A delicious meal for the entire family shouldn’t have to be an expensive one. With the pessimistic views on the economy and the rising prices at the grocery store you can still easily stretch the budget by adding variety and new taste to the usual staples.
One of my favorite versatile dishes is the Southern favorite, cornbread. I’m not talking about a simple cornbread like mother used to make, I’m talking about a whole meal; especially when teamed-up with a fresh delicious salad. The other great thing about this dish is you can come home from work put it together and let it bake while you shower and wind down.
There are countless ways to spice-up that boring cornbread. Start with any cornbread recipe, or boxed mix. I prefer Jiffy mix, but any mix will do. Then try any of these scrumptious variations and keep the family happy.
Breakfast: Layer some cooked sausage meat in a 9×9 baking dish then poor the batter over the meat and bake. Also try adding grilled onions with the sausage, yum. Prep, under $5. Serves 4.
Light Veggie Lunch: Layer drained diced tomatoes (I like the canned, it saves time and money during winter) in a 9×9 baking dish. Mix whatever vegetables you may have left over from the week into the batter (some good ideas are: onions, broccoli, peppers, carrots, spinach, etc.). Also add ½ cup of grated cheese. Poor batter over tomatoes and bake. Prep, under serves 4.
Dinner: Cook ground beef, diced onions and bell peppers. Season with black pepper and salt. Drain excess grease (Taco seasoning can also be used here if desired). Layer with drained canned corn in 9×9 baking dish. Add ½ of corn bread batter. Mix drained diced tomatoes with a little hot sauce and a Tbsp. Of ketchup. Layer in pan. Cover with remaining batter mix. Drizzle with melted butter and bake until golden. Prep, under $10 serves 4.
All of these meals are great money savers, if you have a little extra add a dollop or two of sour cream to the batter to add a new depth of flavor. Be adventurous with other layers and additions and watch your family enjoy a great meal without tapping into the retirement fund.
Any dessert combinations? =)
For Joel ~
Cornbread can quickly become a light fluffy dessert by mixing in 1 tsp vanilla, a bit of sugar (less than 1/4 cup), 2-3 Tbsp of Cocoa Powder, and a 1/4 tsp of Baking Soda to the batter. Bake. Serve topped with whipped cream and cut fresh fruit!!! – Delicious
Hello DanBasil,
I absolutely love cornbread. There is a little blue box of Jiffy in my pantry as we speak. Thank you for some great ideas to “spice it up” a bit.
- Jennifer
Dan, that sounds fantastic. Im going to give it a try this weekend!