Sour Cream Cornbread

This afternoon and evening were full of experiments in the kitchen. The first experiment was intentional. I wanted to use up some peaches in my pantry and blueberries in my freezer. I decided to play with my mama's banana pudding recipe and make a pudding with the berries and peaches. I will be sharing that recipe soon. Today, though, I want to share the cornbread recipe that I made.

After completing the pudding, I got busy making my chicken, broccoli, and rice soup that Mr. Husband requested for supper. Just as the soup was in its final few minutes of cooking, Mr. Husband walked in the door. He heartily inhaled the aroma wafting from the pot and asked if I was making cornbread. 😳 "Umm...yes, dear. I am." Uhhh...making cornbread was the furthest thing from my mind. He had no clue I had been in the kitchen making a surprise dessert before making supper while he was outside in the horrible heat and humidity waging war with ants. I scrambled around the kitchen gathering ingredients only to realize I didn't have milk. Heavens to Betsy! Not making cornbread was not an option! Mr. Husband won't eat soup without cornbread. We have been married right at twenty years. When will I ever remember this!? But who makes cornbread without MILK?!?! My mind raced. God surely knew my heart and caused me to remember our favorite Sour Cream Muffin recipe that uses no milk. It only has flour, butter, and sour cream. Without taking time to second guess, I decided I was just going to have to jump in head first and try my best to make the cornbread work using the same method.

I commenced to tossing and stirring ingredients into my bowl until the batter looked right. I held my breath and patted it into my greased cast iron skillet. I was sweating it nearly the whole time the cornbread was in the oven.

When the cornbread finally decided to turn golden along the top, I pulled it from the oven and checked to make sure it was done in the middle. I breathed slightly better when I realized I had passed the first hurdle. It was done and soft! When it turned out onto a plate beautifully, breathing was even better. It looked very different than my normal cornbread, but it was beautiful.

I clenched my jaw when Mr. Husband walked by and looked at it. He asked what was wrong with my cornbread. 😆 I had to fess up and tell him what I did. He wasn't sure, but he watched as I cut a test slice. Oh goodness, y'all! IT WAS SOOO GOOD! Mr. Husband loves the sour cream muffins, so he had to have a bite to see if my reaction was exaggerated. He was not disappointed! In fact, he said I might have to make this new one from now on! 😳😳 I ran to my notepad and wrote down everything I did so I can make it again.

I hope you get a chance to try it. It is so soft and tender! The flavor is amazing!

Sour Cream Cornbread
2 c self-rising cornmeal mix
8 oz sour cream
1-1/2 sticks butter, melted
1/4 c butter flavored Crisco
1 egg

Preheat oven to 425°. Grease a 10 inch cast iron skillet. To a mixing bowl, add the cornmeal mix. Add the Crisco. Cut the Crisco into the cornmeal until it resembles small peas throughout the cornmeal. Add all other ingredients. Mix well, but mix lightly, being careful not to over mix. Pour the mixture into the greased skillet. Place the skillet into the oven. Turn the heat down to 350°. Bake the cornbread 25 minutes or until the top turns a light, golden color. Remove the pan from the oven, immediately turn the bread onto a heat-safe plate.

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Canning Potato Wedges

Good day, reader friends! It's been another busy day here in the meadow of simple blessings.

As the sky began to grow with light this morning, the song of the whippoorwills gave way to the calls of bobwhites and song birds. My four-legged child made sure we made our morning trip out the door. I figured I might as well water my flowers by the house since I was already there. After I had taken care of my first baby and flowers I ventured up to the garden to get my watering chores done there before the sun had a chance to rise above the trees. It is always so peaceful in the garden so early in the morning. Even in the middle of the summer, mornings there are still usually cool enough to be incredibly pleasant. I love spending quiet moments there talking with my Lord and enjoying His creation. These are a couple pictures from my time there this morning.

That wasn't why I started this post, though. I came here to tell you my husband can completely relax about all my potatoes he was worried were going to go bad. When I came in from the garden and had finished devotions, breakfast, and coffee, I got busy taking care of the last fifteen pounds of potatoes. I got them peeled and cut into wedges. I canned them just the same as I did the potatoes in the post from yesterday except I added a quarter teaspoon of pickle crisp to each jar. I have read that it helps potatoes keep more of their firmness for making french fries or potato wedges with the canned potatoes. I guess time will tell for that one.

This is a picture of what pickle crisp looks like in the store.

And added to the jars 😁

These are the little white balls that are supposed to hold the crispness of vegetables hostage until the cook is ready to used said vegetables.

My nine pounds of potatoes today yielded 11 quarts of wedges (ahem...make that 10. I lost one in the canner. 😣) with a handful of wedges leftover which I threw into the pan of chicken that's in the oven for supper tonight. The canner and chicken will soon be done, so I guess I better get started on those beans!

I hope you have had a beautiful day today, my reader friends!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Canning Potatoes

In my last post, I explained how I came to be the owner of a fifty pound bag of potatoes. Well, for about a week -at least- my husband has been stressed about me doing something with the rest of the potatoes before they go bad. Today, between Tae Kwon Do, piano, shopping for a trip, dusting the house, and washing clothes, I decided it would be a great time to get some of the potatoes canned. Surely, they will be done before the family demands supper, right???

Naturally, while I wait on the canner to come up to pressure, it's the perfect time to tell you how you can can some potatoes for yourself, too! 😊

First, you want to peel your potatoes, remove any bad spots, and dice them into chunks. I used ten pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes. Make sure to keep peeled potatoes in clean, cold water to prevent browning.

Then, place a large stock pot of water (or chicken broth) on the stove to heat to boiling, and get your canner ready for canning.

When your water in the stock pot is just about to boil, fill wide mouth quart jars with potatoes, leaving one inch headspace. My six pounds of potatoes was divided into seven quart jars with a remainder of three chunks. 😁 I also added one teaspoon of canning salt to each jar.

When the water in the stockpot is boiling, fill one jar at a time with the boiling water, leaving one inch headspace, remove air bubbles, wipe the jar rim clean with a wet paper towel and seal with a lid and ring.

Place each jar in the hot canner as each jar is finished. Can the potatoes for forty minutes at 11 lbs pressure for a guage canner or 10 lbs for a weighted canner. Make sure to make proper adjustments for your altitude.

There you have it, my reader friends! Potatoes are very quick and easy to process. At this point in the post, my potatoes are already half way done! I hope you get the chance to can your own!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!
*To ensure the safety of your food, be sure to follow safe canning guidelines issued by the USDA. Don't take my word for it! 😁