Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

I really like cornbread. A lot. The sweet kind. I know there is an unsweet kind, but I am not a fan. :) We have also built up more of a tolerance for hot and spicy since we've moved to Texas. Even Dave, who is not a spicy food person. Here's a recipe we like. I usually make a non-jalapeno version for the kiddos. Well, sometimes. Sometimes they just deal. LOL

Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup corn meal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup canola oil
3 TBSP egg substitute ( I used the All Whites brand which is obviously, all egg whites. LOL)
4 jalapenos, diced (seed them if you have milder tastes)
1/2 cup Kraft 2% cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray an 8 or 9 inch pan with cooking spray. Put dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix the milk, egg substitute, and oil in a seperate bowl until well mixed. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Add jalapeno and cheese to bowl. Mix until just blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes until browned and tests done.I baked this in the Pampered Chef Square Baker. I cut this into small pieces and got around 16 pieces out of the pan. It turned out really moist and yummy.

First go at fresh asparagus

I am pretty sure I have never eaten fresh asparagus. The canned stuff, yep. Fresh, pretty sure it's a no. I am POSTIVE I have never cooked fresh asparagus. Never. I have never even bought fresh asparagus. (While not buying and not cooking asparagus seems to go hand in hand, I often buy stuff that I forget about. Then it goes wonky & I never get around to cooking it. Sad, but true.) The other day while I was out getting groceries, I saw some asparagus and I bought it. It needed to be cooked today. So, I figured why not give it a go. :)

Yummy Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus

an obscene amount of butter...ok you could get by on 2 tbsp

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced fine

First snap the non edible ends off the asparagus. I never did this before, but it was pretty easy. Hold both ends and bend each asparagus rod ( I am sure there is another name for this, but I have no idea what it is) until it snaps and throw the bottom end snapped off part away...Got it? Ok. Melt the butter over medium high heat in a skillet large enough to hold your asparagus. I used a cast iron one, but I am partial to cast iron. When the butter is melted, add asparagus to pan and pressed garlic. Toss everything around and let cook 5-10 minutes, or until asparagus is soft, but still slightly crisp.