Cornbread Salad

What?!?! Two posts in less than 24 hours?!?! I know, it's crazy. And more to follow... there was a stretch of time where I had very little extra time, and it was too hot to turn on the oven when I did have time, so I definitely got the itch to bake and create.

While this isn't a dessert by any stretch of the imagination, I can still justify its existence on a baking blog because I *did* have to bake the cornbread before throwing it all together. And besides, it's my blog and I can put on it what I want, right? :-) I had this salad a few years ago at a friend's house a few years ago and fell in love with it, as did my cornbread-lovin' husband. I was super excited when I found the recipe in a cookbook I have had for about 5 years! (I guess that goes to show how much I browse through the salad section... feeding a 2-year-old really changes how health-conscious I am about what I make.)

Cornbread Salad

adapted from Westside Nazarene Church Cookbook

Cornbread:

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup corn meal

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 400°. Grease 9" pan. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes until light golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool. Break in pieces and place in serving bowl.

Salad:

1-1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing

1/3 cup sweet pickle juice

15 ounces red kidney beans, rinsed

1 cup green onions, diced

1 green pepper, diced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/2 pound turkey bacon, skillet-fried and chopped

Cream together mayonnaise and pickle juice. (I didn't have this on hand - a simple alternative that worked well is equal parts vinegar and water, about 2 tablespoons sugar, and a dash each of salt and pepper.) Pour dressing over cornbread. Layer all other ingredients on top of dressing and refrigerate until ready to serve.

This is going to be perfect for our Father's Day picnic tomorrow evening!