Chipotle Cheddar Cornbread

I find cornbread an often overlooked and understated quick bread companion to most meals (at least in my book).  Then I make recipes like this one and realize that I’m missing out on a lot.

I’m trying not to be a carb-a-holic.  I avoid pasta if at all possible, don’t eat a lot of breads/rolls, and I realized I’m not really baking as much as I used to (although I was dying to make some of this last weekend).  I’m not gluten-free, I’m not gluten-intolerant, or any of those things.  I just mostly don’t buy bread products because I never end up using it all. (This is coming from someone who recently cleaned out her freezer and realized that she had a frozen loaf of bread in there that she had been occasionally and rarely eating from…that was over a year old.  Probably not a good idea.  No?  I don’t know how long that kind of stuff stays good in the freezer.  Anyways, I got rid of it.  Also it had small ice crystals all over it, too, from me not appropriately storing it the last time I used it. Oh well.)  This also explains why sometimes I go nuts at restaurant when they do serve bread before dinner.

Anyways, this recipe is a great twist on your standard slightly sweet, slightly savory traditional cornbread.  I found that the chipotle chiles added a bit of a smoky flavor here (it wasn’t hardly spicy at all, in my opinion, so if you want more spice, add more.  And, as a sidenote: I used canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for this recipe. Which was probably why it wasn’t that spicy.) You could even throw in some more little bits of veggies-some chopped spinach or garlic, too, since this bread batter is fairly forgiving as far as accomodating add-ins.  I used a mild cheddar cheese here and was a bit disappointed with the flavor, so use a sharp cheddar (or even a pepper Jack) if you want a slightly more intense cheese flavor.

Serve it with some butter and this chili.  And you’ll warm right up.

Chipotle Cheddar Cornbread

Servings: 1 loaf

Ingredients

3/4 cup cornmeal (I used a medium-grind cornmeal, which was nice.)

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup milk (I used skim.)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons chopped chipotle chilies (I used canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce because I forgot to buy real peppers at the store.  I think that’s what gave the cornbread a nice, smoky flavor and less spice-which I actually prefer.  Use what you like best here.)

2-3 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Instructions