Food & Swine

Comfort & Cornbread

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My ultimate comfort food is any type of yeast bread (see: Simple Farmhouse Bread), but quickbreads like cornbread and apple bread come in a close second.  This cornbread recipe was born out of a desire to create something quick with one of the best values at the grocery store: the Jiffy corn muffin mix.  (I’m not being paid to endorse of course, just passing along my love of this mix and it’s good value.)  I can buy this mix for $.50 or so and with a few quick additions, turn it into something even more delicious.

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We’ve been busy doing chores and trying to ‘tighten’ things up for the coming winter.  It is not the favored time to have livestock outdoors (see my post: The Inconvenience of Livestock).  Not all of our pigs reside in Modern Pig Barns, just the commercial pigs we raise. Our show pigs take up space at our home in our barn, at my in-laws which is within a couple miles away. Show pigs are our hobby, they by no means make a significant living for us.  We have the pigs for fun, not a boat or lake home.  We raise pigs and my husband works in the industry for a living. As a family, we enjoy them enough to devote mostly all of our free time to them, too.  A big part of this time of year for us, is making sure we have everything in place to insure the comfort of our livestock (and pets), whether they reside indoors or outdoors.  It is really good to know, the things we want to bring comfort to, bring comfort to us.

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Comforting things:

Cherry D., Cookie Dough and Sassy.  Late night, girls only chore time is the best.  Wait, scratch the girls-only part: see boar in background.

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This is at my in-laws house.  Sometimes you have to stop moving and just observe the animals.  This little gilt had no problem with me sitting by her, she was comfortable with it, as was I.  (I wouldn’t do that with some of the other pigs around… don’t do as I do!)  Her name is Cleo.

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There’s always time for a little work to soothe the soul.

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She got all of the mess cleaned up, once she got a better shovel.

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Then a ride, who rides pigs anyway? One of the perks of having this smaller group of pigs is being able to get our children more experience with the animals. This helps them become better stockmen. We only raise pigs in our grow-finish barns (our modern pig barns) from 50-280 lbs.  In our show pig work, the kids see the gestation, farrowing (birthing) process, and small weaned-size pigs, too.  They enjoy those phases in the pigs’ life and there are many teaching moments for us as parents.  The excitement around the arrival of new piglets puts Santa-anything to shame.

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Making the pigs ‘comfy’. Bedding is always fun to play in (fun for the laundry person ONLY when the bedding is clean.)

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Being with family is the reason we do what we do.  What makes you comfortable and happy?  I hope you get to enjoy the things that do, very often.

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Back to the FOOD.  (Which if you haven’t noticed… totally brings me JOOOOOOYYYYYY!)

Going away, this is one of the easiest recipes in my book.  I made this the other night at my sister’s house to take to my friend’s little party where she served chili, we noshed on this cornbread and ate the best pumpkin bars!  We had the best time while the kids played.  My little niece came too, and wore quite a cowboy hat (borrowed from one of the other kids).  I wonder if she’ll ride bulls like her Dad and Grandpa once did?

Isn’t she just scrumptious?

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Cheddar Cheese and Chive Cornbread:

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Cheddar and Chive Cornbread

by: Cristen www.foodandswine.com Makes one 9×13 pan of cornbread (12 large or 15 medium pieces)
Author: Cristen

Ingredients

  • 2 packages of corn muffin mix I used Jiffy
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 C milk
  • 3 TBSP Chive flavored or regular sour cream
  • 1 can of sweet corn kernels drained well
  • 1 C shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/3 C chopped chives or could use green onion tops

Instructions

  • Add corn muffin mix, eggs, milk and sour cream to large mixing bowl. Whisk until combined. Fold in corn, cheese and chives. Pour into a greased 9×13 glass baking pan. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden brown and top is slightly golden. Remove and let cool a bit before slicing. This is a moist cornbread that doesn’t crumble away.

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5 Comments

  • Reply Sincerely Jenni (@SincerelyJenni) November 5, 2014 at 11:27 pm

    I knew there was something I could add to the Jiffy mix to NOT make it taste like I was eating a dry towel! Thanks for sharing!

    • Reply Cristen November 5, 2014 at 11:37 pm

      I’m dying over here! A dry towel? Hilarious! :)

  • Reply ceil slings November 6, 2014 at 2:36 am

    Hmmm. Jiffy mix alone is something I have used but not often. This recipe sounds great.

  • Reply Suzy @ The Mediterranean Dish November 7, 2014 at 7:27 pm

    Hi Cristen! It was great to meet you last night. Love this post! Cornbread is a great go-to, and I love you jazzed up the Jiffy mix :-) See ya around :-)

    • Reply Cristen November 8, 2014 at 2:36 pm

      It was wonderful to meet you, Suzy! See you soon hopefully!

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