Here's what posted on the sack lunch subject 1 Jiffy cornbread mix prepared as directed hot dogs-quartered Fill muffin tins half full of cornbread mix. Put one piece of hot dog in each muffin. top off with more cornbread batter bake 10 min at 350. Another post was similar 2 pkgs of cornbread mix 2 Tbs brown sugar 1 c milk 2 eggs 1 can corn 5 hot dog -chopped Mix cornbread and brown sugar Mix eggs and milk and add to dry ingredients add corn and hot dogs Batter will be thin pour into greased muffin tins and bake at 400 for 14-18 min serve immediately or refrigerate. Again, you can find these and a link on the sack lunch posting.

Well, I made some corn bread last night. 24 gem muffins and one mini-loaf. Kept mixing to an absolute minimum, there were plenty of lumps (like Mom always told me to leave alone) and the results were very tasty. Like I said before, good flavor and crumb, no tunnels. But still, I got the Sombrero look. Not as much as I have gotten with straight muffin recipes but there. The loaf had more of it than the gem muffins. The flour info is interesting. I knew different flours had different gluten levels (never could make a decent wheat loaf until I heard about adding a wee bit of gluten flour) but as I use the same flour from batch to batch, that in and of itself doesn't explain why this only happens sometimes! A couple of weeks ago, I made a pan of cornbread that looked beautiful...modestly and evenly domed. Sigh. Okay, promised Lemon Bread Recipe: Lemon Bread 1 c oil 2 c sugar 4 eggs 3 c flour 1/2 t baking soda 1/2 t salt 1 c buttermilk 1 c chopped walnuts (see my notes) 2 T grated lemon peel Topping: 1 c sugar 1/2 c lemon juice Cream oil and sugar together; add eggs, slightly beaten. Mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Beat into mixture, alternately with buttermilk, until smooth. Stir in chopped nuts and lemon peel. Spoon into greased 9"x5" pans. Bake for 1 hour in a 350 F preheated oven. Cool Slightly. Remove from pans. Heat topping ingredients until sugar is melted. Place loaves on pieces of foil. Pour topping over bread. Cool, wrap and store in refrigerator or freezer. Makes 2 loaves. The above is the recipe as it appears in, "The Tastes Of California Wine Country Napa/Sonoma, written and compiled by Sonnie Imes. It is a cookbook I've had for years, featuring recipes from various Bed & Breakfasts in that area. The Lemon Bread recipe comes from a place called, "Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza" which, to my knowledge still exists, though whether they still serve this bread is anyone's guess. My Notes: This bread is fine made with your basic lemon. But I far prefer Meyer Lemons for their rich flavor. I do not add walnuts for two reasons,for one thing, I've never cared for nuts in quick breads. They lose any crispness, becoming mere chewy lumps as far as I'm concerned. For the second thing, walnuts give me mini blisters on my tongue. I sometimes do add dried cranberries, plumped slightly in some sort of fruit liqueur. Most often, I just let the lemon flavor stand alone. One can always serve the bread with a fruit puree on the side or a good, home made jam. The recipe calls for you to "pour topping over bread." I have found that direction to be inadequate. Place the loaf in a large baking dish or serving dish, something that has sides to catch the liquid topping and large enough for room to spoon it up as it pools so you can drizzle it back onto the loaf. The loaves should absorb every bit of the topping. Turn the loaves on their sides to soak up pooled topping as well. The top and sides of the loaf should be well inundated. Just before serving, I sprinkle the loaves with lemon flavored powdered sugar. I make this by whirring sugar, more lemon peel (I grate extra when I make the loaves and leave it out to dry a bit while they bake) and a few drops of lemon extract in a spice grinder. Plain powdered sugar would do, of course. This must be done just before serving because the sticky topping will soak into the sugar if given time to do so, leaving it icky looking. This is wonderful served as a "strawberry shortcake" in lieu of the shortcake.

My mom's cornbread stuffing is always a hit with our family. Here is her version: Cornbread Stuffing 2 cups finely chopped celery (1 cup finely chopped onion) 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper 1/4 cup butter 1 8oz. pkg. herb stuffing or 4-6 cups small dried bread cubes 1 recipe (using 2 cups cornmeal mix or cornmeal) cornbread, usually made in a cast iron skillet, cooked and cooled 1 cup warm chicken broth or more 2 eggs beaten 2 1/4 t. salt 2 t. poultry seasoning (and we like extra dried rubbed sage) 1 t. pepper Saute the vegetables in 1/4 cup butter. Remove from the skillet. In a large bowl, combine the dried stuffing (bread cubes) and the crumbled cornbread with the warm broth. Add the sauteed vegetables, the eggs and the seasonings. Mix well. Add additional broth until you have a moistened but not soggy consistency. You want the dressing to be moist but still loose and not bound together. If you squished a portion in your hand, it would hold together, but fall apart when touched. Place in a greased, shallow, oblong pyrex baking dish and bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes covered with foil. Uncover the last 5 minutes to crisp up the top. I have in the past added 1 large peeled and chopped apple to the vegetables while mixture to saute and 1 pound lightly browned bulk breakfast sausage, crumbled to the stuffing mix when adding in the sauteed vegetables, eggs, and seasonings. Sage is a quite assertive herb, but a little extra really shines in stuffing/dressing with the turkey. You have to determine, by taste, just how much extra sage you want to add. In our region, we swear by Three Rivers Cornbread mix for the best cornbread or Martha White brand if we can't get the Three Rivers. At our family Thanksgiving we have more stuffing for dessert! Hope this helps! Teresa

Heck of a thing to show me when I have a pot of corn and potato chowder on the stove that would really be good with that corn bread.....but I have no buttermilk! So we'll do wheat bread!.... Your life will never be the same now that you have ventured into the land of the cooking monster....makes the Yeti look tame! Linda C