Eating Prairie Food

Tonight's meal make me think of the Ingalls family. Clara and I have been reading the Little House on the Prairie books a lot this winter and, boy, they ate a lot of corn bread. For dinner, we stuffed ourselves on Sweet Potato {Chicken} Hash and Moosewood Cornbread. (I suppose the Ingalls would have used Prairie Hen in the hash but we used some roasted chicken breast.)

Moosewood cornbread calls for whole flaxseeds (I grind mine in the coffee grinder
) and whole grain cornmeal, which hasn't had its delicious germ and bran removed. Jim and I both agreed the whole cornmeal makes a far superior bread than the more processed stuff. Clara ate hers loaded with butter and a drizzle of maple syrup, Jim's just had butter and mine was plain.

The hash recipe came from a cookbook my mum got me for my birthday this year. Not Your Mother's Weeknight Cooking has become my go to book when I need something to make for dinner and I haven't planned ahead. I always have everything the recipes call for in my pantry. However, tonight I did plan ahead and still used the book because I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while.

Moosewood Cornbread

5 T Whole Flaxseeds (ground just before using)
1C Whole Wheat Flour
1/2t salt
1/2t baking soda
2t baking powder
1C Whole Grain Cornmeal
2 Large Eggs
1C Plain Yogurt
1/4C Olive Oil
1/4C Honey, Maple Syrup or Agave Syrup (optional but highly recommended)

1. Heat oven to 375*. Oil a 9-inch square or 10-inch round baking pan.
2. Grind up flaxseeds to a consistency similar to the cornmeal.
3. Mix flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder, stir in the flax and cornmeal.
4. In a separate bowl beat eggs, yogurt, oil and sweetener.
5. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet. Stir just until blended; don't overmix.
6. Spread batter evenly in the pan and bake 20mins or until cake tester comes out clean.

*Serves 9.

Sweet Potato Chicken Hash

2 Large Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice)
1T butter
1 small red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 chicken breast (roasted in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper at 350* for 40mins), or other cooked meat.
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 Large eggs
1 1/2 T chopped chives or scallions
1 1/2 T chopped parsley

1. Place potatoes in a saucepan with water enough to cover by 1-inch. Bring to a boil and cook 4 minutes or until barely tender. Drain well and set aside.
2. Heat butter in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add onion, and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add drained sweet potatoes. Cook, stirring for 8 mins or until potatoes are crispy and slightly browned.
3. Add cooked chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Make 4 wells in the potato mixture (3-inches in diameter each) and break 1 egg in each well.
5. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook 4-5 minutes, until eggs reach desired 'doneness'.
6. Sprinkle with herbs and serve immediately.

*This could easily be done without the meat, adding mushrooms with the onions instead.