Buttermilk Cornbread Loaf

I love the sweet cornbread recipe I have posted but sometimes it just isn’t the right kind of cornbread.  I came across this recipe and decided to try it.  It’s a very good basic cornbread.  I love that it’s made in a loaf pan ~ which makes it just a little different.

Buttermilk Cornbread Loaf

1 cup stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
4 tbsps melted butter

Preheat oven to 400º and grease and flour an 8×4 loaf pan.

Stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter until well mixed.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Makes 1 loaf.

Source:  Tasting the Hamptons

Happy Cooking!

Make Your Own Croutons

I had bought a loaf of sourdough bread last weekend at our favorite bakery and never used it.  I hate throwing food away but this loaf was very stale.  What to do?   I turned it into delicious croutons.

This is one of those “non-recipe” recipes.  It’s really just a how-to and you can make them whatever flavor you want.

Make Your Own Croutons

Loaf of stale bread
Butter or olive oil
Favorite spices ~ I used garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper
Cheese ~ optional ~ I used grated Parmesan cheese

Here is what I did:

Preheat oven to 325º.

I sliced the bread into 1-inch slices. I cut off the crusts and then cut the bread into 1-inch cubes.

I melted a stick of butter in a large bowl in the microwave. Added the cubed bread. I sprinkled on some garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and then the Parmesan cheese. I mixed being careful not to crush the bread.

I put this all on a baking sheet and made sure the cubes were all in a single layer.

I baked them for about 30 minutes until they were hard and browning nicely. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet.

Use on salads or in soups or for snacking.

Happy Cooking!

Pepperoni Rolls from Simple Shortcut Recipes

Day 10 of 10 days of recipes from by Gooseberry Patch.  If you would like a chance to win a FREE copy of this cookbook, please comment on THIS POST! 

I am extending the time this giveaway will end since I am so late getting this post out.  The giveaway ends today AT 5 PM so please comment before then.  I will pick a winner tomorrow morning!

These pepperoni rolls were wonderful!  They were very easy to make.  The recipe calls for the frozen bread dough but pizza dough would work, too.  I thought I had shredded mozzarella like the recipe called for but I didn’t so I used sliced mozzarella which worked great.  It was a bit harder to roll but it baked fine.  Mr. Meat Eater loved them.  I served with warmed Marinara.

Pepperoni Rolls
Submitted by DeNean Miller, Valley Grove, WV

VIEW PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed
1 )16 oz) pkg sliced pepperoni
1 (16 oz) pkg shredded mozzarella cheese
Marinara or pizza sauce, warmed, for dipping, optional

In a bowl, mix the eggs, seasonings, and Parmesan cheese and set aside.

Roll out first loaf into a rectangle on a floured surface and spread half of the egg mixture on top then layer with half the pepperoni and cheese. Roll up jelly roll style and place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet.

Repeat with second loaf.

Bake at 350º for 20 to 30 minutes until golden.

Cool and cut into slices and serve with sauce.

Makes 18-20 slices.

Happy Cooking!

Cheddar Biscuits from Simple Shortcut Recipes

Day 7 of 10 days of recipes from by Gooseberry Patch.  For a chance to win a free copy of this cookbook, please comment on THIS POST!

This recipe has been around for a long time but it’s a good one and does taste like the cheddar bay biscuits at Red Lobster.  They are super easy to make and really go with any kind of meal.  I typically use half and half in mine because I think it makes the biscuits more tender ~ whether it does or not, I don’t know but in my head it does, LOL!

The recipe said it makes 10 biscuits but I used an ice cream scoop so I would have the biscuits all the same size and I only made 6.  I also don’t think I would double this recipe but if I needed more, I would make the recipe 2 times.  I’m just not sure it would double right.  If anyone has done this, please let me know!

Cheddar Biscuits
Submitted by Molly Ebert, Decatur, IN

VIEW PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

2 cups biscuit baking mix
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 cup milk
2 tbsps fresh parsley, minced
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 tsp garlic powder

In a mixing bowl, stir together the baking mix, cheddar cheese, milk, and parsley until a soft dough forms.

Scoop dough into 10 mounds onto a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake at 450º for 8 to 10 minutes or until the tops are golden.

Combine butter and garlic powder; stir until well mixed.

Brush biscuits with butter mixture while still hot.

Makes 10 biscuits.

Happy Cooking!

Apple Muffins

I have a love/hate relationship with muffins. There are very few that I like ~ because they are dry and tasteless ~ so when I find a recipe that I like, I shout it from the rooftop! This is one of those recipes. They are moist and delicious.  The streusel  is delicious, too.  The recipe comes from Allrecipes.

Apple Muffins

VIEW PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

Muffins:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 tsps vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped apples ~ I used Gala

Streusel:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 375º and grease a 12-cup muffin pan or use cupcake liners (I even spray the cupcake liners with Pam).

In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and eggs until smooth. Mix in the vanilla. Stir in the chopped apples. Gradually blend the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Spoon into the muffin pan.

In a small mixing bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut int he butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle over the tops of the batter in the muffin pan.

Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Let the muffins sit for 5 minutes before removing from pan. Cool muffins on a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

Happy Cooking!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Recently, I found a recipe for pumpkin cinnamon rolls on King Arthur Flour’s website and decided to try them.  I made them in my bread machine but the recipe says you can make them by hand, mixer, or bread machine so it is a real versatile recipe.

