Johnnies Cornbread Food

PA'S OLD-FASHIONED JOHNNY CAKE / CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425; grease a 13x9 pan.
• Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl, stir through, make a well in the center.
• In another bowl, add eggs, milk, and oil all at once; blend well.
• Add wet to dry ingredients, stir until moistened (don't over-mix or you'll be sorry!).
• Fold in optional ingredients. Sausage should be in crumbles or bite-size pieces.
• Pour into prepared pan; rap pan on counter-top several times to bounce out the air-bubbles.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes--top will be golden-brown.
• Serve with butter and maple syrup.
• OPTION #1: Add 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese.
• OPTION #2: Add 1/2 - 1 cup of sweet corn (plain kernels); adds a neat "chewy" texture to the 'cake.'
• OPTION #3: Add 6 hard-boiled, chopped eggs.
• OPTION #4: Add 1 pound fried & drained pork sausage (crumbled) or links (bite-size).
• TIME-SAVING HINT: Gather a handful of 1-quart zipper bags, fill with DRY ingredients, and store in your cupboard. At meal-time, add wet ingredients as described.

GREAT-GRANDMOTHER STEINBECK'S JOHNNYCAKE (CORNBREAD)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch glass baking dish.
• Sift the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, corn oil and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix just until blended. Pour into the prepared pan, and shake gently to level it out.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown. Serve hot. Just with butter will do, it is plenty sweet enough!

JOHNNY JALAPENO'S TACO CORNBREAD SKILLET

Steps:

• Lightly grease the inside of an 10" cast iron skillet with a little butter. Place in oven and turn temperature to 450°F.
• Meanwhile, cook beef (and onion if using) in a medium sized skillet. When almost done (drain if necessary), add seasoning mix, stirring to coat. Add beans and corn and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, mix corn muffin mix, milk, and egg until smooth. Add cheddar and jalapeno, mixing to combine. Carefully remove cast iron skillet from oven and spread dough into it, using the back of a wooden spoon (pan will be hot).
• Spread beef and bean mixture over dough, leaving a 1/2" border. Bake uncovered 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle with monterey jack cheese and bake an additional 2 minutes or until cheese is warm and melted. Top with garnishments, slice pie fashion and serve.