Robbie's Favorite Cornbread

You know those dishes that just have to be made like mom makes them?  For me it’s chicken with the white sauce—I’ll have to post that one sometime.  But for Robbie, it’s cornbread.

When Robbie was a boy, his little brother was allergic to milk, so their mom would use orange juice instead of milk in her cornbread.  The result is a super sweet cornbread that has turned Robbie into a picky cornbread eater.

When we first got married, I started making cornbread with her alterations to my old go-to recipe—orange juice instead of milk and a little vanilla.  It always tasted amazing, but the texture was never quite right.  I figured it was because the OJ throws off the acid/base balance.  A little tinkering, and I’ve finally perfected it!

One key to any cornbread is to not over mix it.  There is a huge temptation to mix the wet and dry ingredients together until the batter is smooth—DON’T DO IT!!  The batter should still have lumps in it when it goes in the pan.  This concept may deserve a separate post.

To make this completely dairy-free, I' sure you could replace the butter with melted shortening or vegetable oil (though I've never tried it).

Robbie’s Favorite Cornbread

1½ c. flour

⅔ c. sugar

½ c. cornmeal

¾ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 eggs

1½ c. orange juice

⅓ c. vegetable oil

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

1½ tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease 8- or 9-inch square baking pan; set aside.  In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, corn meal, baking powder, and salt.  In a small bowl, beat eggs to break up.  Stir in orange juice, vegetable oil, butter, and vanilla.

Be sure to break your eggs up thoroughly so
you don't end up with chunks of egg in your cornbread.
"Yeah, that's gross."  --Robbie

The only precaution here is don't add the butter directly to
the eggs if it is still hot from being melted.

Add to flour mixture; stir just until blended.

Do not over mix—there will still be lumps.  Pour into prepared pan.

Bake about 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cornbread muffins:  Grease or paper-line muffin cups.  Fill ⅔-full; bake 18-20 minutes.  Cool in pan 5 minutes before removing.

It's so good, you may not even want butter.  I
usually eat mine plain.

As a bonus, you’ll notice that all my pics are of a funky 9”X13”-turned-into-a-9”X9” pan.  I used this technique twice in the same week so I thought it was worth sharing.  If you don’t have the right size pan, simply use a larger pan and make a foil dam to get the proper size.  Heavy duty foil is best, but regular will suffice (that's what I used).  Be sure to fill the empty part with some water to avoid overheating and burning that side (like filling the unused spaces in a cupcake pan).  Just be sure not to puncture the foil or let it spill over--no soggy cornbread!

Sorry, foil doesn't photograph well.  Be sure the dam
is as high as the pan walls.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

One of the things that makes Thanksgiving Thanksgiving and Christmas Christmas is Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread.  We grew up eating it every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it continues to be one of our favorite holiday treats.  The recipe we usually use is a secret, so I'm not sharing the recipe we grew up with.  Sorry!  However, I did find a recipe that is very similar to the one we grew up with, and I even made a couple small changes to make it even more similar.  It still isn't exactly the same, but it's pretty close and I think you'll like it!

One of the nice things about this recipe is that it's versatile.  You can make large loafs, mini loafs, muffins, or mini muffins.  You'll just need to adjust the baking time depending on what you're making.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour bread pans or muffin tins (or line muffin tins with cupcake wrappers).

In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, vegetable oil, water, and eggs; mix well.  Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.  Mix until combined, being careful not to over mix.  Gently fold in chocolate chips.  Pour batter into prepared bread pans or muffin tins.

Makes 1 large loaf or 3 small loaves.  I honestly can't tell you how many muffins or mini muffins it makes, as I've never counted.  Sorry!!!  If you're making muffins, fill each muffin tin 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full.  For 1 large loaf, bake for 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  For 3 small loaves, bake 50-60 minutes.  I don't have the times for the muffins, but next time I make them, I'll let you know!

Waiting patiently for the bread to bake!

Sometimes it doesn't come out of the pan very well.  It could be due to the fact that I've reused these disposable bread pans so many times.  Maybe it's time to invest in some real bread pans!

Yum!  So moist; so delicious!

Delicious and Healthy(ish) Muffins

I'm not sure how muffins became a commonly accepted breakfast food.  It's basically a cupcake without frosting.  Yes, I know there are other differences between cupcakes and muffins; but nutritionally, I don't think there's much difference between the two (other than the frosting, of course).  Anyhow, I rarely ever make muffins because I really don't need the temptation of having them in the house.  They do make for a quick and easy breakfast, which means I'll probably be more likely to grab a muffin if it's there, rather than have a healthy breakfast.

