Third Time is a Charm...Corny but GOOD!

I have now made this dish 3 times in the past few months and I finally hit the mark this week. I made it for our Holiday Lunch at the office and at least 10 people asked for the recipe, so...here's your sign...it was good!

Corny Corn Bread Pudding (Serves 10-12 as a side dish)

Ingredients
1 batch favorite Cornbread recipe, cooked and crumbled
4-6 Sandwich/Hoagie Rolls or Hot Dog buns--2 to 3 day old is best
1 Sweet, Yellow Onion, diced
4-5 Stalks Celery, diced small
3 Tbs Butter
2 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock (divided)
2 Cans Creamed Corn
1 Large Pkg Whole Kernel Sweet Corn
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
2 Cups Grated Cheddar Cheese
5 Eggs at room temp
1 Cup Milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

(NOTE: This starts out much like Southern cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving or a Corn Souffle)

In large mixing bowl, crumble up the Cornbread and Rolls and set aside

Saute Onion and Celery in Butter until tender. Add some of the Chicken Stock (about 1 cup) and season with Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder. Cook on Med heat to reduce for about 5 minutes.
Add in the Frozen Corn and heat through. Add both cans of Creamed Corn, the remainder of Chicken Stock. Remove from heat and let cool for several minutes.

In small mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk and set aside. When cooked vegetables have cooled enough not to scramble the eggs, pour them into the crumbled bread and combine well. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Add in the eggs, milk and cheese and combine.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Prepare a large dish or roasting pan with a non-stick spray. Pour in mixture and cover with foil.

Put dish in oven and reduce heat to 300 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes covered. Remove foil and continue baking for 15-20 minutes until just brown around the edges and the eggs are cooked through in the middle. Do not over bake or it can become dry.

(NOTE: If serving immediately, turn off the oven when you remove the foil and allow to finish baking and to keep warm).

I combined everything the night before and baked it off the next morning. This freezes GREAT!

This can be a MAIN DISH by simply adding 3-4 cups of cooked, shredded chicken and another 1/2 Cup of Chicken Stock...

ENJOY!

Holiday Memories Continued...

My cousins, Phyllis Teague Payer and David Teague both reminded me of the love and smells in our Mamu's kitchen. She had this big Cat Cookie Jar in the corner of her counter that was always filled with Snickerdoodles. I can still smell her house today...

Here is the 60 year old recipe (at least!)

Mamu's Snickerdoodle Recipe

1/2 cup butter , softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 egg at room temp
1/2 teaspoon good vanilla
1 1/2 cups AP flour

In small bowl:
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In large mixing bowl, Cream together the softened butter and the 1 cup of Sugar. Add the baking soda and cream of tartar; mixing together. Beat egg and vanilla into the mixture. Slowly add the flour until entirely combined. Let the dough sit in the icebox for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In small bowl, combine the 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar. Shape the dough into small balls and roll in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place a few inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 375°F oven for 9 to 10 minutes and let cool slightly and remove to a flattened Piggly Wiggly sack to cool completely. (In a convection oven, lower temp to 325 degrees and cook for only 8 minutes max).

ENJOY and Bake with LOVE!! If you have a good cookie jar, keep it filled with these when the grandkids are around.

HOLIDAYS PAST...

One of my favorite family holiday food memories is the loaves of BANANA NUT BREAD that my grandmother Lamphere, "Mamu" would have around in December and then bring over to our house on Christmas morning.

My favorite way to eat it today is slice off a thick piece, cover in real butter and toast/broil in the oven until brown and crispy on top...made Mamu's recipe today at the cabin to continue the tradition...

MAMU's BANANA NUT BREAD (Makes 2 loaves)

3 Eggs (room temp)
1/2 teasp good Vanilla
1/3 Cup Milk
1 Cup Oil
3 Cups Sugar
3 Cups VERY RIPE Bananas mashed well (I used 6 bananas)

In large mixing bowl combine the above ingredients in the order listed...fold bananas in last.

Sift together the following ingredients and add to wet mixture in small batches, combining well before adding the next batch:

3 1/2 Cups AP Flour
1 1/2 teas Salt
2 teas Baking Soda
1 Cups Pecans or Walnuts (toss in some flour before adding to batter to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan).

Pour into 2 loaf pans that have been buttered and floured well

Bake at 350 Degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Toothpick should come out clean. Careful not to overbake so it stays moist.

Allow to cool completely and wrap in plastic wrap and then good foil. These will freeze very well for 3-4 weeks.

ENJOY!