Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread!

This "Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread" is so good with all of the various soups and stews we tend to make more when the weather turns cooler.  It's also really good with the dried beans we eat a lot of in this part of the country.   I have quite a few good recipes for this type of cornbread, but I think this one is one of my favorites.  I have tweaked this one here and there and to be honest, I have not posted it before because every time I made it, it just was not very pretty.  No matter how good I know it is, if it doesn't look good, you all do not want to make it.  That is just the nature of what I do. 

This cornbread is fairly dense and so it has to bake for quite a while so it's done in the middle.  However, when you cook it for the time required at the temperature most recipes call for, it rises up and cracks on the top from the middle out and by the time I get it out of the oven it's just ugly and certainly not photogenic.  It also gets too brown at a high temp for the whole hour.

So I remembered something my mother has always told me and that is if you want something to rise up in the middle high, like cupcakes, bake on a higher temperature, but if you do not want something to rise up high in the middle too fast, bake on a lower temperature.   This is why I bake this at 350 degrees for the first 30 minutes and at 375 for the last 30 minutes and it worked perfectly and came out ready for it's picture to be taken!    

Here is what you need for this cornbread:

1 cup self rising cornmeal
1/2 cup self rising flour
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 cup cream style corn ( or 1 small can)
1/4 cup jalapeno pepper rings, diced (the pickled type)
1/4 cup green or red bell pepper, diced fine ( I use red for the color)
1/3 cup oil, divided
1 cup Mexican cheese blend, shredded ( can use just cheddar)

***If you cannot buy the self rising cornmeal and flour in your area, add 1 tsp, baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp. salt to all purpose.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pour all but 2 Tbs. of the oil in an 8 inch iron skillet or an 8 inch baking pan.  Place in the oven to get hot while you mix the batter.

Mix together cornmeal, flour, buttermilk, eggs, corn, peppers and 2 Tbs. of the oil until well blended.

Carefully remove the skillet or pan from the oven when it's hot and slowly pour half of the batter in the skillet.  That oil should be screaming hot, so be really careful and get the kids and the pets back out of the way!  Nothing can burn you like hot grease popping in an iron skillet.   See how the oil comes up and over the batter, that's a good thing and why we didn't add much to the batter itself!
 

Sprinkle evenly with the cup of cheese!

Pour the rest of the batter over the cheese.  Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes turn the oven back to 375 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes.  A pick or sharp knife inserted in the center should come out clean when it's done.

You can turn this out onto a plate to serve or...

Leave it in the skillet and cut it from there!   Either way, be careful that skillet is hot!

Enjoy!



Cornbread Hoe Cakes

Since this blog is called 'Sweet Tea and Cornbread', I thought I might want to get around to talking about those things.  They are both pretty much staples of the southern table.  Hoe cakes are a type of fried, flat cornbread that look sort of like pancakes.  They are perfect with dried beans (pinto, white, mixed), soups, greens, and stews because they are so good for what really country, southern people call...soppin'.


The story is that the hoe cake came to be known as the hoe cake, because back in the day the field hands working in the crops had only some corn meal and water or maybe milk and their hoes to cook on over a hot fire. They would mix this mixture of corn meal and water or maybe milk up, clean their hoe off, and put it over a hot fire to cook the bread on  the flat surface.  Some even say it might go all the way back to the Indians who did make something very similar to the hoe cake, and many still do, called Indian fry bread or a Johnny cake.  However they came to be, done right, they are wonderful.


I see lots of variations on hoe cake recipes, but this is the recipe my mother taught me years ago.  I do add a couple of things she doesn't, but basically the same.

Start by mixing together an egg, 1 cup self rising flour, 1 cup self rising corn meal, 1 cup milk or buttermilk, 1 Tbs sugar, and 1/2 Tbs baking powder.  If you use buttermilk, you might need to add 1/4 cup water because it makes it a little thicker.  Mix all ingredients well.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet just to coat it on medium high heat.  When you pour batter in it should sizzle, but no smoke.  You can use a nonstick skillet or an iron skillet or a griddle if you have one.  I just use a nonstick skillet.  Don't crowd them because you have to have room to turn them.

Do not flip until they start to bubble and get little craters in them, then you can turn them without them falling apart.   They are pretty much done now and just need to brown on the other side.

