Cornbread Recipe

A couple weeks ago we went to dinner as a family at Famous Dave's BBQ to celebrate Mike finishing a case that had basically been consuming his life.

I have been craving their cornbread muffins ever since!

I went to my monthly recipe club on the 11th and the item to bring is an appetizer. After a little internet research I found a recipe that is similar to famous Dave's.

I had what I thought was a great idea -- I would make my own cornmeal.

Do you have ANY idea how noisy popcorn in a VitaMix blender is? Whew! And I thought that grinding wheat was noisy. My blender survived the ordeal and the muffins are delicious.

The first batch I made was only so-so. But I have made them twice since then and they are awesome. I like to make them in the mini muffin pans because cornbread is so messy. Smaller bites equals less mess.

Recipe for regular size cupcakes below:

Ingredients:

2 cups yellow cornmeal (I ground popcorn like I grind wheat and made my own cornmeal)
1 (9 oz) package yellow cake mix (Most cake mixes are 18 oz – so use ½ box, or double this recipe)
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk (to make your own buttermilk combine: 1 ½ T dry milk powder + ½ cup water + ½ T white
vinegar or lemon juice; mix and let stand for 5 minutes)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 T light brown sugar
2 T honey
1 T mayonnaise

Cornbread Instructions:
Combine cornmeal, cake mix, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, set aside.

Combine milk, buttermilk, oil, eggs, brown sugar and honey in a bowl and mix well.
Add to the Cornmeal mixture and mix gently - there should be no lumps, but do not over mix.
Fold in the mayonnaise.
Let rest, covered, in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 400° F. Spoon the cold batter into a greased muffin tin or a cast iron skillet.
Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

For the mini-muffins, bake at 400° F for 9 minutes.

They are great plain or even with honey and butter if you don't want to make the glaze.

Honey Glaze: You can make this ahead of time and store it, covered, in the refrigerator. Re-heat before serving.
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup honey

Glaze Instructions:
Heat butter in a saucepan until melted.
Stir in honey.
Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat. Drizzle over Cornbread.

Splash n' Play

Thanks to Kohl's 80% off summer clearance Jasper has been having a mighty fine time slipping and sliding into our new tiny pools.

We spread out our double-wide (beach towel that is), grab The Friend and a few frozen Go-gurts and frozen grapes and camp out in the backyard in the morning.

Jasper joins me for a snack and a story when he needs a breather. The boy loves water!

Having a Fun Day!

Our Favorite Summer Snack

Jasper eats so many frozen grapes that I decided to enlist his help in making more.

I got his special stool out and he climbed right up to help.

It took him a minute to figure out how to pull them off the vine, but one he got the knack he was a big helper.

Last week I received a call from the gal who was babysitting Jasper. She told me that Jasper was pulling on the freezer door and screaming for something, but she didn't know what he wanted.

I told her to try a popsicle, but she told me that was not what he wanted.

Then it hit me -- he wants frozen grapes. That was the answer. She gave him some and he was a happy guy.

Small video below.

Checking In!

Once I break the blogging habit, it sure is hard to get back in business again.

Hope to be doing a lot of catching up soon.

Yes, Jasper has placed my watch/heart rate monitor around his neck. Don't ask. When I take it off he tries to wear it. Silly boy!

Shiny New Sink

Mike is really stepping it up on his home improvement projects.

On Saturday he installed a new sink, faucet and trash disposal.

I LOVE the faucet. It is so nice to have the high arc. We picked it up at Costco in case you want one too!

It is so nice to be able to rinse large pans out in the big, deep sink.

We bought the sink on sale months ago and have just been waiting to install it. The fact that our trash disposal died made it the perfect time.

Our friend John came over to assist in the whole production.

Thanks boys!

Peach Delight

I feel like we've got a sign up on our house that reads "We love peaches".

Last month I met someone who had a peach tree that was heavy laden. She invited Jasper and I over to come pick a lot of peaches. We had a ball and made peach jam with our bounty.

Last night someone from my ward called and asked if I wanted to come pick some of her extra peaches. I happily knocked on her door at 7:20 AM for some more!

We keep churning out the peach smoothies. Jasper had fun drinking his out of a teeny tiny Tupperware cup -- just his size!

THANK YOU FOR THE PEACHES!


The latest peaches are tiny like apricots - great for snacks and smoothies. If you want some, come on by!

Curtain Call!

Is there anywhere more fun to play "hide and seek" than in the curtains?

Not for Jasper. It's his favorite place to play.

His dresser used to block full access to the curtains, but I rearranged his room and now the game is on. PEEK-A-BOO!

It's all about the SHOES!

