Good morning, morning! I’m so happy! After 2 extended camping trips (25 days and 13 days) and not many weekend camping trips, last fall we were able to enjoy a relaxed camping weekend at a local state park!
It was so fun! Even though the bugs were bad, and we stayed inside late afternoons and early evenings, we still enjoyed morning campfires!
I especially enjoyed one of my favorite campfire activities-breakfast cooked over the campfire.
Cornbread Pie Irons were an easy, yummy breakfast one morning!
A small 8.5 ounce cornbread muffin mix, milk and leftovers made such an easy breakfast.
The cornbread mix directions calls for milk and an egg, which I didn’t have. I substituted about 1/3 cup more milk. Sometimes for 1 egg, I substitute homemade buttermilk (or sour milk) by adding 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to milk and letting it sit for 5 minutes. I also didn’t have lemon juice or vinegar in the camper, so I used plain milk.
The cornbread mix with just milk was fine, maybe a little heavier, but it was still yummy!
The single box mix made 3 square pie iron cornbreads.
For leftovers, I used sauteed onions and mushrooms. Lately, I have been making a large batch of sauteed vegetables to eat over rice/barley/noodles for weekday lunches.
So Friday, I brought the leftovers camping. They were delicious in the cornbread.
For 1 of the pie irons, I mixed the onions and mushrooms in the cornbread mix. For the other 2, I placed the cold, sauteed vegetables on top of the raw cornbread before I closed the pie iron and cooked them.
I loved both ways of cooking the vegetables with the cornbread. Cooked sausage, cooked bacon pieces or ham would also be a great addition.
Even plain Cornbread Pie Irons were yummy! We made them the following weekend and grandbaby loved them. He even made them himself!
Cornbread Pie Iron
One 8.5 ounce cornbread mix
1/3 cup milk
1 egg or 1/3 cup milk or milk soured with 1/2 teaspoon vinegar, let sit 5 minutes before adding to cornbread mix
Leftover sauteed onions, mushrooms, green peppers
Leftover cooked bacon, sausage or ham
Oil
For each cornbread pie iron, heavily oil the pie iron so it doesn’t stick while cooking.
Pour about 1/3 of mix into half of the pie iron pan, sprinkle with cold leftover veggies or meat. Close the pie iron.
Cook over the fire until golden brown and the mixture is firm before turning to cook the second side. Then finish cooking until the second side is also golden brown. It will cook quicker, so check it sooner.
Cooking time is about 5-10 minutes, depending on the heat of the fire.
Often, I set the pie iron on the fire ring grate over the coals. Sometimes, especially for breakfast, I hold them right in the flames to cook faster. Then, I need to open the pie iron and check more often so I don’t burn my cornbread or wreck the pan. Our cast iron pie irons are very durable and I don’t wreck them with the high heat, like I did our old Teflon pie irons.
I really enjoy campfires and campfire cooking, it is a great way to start the day! The Cornbread Pie Irons with or without sauteed veggies were an easy, yummy breakfast- even if I didn’t have an egg for the recipe!
Happy Camping (and cooking campfire breakfast again!)
Frugal Campasaurus