Cook on the other side for about 3-5 minutes or until brown and you have delicious hoe cakes. Here is a helpful tip, do not be tempted to press down on these once you flip them.  They are not hamburgers and pressing on them will make them tough and dense not light.  It's a pet peeve of mine..lol.  I thought it must be a thing with just me, but I heard one of my aunts say that irritated the heck out her when somebody mashed on her hoe cakes after she flipped them. It's genetic...lol.  So many things are it seems.

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 cup self rising flour

1 cup self rising corn meal

1 cup milk or buttermilk

1 Tbs. sugar (optional, it's not enough to really make a huge difference)

1/2 Tbs. baking powder (you can leave this out, but it makes the hoe cakes rise up really nice)

vegetable oil

***If you cannot buy self rising cornmeal and self rising flour in your area, use all purpose and add  tsp. baking powder,  1 tsp. baking soda, and 1/4 tsp. salt.   If you can buy self rising, invest in some, it just makes better cornbread.

Cornbread Salad!!!

Only in the south would we take something like cornbread and turn it into a salad and since my blog name is Sweet Tea and Cornbread, I thought this was a very appropriate recipe.  And in addition to all of that, it is delicious.  When I first heard of this salad, I thought it sounded sort of weird, but I gave it try anyway and it was huge hit.   It's also very pretty and it's  perfect for a cookout or summer party. 

Here is what you will need:

1 pan of your favorite cornbread or you can use a box of Jiffy cornbread mix prepared, 1/2 cup vidalia or sweet onion, 1/2 cup green pepper, 1 can ranch or chili beans (drained) or kidney beans will also work, 1 can niblets corn (drained),  5-6 slices crisp bacon, 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese,  1 pkg ranch dressing mix blended with 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup sour cream to make the dressing.  Be sure you blend these together well. 

Take 1/2 cornbread and cut in cubes.  Place in the bottom of a tall trifle dish or a big glass salad bowl.  A clear bowl just looks prettier because the layers show. 

 Drain the beans well and put over the cornbread layer.  Next put half the onion and half the green pepper. Pour half the dressing over this layer.  Cut the rest of the cornbread in cubes and do another layer of cornbread.  Drain corn well and put it over this layer. Sprinkle the rest of the onion and green pepper over this. 

Finish the top with the rest of the ranch dressing mix, the grated cheese and the bacon crumbled. 

I have added tomato as an optional ingredient to this recipe.  It does look pretty. I add it around the edges right at the end. 

 Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.  This is best made early in the day and refrigerated for several hours to blend the flavors.  I wouldn't make it the day before though because it could get soggy.   This will be  big hit! 

Ingredients:

1 recipe cornbread

1 can niblets corn

1 can ranch beans, chili beans or kidney beans

1/2 cup sweet onion diced

1/2 cup green pepper diced

2 cups cheddar cheese grated

5-6 slices bacon fried crisp

1 pkg ranch dressing mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1 large tomato diced (optional)

Iron Skillet Cornbread!

I have honestly put off posting a recipe for skillet cornbread, because it seems any discussion of cornbread brings out strange things in people. Each region of the country seems to have their own ideas about cornbread.  Is it sweet or is it just savory, does it have flour in it or does it just have cornmeal?  Is that cornmeal supposed to be white or yellow?  Do you use oil, bacon drippings or shortening to grease your skillet?  Believe it or not, does it have eggs in it and do you use one or two?  It can get downright ugly when the 'Cornbread Wars' begin.   I have seen just glimpses of it when I post the recipe for  Hoe Cakes, which was in and of itself creates a very 'interesting' debate at times.  Some folks didn't even know what a hoe cake was and some just knew they were pancakes and I don't think they understand to this day that they are not! 

When I first got married and I was going to have my in-laws over to dinner, I couldn't decide what to cook, so my husband told me to just cook 'country food', because that was what they really liked and would appreciate most.  I cooked a big pot of pinto beans with ham in them and a big skillet of cornbread.  I am sure I cooked some other things to go with that, but I can't remember what it's been so long.  I do remember how they went on and on about my cornbread.  They just had never had cornbread that tasted like that before and my mother-in-law wanted to know the secret.  She kept saying this is almost like cake, it's so high and light.  She couldn't believe that I put as much flour in cornbread as I did cornmeal and two eggs on top of that.  She said no wonder it's like cake.  She was taught to only use cornmeal and if eggs only one and no bacon grease.   Those little things make all of the difference in the world in cornbread.  

