Good Ole Basic Cornbread

It takes 5 minutes to whomp this together.
It does too.
I timed myself while I was bakin' bacon.  
Sunday mornings just mean bacon and a leisurely breakfast at our house.  If you haven't learned you should bake your bacon yet, you really need to try it*. I set my timer for 11 minutes while the bacon was cooking, and I was done by the 5 minute mark with my cornbread! Of course it still had to bake but essentially, I was done!


I lifted this recipe off the Alber's cornbread box many years ago. I'd like to say I'd improved it, but I haven't made any changes that I know of...
I figured "hey, cornbread is their business", why change it! 
Except  I googled it and it looks to me that there may be more than one recipe on Alber's site.  Oh well... here's the one that I like

Our son and our daughter's boyfriend, Danny, were up this weekend, helping us with some outdoor projects. It sure is fun to feed young guys who have been working hard all day... they sure are enthusiastic about food! They are a pleasure to feed!  Danny made a bacon, tomato jalapeno jelly(recipe to come tomorrow) and cornbread sandwich with his breakfast. Oh yeah... that was good! 

 
Makes a 9x9 pan (easily doubled for a 9x13 pan)
Ingredients

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable or corn oil
1 egg, well beaten


Mix together all the dry ingredients in one bowl (cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder & salt), stir to combine. I used my mixer, but I used a regular bowl and spoon for years.

Here's my trick for measuring the wet ingredients easily; use a 2 cup measure, add 1 cup of milk, then add 1/3 cup il up to the mark on the side, add the egg and beat it all up in the milk and oil.  

Add to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Don't over mix, but don't over mix either. Pour into a greased baking pan (spray, butter, oil, bacon grease- all work).
 
Add to a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.  I always use a glass pan, so mine tends to cook in 20 minutes, but a metal pan may that 25 minutes.  When a toothpick comes out clean, it's done.

 *Makin' Bacon the Easy Way
Lay out your slices on the pan, it takes about 2 for one pound of bacon. Pop into a 400 degree oven for 11 minutes. (I set my timer, it works).  Sometimes you need to flip your pans, it sort of depends on your bacon.

Here's a delightfully yummy cornbread that is a bit more complicated to make, but oh so delicious.
Sweet & Moist Spicy Jalapeno Cornbread 

Versatile Salad Dressing Recipe- Never buy store bought again!

So dang easy...

I think you should spend your money on yummy vinegars and oils to make your own creative salad dressings, and not on crappy bottled salad dressing. 

This is so base recipe is so easy, I have actually made salad dressing at 5am before work before, maybe that's a little crazy and all, but it IS easy. It takes about 5 minutes to pull together something yummy.

 

(Raspberry Orange Poppyseed Dressing)

 
Here's a couple of points about making your own salad dressings
* Keeps beautifully in the fridge
* Use on green tossed salads, chopped salads, fruit salads
* Makes an easy and delicious marinade for steaks, chicken and fish
* No yucky preservatives
* Economical, I bet it costs under $1
* Control the amount of sugar in your dressing... or leave it out altogether

Here's the idea for your own dressing,
1) combine an acid (vinegar, citrus juice, fruit juice etc)
2) with an emulsifier (Dijon mustard or dry mustard)
3) some seasoning (fresh herbs, garlic, honey etc)
4) Blend up.
5) With the blender going, pour in some oil in a steady stream through the hole in the lid of your blender.
6) Adjust your seasoning and serve. Easy.

Here's a shot of everything before you blend and dribble in the oil with the blender running.

A couple of notes on oil,
* I don't usually use all olive oil in my recipe because it has a strong taste, but it is really up to you.  What do you like?  Use it!  I usually mix my oils to get a taste that fits my mood.
* If you use 3/4 cup of oil, you usually get a thicker dressing, use a cup of oil = thinner.
* I also have used 3/4 oil, and added in a 1/4 of water slowly to reduce the amount of fat in your dressing. 

Think of these recipes as guidelines.... you are supposed to make it what you like!!!

Here's the base recipe for Lemon Dijon Dressing:

1/4 cup Lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves (optional)

1-2 Tbsp parsley, chopped (optional)

Salt and pepper

3/4 cup vegetable oil 

Mexican Cumin & Cilantro Dressing

1/4 cup lime juice

1 tsp dry mustard

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 jalapeno, chopped

salt & pepper

3/4-1 cup of oil

Orange, Raspberry Poppyseed Dressing

1-2 Tbsp orange juice

2 Tbsp raspberry vinegar
1 tsp dry mustard, dijon
salt to taste
3/4-1 cup of oil
2 tsp poppyseeds

Asian Sesame Dressing

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp dry mustard powder

salt and pepper

3/4-1 cup of oil

Balsamic Dijon Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tsp Dijon Mustard
3/4-1 cup of oil
Salt & fresh ground pepper

Greek Feta Dressing

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tsp dried oregano

1 Tbsp parsley, chopped

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

3/4-1 cup of oil
1/4 cup crumbled feta, added after blended, OR before if you like

Acids, pick ONE (or combine some...):

Lemon juice

Lime juice

Rice Wine vinegar

red wine vinegar

cider vinegar

balsamic vinegar

Raspberry Vinegar

Oils, pick ONE or two...:

Canola Oil

Olive Oil

Truffle Oil (1-2 tsp for flavoring)

Peanut Oil

Sesame Oil (1-2 tsp for flavoring)










Flavorings, pick what you like:

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

Herbs (cilantro, parsley, basil, chives, mint, oregano)

Seasoning Salt

Cumin

Sriracha

Sesame Seeds

Emulsifier (you need this to make it thick):

Dijon Mustard

Dry English Mustard