudson of Muskegon County, Michigan makes it and shares her recipe on the Farm Girl Cookbook Blog.
She found the recipe in an old coffee can that belonged to her great-grandmother. Apparently his great-grandmother kept recipes in the can. “Some of the recipes are handwritten,” she explains, “and many are taken from newspapers and magazines.” Effie believes that the recipe originated in the 1920s.
It’s hard to believe that such simple ingredients—bacon, eggs, and creamed corn—could taste so good. Many Depression-era and World War II recipes made the most of a little bit of food—in this case, a few strips of bacon. The bacon is cooked in a skillet until crisp and then removed. Scrambled eggs are added to the bacon grease. As soon as they start to set, a can of creamed corn is added to the mixture. Effie garnishes her eggs and corn with chopped green bell peppers.
Bob Wakeman posts his recipe on the Just a Pinch Recipes website. His recipe is basically the same as Effie’s, only Bob adds some chopped onions for flavor. Another recipe calls for sour cream to make the dish even creamier. Sure, this homey dish is inexpensive and tastes good too.
I updated the recipe to reduce prep time and fat content. You can serve the dish with toast, corn muffins, or hard rolls. Add a mixed green salad and you have a complete meal. Worried about your grocery bills? Maybe it’s time to serve up an updated version of the Squaw Dish.
Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 envelope of precooked bacon (recipe pieces or crumbled)
6-8 large eggs, room temperature
1 can cream style corn
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
method
Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the cooked bacon bits and sauté for a minute. Put the eggs and corn in a bowl. Beat well with a fork to mix. Add the egg-corn mixture to the skillet and cook until set. Spice with salt and pepper. Serve on plates and garnish each serving with chopped green onions. Makes 4-5 servings.
Copyright 2012 by Harriet Hodgson
