Cheddar Cornbread

I've never been a big fan of cornbread - I always associate it with pinto beans, and I'm not a big fan of those. But it was a chilly chili day, and we were tired of the tried-and-true grilled cheese, so I opted for this substitute, modified from Recipezaar. And boy am I glad we did!

Thanks to the creamed corn, the final result was a bit softer than traditional cornbread. It was easier to eat it with a fork than with your fingers. But it still tasted good!

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups reduced-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs, beaten until the yolks are broken
3 Tbsp. melted butter
1 can creamed corn
1 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400. Spray 8x8 glass baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Add liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and stir.

Stir in creamed corn and cheddar cheese, and pour batter into baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Pumpkin Muffins Everywhere

I'm not the world's best baker, but I've had the urge to bake pumpkin bread for a while now. So, with it being the Sunday before Halloween, I decided today was the perfect day - until I realized I couldn't find my loaf pan. So, what started out as this recipe from Cooking Light, quickly morphed into these pumpkin muffinettes.


3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2/3 cup canola oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten (until the yolks are broken)
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
Pam (or other cooking spray) with flour

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 2 mini muffin pans with cooking spray with flour.

Combine flour with other dry ingredients (up to the pumpkin pie spice) in a large bowl. In a second bowl, combine oil, eggs, and pumpkin.

Make a well in center of dry mixture, and add pumpkin mixture. Stir until moist.

Spoon batter into mini muffin pans. Bake at 350° for around 20-30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 48 mini muffins.

P.S. - These are really good with just a little bit of the brown sugar cinnamon cream cheese on top.

WW Info:
1 point per muffin
Add additional points for any cream cheese or other toppings

Apple and Brie Paninis

This is fantastic served with tomato bisque, or alone, or however you want to serve it. You can't go wrong with apples and brie!

1 apple, cored and sliced
4 ounces of light brie
2 pieces of ciabatta, halved

Divide apple and brie between two ciabatta halves. Top with other halves, and place on hot grill. (I used the Foreman to easily grill both sides at once.) Serve when hot and melted.