Preparing Ahead

It's that time again. Time for the Lenten lunches that happen weekly for the six weeks of Lent*. Time for the soup and cornbread lunch that our church has hosted since I became a member there over 30 years ago. Soup and cornbread the first week. (Then chicken pie and congealed salad the second week.) Then the lunches move down the street and the Baptists and the Presbyterians have a couple of weeks each until Lent reaches Easter. Yes, there is more than food. The lunches follow a short Lenten service held each week at the participating churches.

I've made this cornbread many times for this particular lunch. And it's been posted here a bunch of times. But I'm sharing it again. Because you may not have seen it before. Because it's still winter and we're in soup and chili season and this cornbread is the perfect accompaniment. Because I'm 27 inches into my big knitting project (which I'm not ready to share yet) and I haven't spent much time in the kitchen. This is the lone recipe this week in our house. Knitting has taken precedent over cooking for the time being.

But today I stopped and baked this recipe three times over. Three dozen muffins. I'll add my three dozen to the dozens and dozens that others have baked. I usually do my cornbread in a pan. Or, in a cast iron skillet. But muffins work well for serving lots of people. And this recipe works any of these ways. Just keep an eye on it as it bakes. The time might change a little depending on your pan.

If this were for my family, I'd be baking it right before supper. But this needed to be done ahead. This particular recipe freezes beautifully. The cornbread is moist and tender. Not crumbly like some recipes. I won't be in the church kitchen when this is served, but I know the ladies in charge will warm it up and it will be perfect.

CORNY CORNBREAD

1/2 cup vegetable oil (plus extra for greasing the pan)

1-3/4 cups self-rising cornmeal mix

1 cup cream-style corn 

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream (the light kind works just as well)

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously grease a 7x11-inch baking pan or a 10-inch cast iron skillet with cooking oil. Preheat the pan in the oven. 

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, stirring with a spoon until combined. Pour batter into the preheated pan. Place pan in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

You can also bake this in a muffin pan. I don't preheat the muffin pan. Makes 12 muffins. Bake for about 25 minute, or until golden brown.

If you have leftover cornbread, wrap it well and pop it in the freezer for a busy day later. 

*Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, which means "spring." The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry.