$0.04 per serving 68% savings save $17.52 yearly
One of my favorite comfort foods is cornbread... slathered in butter... and drizzled in honey. (Okay, okay, so I pretty much kill the health out of it with the butter and honey, but it's SO worth it!) Plus... $0.04 per serving? Can't beat that price!
My mother used to make this cornbread in a pie plate, and divvy out large slices to us, which we hurriedly devoured to make sure we'd get a second piece. There were 9 people in my family, so it was imperative that we eat the cornbread FAST to ensure another slice of deliciousness came our way.
You snooze, you lose.
Since I've been married, I've tried a few other cornbread recipes to see if any of them could improve upon the cornbread I grew up eating:
1. Paula Dean's recipe (no sugar involved... I like my cornbread on the sweet side).
2. The recipe on the back of the Aunt Jemima cornmeal package (too coarse for me).
3. The most popular recipe on the website Allrecipes.com (ehhh).
4. The cornbread at Marie Callendar's (pretty yummy... but it's overly sweet, and not reminiscent of real cornbread).
My mom's recipe is the clear winner according to me, my husband, and the two daughters I have that can actually voice their opinion. My youngest daughter just turned 1, and she expresses her approval by eating copious amounts of the stuff.
It has the perfect amount of sweetness in a moist, coarsely textured, nearly-cake-like consistency, that will be absolute perfection to your palate.
We like it with butter and honey, or dipped in hearty soups and stews, and of course, served alongside the Best Crockpot Chili.
My mother's recipe originated from the back of a container of Alber's cornmeal. I hope you enjoy this family favorite that has been (and will continue to be) passed from mother to daughter.
Mom's Cornbread
*Makes 16 servings (2 in. squares)
Note: In the recipe, I've written to bake the cornbread in an 8x8 baking dish because that's what I use. But a 9x9 baking dish, or 9" pie plate would work as well. If you use either of those instead, it should be done a little sooner.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup oil
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the oil, beaten egg, and milk. Mix together using a hand-mixer or whisk, until smooth and no lumps remain.
Pour mixture into a greased 8x8 baking dish. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until done. Serve immediately with butter and honey. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
~ Savings ~
Cost Breakdown:
5 lb. cornmeal - $2.44 = 15.75 C = $0.155/C = $0.155
1 dozen eggs - $1.79 = $0.15/egg = $0.15
25 lb. all-purpose flour - $6.78 = 94.5 C = $0.071/C = $0.071
12 oz. baking powder - $1.69 = 70.875 tsp = $0.024/tsp = $0.072
10 lb. sugar - $5.58 = 378 T = $0.015/T = $0.060
26 oz. salt - $0.44 = 122.75 tsp = $0.003/tsp = $0.003
1 gallon milk - $2.99 = 16 cups = $0.187/C = $0.187
Total Recipe Cost = $0.70
Cost per Serving = $0.04
The Contender:
Krusteaz Cornbread (15 oz.) Mix - $1.82
PLUS 1 egg - $0.15
PLUS 1 cup milk $0.187
Total = $2.16
Cost per Serving = $0.13
Savings: 68%
"Over a year" scenario:
Make Mom's Cornbread 12 times - $8.40
Make Krusteaz Cornbread (15 oz.) Mix - $25.92
Money Saved: $17.52
It looks very similar (I am going by memory here) to my mamma's cornbread recipe. She said it was from the albers cornmeal canister.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'll have to check it out. :)
DeleteWell... I just looked on their website, and it's quite different. But maybe they've changed the recipe over the years?
DeleteI found it!
Deletehttp://www.alberscorn.com/recipes/detail.aspx?ID=86835101-a866-4a22-965d-14f56541da81
Hope this helps. It really is our favorite here too! Love your site and look forward to trying lots of your recipes. Keep up the good work!
Thank you! You've solved the mystery. :) When I checked out the Alber's site initially, I clicked on their Sweet Corn Bread recipe... didn't even notice the other one. THANK YOU!
DeleteThis is pretty much the same recipe I use, a cup of cornmeal, a cup of flour, a dash of salt, sugar (enough to make it sweet, I like mine sweet), baking powder, oil (I prefer melted butter), a beaten egg and enough milk to make it a batter, I don't really measure much, but yours is pretty much how mine ends up being.
ReplyDeleteA couple of weeks ago, we got snowed in, I made a pot of pinto beans and wanted cornbread to go with it, I didn't have any cornmeal, I looked around for something I could substitute, I even eyeballed a bag of cornchips :)
Then I remembered I had a can of freeze dried corn, turns out that works great, it crushes up easily in a plastic baggie, about a cup and a quarter of whole corn kernels, once crushed up ends up being about a cup of cornmeal.
It turned out great! I will probably not buy cornmeal again, it worked out so well with the freeze dried corn. :)
Wretha
What a great idea! I don't currently have freeze-dried corn around, but plan to have it at some point. Thanks for taking time to share this. :)
DeleteI just made this to go with our lunch. It's delicious! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou are more than welcome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. :)
DeleteThank you for your recipes. also for the info on Albers Corn, I have been searching for the tamale pie recipe for years. My mom used to make it for me as a child but had no idea what was in it any longer. lol thanks have an awesome day
ReplyDeleteAndrea, this recipe is very close to mine. We use stoneground cornmeal and unbleached flour. Instead of milk, 1/4 c. dry milk from our food storage (added to the flours) + 1 cup water. My family doesn't like it too sweet, so we cut the sugar in half. We grind our own cornmeal, but Bob's Red Mill sells a medium grind cornmeal that is easy to find.....this adds more nutrition to the cornbread and tastes nearly the same.
ReplyDeleteWe are on the same wavelength with a lot of what we do to feed our families! Thank you for your site!
Im a brand name only person..I decided to start eating a little healthier and cheaper. So I came across your blog and love it.. I decided to make this tonight.. its just as good as krusteaz brand and I know its healthier because it doesn't have unknown preservatives.. thanx alot.. will be trying to make ur cinnamon rolls tomarrow. .also I think cornbread should be made in cast iron. .So I made this in it.. it was wonderful. .thanx again!
ReplyDeletereal cornbread doesn't have sugar in it because sugar makes it more like cake
ReplyDeleteThis was even better the next day!!!
ReplyDeleteThere's a small diner not far from where I live that is known for it's cornbread. It's honey glazed like yours, but the woman who runs the place puts in just a dash of cayenne pepper (pretty sure it's cayenne, I know it' s one of the spicy peppers) and man oh man does it go to the next level. Hubs loves the cornbread from there, so guess I'll be seeing if I can get him to try this tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of putting a dash of cayenne in it thank you! - Heather
DeleteI make the Albers cornmeal recipe also. I assume it's the same... Makes me so thankful to have a Mom who cooked! Your children will stand up and praise you once they are adults also!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing very delicious!
ReplyDelete