Fiesta cornbread

Cornbread is about the only bread that I have successfully made taste good when I cook it. Also, it is probably the least labor and tool intensive of any bread I have made. Therefore, I have many cornbread variations, both savory and sweet. This savory version is cheesy and peppery and fun and the most delicious thing you will ever eat. EVER!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1/4 c chopped anaheim pepper
1/4 c chopped onion
1 tbsp chopped pimento
Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 egg
2/3 c milk
1/2 c roasted corn
1 c shredded cheese

Preheat the oven to 400.

Melt the butter in a small pan and saute the pepper, onion and pimento until softened. It seems like a lot of butter, but there is a creaminess that you want to achieve in the final product and this is an aid. In a medium bowl, combine the Jiffy mix, egg and milk (I use about twice the milk called for in the original Jiffy recipe because the other ingredients suck up the moisture). Add the pepper mixture and corn to the bowl and combine. Then add the cheese and combine.

Grease a loaf pan, and then pour the mixture in the pan, and pop in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Test with a toothpick, make sure it comes out clean.

Enjoy with pretty much anything! Soup, enchiladas, pork roast, or just eat the whole pan with a spoon secretly while hiding from your family... IT IS THAT GOOD! It's like the inverse of a fruit pie, but better! Hang on... I gotta go eat some more... YYYYUUUUMMMMMMM!

Chocolate Chip Currant Low-carb Cookie Cake Thing

I decided to try to make a low-carb baked good that didn't taste like shit, or more specifically, weird spongy eggy shit. I tried a couple recipes that used just almond flour or coconut flour and they required so many eggs that eggs were all I could taste (and I hate eggs). I was searching the fancy-pants aisles at the grocery store and came across something called Low-Carb (or crab as I just type... hahahahaha low-crab baking!... heh) Baking Mix which had a bunch of different expensive ingredients mixed together.

I adapted a traditional choco-chip cookie recipe to incorporate the baking mix and xylitol, which is a sugar substitute that I actually think tastes good. It is made from birch trees (if you get the right brand, some are made from corn) and has a very low glycemic index which makes it better for diabetics.

I decided to include a little molasses since most cookie recipes call for brown sugar too, and I wanted to stick with the xylitol. I am not sure if it was necessary, but it made the batter look the right color.

I also went high on the salt to try to balance out the extra-sweet taste of the xylitol. I was a bit worried when I tasted the batter that it would be too sweet, but the finished product was definitely not overly sweet.

They didn't come out like cookies exactly, so much as like a dense cookie flavored cake, which all in all, I think is a win. The baking mix is very "whole grain" in flavor and texture, so it is kind of muffin-y in that sense. Still, I like it, and it is worth eating. Although the baking mix is expensive and so is the xylitol, so at some point it may be worth just making regular baked goods and eating smaller portions of them.

Post script... these are really growing on me. Two days later I am loving them! They are so different than anything else I have made, and the combo of chocolate and currants is just delightful.

Ingredients:
2 c Red Mill Low-Carb Baking Mix
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 c butter
1 c xylitol
1 tsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
chocolate chips to taste
currants to taste

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Grease a large pan. Beat butter, sugar, molasses and vanilla in a large bowl, then beat in each egg. Gradually mix in baking mix, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and currants. Spread into pan, bake 20 minutes.

Banana pecan muffins

I believe there are fewer issues more divisive than whether you like nuts in your food.  Allergies aside, people have very strong feelings about nuts versus no nuts.  I'm firmly in favor of nuts in everything and I don't care who knows it!  Dave, on the other hand, is less fond of them.  He didn't seem to mind the pecans in these muffins so I call that a win.

I bought a bunch of bananas intending to make smoothies but then I got lazy during the week and the bananas were turning that lovely shade that signifies they should be baked with rather than eaten plain.  I like my bananas slightly underripe so the thought of an overly ripe banana as a snack is slightly upsetting.

These muffins were tasty and only slightly adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe.  I made half a batch and they fit perfectly in my mini muffin pan.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 overripe bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 sticks butter melted and cooled
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat your oven to 375 and spray the ish out of your muffin pan with cooking spray.

Mash your bananas and combine with sugar.  Beat vigorously until well combined.  Add the butter, egg and vanilla and beat again.  Mix in flour, baking soda and salt until just combined.  Fold in the nuts with a spatula.  Scoop your batter into muffin cups and bake for 12ish minutes, until golden brown.

Adapted from Tyler Florence's Banana Nut Muffins