::cornbread:with:scallions:&:bacon::

So, as a housewarming gift from my parents, I received a slowcooker. I am beyond excited to start using it. The possibilities are endless and my great friend Kev also got me a slowcooker cookbook that has a TUN of recipes in there that I seriously cannot wait to try. So this long weekend I am going to try a couple of recipes in the slowcooker. You can do anything with it, chili, homemade spaghetti sauces {something I am really excited about}, turkey breast, pulled pork, stews, anything!

So this slowcooker is a fantastic addition to my kitchen, along with the new cookware I got from my boss. But I am also going to add another thing to my kitchen and that is a cast iron skillet. Cooking in cast iron is healthy for you, as you get that added iron from cooking with it and I don't get a tun of iron in my diet. I also like the fact that you can put this in the oven as well...I have been looking for something like this instead of constantly transferring from pan to baking dish. I decided on a 12" Lodge Pre-seasoned skillet that I found on Amazon's site; the link is here.

I also have been perusing some cast iron skillet recipes and there are a tun out there {of course}. But what I am really looking forward to is making fritatta's and just a lot of egg recipes. When looking through different ones I kept seeing that a lot of people make cornbread in cast iron. I have never had cornbread before but this had me intrigued and I immediately decided that this is one of the first recipes I am going to try with it. So here is a recipe I found on a site called Fine Cooking. Will definitely give this a try and let you all know what I think. :) 

Bon Appetit!

Cornbread with Scallions & Bacon
This cornbread has a moist, tender crumb. It gets a nice crisp crust in a cast-iron skillet. 

Serves 8. Yields one 10-inch round bread.

Ingredients
4-1/2 oz. {1 cup} unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. table salt

1-1/4 cups low-fat milk

2 tbsp. honey

1 large egg

1/3 cup corn oil

8 scallions {white and light green parts only}, trimmed and thinly sliced

Freshly ground black pepper

3 thick slices bacon

Directions

Heat the over to 400ºF. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, honey, egg, corn oil, scallions, and 2 grinds of black pepper until well combined. In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet {preferably cast-iron}, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Spoon off all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat from the skillet. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are just blended. Crumble the bacon and fold it in; don't overmix. 

Pour the batter into the hot skillet and bake until the top is golden brown, firm, and springy to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes; a toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a rack or serve in the pan, warm or at room temperature.

-S.*