Cornbread WITH Jalepenos!

To go with our Super Bowl chili we needed something with a bit of zip that could also mop up the chili juices - naturally, corn bread was the answer.  We originally were going to just mix up Jiffy cornbread mix and maybe add something to it, but when we got to Whole Foods we found a bag of yellow corn meal with a recipe for jalapeno cornbread right on the bag - perfect!

Some Yummy Bread
The Corn MealThe necessities...

1 Cup of finely chopped Onion
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Cup of the corn meal
1 Cup of flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp salt
2 eggs
1 Cup milk
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp honey
1- 1/4 Cup Cheddar Cheese
2-4 Jalapeno chopped

First (as always) the onion was chopped up and then the jalapenos were de-seeded and chopped up.  The recipe called for 2-4 peppers, so we split the difference and used 3.

Chopped Onions and JalapenosI sauteed the onions in a pan with a bit of olive oil for about 5 minutes, until they were nice and soft.  I wish I had sauteed the jalapenos as well - a suggestion for all of you! 

Meanwhile, in a large bowl I combined the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt and stirred it together.  In a second bowl I beat the eggs, honey, oil and butter.  This mixture and the milk was added to the dry ingredients and stirred together until it was all well blended.  Once combined, the sauteed onions, jalapenos and a cup of the cheese were added to the batter.

Mixing it upI stirred all the components together and poured them into an 8 x 8 dish that had been sprayed with cooking oil.  Once the batter was spread evening in the dish, I sprinkled some cheese over the top and put it in a 400 degree oven.

Baking with some CheddarAfter about 20 to 25 minutes the bread was a lovely golden brown.

Ready To EatThe cornbread was light and fluffy and the perfect companion to the chili.  Like I said, the only thing I would change would be to saute the jalapenos to make them a bit softer in the bread.  For a first attempt at homemade cornbread I was really happy considering I thought it may end up like a dense brick.  Instead, this perfectly mopped up our chili amazingly well.