Cornbread

I'll get straight to the point: Cornbread is delicious. Soups, salads, stews, fried foods, grilled meats...you name it, cornbread is the perfect complement to many styles of food.



For Christmas, my Mom, the creative lady that she is, put together a bunch of "recipes in a jar" and handed them out to family and friends. I was so excited when my box of goodies arrived. It was filled with jars full of ingredients to make soups, cookies and best of all...cornbread!



On Memorial Day I was invited to a fantastic BBQ down the street. I knew that grilled meats were going to be served so I decided to prepare the cornbread in a jar that my Mom gave me. By adding just a few extra ingredients, this cornbread was so easy to prepare and the end result was, as cornbread usually is, absolutely delicious.



Cornbread



Ingredients:

1 cup yellow corn meal
1 cup sifted flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup shortening
Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees; grease 8-inch square pan, 8-inch cast iron skillet or cast iron cornbread mold.
Mix corn meal, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
Add egg, milk and shortening and beat until smooth. Be sure not to overbeat.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
*For an extra special gift, place the italicized ingredients in a 2-cup canning jar and seal with fabric and a lid. Print the extra ingredients and directions on decorative paper and attach to the jar for a gift that your family and friends will love!



*Recipe for Cornbread Mix in a Jar adapted from Organized Christmas