We do not really make our cornbread sweet in this area of the South.  If you do add sugar, it's just a spoonful...nothing more.   Now, if you like sweet cornbread, add sugar to this recipe and it will be great.  That is just not how we make it. This recipe is how my mother taught me to make cornbread when I was just a teenager at home and it's how we both make it still. 

This is what you will need:

1 cup self rising flour

1 cup self rising cornmeal

1 cup buttermilk (can use regular milk also)

1 tsp. bacon grease (optional)

1 Tbs. sugar (optional)

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil or shortening

If you cannot buy self rising flour and cornmeal in your area, add 1 Tbs. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp. salt to the all purpose variety.  If you can buy the self rising, buy some for cornbread, it just makes it much better.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place oil or shortening in an iron skillet preferably or an 8"x8" baking dish and place in the oven to get hot.  If you are using the teaspoon of bacon grease, add it to the skillet also.  It's just enough to give the cornbread that good bacon flavor, but you don't have to cook it in all bacon grease.  To me there is nothing better than shortening for cooking cornbread in an iron skillet, but I know some of you are terrified of it (which I don't really understand) and the oil works well also.

Mix all  of the other ingredients together. Take the skillet out of the oven when it is sizzling hot. Be very careful if using an iron skillet, that grease can pop.   Add about a tablespoon of the hot oil or shortening to the batter. The batter will be well combined but still have a few lumps.  Don't over beat it, because it makes your cornbread crumbly.

Pour the batter into that hot grease in the pan.  It should sizzle.  This is how you get that crispy crusty outside and tender cake like inside that is key to good cornbread.   The iron skillet is perfect for this, but you can get almost the same effect in a glass baking dish also.  Iron just conducts the heat so much better.  Notice how the grease comes up over the edges of the cornbread.  If it doesn't, you don't have enough in your pan.  Don't skimp on it.

Place back in the oven on the middle rack for 30 to 35 minutes.  A sharp knife inserted in the center should come out clean.  Remove from the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes.  You can cut it out of the pan or if it's baked in iron skillet you can flip it out whole onto a plate and cut it in wedges.  

Skillet Cornbread!





Cornbread Salad!

Only in the south would we take something like cornbread and turn it into a salad and since my blog name is Sweet Tea and Cornbread, I thought this was a very appropriate recipe.  And in addition to all of that, it is delicious.  When I first heard of this salad, I thought it sounded sort of weird, but I gave it try anyway and it was huge hit.   It's also very pretty and it's  perfect for a cookout or summer party. 

Here is what you will need:

1 pan of your favorite cornbread or you can use a box of Jiffy cornbread mix prepared, 1/2 cup vidalia or sweet onion, 1/2 cup green pepper, 1 can ranch or chili beans (drained) or kidney beans will also work, 1 can niblets corn (drained),  5-6 slices crisp bacon, 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese,  1 pkg ranch dressing mix blended with 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup sour cream to make the dressing.  Be sure you blend these together well. 

Take 1/2 cornbread and cut in cubes.  Place in the bottom of a tall trifle dish or a big glass salad bowl.  A clear bowl just looks prettier because the layers show.  Drain the beans well and put over the cornbread layer.  Next put half the onion and half the green pepper. Pour half the dressing over this layer.  Cut the rest of the cornbread in cubes and do another layer of cornbread.  Drain corn well and put it over this layer.  Sprinkle the rest of the onion and green pepper over this. Finish the top with the rest of the ranch dressing mix, the grated cheese and the bacon crumbled.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.  This is best made early in the day and refrigerated for several hours to blend the flavors.  I wouldn't make it the day before though because it could get soggy.   This will be  big hit! 

Ingredients:

1 recipe cornbread

1 can niblets corn

1 can ranch beans, chili beans or kidney beans

1/2 cup sweet onion diced

1/2 cup green pepper diced

2 cups cheddar cheese grated

5-6 slices bacon fried crisp

1 pkg ranch dressing mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

Cheesy Country Ham Cornbread!

