Homemade Cornbread

I have a confession. I used to hate, I repeat, HATE, cornbread. I couldn't eat it. I just couldn't. I think it was because I used to make it from a Jiffy mix (*hangs head in shame*) and it always turned out dry, crumbly and tasteless. Not very appetizing, I know.

And then, The Frugal Girl and all of her bread baking wisdom shared her recipe for Homemade Cornbread. I told myself that I'd give it one more shot at cornbread. If it was a flop, then I'd give up on cornbread for life. Lucky for me, it was a total success and I just fell.in.love with cornbread. I mostly like it smothered in homemade syrup (recipe to come. It's ridiculously easy...). So maybe it isn't that I've come around to cornbread afterall. Maybe I've just found another carb to soak in sugary syrup. Hmmmmm....

Ingredients

1 c. All Purpose Flour

1 c. Yellow Cornmeal

2-4 T. Sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

1 T. Baking Powder

1/2 t. Salt

2 Eggs

1 c. Milk

1/4 c. oil or butter

Directions

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl, wisk together wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently stir until just combined. Scrape into a greased 8x8 baking dish and bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

For more great recipes, be sure to check out Meatless Monday!

30 Minute Rolls

What would be an Easter dinner without rolls? There are a lot of really great roll recipes out there, several of which I have tried and shared with you including Sour Cream Rolls and Pumpkin Rolls. I decided this time to go the way of ease and try out the 30 Minute Rolls that I found over at Real Mom Kitchen. The idea of quick rolls really appealed to me, especially at this time of year when I feel like I am running 100 miles per minute just to get everything done. Between the Easter celebrations we have with family, baby showers, First Communions, weddings, prom grand marches, spring cleaning, yard work, and work anything that is quick and easy is much appreciated right now! To get a roll that's quick and easy like this? Priceless! Especially when it's a super tasty roll like this one!

My only suggestion to you is to use more flour than I did. My dough was pretty sticky, and I think that affected the baking time, which actually ended up being closer to 20 minutes. I also think that they would have shaped into a prettier roll had the dough been easier to handle. Otherwise, this roll is amazing and one that you should seriously consider for your Easter potluck this weekend!

Ingredients...

...1 1/8 c. plus 2 tsp. warm water

...1/3 c. oil

...2 T. yeast

...1/4 c. sugar

...1/2 tsp. salt

...1 eggs

...3 1/2 c. flour

Directions...

Mix water, oil, yeast and sugar together in a bowl. Let rest for 15 minutes. Add salt and eggs. Gradually stir in flour until a dough forms. Shape into rolls and place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

Pineapple Carrot Bread

I'm a pretty big quick bread fan. I started out just making Banana Bread, but soon started trying recipes like Zuchinni Bread, Pear Bread (a recipe I've not shared yet, but is delicious!!), and there are many other quick bread recipes that I've bookmarked and am anxious to try! Quick breads are just too easy, not only to make, but also to have on hand for snacks, as a tasty breakfast and even as dessert!

This quick bread recipe, which I got from an acquaintence, really got my attention! Carrot bread seems so very appropriate for this time of year being spring and Easter time and all, but adding pineapple? Now there's a concept I never would have thought of on my own! I knew this was a must try recipe, and now I'm sharing with you that this is a must. try. recipe! This bread is so moist and delicious! It reminds me a lot of carrot cake, but with that extra addition of fruity pineapple really kicks it up a notch! This bread is super great warm, fresh from the oven with a little butter on it, and because I can't eat it that way every time (isn't it so sad that food can't stay warm fresh from the oven all the time?) I have a tendency to toss a slice in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time or so to sort of mimick that warm from the oven taste. It does the trick well enough to satisfy me :)

Ingredients...

...3 cups all-purpose flour

...1 tsp. salt
...1 tsp. baking soda
...1 tsp. ground cinnamon
...3 eggs
...2 c. sugar
...3/4 c. applesauce
...1 c. shredded carrots
...1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
...2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions...

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. In a seperate mixing bowl, wisk together eggs, sugar and applesauce until well combined. Then add in carrots, pineapple and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until everything is wet and well combined. Pour batter into two greased loaf pans and bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the loaf comes out clean.

