Day 5 Week 1 - Semi Homemade. Is it legal?

One week down! I feel like the one week mark is crucial. If you can make it for a week you are set. So I rounded out the week with a meal that is probably a bit controversial. Soup from a packet. It was not really cooking from a recipe, but it was something different for dinner which I think was my only rule. You guys can tell me if you think this was a cop out. But seriously, it was Friday night! Usually we just order pizza or go out so this a big deal for me! We had Bear Creek Minestrone Soup mix. It comes in a bag/packet and you add water and whatever else you want to the soup. I added a little ground turkey and diced tomatoes. It was delicious and a perfect ending to a busy week. Oh and just so I wouldn't feel like a total loser I whipped up some yummy cornbread to go along with it. So there's your homemade for the night. Good old fashioned buttermilk cornbread. You can crumble it, dip it, or eat it plain... it is mmm mmm good!

Bear Creek Minestrone Soup and Cornbread. Delish.

Buttermilk Cornbread
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 TBSP shortening

Preheat over to 450º. Melt the shortening in a 9 inch round iron skillet in preheating oven.
In a large bowl, stir the cornmeal, salt and baking soda together. Stir in the egg and buttermilk.
Remove skillet from the oven and pour the batter into the skillet , stirring the melted shortening into the batter.
Bake in the preheated over for 30 - 40 min. Remove from the oven when top is brown and it feels firm to the touch. Turn out on to a serving plate and serve immediately with butter. Yum.

One awesome thing about this challenge is that the weekends are so exciting for me. After cooking all week I was ready for a couple of nights off, and Steve couldn't say no to my requests to go out for dinner since I had slaved over the stove all week! Guilt-free dinner out... Priceless! I haven't made it to the store to do my big shopping for this week. So Steve had to get out in the snow last night to make the emergency run to the grocery. Not for milk or bread like all of the other weather crazed Memphians, but for the ingredients for tonight's dinner. I was not letting a little snow blow my cooking challenge. Thanks hubby for braving the white stuff all in the name of saving your wife from internet embarrassment.