This time of year, we have a lot of soups. Like, a lot. Seriously, I could buy vegetable broth in bulk and still not have enough. For me, soups are easy, and I like easy. Most days, as I frantically finish up at work, I already am trying to figure out what to make for dinner that won’t take hours of prep and that doesn’t require a ton of clean up (nobody wants to spend all night in the kitchen after spending all day at work, right?). Soups usually win.
But what to have with soup?
For us, this is easy: hot, homemade cornbread. It is the easiest thing in the world to make, and it truly is hard to beat a slice of hot cornbread slathered with real butter. Just thinking about it makes me want to go into the kitchen and make a pan of it (even if it is only 7:00 a.m.–LOL).
If you haven’t tried to make your own cornbread, I encourage you to give this a shot. It is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. And have I mentioned that it is super easy and takes very little time (I plan about 30 minutes start to finish)?
Best of all, it is super forgiving and practically invites you to experiment with variations. But take note: the key to its success is using a well-seasoned cast iron pan. If you don’t have one, you can buy one and season it yourself (just know it will take a little time and it will stink up the kitchen when you do it). Better yet, check out estate sales in your area and you’ll probably find a well-seasoned, well-loved pan that is ready to go. Then, make sure you take care of it properly (which is stupid-easy) so it will be ready to go every time you crave that cornbread.
Finally, play with this recipe. My girl has added jalapenos and cheese, we’ve only had one egg and it worked fine, and I’ve used heavy cream cut with water (when we had no milk) and rehydrated dried milk. It really is pretty forgiving.
I’m just giving in.
Easy Cornbread
Equipment
- cast iron pan
- measuring cups
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup self-rising cornmeal
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- pinch sugar completely optional
Instructions
- preheat oven to 400°F
- grease pan well and place in oven while preheating
- mix all ingredients
- pour into hot pan
- cook 20 – 25 minutes or until center is firm to the touch
- remove from oven and turn out on plate. Use a knife to gently loosen from sides of pan, if needed
Notes
- Re-season your pan. Sometimes cast iron just needs some love. Follow manufacturer instructions to re-season. And ALWAYS make sure that you heat dry the pan immediately after you wash it (if you wash it at all–we don’t ever wash the cornbread pan; instead, we just brush out the crumbs and put it away). If you don’t, it will rust and the coating will not be right.
- Change the temp of your oven. Preheat to 400°F with the well-greased pan in there. Make sure the pan gets really hot. Then, cook for 10-15 minutes until firm to the touch.