Thursday, September 25, 2008

The cold weather inspired my good homemade dinner~


Last night I was prepared to put something frozen in the microwave and heat it up for dinner. Not the best- I know* I have been making an effort lately to eat what I have- trying to save money so I can go out and explore. I starting browsing my cupboards in my mind. Fueled by my recent need to start baking again I settled on making chili and cornbread. Because I have this crazy need to make most things lean I picked up the computer to find a recipe for cornbread that was at least cut in calories. I searched myrecipes.com, allrecipes.com, Taste of Home, etc. I really did not have any luck. I even used my effective searching techniques. I guess the cooking world does not want lean cornbread. There was one recipe in Cooking Light, but it only had 3 out of 5 stars. Since I found nothing else, I looked at the reviews- which stated lack of flavor and decided to go for it anyway.
Southern Cornbread

1-cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1-cup skim milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
Vegetable cooking spray

Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, oil, and egg; stir well. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.Spoon batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until done. Cool 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.
Yield: 9 servings
CALORIES 145 (0.0% from fat); FAT 4g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.0g); IRON 1.2mg; CHOLESTEROL 24mg; CALCIUM 78mg; CARBOHYDRATE 23g; SODIUM 217mg; PROTEIN 3.9g; FIBER 0.9g Cooking Light, JANUARY 1997

I found it beyond easy to make. Minutes were all that was required and 20 minutes to bake. No fancy equipment needed- I didn’t have to whip out my birthday gift kitchen aid to do this endeavor. *Be aware that the full 20minutes is needed even if the toothpick came out clean. When I took mine out early and cut it open there was still a dense raw section close to the top by the steam vent. I decided that bread was light and tasty. It is great right out of the oven. Maybe my taste buds are different or I have never had the “real” homemade cornbread, but it was a quick addition to a cold weather meal. I liked it and discovered that it tastes great with my favorite Brummle & Brown on it! Give it a try*

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