Melt butter and saute onion and green pepper until softened, then let cool slightly. In a large bowl whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt. In a large measuring cup beat eggs into buttermilk. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients all at once. Stir until just combined, taking care to break up any clumps. Gently fold in ham, sausage and vegetables.

Notes: This comes, roughly, from the Junior League of New Orleans cookbook called Jambalaya. I had two Italian sausages in the freezer for some mysterious reason so I removed the casings and used them. Obviously andouille would be a nice sausage choice, as well, or chorizo. It is important to really mince the beejeezums out of the onion, pepper, sausage and ham. I used a chef's knife and the flat of my hand and whacked away. In the spirit of disclosure I had trouble getting the tops to brown properly and think in retrospect that I had the pans too far down in the oven... oh well. They tasted terrific anyway. Edward approved.

long time lurker! I'm amazed that you manage these wonderful meals for the kiddos. I have 18 mo old twins and a 6 year old and can't manage the time to actually cook something using the stove! or oven! So KUDOS to you!!

Yeah, I'm in New Orleans, and jambalaya is my one staple recipe -- though I didn't learn how to make it until I went away to college and had to re-create New Orleans food in mid-Missouri. I usually serve jambalaya with corn muffins, but I might try it with these next time for a nice twist.