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Uses for corn meal besides corn bread?

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bread corn meal
24K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  Judi Dial 
#1 ·
I have a lot of corn meal. I like corn bread, and have a recipe I really like for that, but I was wondering what else I can make with corn meal? If you have ideas, do you have recipes for them?

Also, how long does corn meal last? I've seen threads/posts about how flour has a limited shelf life, but don't recall seeing anything about corn meal.
 
#2 ·
I use corn meal, the really gritty stuff, to keep my homemade pizza from sticking to the pan.

AFAIK it lasts forever. I buy 2-3 cups in bulk and keep it in the pantry and have never had it go bad. It's too dry to worry about.

You might want to try polenta, that's a fancy word for corn-meal mush. Some people like it as a side dish instead of pasta. Here's a simple recipe: http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001637creamy_polenta.php
 
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#3 ·
Yes, what I have is the coarse stuff, not corn flour or corn meal mix. I have a lot of it--I bought a couple of large bags at an international grocery store we have here (love it!), and didn't use them up as quickly as I anticipated.

I have thought about making fried polenta, but I had forgotten about that idea. I think it needs to be fairly firm so it can be sliced. Thanks for the idea.

I had considered making my own corn tortillas or tortilla chips, but when I did internet searches I mostly found recipes that called for a special kind of corn flour (was it masa harina?), not corn meal. I did find one recipe for corn tortillas that uses corn meal, so I'll try that. http://www.recipezaar.com/Homemade-Corn-Tortillas-92902
 
#5 ·
Cornmeal Chips
1/2 cup water
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, as desired
1 1/2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, as desired
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

Preheat oven to 375 °F (moderate). Lightly grease baking sheet.

Heat water, butter or margarine, and seasonings to boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in cornmeal and mix well. Divide dough into 30 portions, using about 1 teaspoon dough each. Roll each portion into a ball about 3/4 inch in diameter. Place balls on baking sheet, about 3 inches apart. Cover with wax paper and press with bottom of a glass until very thin -- about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Remove wax paper. Bake until lightly browned and crisp -- about 15 minutes. Cool on rack. Store in airtight container. Makes 30 chips.
 
#6 ·
Bean Tamale Pie
2 tablespoons green pepper, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 tablespoons onion, chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon oil
1 cup dried kidney beans, cooked, unsalted, drained *
3/4 cup water
1/16 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup tomato puree
about 1 cup (1/2 of a 10-oz package) frozen whole-kernel corn

Cook green pepper and onion in oil in small (8-inch) skillet until tender. Stir in beans, tomato puree, corn, chili powder, and salt. Cover and cook over low heat until flavors are blended, about 15 minutes.

Mix cornmeal, water, and 1/16 teaspoon salt. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until very thick, about 3 minutes. Spread cornmeal mush over bean mixture to form a crust. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon chili powder over top of crust. Cook over low heat, with lid ajar, until topping is set, about 7 minutes. Makes 2 servings of about 1 cup filling and 1/3 cup cornmeal mush each.

* Note: 1 cup canned kidney beans, drained, may be used in place of cooked dried kidney beans. Omit the 1/8 teaspoon salt.
 
#7 ·
Cornmeal Pancakes
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking powder

In a bowl, combine cornmeal, salt, and sugar. Stir in the boiling water. Cover and let stand 10 minutes. In a separate bowl beat the egg, add milk and butter or margarine, and stir. Add to the cornmeal mixture. Stir together flour and baking powder. Add to cornmeal mixture and stir just until mixed. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased skillet or griddle. Makes 10-12 pancakes.
 
#8 ·
Cornmeal French Toast
1 cup milk *
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 slices bread
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

Mix milk, eggs, and cinnamon thoroughly. Melt butter or margarine on griddle or frypan. Dip each slice of bread in milk mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon cornmeal on one side of dipped bread; place bread, cornmeal side down, on griddle or frypan. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon cornmeal on top of bread. Repeat with remaining bread slices. Brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Serve immediately. Makes 8 slices.

* If using nonfat dry milk, use 1/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder and 1 cup water.
 
#11 ·
Antebellum Rice Bread

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter melted
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon vegetable shortening melted
1 dash cayenne pepper optional
1 cup rice cooked
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
3 large eggs beaten
Directions

* The salt, though traditional, may be eliminated if you choose to do so.

Place the melted fats and the rice in a heavy saucepan, covered, over very low heat.

Mix cornmeal and salt and pepper, then stir milk into beaten eggs and blend in the cornmeal.

Blend together with the rice mixture and put into greased 8- or 9-inch square pan.

Bake at 450F until firm when tapped with finger and well browned on top--about 25 minutes. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 1 to 1 1/2 dozen squares.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Hubby has mush almost every morning for breakfast.
He uses it on his baking sheets when making certain breads (his Italian Feather Bread, good & easy, he doesn't put the egg wash on) http://www.visi.com/~rang/personal/recipes/feather.html and it's nice under homemade pizza dough too.
 
#15 ·
We also love fried mush. I coat zucchini with batter to fry. Hush puppies are good as a side. If you go to allrecipes.com and put in cornmeal alot of recipes come up.
 
#18 ·
I use it to make pizza. I picked up a pizza peel at the local restaurant supply and sprinkle the meal over the peel, then put the dough on the meal, then assemble the pizza toppings. The whole pizza then slides right off the peel and onto the pizza stone in the oven.

I also make polenta with this method:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1010576
You actually cook the polenta in the oven, no boiling. It's really easy.

My DHs grandmother made hoe cakes and served them with chili. This is not her recipe (I'm the most disorganized person I know, so I have not a clue as to its location) but it is close.
http://www.bigoven.com/97016-Hoe-Cakes-recipe.html

You can also season the meal with salt, pepper and onion and garlic powder and use it to coat fish for fried fish.
 
#20 · (Edited)
#21 ·
I found 5 lb bags of cornmeal a year or so ago for .50 each, so I bought them all. There's only 2 of us, so we use it slowly.

DH adds a little when he makes bread or hot cereal. You can use it as a facial scrub with water. Try making 3 layer cornbread from the Tassahara Bread Cookbook, yummy!

JD
 
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