Hola, dinner.

Yesterday, my sister and I, with our powers combined, whipped this up for dinner. It was quite tasty and couldn't have been easier. You can't be gourmet every night, you know, but this still got really high marks for taste. And after eating the leftovers tonight that were still just as good, I realized I needed to share this good news because I love easy and delicious.

Presenting . . . Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder and the best cornbread you'll ever have in your life. (Seriously. You'll never make another recipe.)

Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken in bite-size pieces
1/2 C chopped onion
2 C half and half*

1 clove garlic, minced
3 T butter
2 cubes chicken bouillon
1 C hot water
3/4 t ground cumin
2 C shredded monterey jack cheese
1 can creamed corn
1 sm can chopped chilies
1 dash hot sauce (optional)
1 tomato chopped
fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

In a dutch oven, brown chicken, onion and garlic in butter until chicken is done. Dissolve boullion cubes in water, pour into dutch oven and season with cumin. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, boil 5 minutes, then simmer. Stir in corn, chilies, cream, and cheese (and hot sauce if desired). Cook, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted. Stir in chopped tomato & garnish with cilantro (if desired). *Also, we added one cup of half and half and one cup of milk, and it was still sufficiently creamy.

And now for the cornbread. I've heard people say before that they don't really like cornbread because it's dry. THIS is not dry. It's moist, it follows the Law of Buttermilk that's been discussed before, and the sugar makes it just sweet enough that it could almost be called Cornbread Cake. Almost. It's still TOTALLY acceptable to serve this for dinner . . . and have something else entirely for dessert.

Heaven-sent Cornbread

1/2 c. butter

2/3 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 c. buttermilk

1/2 t. soda

1 c. cornmeal

1 c. flour

1/2 t. salt

Melt butter; add to the sugar and stir well. Add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk and soda and stir into sugar mixture. Add cornmeal, flour, and salt. Stir until just blended. Pour into greased 8-inch square pan. Bake at 375 degrees (350 for glass pans) for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve with obligatory honey butter.