When I was ready to add the cinnamon before rolling, I thought there was really too much so I only used half.  After baking, I wish I had used the whole amount so they would have had more a cinnamon-sugar taste so be sure to use the entire amount even if it looks like too much.

Another trick I learned from this recipe is to make sure the rolls are completely cool before adding the frosting and it won’t melt into the rolls and it will look really pretty.  I wish I had realized this before, LOL!

The rolls are absolutely delicious and I hope you try them!

I am just going to post the link to the recipe since there are some great tips included with the recipe ~ KA’s Pumpkin Rolls  I hope that you give them a try if you like to make yeast breads ~ they would be great for the holidays!!!

Happy Cooking!

Loaded Italian Bread

So good, it’s almost a meal in itself.  This recipe is really easy to make and I think it would go with almost any main dish ~ I served it with pasta.  You can change up the bread or even the ingredients if they don’t work with what you are serving it with.

This recipe came from one of my cookbooks called The Wild, Wild West by the Junior League of Odessa, Texas.

Loaded Italian Bread

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup chives, snipped (I just use scissors to snip them into the bowl)
1/3 cup sliced black olives
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 loaf Italian bread

In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together EXCEPT the bread.

Slice the bread in half horizontally and spread the mixture evenly over both sides. Put the bread spread side up on a cookie sheet and broil until edges are browned and cheese is melted. Be careful not to burn it.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Happy Cooking!

Spicy Corn Muffins

The other day I was looking at the piles and piles of cookbooks I have laying around, pulling some out and thumbing through them.  I decided that I HAVE to start cooking more from them.  So, my cooking goal this year is start going through them and cooking at least one recipe from each.  Some I know that I will spend more time cooking several recipes and those that I can’t find one single recipe to make, I will donate.  No sense keeping a book I won’t use ~ unless it’s it’s one of my really old, antiquey ones and then I’ll keep it.  I figured it will take me years to accomplish this since I will still be cooking from other sources.  At last count a few years ago, I had 1200 cookbooks.  I’m guessing it’s close to 1500 now but nobody tell Mr. Meat Eater, he’d have a stroke and then I’d have to point out his zillions of tools…  Anyway, I’ll be blogging for years!

So that’s my cooking goal for this year (and the next several years, LOL) ~ do you have any?    I like the word goal better ~ resolution just sets me up for failure for some reason.  Of course, I will continue with my usual goals of simplifying and reading 100 books this year.  We’ll see how it goes.

Something else I decided to do this year is to post only on weekdays and to give myself the weekends off.  I do much of my cooking on the weekends so this way I’ll have more to post during the week!

On to the recipe ~ I LOVE this recipe.  These muffins go with so many of the meals I make.  They are spicy but not terribly so ~ really flavorful and they are super easy to make.  I found this recipe on Food.com posted by my friend and former fellow host French Tart.  FT now longer participates on Food.com unfortunately and we miss her.

Spicy Corn Muffins

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup plain white flour
2 tbsps sugar
4 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup buttermilk
4 tbsps butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped jalapeno peppers ~ I use the chopped jalapenos in a jar

Heat oven to 400º and grease a muffin tin or put cupcake liners in the pan and spray them as well.

Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the buttermilk, melted butter and the egg. Mix until all the ingredients are combined – do NOT over mix or the muffins will be tough.  Add the jalapeno peppers and mix gently again.

Spoon into muffin tin (I use an ice cream scoop so the muffins are roughly all the same size) and then bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 12 muffins.

Happy Cooking!

Lemon Muffins

I baked these delicious lemon-y gems quite some time ago and forgot all about them.  They are easy to make and nice and lemony.  I’ve seen this recipe all over the internet and decided it was time to make them and I’m glad I did ~ there is also a recipe floating around out there that uses the same basic recipe (a few differences) and makes a loaf of quick bread.

Lemon Muffins

Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest, grated
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces lemon yogurt
2 tbsps sour cream
1 eggs
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Glaze
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or spray muffin pan with pam.  Don’t use paper liners as the muffins soak up for glaze if not in liners.

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the center. In a separate bowl mix together wet ingredients.
Pour wet ingredients in to the well of the dry and stir together gently until there are no flour streaks, it’s ok if there are some lumps.

Bake 20 minutes, edges should get just a little brown, test as usual.

While muffins are baking, prepare glaze.

Glaze ~ mix glaze ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir until sugar dissolves and mixture simmers slightly. Keep warm low heat.

As soon as muffins are removed from the oven poke each one several times with a skewer, then spoon glaze over the muffins, using up all of it.

Makes 12 muffins

Happy Cooking!

Raspberry~Blackberry Muffins

This recipe is really just a raspberry muffin recipe but I had about half a cup of raspberries and blackberries that needed to be used up so I put both in.  I don’t see why you couldn’t use any kind of berry in this recipe.  Use 1 cup of berries total whether you are using one type or two or three.  The muffin itself is very tender and the topping is just right.  It doesn’t have too much sugar in it either which is a plus.

Raspberry  ~ Blackberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup fresh blackberries

STREUSEL:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
3 tbsps sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
3 tbsps cold butter or margarine

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy then beat in the egg.

In a small bowl, mix sour cream, milk and vanilla. In another small bowl, combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture just until moistened.

Gently fold in raspberries and blackberries.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.

For the streusel: Combine flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-22 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins

Happy Cooking!