jambalaya and Corn Bread

Tonight we are having Zatarain's Jambalaya. Well, Doctored... Ok your probably wondering what that means. I add things to the original dish, so it isn't exactly the same. My cornbread is truly from scratch and also doctored. I will astrick what is different and put next to the original what I did differently.

Zatarain's Jambalaya

I followed the directions on the box, except I browned the smoked sausage and added 1 small can of mushrooms (drained and diced) and then one drained can of corn. In my rice cooker I am cooking 2 cups of rice, to help mellow out the spice for the kids.

Corn Bread (courtesy of Better homes and Gardens cookbook 2000 edition.)

Preheat oven 425F

1 c all purpose flour

1 c cornmeal

2-4 tbsp sugar* (brown sugar - I ran out of white sugar, so I substituted brown)

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 beaten eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 c cooking oil or melted shortening

1. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9x9x2 in or 8x8x2 in baking pan* I used my round stone casserole from Pampered Chef. set aside

2. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture; set aside.

3. In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, and cooking oil. Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture.

4. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake in 425F oven for 20-25 min. or til a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Makes 8-9 servings.

I have been known in the past to add a can of corn, a can of green chile's, cheddar cheese and even sausage to this type of dish. When you add all of these items to cornbread it makes for a yummy meal.

I am hoping that changing out the sugar will not be too drastic a change. I am hoping it is still a sweet johnny cake. Here's hoping :)

Ok, the verdict on the Jambalaya and cornbread... The jambalaya was a very nice flavor, with not too much spice. The kids decided not to have any extra rice to help the spice and said it didn't need it. Mikey didn't like the mushrooms, so he removed them, but at least tried one bite with mushrooms. The cornbread was good. It was not as sweet as I normally like, but it was still good. It had a nutty flavor that I noticed wasn't usually in my cornbread, I think the brown sugar was a good additive, next time I may add brown sugar and white sugar, to add the sweet and the nutty. I like both flavors, and think that they would be a good combination. Definitely a winner. Enjoyed a good dinner