In Kentucky we take our cornbread and our country ham very seriously!   They are both a big part of our cuisine, so I thought, why not combine them and I did!   The result was amazing, if I do say so myself.  As I have discussed before, country ham, is a very regional product. 

 You don't find it above the Mason Dixon line much, if at all, or west of the Mason Dixon line, and surprisingly, not even in the deep South...Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama.   You can order country ham on the internet now though.   However, if you don't have county ham, this is good with regular ham or just a good smoked ham. 

Here is what you will need for this yummy cornbread:

3 Tbs. shortening

1 cup self rising cornmeal

1/2 cup self rising flour

1 Tbs. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 cup cream style corn or a small can

1 cup finely diced country ham

1 Tbs. butter

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

3-4 green onions, sliced thin, including some of the green blades

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   Place the shortening in an 8 or 9 inch iron skillet and place it in the oven while you prepare the cornbread.   This works best in an iron skillet, but if you don't have one, use a 9"x9"  baking dish.  

In a mixing bowl, place the cornmeal, the flour and the sugar.  If you cannot get self rising in your area, add a 2 tsp. baking powder and 1 tsp. salt to plain.  For some reason self rising flour makes better cornbread and biscuits than plain, so if you can get it, try to get some for that.

Add the eggs and mix.   Add the sour cream, milk, oil and the creamed corn and stir until no lumps.

Put 1 Tbs.  butter  in a skillet and saute the country ham until brown or done.  Contrary to what some think, country ham has not been cooked and needs some cooking before you eat it.  It is a smoked and cured ham, but still need a little heat on it. 

Carefully take the skillet out of the oven.  It will be screaming hot so use a good oven mitt.  Pour half

of the batter in the hot skillet. That hot shortening will come up over it and that's a good thing.

Sprinkle green onions,  then country ham, then 1 cup of the cheddar cheese over the batter.

Carefully place the skillet in the oven.  You might put it on a cookie sheet for easier moving in and out of the oven and to prevent spills.  This is a dense cornbread so it needs to bake for about 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  About 10 minutes before time to take it out, sprinkle the top with the rest of the cheddar cheese, just so it melts and gets bubbly. 

Cut in wedges and serve!  This is so good I could eat it just by itself.  It's really good with pinto or white beans and collard greens also! 





Cornbread Salad ...No Joke Y'all!

Only in the south would we take something like cornbread and turn it into a salad and since my blog name is Sweet Tea and Cornbread, I thought this was a very appropriate recipe.  And in addition to all of that, it is delicious.  When I first heard of this salad, I thought it sounded sort of weird, but I gave it try anyway and it was huge hit.   It's also very pretty and it's  perfect for a cookout or summer party. 

Here is what you will need:

1 pan of your favorite cornbread or you can use a box of Jiffy cornbread mix prepared, 1/2 cup vidalia or sweet onion, 1/2 cup green pepper, 1 can ranch or chili beans (drained) or kidney beans will also work, 1 can niblets corn (drained),  5-6 slices crisp bacon, 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese,  1 pkg ranch dressing mix blended with 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup sour cream to make the dressing.  Be sure you blend these together well. 

Take 1/2 cornbread and cut in cubes.  Place in the bottom of a tall trifle dish or a big glass salad bowl.  A clear bowl just looks prettier because the layers show.  Drain the beans well and put over the cornbread layer.  Next put half the onion and half the green pepper. Pour half the dressing over this layer.  Cut the rest of the cornbread in cubes and do another layer of cornbread.  Drain corn well and put it over this layer.  Sprinkle the rest of the onion and green pepper over this. Finish the top with the rest of the ranch dressing mix, the grated cheese and the bacon crumbled.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.  This is best made early in the day and refrigerated for several hours to blend the flavors.  I wouldn't make it the day before though because it could get soggy.   This will be  big hit! 

Ingredients:

1 recipe cornbread

1 can niblets corn

1 can ranch beans, chili beans or kidney beans

1/2 cup sweet onion diced

1/2 cup green pepper diced

2 cups cheddar cheese grated

5-6 slices bacon fried crisp

1 pkg ranch dressing mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise