Candied Bacon and Cheese Corn Bread

It was Sunday which is almost - not quite - synonymous with grocery shopping here. As I contemplated the box of corn bread mix that has been sitting in the pantry from Trader Joe's for a couple of months I was thinking about how to spice it up. Sometimes I add some brown sugar, or maple syrup, to make it a little sweeter but I was in the mood for some savory flavors too. Bacon! It came to me as I did a quick inventory of the groceries we had bought today. To take it up to another level I thought about specifically making candied bacon.

Corn Bread with Candied Bacon and Cheese

Ingredients:

1 box of Trader Joe's Corn Bread Mix (or your equivalent)
1 Egg - per package instructions
1/2 Cup of Oil - per package instructions
3/4 Cup of Milk - per package instructions
2 Strips of Bacon
Brown Sugar and Cayenne Pepper
1/3 Cup Shredded Cheese 
More Brown Sugar and Cheese for garnish/topping




Shhh, don't tell but I opened the perfectly wrapped stack of platter bacon that we got from the butcher department. If family members check it will be obvious because there is no possible way to wrap it back up to look the same. I seriously wonder how they do it and why I can't recreated the look. I took two slices and stuck the rest back in the paper, albeit it's messy, and maybe no one will be the wiser.

Bacon with Brown Sugar and Cayenne = Candied Bacon with a Kick!

To make this quickly, and not to have to clean a whole broiler pan for two slices, I used a foil lined cookie sheet with the deeper sides. I sprinkled them with a good coating of brown sugar and a little bit of cayenne pepper. Stick this tray in a cold oven (not preheated) for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees. You want the bacon to turn bright red. I removed it from the pan and tore it into little bits to add to our corn bread batter.

Candied Bacon Bits

Bacon and Cheese folded into batter

While the bacon cooled, I mixed the box of corn bread with the egg, oil and milk according to directions. No secrets, beat the egg with the oil and milk and add the powdered mix. You stir the mix in until it's moistened but still lumpy. To this I added the bacon and the cheese. I used about a 1/3 cup of shredded cheese. Today's cheese selection was 4 State Cheddar by Sargento. It looked intriguing and boasted 4 kinds of cheddar from across our great states. . . California, New York, Vermont and Wisconsin!

I poured this combination of flavors into a greased Pyrex 8x8 square pan and then sprinkled more cheesy goodness and brown sugar on top and placed it in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, again according to the mix directions. 

Ready for Baking. . .

So the verdict? Well the almost-8-year-old noticed I was posting and asked what these photos were from and then noticed the pan of bread sitting as it was posted. She tasted it and declared it "delicious" and just now came up and stole the pan to take into the kitchen for dinner. That also lets me know that the bacon is not too spicy as she does not like when I add cayenne pepper.

 

Cabbage on the Cutting Board

Okay, totally unrelated but I just couldn't help but share a photo of my first use of my new cutting board today because it looks so darn cool (and you know I just censored myself!). I made cabbage and noodles for dinner tonight and actually enjoyed cutting the cabbage. I know, I have problems!