CSA Week 14: Cornbread Extraodinaire

Here were our veggies this week. More of the same, really, but I am okay with it. We also got a melon (ew), green peppers (gross), and cucumbers (yuck) which I selflessly gave to Roxanna. ;)

And this is what my kitchen looks like when I cook all said veggies... No dishwasher plus cooking from scratch equals lots and lots of dish washing.

I know I never talk about this, but did you know that I LOVE buying food from my local farm? :) I love the simplicity of it!! I found a recipe for "Cornbread Casserole" and was able to use the corn, eggs, sausage, and corn meal from my farm. A few nights ago I made lasagna for some friends and I would say 80% of our meal was from the farm as well. It's just so darn fun, I tell you.

When I saw this recipe for "Cornbread Casserole," I felt like it was a recipe that has been looking for me all of it's life. Once I tasted it, I knew this was true. As always, I tweaked it, per the below recipe. The original recipe called for cream corn, which I didn't have on hand and could not justify buying when I had, um, 10 ears of corn staring at me from my produce drawer. The original also called for ground beef, and I thought that would just be too bland. So here is what I did...

1 1/2 cup corn meal
2 eggs
2 tsp flour (I used potato starch)
3 diced jalapenos
1 1/2 cup corn (I used regular, the recipe called for 1 can of cream corn)
16 ounces light sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar (I used 2% so it wouldn't be greasy)
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 lb ground sausage, cooked and drained well

In a 425 degree oven, put the oil in your pan (cast iron skillet or a 9x13 cake pan)and heat for 5 minutes. In the meantime, mix all ingredients together except the sausage and cheese. Take the hot oil out of the oven, pour in to batter and stir well. Pour 2/3 of batter into the hot pan. Sprinkle cheese and sausage over top. Pour remaining batter over the top and bake for 45 minutes.

Y.U.M. That's all I have to say. I made a meal out of this by serving with black beans topped with fresh salsa and steamed broccoli. I brought some to work today, and my coworkers gobbled it up for a mid-morning snack in 5 seconds flat.