Anyway, something got into me last week and I decided to make a batch of muffins.  They actually ended up coming in quite handy, as we had some early doctor appointments this week and were up before the sun.  We were able to grab a muffin and eat on the run.  I had also come across a muffin recipe that was somewhat healthy...or at least healthier than most other muffin recipes I've seen.  It called for carrots and zucchini, which I just happened to have extras of in my refrigerator, so I thought this would be a perfect way to use them up.  The author of the recipe on Allrecipes said she came up with this recipe to get her kids to eat vegetables.  However, I can't suggest using this as a substitute for veggies.  Your kids would have to eat a lot of muffins to get a whole serving of veggies, considering there's only 2 cups in the whole batch!!!  As is my style, I didn't stick with the original recipe, but was thrilled with how my version came out.  My hubby and daughter loved them too! 

Healthy(ish) Carrot Zucchini Muffins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup shredded zuchhini
1 cup shredded carrots
Chopped almonds, raisins, walnuts, pecans, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, etc. (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease 21* muffin cups.

In a medium bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oats, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg until combined.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce, yogurt, sugar, honey, and vanilla; mix well.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until all ingredients are combined.

In a paper towel or clean kitchen towel, squeeze most of the liquid out of the carrots and zucchini.

They will clump together, so use your fingers to separate them a bit so as to not end up with clumps of veggies in your muffins.  Fold carrots, zucchini, and any other desired ingredients (raisins, dried cranberries, nuts, etc.) into muffin batter. 

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes; transfer to wire racks to cool completely.  These are amazing when they're warm.  You can place any leftovers in a zip-top bag and freeze them if you're not going to eat them within the next few days.  I made half of these plain and half with dried cranberries and chopped pecans. 

*The original recipe said 24 muffin cups.  I think I filled mine more than 3/4 of the way, so I only got 21 muffins.

Delicious (Sweet) Cornbread

A couple weeks ago I posted my favorite chili recipe.  In our house, it's a given that if we're going to have chili, we're also going to have cornbread!  Not all cornbreads are created equal.  Some are more buttery in flavor and others are sweet.  One isn't necessary more superior than the other - it's merely a personal preference.  This recipe produces a cornbread that is both buttery and sweet.  It's delicious with a crunchy crust on top and moist and sweet in the middle.  I always have to give my daughter her cornbread after she's eaten everything else, otherwise she'll eat nothing but cornbread!  You can save quite a bit of money making your own cornbread versus buying a mix.

Cornbread
1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vinegar combined with enough milk to make 1 cup (or 1 cup buttermilk)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix melted butter and sugar.  Add eggs and blend well.  Combine buttermilk and baking soda; add to butter mixture.  Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt and mix until few lumps remain.  Pour into a greased 8-inch square pan.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Overly Ripe Bananas = Great Banana Bread!

If your family is anything like mine, you often end up with brown bananas sitting on your counter.  I don't usually mind this happening, because when they're too ripe to eat, they're perfect for banana bread!  If I'm not ready to make banana bread right then, I just pop the bananas in the freezer.  When I'm ready to use them, I pull them out and let them defrost.  Once they're defrosted, I cut off one end and simply squeeze the banana out of the peel!



Banana Bread
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. mashed bananas (approx. 2 large or 3 medium bananas)
1/3 c. milk
1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 x 5 x 3-inch pan (or three small loaf pans).

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, cream butter.  Gradually add sugar, creaming well.  Add eggs and bananas; blend thoroughly.

Notice how brown the bananas got in the freezer.  The picture at the opening of this post is what they looked like when they went into the freezer.  Don't be alarmed when they come out looking like this - they are still good.

Combine milk and lemon juice in measuring cup.  Add dry ingredients to banana mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, blending well after each addition.

Stir in walnuts (my husband prefers it without nuts, so I leave them out).   Pour batter into pan(s) and bake at for 60 to 70 minutes for a large loaf or about 45 minutes for three small loaves (6 x 3.5 x 2).

When the bread is done, it should spring back when it is lightly touched in the center of the loaf.  Remove bread from pan and cool on a wire rack.

The great thing about this is that you can freeze not only the bananas until you're ready to use them, but you can also freeze the bread once it's baked.  I usually make three small loaves.  This allows more flexibility with the bread.  We can have one loaf out to eat and either give away the extra loaves or freeze them until we're ready to eat them.  Freezing the extra loaves will keep them fresher than if I had just baked a large loaf and let it sit on the counter until we could finish it.