Mexican Cornbread is my family’s favorite.  This quick and easy bread is really delicious and goes well with most dishes. The leftovers disappear quickly, too. The pan preparation is the same as regular cornbread. Its important to use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet.   There are a couple of different ways that I prepare my skillet and which one I choose depends on how busy I am that day. 1.  On an average day when things aren’t quite as hectic, I preheat my pan.  Place it in a 400 degree F oven for 10 to 15 minutes while I prepare the cornbread mixture. Timing is everything with this method.  You want the skillet hot when you are finished mixing the ingredients.  Bring the skillet out of the oven and take a heaping tablespoon of shortening and move it around the sides of the skillet.   It will melt and run down to the bottom of the pan.  This gets the sides and the bottom well oiled for baking.  Once the pan has been greased, add a teaspoon or two of dry cornmeal – that’s right, just cornmeal.  This gives the outside of your bread a little crunch.  Next you immediately dump in your cornbread mixture before the pan cools and return it to the oven. 2.  On a hectic day I grab some shortening with a paper towel or just with my hand and give the unheated skillet a good smear.  With this method you have to be generous with the grease like this. Note: If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can make this bread in a 9 x 13 inch ceramic casserole dish or metal cake pan.  I would just use the second option for preparing your dish Now lets get to the ingredients.  Cornmeal can be white, which is prominent in the south, or yellow.  Both are delicious and both work the same way, so use what you have.  I prefer to use a self-rising cornmeal mix (such as White Lily) for convenience.  If you that can’t find a self-rising option I will post a plain cornmeal version for you. Place all the ingredients into a bowl.  Yes, its that easy!  Cornbread is a dump and stir kind of recipe.  I told you it was easy! Stir your batter well, making sure that you scrape the bottom of the bowl.  You can’t over-stir cornbread so be sure that you have it all mixed in and there are no clumps of dry cornmeal in the bottom of your bowl.  Let it sit for a couple minutes and stir it one more time.  Then pour it into your prepared pan. Now all that is left to do is bake it!  Place in a pre-heated 400 degree F oven for 20 to 30 minutes.  Mexican cornbread my need a little extra baking time due to the moisture content of the ingredients.  Stick a sharp knife in the center and if it comes out clean, its done.  Turn out onto a plate and cut.  Serve hot and as always, cornbread is so nice with a pat of butter. Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal mix
• 2 Large eggs
• 1 (11 oz) can Mexicorn (or whole kernel corn) no need to drain it
• 1/2 of a  can of cream style corn – just eyeball it
• 1 small can (4.5 oz) of chopped green chilis
• 1 Jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion

Directions: Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir well by hand.  Be sure to stir all the way to the bottom of the bowl.   Let the mixture set for a couple of minutes and stir again. Trust me on this, it’s worth it.  This way you won’t have a patch of dry corn meal when you pour the mixture out of the bowl.  Pour mixture into your prepared pan and bake at 400 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes.  Test bread to see if it is done by inserting a sharp knife in the center.  If the knife comes out clean, your bread is done.  Turn bread out onto a plate.  Now you are ready to eat!  Pass the butter would you?

Marsha Bradford