Cornbread Dressing

There's no one right way to make dressing. This is my recipe, a simple cornbread dressing using things we generally have lying around. This is a little drier; it's the sort of dressing you'd love to put gravy on. For a more moist product, increase your chicken broth.

4 slices cornbread
2 slices white or wheat bread
1/2 an onion
2 stalks of celery
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp rubbed sage
1 tsp black pepper









Loosely crumble cornbread and tear white/wheat bread into small pieces. Place bread pieces on a cookie sheet and dry in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour.
Preheat oven to 375.
Chop onion and celery. In a bowl, combine bread, onion, celery, and beaten egg. Spoon into a greased 8x8 baking dish.
Microwave broth with butter, sage, and pepper for a minute or two. Stir to melt butter and hydrate spices, then pour over your bread mixture.
Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 15-20 minutes.

Potato Bread

I know, we're turning into a bread-blog! This is a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes.

1/2 cup water between 80-105 degrees

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp yeast

2 cups flour

1 cup mashed potatoes

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Dissolve sugar in water and add yeast. Allow to proof for 5 minutes.

Combine flour, salt, oil, and potatoes in a bowl. Add yeast mixture. Stir ingredients until they hold together, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead and work in more flour until smooth and elastic, 10 minutes. Watch out, potato bread dough is extra sticky. Let your dough ball rise in an oiled bowl for 1 hour.

Once dough has risen, transfer to a greased and floured loaf pan. Let rise for another 45-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400. Dust bread with flour, and bake for 45 minutes. 

Potato bread. :)

Cornbread

This is a basic recipe adapted for what I have on hand. I rarely have milk, so for certain things, water and a little powdered coffee creamer will do. Makes 8 good sized servings.

3/4 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup milk (or water + 1 Tbsp powdered coffee creamer)

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

A splash of vinegar

Preheat oven to 400. Combine ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Pour batter into a greased pan* and bake for 30-40 minutes.

*Cake pan, pie pan, loaf pan, or 8x8 baking dish will all do nicely. Adjust cooking time by batter depth; a loaf pan will take longer than an 8x8. 

Top 10 Reasons to Make Homemade Bread

10. Honor your heritage! No matter where you come from, your ancestors made bread the old fashioned way.
9. It's fun! At least, I think it's fun. ;)
8. It's easy! It requires very few ingredients and little technical skill.
7. It's cheaper than storebought! If you buy your ingredients in bulk, you will be eating fresh bread for pennies on the dollar.
6. The smell! Fresh bread smells amazing.
5. Impress your friends! When people find out about your baking abilities, they'll be saying "wow, I wish I could do that!"
4. Relieve stress! Kneading dough is very therapeutic.
3. Feel a sense of accomplishment! Baking is a skill, and perfecting it is an art. Be proud!
2. It's versatile! Once you master basic bread, you can use it for anything bread-related: Pizza, sandwiches, calzones, dinner rolls, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, the sky is the limit.
1. Why not! You learned how to bake fresh bread; cross it off your list.

Find my recipe here!
http://cookingfornormals.blogspot.com/2012/07/italian-bread.html

Carrot Raisin Slaw

Look what hubby brought home! It's a million baby carrots!! :)

So, we'll be using some carrots in the near future.
I used to work at a cafeteria style restaurant, and one of my favorite things there was the sweet carrot raisin slaw. It is ridiculously easy to make, too. This serves 4.

1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup raisins (I used golden)
2 cups shredded carrots

Combine mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and sugar. Stir carrots and raisins into dressing. Cover and chill for at least an hour before enjoying.