Mexican Cornbread

This is from the recipe drawer of Maxine.  Cornbread is such a classic.  No southern lady would be without her go to recipe.  But there is always that occasion when you need something a little special or maybe with a little kick!  Maxine had this one in her drawer.

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 t. baking soda

3/4 t. salt

2-3 eggs beaten

1 reg. size cream corn

1 cup milk

1 1/2 - 2 jaleppano peppers chopped fine

1/2 cup bacon drippings or oil

Mix & set aside -- Blender is real good

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 large onion chopped

1/2 lb graded cheese

1 bell pepper

garlic powder or salt

Brown meat & pepper & 1 t. salt to taste.

Drain on paper towel.

Take 10" skillet & heat on top of stove & sprinkle cornmeal lightly & brown slightly

Pour half of cornbread mixture in skillet & put cheese (grated) over meat mixture then onion & rest of cornbread mixture

Bake 350 degrees - 45 min.

This is a hearty cornbread.  Even though it could be a bread, it is more like a side dish or even a main dish if you are eating light.  I know that there are a couple of misspelled words, but I didn't want to change what is written.  I figured that you all would understand.  The layering instructions are not well written, but my understanding is to put half of the cornbread mixture, then the browned meat/peppers, then the cheese, then the onion and finally the remaining cornbread.

I find the instructions on heating up the skillet (I would assume that this would mean a cast iron skillet) very interesting.  I actually learned this trick when watching my own mother, Pat, make cornbread, and my husband's grandmother, Lola, (Maxine's mother) make biscuits.  Pat would put the shortening called for in the recipe in her iron skillet, stick it in the oven and allow it to melt while the oven and the skillet heated up.  She would then pour the hot, melted shortening into the batter as the last ingredient, stir it in and then pour the cornbread batter into the hot skillet.  This made the cornbread very crisp as it almost "fried" in the skillet.

Lola, on the other hand, left the melted shortening in the skillet and she would place her biscuits into the pan, thus causing the same effect, basically "frying" the biscuits just a little, making them very crispy.

While interpreting a recipe for biscuits that my mom's aunts had written down, belonging to my great-grandmother, Stella, I noticed that there were a few tablespoons of oil.  Since there were no instructions to this recipe, just a list of ingredients, I chose to follow this train of thought.  Heating the oil in a cast iron skillet and basically "dipping" both sides of the biscuits in the hot oil.  My husband really likes these biscuits, with the very crispy outside.  You might give this a try the next time you have some oil or shortening in one of your quick bread recipes.