Cornbread Pie

First, make this cornbread batter:

1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 cups baking soda
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
2-4 T. sugar
1/4 cup mile vegetable oil
Cooking spray
butter

In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a small bowl, stir the baking soda into the buttermilk. In a second bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar to taste, and the oil, then whisk in the buttermilk.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and quickly stir together, using only as many strokes as needed to combine.
(To make plain cornbread at this point, bake in preheated oven at 375 about 25 minutes.)

To proceed with the Cornbread Pie, preheat the oven to 375. Spray a 10-inch round casserole or 13x9 baking dish (I used the 13x9 to give more cornbread topping for my hungry horde).
In a saucepan, reheat your soup. Taste and adjust seasonings. (If you have less than 4 cups, you can add in a can of diced tomatoes or other compatible vegetable at this point.) Pour the piping hot soup into the casserole. Spoon or pour the cornbread batter over the hot soup.

Bake until the bread is golden brown, 25-30 minutes. About 6 minutes before it's done, sprinkle 4-6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese over the top to melt. Serve hot.