Irish Soda Bread

St. Patricks Day is tomorrow, do you have your Irish meal all ready to celebrate? I shared a most delicious cupcake recipe that is in no way, shape or form Irish, on Saturday, and now I've made some Irish Soda bread. This bread would make a great side to the dish that I've made for tomorrow...Irish Lamb Stew...yum!

This bread was...different. It appears to be a yeast bread, but it is actually a quick bread. It also appears to have the density of a yeast bread, but it actually eerily reminds me of cornbread. Very much so. It also doesn't bake up "pretty". As you can see in the picture, it's a pretty lumpy loaf of bread. Now, I realize that you're just going to slice it up and slather it in butter, so looks don't really matter, but I'm just weird like that. I like my loaves of bread to be smooth and pretty :)

Despite the lack of "pretty" in this loaf of bread, it really did taste very good. Once you get used to the cornbread consistency, this bread is quite enjoyable! Next time, I think I'm going to try and make this bread in loaf pans though. While the round loaf is fun and different, it makes for some really hu-uge long slices of bread! I found this recipe over at Allrecipes and was very eager to try it! You should whip up a loaf or two for St. Patricks Day, it's always fun to celebrate a holiday with the appropriate foods! 

Ingredients...

...4 c. flour

...4 T. sugar (not pictured)

...1 tsp. baking soda

...1 T. baking powder

...1/2 tsp. salt (not pictured)

...1/2 c. butter, softened

...1 c. buttermilk (I made my own by adding 1 T. lemon juice to 1 c. regular milk)

...1 egg

Directions...

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir to evenly distribute all ingredients. Cut in softened butter. Stir in buttermilk and egg until all ingredients are moistened. Knead dough lightly until everything is evenly incorporated. Shape dough into a round loaf and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cut an "x" in the top of the loaf and brush with milk and butter if desired. Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes. 

To see other really great recipes, be sure to check out Tuesday's at the Table over at All the Small Stuff, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at BlessedwithGrace and Tasty Tuesday over at Beauty and Bedlam!

Zucchini Bread

I was sooo excited when I brought home two zucchini from the farmers market last weekend. And then in my refrigerator they sat for a week. I really did not want to bake with them...I wanted to use them in a main dish of some sort. But I caved this morning and made some zucchini bread. I was not let down! I'm glad I made this, and am planning on using the rest of the zucchini for a few more batches for the freezer!

Ingredients...

...2 cups shredded zucchini
...3 eggs
...2 cups sugar
...3 cups flour
...1 cup plain yogurt
...1 tsp. vanilla
...1/2 cup raisins
...1 tsp. cinnamon
...1 tsp. baking soda
...1 tsp. salt
...1/4 tsp. baking powder
...1/2 cup sour cream

Directions...

Combine all ingredients well. Pour into two loaf pans and bake at 350 for an hour.

The Verdict...

Oh my! This is delicious! A great quick bread recipe that is a nice change of pace from banana bread! I can't wait to bake up more loaves and keep them in the freezer for during the winter! This would be soo tasty on a chilly winter morning with a cup of tea snuggled in pj's (can ya tell I love fall/winter and can't wait for it to get here?!?)

The Best Banana Bread

I found this banana bread recipe in an old cookbook of my grandma's, and I first tried it out when I was 14. Since then I have tried several different recipes, but I just keep coming back to this one because it is so good!

Ingredients...

...3 bananas
...1/2 tsp. salt
...1 cup sugar
...2 eggs
...1/2 c. plain yogurt
...2 cups flour
...1 tsp. vanilla
...1 tsp. baking powder
...1 tsp. baking soda

Directions...

Combine bananas, salt and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, yogurt and vanilla. Graduall mix in flour and baking powder. In a seperate, small bowl, pour a little boiling water over the tsp. of baking soda (only add enough water to make the soda fizz and do not do this step until you are ready to add it to the batter). Add to batter. Place in a greased loaf pan and bake at 325* for 45-55 minutes.

My Thoughts...
There is a reason that I keep coming back to this recipe, and it's because it's sooo good! Perhaps it's because it's an older recipe from one of my grandma's cookbooks (one which she submitted a few of her own recipes to) and those older women just really know what they're doing in the kitchen! But at any rate, I love this recipe! The top of the loaf always comes out with a marbled look to it, which I think really dresses up the loaf! Sometimes I split the batter between two loaf pans and make two smaller loaves, but this time I just made one big loaf. So good! Great for a nutritious snack or tasty breakfast!