Southern Style Skillet Cornbread Recipe

 Nothing says cool weather like chili and cornbread!  Did you miss my recipe for 3 Bean Turkey Chili?  Make sure you check it out- it's a great way to use up some left-over turkey and goes perfect with this Southern Style Skillet Cornbread!

So yeah, I am a Southern Girl!  I grew up on cornbread..... when I was a kid my grandmother would make a HUGE batch of vegetable soup and cornbread.  We would devour it like there was no tomorrow!  I wish she still made vegetable soup like she used to-- I've tried to replicate it but just can't figure it out-- and of course, like most grandmothers she just threw some of this and some of that in there with no recipe.  Luckily I did learn how to make her delicious skillet cornbread!  And now I make it anytime I make Chicken & Dumpling Stew, Pumpkin Stew, Butternut Squash Stew, Shredded Beef Stew, yeah-- I make a LOT of stews!!!



Ready for the recipe?

How to Season a Cast Iron Skillet

Seasoning a cast iron skillet is a MUST if you plan on cooking with it!  Have you ever tried to cook with a cast iron skillet that hasn't been seasoned?  Yeah, everything just sticks to it and it's a pain in the arse to clean!

So how do you season a cast iron skillet?

It's actually very simple!

3 Bean Turkey Chili Recipe

Happy Black Friday!!!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving!  And is surviving or avoiding the craziness of today!  We are visiting the Happiest Place on Earth.... yep, Disney World!  Happy Birthday to me!!! 

Ready to put some of that left over turkey to good use??  I usually make this with ground turkey but it's just as yummy with shredded turkey.... what a delicious after Thanksgiving meal!

And you know me.... OH SO EASY!!!!




I used to HATE chili!  I wasn't a fan at all.... the only chili I would ever eat was this recipe from my mom and with the changes I've made to her recipe I've come to LOVE this chili!

Butternut Squash Stew Recipe

I LOVE stews!  They are the PERFECT comfort food for when the weather turns cold!  So, you will probably notice that I'll start sharing several stews with you in the coming weeks because that's my go to meal when I'm wanting to curl up on the couch and get all warm and cozy!

Stews are awesome to make because they are EASY, quick, and you can eat them pretty much anywhere (see reference to the couch above)!

Pumpkin Pockets Pastry Recipe

 Oh, Oh, Oh how I LOVE pumpkin season!  There's just so many fantastic pumpkin recipes and nothing says Fall quite like pumpkins!  They are the quintessential food for this time of year!

Gooey pumpkin pastries are by far my favorite treat during this time of year!  They are oh so delicious and PERFECT for breakfast Thanksgiving morning or a snack Thanksgiving afternoon or dessert Thanksgiving evening.... oh who am I kidding.... they're PERFECT for anytime!  If only pumpkin were so readily available other months of the year! (These are why I buy up pumpin puree when everyone clearances it out at the end of this month!!!)



Now for the yummy gooey goodness.....

Wedding Keepsake Shadowbox

Okay, so I’ve been married for over 2 years now and I’m just now getting around to putting together some wedding keepsakes!  Hey, it’s been very busy these last couple of years!!  Anyway, I’ve been hanging on to a box full of napkins, invitations, favors, etc.  I’ve felt like I just CAN’T throw them away… like it’s bad or something…. but, really, do I really need all 25 extras of my invitations??  I mean when am I ever going to use them?!

So, yes, I have purged….. but not without making some keepsakes first!

Manic Monday Linky Party 38

I can't believe I didn't back up my laptop!!!!!!
Yes, my laptop DIED this weekend and I lost about 12 drafts for posts!!!!!
Go NOW and BACK UP YOUR STUFF!!!

I've been using Windows Live Writer to write my posts because it takes me about 1/2 the amount of time and I really love how simple it is.  BUT, Saturday night my "Warning Low Battery" light came on so I plugged in the charger and the charger died.  So, being married to a brilliant engineer we have about a dozen extra power cords laying around (seriously, he has one set up in every room of the house).  So, after killing off 3 more chargers I realized it's not the charger that's the issue. :(
My laptop died before my husband explained to me that he can back up my hard drive and save ALL the photos of Little Man's first year BUT that he won't be able to save the stuff on Windows Live Writer!  I am sooooooo bummed!  All that work down the drains!

So please, go now and back up your laptops!  At least you can learn from my misfortune!

In case you missed them here are my top posts from last week:

Savory Pumpkin Stew

Thanksgiving Fall Wreath

Pin-fest Wrap Up-- make sure you go Pin!

Come join in the fun and link up you crafty creations, yummy recipes, blogging tips and mommy moments…. please don’t link up linky parties (you can link those up here) and no advertisements please.  All posts that are linked up must be your own work and may be featured on this site with a photo and backlink- permission is assumed by your participation in the link up.


Note: Link Ups will be RANDOM from now on-- so if you don't see yours at the bottom-- have no fear-- it's randomly inserted-- that way everyone has equal chances at the top! :)

Pinfest Wrap Up!! Let's PIN!

It's time to PIN!  Last week we had the first Monthly Pin-fest! 

This is where I open up a linky party for 1 week to allow all of you to link up your #1 viewed post for the previous month.  Now that you all have shared your #1 posts it's time to pin those posts.  So, I ask that EVERYONE click on the links below and Pin Pin Pin-- let's get these posts more traffic by pinning them on Pinterest!

Did you miss the initial link up?  That's okay.... this is going on EVERY month and you can participate in the next one-- BUT please feel free to pin some now!

