Cheap and Easy Spoonbread

(Apologies for the picture quality; it looked fine in the preview screen before we scarfed down our picture subject!)

Heading deep into fall, it is time to start eating some of those preserved goods that we worked so hard for this summer, and a great use for frozen corn is spoonbread, a kind of soft cornbread that includes whole kernel corn.

This quick recipe makes use of Jiffy cornbread mix.  I like Jiffy mixes as the base for quick recipes; they are always cheap, and the ingredient list is generally pretty healthy and pretty much in line with what you would use if you made the recipe from scratch.  This spoonbread requires:

Cheap and Easy Spoonbread

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix ($0.47 on sale)

1 egg ($0.13, farm-raised; score!)

6 oz. milk ($0.32, local and expensive, but worth it)

1 pint frozen corn (from freezer)

Mix ingredients and spread in an 8x8 greased baking dish.  Bake 25-30 minutes; longer baking creates a more bread-like product, while the lower time leaves it soft.

This is a great side dish for a meal, or a really good light meal.  Eat the leftovers heated up in the mornings with butter and honey or maple syrup, or wait for lunch and add cheese (and maybe some diced chiles if you have them in the freezer and feel like some heat).

The Analysis

Fast:  One bowl, 4 ingredients, and about 32 minutes of prep including the baking time.

Cheap:  $0.82 for about 4 servings; even if you add ingredients to make a meal, it is still well within budget. 

Good:  Yummy and healthy, this is a great light meal or snack.