Three months ago Jasper found a pair of shoes that I picked up for him on super clearance.

The only problem is that he didn't understand that they are 3 sizes too big!

I don't know if he liked them so much because they are shiny silver or what, but he just LOVED them.

He even napped with them on. And had to wear them WITH his pajamas at night.

Once he got his hands on them he HAD to wear them -- all of the time. When I tried to take them off him, he'd run like the wind.

I was FINALLY able to pry them off his feet and tuck them back away in the closet.

Bye Bye!

For the last two days when we've put Jasper down for a nap or for the night he hasn't made a peep when we've left the room.

He simply lays on his back, gives a tight hug to his stuffed animals and waves us off as he says, "Bye, Bye".

It's as if he is saying -- See ya later Mom and Dad. I've got my babies and they are all the company I need.

It is so WONDERFUL! For the last year he has gone to sleep pretty well, but usually there is some whimpering at the beginning.

Thank you Mickey and the gang!

Towel Boy

Jasper LOVES to be in his towel after shower or bath. Truth be told, he mostly showers.

After ANOTHER run through the sprinklers last week I stripped him down to dry him off.

He just wanted to sit on the stairs in his towel and was happy as can be.

Funny little guy!

Breakfast Club

Jasper is recently obsessed with his stuffed animals. Sometimes they ALL eat breakfast with us. Whew! It takes a long time to feed us all. :>

Jasper discovered Mickey and Minnie at my parent's house last month. My mom was nice enough to let Jasper bring them home with us.

"Puppy" has been in the family for the last year, but Jasper hasn't been interested in him until now.

The nice about our new friends is that if Jasper won't eat something I simply give a bite to one of his friends and then Jasper will take a bite.

It did take a little explaining for Jasper to get the drift that his furry friends have to sit at the table, not in his high chair.

After we're done eating, Jasper's buddies are all his. Thank you for your help Mickey, Minnie and Puppy.

I know, Puppy needs a name. Any suggestions?

On Our Way to Costco

We were ready to head out to Costco when I remembered that I needed to grab something from the backyard.

Big mistake.

Big mistake to go in the back yard when the sprinklers are running.

Since it was 109 degrees out, I just let Jasper run free through the sprinklers...and turn the hose on.

Just One of the Reason's that I Love this Little Guy!

Jasper is a water bug, just like me.

He loves water in all forms and varieties.

While Mike was at work on Saturday afternoon Jasper and I played out back.

I was watering our new Ash Tree (we have 3 now and I love them) and Jasper had to be right in on the action.

He ended up soaking wet while we played games with the hose.

Date Change for Dump Truck Party: Wed., June 10th

Come To Our Party!

We are embracing the 20 yards of dirt piled up in our backyard. Come and play with us! Everyone who wants to plop down and play in the dirt is welcome.


Dirt and Dump Trucks Party

What: The most memorable non-birthday party your boys will attend!

Date: Wednesday, June 10th

Time: 3:45 - 5:15 PM

Where: Davidson Residence -- Remember, we've moved to Kingston Hills Court in Amber Ridge. When you get here, just come on back through the side gate

What to bring: Your favorite dump truck, dirt scooper, backhoe, G.I. Joe guys, or whatever else you want top play in the dirt with!

Wear your playclothes and sunscreeen and prepare to get dirty.

We'll provide the dirt, Otter Pops and fun!

Please RSVP via blog comments, Facebook, phone or email.

All is Well

I just wanted to report that Jasper's surgery went as smoothly as possible.

Surgery for the Tiny Man

At 6:30 AM on Wednesday we report to the surgery center so that Jasper can get tubes in his ears.

Besides getting frequent ear infections, Jasper has so much fluid in his ears that he can't hear well. The ENT gave him a hearing test last month and he did not pass in either ear.

We are praying that the tubes will clear up Jasper's ear infections and help him to start talking more.

Last Day of Swim Lessons

This morning was Jasper's last swimming lesson.

Tomorrow he gets tubes in his ears, so we have been swimming right up to the last day possible.

I hate for swimming lessons to come to an end, because Jasper has really been improving the last few days. He went for a total of 13 lessons.

Here he is with his "toy collection" that he has carefully compiled by swimming each of these characters over to the side of the pool.

Most of the time at swim lessons it appears as if they are drowning him. They hold on the back of his neck and try to guide him as he tries to swim.

Thank you to Michelle and Janelle for all of your help. We will miss you!

I am including some videos below.

Run Away

Jasper got away from me during an outfit change after swim lessons.

I just let him run free for a few minutes...sans clothes or a diaper.

I'd like to point out that he did have his shoes on.