Are you linked up below?  Then it's time to pin!  Please make sure you pin EVERY post that is linked up-- you can create a special board for Pinfest like I did, or you can pin each under different categories-- just please make sure you pin-- if everyone is pinning yours then you need to take the time to repay that favor.

Has everyone shared their Pinterest account?  If not, post it in the comments-- I'll follow you!

Let's Get to Pinning~!!!!!!

Savory Pumpkin Stew Recipe

 

Tis the season for pumpkins!!!

I LOVE everything pumpkin!  Nothing says Fall like these delicious, beautiful, multi-funtional, gourds!  I decorate with them, cook with them, refuse to drink my coffee without a little pumpkin spice added to it!  Yep, I admit—My name is Melissa and I’m a pumpkin addict.

Today I’m going to share with you my

severely addictive pumpkin stew

…. it’s a MUST when the weather starts to turn chilly!  And it’s so EASY!  You can use FROZEN chicken and still have dinner ready in about 1 1/2 hours with MINIMAL effort.  You know me, I HATE to slave over the stove—this I can turn on and pretty much leave it.

Thanksgiving Fall Door Wreath $10

I decided my door needed some sprucing up after the Halloween decorations went away…. so I decided to make this Thanksgiving Wreath and I’m really happy about the way it turned out!  The BEST part is that it cost me less than $10 to make!

Manic Monday Linky Party 37

Can you BELIEVE it’s NOVEMBER?!?!?!

Oh my, how the time just flies by!

Did you link up your #1 October post to Pin-fest?  Make sure you do…. it’s going to be a lot of fun!

In case you missed them here are my top posts from last week:

Two Bit’s Tuesday: Savor the Moments

Oktoberfest Roast Beef

and, of course, Pin-fest!!!!

Come join in the fun and link up you crafty creations, yummy recipes, blogging tips and mommy moments…. please don’t link up linky parties (you can link those up here) and no advertisements please.  All posts that are linked up must be your own work and may be featured on this site with a photo and backlink- permission is assumed by your participation in the link up.

Oktoberfest Crock Pot Roast Beef Recipe

So last week I shared with you my SUPER YUMMY Oktoberfest Baked Chicken.  Today, I am sharing my Oktoberfest Roast Beef…. if you gave the chicken a try and liked it then you are going to LOVE this roast beef! 

I used to always have the issue with my roasts coming out tasting DRY DRY DRY—no matter what I did I could NOT get them moist…. I used beef broth, seasoning packets, tenderizers, LOTS of water…. nothing worked.  Until I tried beer!  Yep, after I discovered how moist the chicken turned out I figured “why not try it with the roast”!  Works like a charm… this is the most moist roast you will EVER eat!

 

Now for those of you thinking “I HATE beer- there’s no way I’ll like this roast beef!”  You are wrong.  Sorry, I just gotta call you out and tell you “YOU ARE WRONG!!!”   I’m not trying to be mean…. I’m trying to get you to try a FANTASTIC recipe!  I made this a while back for a friend of mine who HATES beer, she will not touch it, she downright HATES the taste.  So, yes, I will agree that beer is an acquired taste and not everyone likes it.  But, she LOVED this roast!  When I told her I made it with beer she was BEYOND shocked!!  All of the alcohol gets cooked off and all you are left with is the undertones of the flavors.  Sam Adam’s Octoberfest is perfect for cooking with because it has a mild beer flavoring (which gets cooked off) and you’re left with the yummy flavors of pumpkin, caramel, and toffee!  Just try it… you won’t be sorry! 

October Wrap Up, Linky Party, Pinfest!

Can you believe it’s already November?!  Where oh where does the time go!
I wanted to start something new to try to Savor the Moments like I was talking about during Two Bits Tuesday.  I’m going to do a quick recap from the month—so hopefully you didn’t miss anything along the way.  And I’ll be sharing the most viewed post from this month and I’d like for you to share too!  Then we’re going to have an AWESOME Pinfest—oh you’ll see!

This has been such a busy and fabulous month back!  Did you miss my hiatus? That’s okay if you did—I’d like to think I came back with a BANG!   I decided to start a new series called Two Bit Tuesdays and of course started out with linky parties as a topic—seriously, why all the confusion about what day they should start on!  Then I treaded some dangerous territory in the political realm—don’t worry—I didn’t really get political—no sides were chosen—but I’d LOVE for more people to weigh in on it—PLEASE go check it out!  I started Wordless Wednesdays because I really do think a picture says 1000 words and it’s the basis of how we document our lives.  I even shared our pumpkin picking adventure!

Well, my most viewed post was actually a tie—probably because people needed BOTH recipes—yeah I planned that good.

Now, for

PIN-FEST:

So, here’s the deal—for the link up you only get to choose 1 post from October that you got the most hits on—(oh, okay….since I got 2 you can have 2) .  Now, I want to see your projects, recipes, and tutorials—linky parties don’t count as most viewed posts—we all know those are the high traffic days. Now, if you don’t follow those simple rules—your link ups will be deleted —cheaters don’t prosper—I think 2 is good though—don’t you?!

And let’s pin them for each other!  These posts were our BEST of the month—shouldn’t more people see them?!  So, the linky party will be open until Saturday, November 10th at midnight—send your friends! Then Monday I will put out a post before Manic Monday begins reminding you to come back and PIN PIN PIN!  That way we can promote each other and really get some great traffic—I’m hoping to see some of your posts go viral—how awesome would that be?! 

Make sure you leave your Pinterest name in the comments below so we can follow each other too!   And, go ahead and pin the Pin-fest Button so others can hear about it too!