Cornbread Sticks

Years ago I bought this pan because I thought it was cute.  Well it is still cute but sadly it was unused until today. 

I searched around the net and found this recipe.  It is as good as she claims it is.  Give it a try.

My Best Cornbread

• 1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)
• 1-1/2 cups buttermilk (powdered buttermilk is fine, or even yogurt or sour milk would work)
• 2 medium eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

You really need an iron skillet to make this, but if you just don’t have one, a nine inch square or round cake pan will do. Get your large iron skillet, or 9″ pan and put the margarine in it. Put the pan into the oven at 400° allowing the margarine to melt, and the pan to heat.
In a large bowl combine the buttermilk, eggs, sugar and salt. Use a whisk to mix it up really well. Pour in the melted margarine, leaving about a tablespoon of it left in the hot pan. Be careful pouring so you don’t get burned. Beat everything up again. Finally add the cornmeal, flour and baking soda. Whisk again until the batter is mostly smooth. Turn the batter into the hot skillet or pan, on top of the little bit of margarine you saved in it. Carefully put the skillet back into the oven. Bake the cornbread at 400° for about 25 minutes. It will be golden brown and the edges will pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool a little while before slicing into 8 or 12 wedges.
The iron skillet gives this cornbread the traditional crispy hillbilly crust. Another pan will still cook it, but it will not be quite the same. The buttermilk and sugar make the cornbread very tender and sweet. A perfect accompaniment for spicy dishes like Chili and stew.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/mybestcornbread.htm

I made a couple of changes, I melted the margerine on the stovetop in a saucepan and didn't quiet pour all of it in the batter so I could grease my pan for each batch and I only baked these little guys for 8 minutes and they are perfect.  I made a double batch so I have 70 of these little cuties!

Sinfully Good Cinnamon Rolls

This dough recipe comes from my wonderfully talented friend Deb.  This recipe has been used many times for many different purposes.  Yesterday, while I was feeling a bit out of control, I decided to take this recipe and make cinnamon rolls with some delightfully decadent additions.  By the time I got around to trying one I had also covered them in cream cheese icing.   So here we go.

The Dough

2 pkgs dry yeast
2/3 cup of sugar divided
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup margerine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs beaten
6-7 cups all purpose flour

Dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in 1 cup warm water; let stand about 5 minutes.  Combine remaining sugar, salt, margerine and shortening in a large bowl.  Add boiling water and stir until butter and shortening melt.  Cool slightly.  Add dissolved yeast, stirring well.  Add eggs and 3 cups of flour, beating at medium speed of electric mixer until smooth.  Gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough.  Place in a well greased bowl, turning to grease the top.  Cover and let rise until doubled in size.  Punch dough down and place on well floured surface.  Divide dough in half and set one half aside.  Roll the dough out into a large rectangle about a 1/4" thick.  Now here comes the fun part.

Spread your dough with some softened butter and then sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture.  When you are done with that grab some chocolate chips and some chopped nuts.  I like pecans.  Cover the cinnamon mixture with the chocolate chips and pecans.  You could also sprinkle on some brown sugar and coconut.  Once you feel your cinnamon rolls are sufficiently sinful go ahead and roll them up starting at the wide side.  After it is rolled slice into about 1 1/2" slices and place into buttered baking dish.  Cover with a dish towel and let rise about 30 minutes until doubled in size.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or just until the tops are golden brown. 

After the rolls have cooled slightly you can either eat them as is or you can be bad like me and cover them in cream cheese icing.  Either way is delicious and is a wonderful treat at the end of a long day or at the start of what is sure to be a long day.  Just make sure you have a fresh pot of coffee to enjoy with your rolls.

*This dough can also be used for wonderful dinner rolls which is what I did with the other half of the dough or it can be turned into some wonderful light buns great for making sandwhiches.  I like to make up a pan of cinnamon rolls and a pan of dinner rolls before we go camping.  The cinnamon rolls are a great way to start the day and the rolls are fantastic with some hobo stew making the perfect end to the day.

Super Yummy Whole Wheat Waffles

I have really gotten into the whole wheat and whole grain thing.  I love the way it tastes and I really love the way whole grains fill up a teenage boy without breaking the bank.  Try these waffles!  They are light and crispy but they are hearty and filling.  It makes a great breakfast for dinner and they are quick to make.

1 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
2 Tbsp flax meal
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 large eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg (freshly ground)
2 cups millk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Start heating up your waffle iron (mine takes forever to get hot).  Combine all ingredients and blend well.  Let the batter sit for about 10 minutes.  This is a great time to get some sausage cooking ;)  When your iron is ready pour the batter on and cook as usual.  In my waffle iron this recipe made 7 waffles.  I will be doubling the recipe next time so that I have leftovers for the boys.  I love having leftover waffles because that frees up time for me in the morning which means I can have an extra cup of coffee with some peace and quiet.

Some quick notes
*This recipe can be easily changed and adapted to suit your tastes.  The flours can be changed.  I started with an all purpose flour recipe and changed it so it worked for us.  Feel free to experiment.
**This recipe works fantastic for using your food storage.  Change the 2 large eggs into 2 Tbsp powdered egg, leave the milk out and add in 6 Tbsp instant dry milk and use 2 cups of water.
***The next step for this recipe is going to be trying it with finely chopped nuts.  I plan on adding in 1/2 cup of either almonds or pecans.  I will let you know what we think. 

After you try this please tell me what you think and what changes you made.  Enjoy!