Monday, November 12, 2012

Cornbread to the Rescue!

The other day we weren't supposed to be home at dinner time, but our appointment got cancelled, leaving me with no dinner plans and a husband coming home in an hour! To make matters worse, going out was out of the question and it was Thursday - we get groceries on Friday. (I buy our food weekly, which means very little "stocked up". I had pantry staples like flour and condiments to work with.) After staring into the open fridge and pantry with the dull stare of a dairy cow, inspiration finally struck.

I took my favorite cornbread recipe and added about a cup each of cooked, shredded chicken and cheddar cheese. If I had had a jalapeƱo and whole kernel corn, I would totally have added that, too. Since I use bacon fat in place of some the shortening in my cornbread, the flavor was really terrific! I added the extras after mixing the batter and before the melted shortening/fat.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of Honeycrisp apples in the fridge, too, so I sliced them up and served them. An odd combination, to be sure, but everyone in my family ate it up and asked for seconds. I do have to say, though, that I did have more to choose from than I normally would. Fresh fruit is almost always gone by Thursday night, I had just forgotten about those somehow. 

Halfway through dinner, a friend texted and asked if she could come over for an hour or so. Knowing she was going to pick up fast food for her own dinner, I tentatively offered her some of ours. She agreed, and then was so glad she did - she loved it!

I have to say, one of my favorite things about cooking is handling these little challenges - it's like Iron Chef, Secret Ingredient: Shredded Chicken! Allez Cuisine!

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