Renee's Cornbread

Cheap Eat Challenge: Watch or join us as our family of 6 learns to eat on $6/day.

It's been a rough month. Someone--usually more than one someone--has been sick every day for the last 11 days. We've been sick in all kinds of ways from tummy stuff to boogers to hacking coughs to an ear infection--several of the children enjoying many varieties of sickness in succession. As you can imagine it's been a regular fun house around here. I've barely left the house. I've rarely gotten dressed. And, yet, I am grateful because through it all I've remained fairly healthy. In fact, in some ways I've felt like a general watching her soldiers fall one by one. Last night Kip succumbed, albeit in a much more mild way than the kids. And I'd like to believe that I'll remain standing and, um, win the war and stuff, but today I'm tired and just a wee bit under the weather. Sigh.

Anyway, no one has wanted to eat much in the normal balanced meal department. Last night we were going to have chili and cornbread. It turned into just cornbread. Fortunately, it's really good cornbread, so I can tell you about it.

I got this recipe from my friend, Renee. It's moist and just the right amount of sweet (which for us is definitely sweetish). My son--who eats almost nothing in the out of the PBJ range--loves it. And in case the word 'sweet' didn't give it away, it's northern style cornbread--nothing to do with bacon grease. Sorry southerners.

Renee's Cornbread
Makes 16 pieces
Prep time: 5 minutes (I'd like to point out that this is so easy to assemble. It will take approximately 3 minutes longer than a Jiffy mix and it tastes worlds better.)
Cook time: 25 minutes
Cost: $.60
(Cornmeal: .15--bit of a wild guess; I haven't bought it for a while, flour: .11, milk: .13, egg: .10, sugar: .08, other stuff: .03)

3/4 C yellow cornmeal
1 1/4 C flour
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C milk
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease square pan (8 or 9 inch). Sift dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and stir thoroughly. Pour batter into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Test with a toothpick or fork or knife or some other method besides cutting it into 16 pieces and realizing that the top was still raw and throwing the partially cooled and thoroughly cut concoction back into the oven and then cooking it again (not that I have ever done this before).

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Kale Green Drink

Cheap Eat Challenge: Watch or join us as our family of 6 eats, or tries to, on $6/day.

Let's talk about kale. It's green. It's pretty. It's can handle cruddy soil if you're growing your own (as opposed to its more needy counterpart, the spinach leaf) and it can endure cooler temperatures. In fact, it's sweeter after it's gotten a little frost-bitten, so it's peak season is during the fall and winter. It lowers cholesterol, acts to detoxify the body, has anti-inflammatory properties, and of course tons of antioxidants. It also contains a crazy amount of vitamins K, A, and C, as well as lots of nearly everything else. For more info, have a look here.

And it's cheap. A bushel of about 9 oz. of kale cost half as much at Walmart as a 9 oz. bag of spinach. When used raw in a smoothie, the tastes of the two greens are surprisingly similar.

Kale Green Drink
Makes 3 cups
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cost: .80
(kale: .15, applesauce: .10, strawberries: .25, peaches: .20, banana: .10)

Note on kale: If you're new to green drinks you might want to start with 2 cups.

Note on fruit: This tastes better if at least some of the fruit is frozen when you start out. Then it's nice and cold and smoothie-like instead of warm fruit-drink like.

3 C kale (middle rib removed unless you've got a strong blender)
1 banana
1 C strawberries
1/2-3/4 C peaches
1 C apple juice

Blend till smooth.

This will supposedly keep for up to 3 days (with most of the nutrients in tact) if it's sealed and refrigerated, though I've always drunk it right up sooner than that.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Hot Reuben Dip

Cheap Eat Challenge: Watch, or join us as our family of 6 eats, or tries to on $6/day.

So I'm a little late to the Superbowl. It and I never quite make each other's radar.

Fortunately, this dip/sandwich spread would be good for any old sporting event party you'd like to have. Or any other kind of party. Or any old evening when you're pressed for something quick, hot, and so delicious.

We use it as a sandwich spread and like it best served on slices of sourdough bread. But it's great as a dip served with crackers or cut veggies. Last night we ate it with some homemade white bread, and green drinks on the side.

Hot Reuben Dip
Adapted from Betty Crocker's Quick and Easy Cookbook
Serves 4-8
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Cost: $3.72
(cream cheese: $1, corned beef: .58, Thousand Island: .50, sauerkraut: .15, Swiss cheese: 1.50)

Note on substitutions: Don't like sauerkraut, just leave it off (you'll notice in the picture below that half of ours has it and half of it doesn't. I'm sure that doesn't surprise you). And if you hate Swiss cheese, you can use mozarrella or a mild cheddar. But the Swiss is delicious. And of course, it and the sauerkraut make a reuben a reuben.

1 package cream cheese (8 oz), softened
1/2 C Thousand Island dressing
1 1/2 C shredded Swiss cheese (6 oz.)
1 oz deli sliced corned beef (I just used the cheap Budding package), chopped into 1/2 inch (or smaller) bits
1/2 C drained sauerkraut

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine cream cheese and Thousand Island. Add 1 C of Swiss cheese and corned beef. Mix well. Spread onto bottom of 9 inch pie plate.

Top with sauerkraut and remaining 1/2 C Swiss cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are brown and bubbly.

Serve warm with crusty bread, cut vegetables, crackers, or pretzels.

PRINTABLE RECIPE