Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Uses For Leftover Cornbread

I had a post planned for today about uses for leftover cornbread. (While this may not be an issue for you, it is for this single, Southern gal.) I mean, what to do with all the sweet, cake-like hunks from yesterday's pan? I had no idea, so I began researching.

Then... a snafu. An emergency errand left the little brown dog home alone. Alone and unhappy. So what did Millie do? She plopped her paws on the counter and scarfed down the leftover cornbread straight from the cast iron pan. I knew something was amiss the moment she greeted me at the door with yellow crumbs under her mouth and on her fur. Bad dog. BAD DOG!

Fortunately I had backup leftover cornbread in baggies in the freezer. But Millie's bad binge set me back. My photos to accompany this post were not going to happen today.

Sigh.

Ah well. Without further ado, here are my new top uses for leftover cornbread, in no particular order:

1. Cornbread Croutons. Cube leftover cornbread into 1 inch cubes. Tumble onto parchment lined or nonstick baking pan and drizzle with 4-5 Tablespoons butter. Stir or turn lightly to coat. Toast at 450 degrees for 5-7 minutes, turning once halfway through baking, or until croutons are your favorite shade of browned. Serve in salads, or over soup or chili.

2. Chicken and Cornbread Dressing. This is my favorite use for leftover cornbread. Crumble approximately 4-5 cups of stale cornbread into a large bowl. Add in 4-5 cups of stale bread, pinched or cut to 1 inch cubes. (I save the ends of french bread, all leftover bread, biscuits, rolls, crackers, etc., for this purpose.) Toss the cornbread and bread together. To this mixture, add: 2 stalks celery, chopped; 1 small onion, chopped and sauted in 4 T. butter; 2 hardboiled eggs, chopped; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 1 can cream of celery soup, 1 can cream of chicken soup; 2 T. dried sage; 2 T. dried parsley; salt and pepper; 4 cups shredded chicken.  Mix together, adding chicken broth or water to thin, if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until done and lightly browned. Serve with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce.

3. Cornbread Salad. I've made this a time or two using variations of this recipe and have gotten rave reviews each time. Easy!

4. Squash Casserole. Crumble leftover cornbread into casserole dish. In a pan over medium high heat, cook 3 sliced yellow squash and 1 small onion, finely chopped, until tender. Drain and add to cornbread. Stir in 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded; 1 egg; salt, pepper, and sage to taste. Stir to combine. Turn into lightly greased baking dish. Dot with 1/2 stick butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Yum.

5. Cornbread Pudding. This recipe is very similar to one my Grandmother has. It's a keeper.

6. Cornbread and Milk. My Great Grandfather, Henry, had the same dinner most every night: cornbread and milk. As a girl, I always thought it looked gross. Now I'm a fan. Crumble 1 cup or a large hunk of cornbread into a tall glass. Pour 1 1/2 cups cold milk over. Sprinkle with sugar. Eat with spoon. A poor, country farmer's dinner for sure.

7. Cornbread Crumbs. Butter cornbread and lightly toast in 450 degree oven. Cool and pulse in food processor (or crumble up) until you have a fine crumb. Use in casseroles and recipes in place of bread crumbs.

If all else fails, feed cornbread to the birds. Birds, not dogs. wink

Do you have any other suggestions for leftover cornbread? I'd be happy to hear them! -Brin

14 comments:

Seawashed said...

Millie got a good treat! That is so funny that she plopped herself up to the stove and had a feast. We just discovered that our lil Maltese Bella Bleu has been dipping into the kitty food when we are gone. We have it up on a table in my daughter's room and she figured out how to climb up there and get some. Bad dog!

About the cornbread...we never have leftovers with our family of six! Everyone gobbles it up because I always make it from scratch. That chicken cornbread bake sound delicious!

~Molly~ said...

Well phooey, now I want cornbread and tonight is church! Maybe this weekend I can whip up a batch or three. The salad sounds really good as does the squash recipe!

Molly Sue

Lisa P in CA said...

Can you blame her? It must have been yummy corn bread.

Shelley in SC said...

Wow!! Who knew there could be so many uses for the humble pan of cornbread. They all sound delicious!

Kathie said...

Cornbread and buttermilk, just the same as with plain milk, yum-yum--good eatin'.

Sherry said...

Slice, butter, toast...eat with orange marmalade. (Is this a poor woman's scone?!)

BTW Freeman House is looking beautiful and did you know that the owner is getting married?

samantha said...

just butter and honey, mmmmmmmm!

B. said...

My dog got on the dining room table this week and ate the girl scout cookies. Dogs know we are keeping the good stuff from them.

Brenda said...

Would you share your recipe for cornbread? It looks very light and cake-like.

jill said...

Crumble up with canned salmon to form salmon patties. Add a little lemon juice, an egg & seasonings to taste. If you like salmon patties, cornbread is the best add in!

debbie bailey said...

My grandpa ate cornbread 'n milk, too! I love it. It makes the perfect light supper. I've never tried it with sugar though.

Anonymous said...

There are many more creative things you can do with it than those. Like make crab cakes, or oyster cakes, shrimp cakes, sprinkle it sweetened with honey over a cobbler, make a pie crust with it mixed with butter and line the pie plate and sprinkle on top!

Haha! Live and learn with dog ownership! Never leave food unattended with a large dog loose! Be glad it wasn't chocolate!

Anne Smith said...

Would that little brown dog happen to be a Boykin spaniel. I have 2 of those little rascals sweet Georgia brown and dixie.

Anonymous said...

I have half a pan left from dinner the other night.We crumble the bread to make meatballs & meatloaf.It gives the meals a unique flavor.