To sweeten the deal, Southern Bite and General Mills are giving away a $25 Publix gift card!  All you have to do to enter is post a comment below.  This is a quick give-a-way, so entry ends at midnight CST on May 18, 2012.  Winner will be notified via email and must respond with 24 hours to claim prize.  Winner must be a resident of the continental United States.  Please add info@southernbite.com to your list of allowed senders to ensure you receive the email. 

“Disclosure:  The Publix gift card, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.”

I’ve gotten so caught up in day-to-day life that I seem to have become more focused on the getting things done rather than taking the time to really SEE things.  You know what I mean – getting up, getting breakfast, getting ready for work, getting the kids to school, getting to work, getting your work done, getting home, getting dinner ready, getting the kids to bed, getting to bed yourself so you can get up and get to getting the next day.  I’ve been so busy getting, that I failed to realize the last few baby things in our house were almost gone.  Sure the diapers, bottles, and cribs have been long gone, but realizing the baby monitors were still up made me see that the baby era is quickly fleeting.  It’s a hard pill to swallow realizing my baby is now 3 and referring to himself as a “big boy.”  He does “big boy” things like brushing his own teeth and putting his dirty clothes in the hamper.  It’s all made me realize we all need to work harder at SEEING and focus less on the getting things done.  Time is passing us by quickly without any reverence for our lives.  It doesn’t pay attention to what we’ve got going on.  We’ve got to stop waiting for things to happen and just MAKE them happen.

Monday night we were sitting at the table eating dinner when a light rain came up.  Looking out into the rain, I realized that my kid had no idea what it was like to play in the rain.  I grabbed the opportunity to snatch him up and run out and play in the rain with him.  We played until the sun went down.  I hope I can burn that time in my memory so that I can remember every detail – what he was wearing, the way he laughed, the look in his eyes.  I’m so glad I took the time to do that and to be a little silly with him.  I know that I will have other opportunities like this, if I make time for them.  But I also know that as the years pass, those opportunities will grow fewer.  I just hope I have the wisdom to SEE these types of opportunities when they present themselves…

Y’all this is probably my favorite cobbler recipe.  And I’ll admit that it’s pretty sweet, that’s why it’s good to cut the sweet with a little vanilla ice cream. ~snickers~

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh strawberries
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 3/4 cup butter (1 stick plus 1 half stick), divided
• 1 cup brown sugar

Instructions

1. Wash and slice strawberries, discarding tops.
2. Combine strawberries, orange juice, and 1/2 cup sugar in a medium pot and heat until sugar is completely dissolved.  Pour into a greased 2 1/12 quart baking dish.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, 1/2 sugar, and 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), cut together.  ( I used a pastry blender, but a large fork will work fine, too.) Spread on top of strawberries.
4. Soften 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) and mix with 1 cup brown sugar.  Drop into dollops on top of flour mixture.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes to an hour, or until golden and bubbly.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Mother’s Day is just over a week away, and to say the least, I’ve already started stressing over the perfect gift for my Mom and for Jack to give his Mommy.  It’s amazing to think what an important role our mother’s play in our lives.  Even as a grown man with a child of his own, I still depend on my Mom daily – weather it’s to confide in, rely on, or just to chat.  It’s been pretty amazing watching the woman I married become a mother, too.  I can only hope that the relation ship between Jack and his Mommy is one that is much like mine and my Mom’s relationship.  I don’t think many sons could call their Mom a best friend, but I can and I count my blessings every day for being able to do that.  I’m not afraid to say I’m a mama’s boy.  I’m pretty proud of it actually…

Y’all this is a recipe that my Mom has been making since I was a kid.  It is always requested by family and friends and is pretty dang awesome if I have to say so myself.  I mean how can you go wrong with bread, butter, bacon, and cheese?

Ingredients

• 16 oz french bread (this can 1 big loaf, or 2 smaller loaves)
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted
• 2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 8 oz sliced Swiss cheese
• 12 oz bacon

(Please note: The amount of bacon and cheese you’ll actually use will depend on how big your loaf of bread is as well as how many loaves you use.  You will not need all 8 oz of cheese or 12 oz of bacon, but this should give you plenty regardless.  I’d recommend not cutting it all up in case you don’t use it all.)

Instructions

1. Melt butter and stir in mustard and chives; set aside.
2. Slice bread into about 1 inch pieces without cutting all the way through the bread.
3. Using a pastry brush or spoon, spread butter mixture in the inside of each slice of bread.
4. Cut Swiss cheese into quarters and place one piece in between each of the slices.
5. Cut bacon strips in thirds, then lengthwise.  Place a strip on each slice of bread.
6. Wrap in foil and bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and pull foil back, broil on low until bacon is crisp.

Here’s a quick an easy broccoli casserole that we just love at our house!  It’s a great complement to almost any meal and it’s easy.  It’s a win-win!

Every time I do anything with broccoli, I always think of this skit from Saturday Night Live…

Ingredients

• 2 – 10 oz packages frozen chopped broccoli
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 sleeve buttery crackers (like Ritz), crushed
• 3 tablespoons butter

Instructions

1. Cook broccoli according to package directions and drain well.
2. Combine broccoli, eggs, sour cream, mushroom soup, Worcestershire, garlic powder, and 1 cup of cheese; mix well.
3. Pour mixture into a greased casserole dish (about 9×13) and topped with crushed crackers and several pats of butter.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes until set.  Remove from oven and top with remaining cheddar cheese; return to oven until cheese is melted.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup chili sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients and refrigerate several hours top allow flavors to develop.  Serve with everything!

Ingredients

• 6 hard boiled eggs
• 1 small rib of celery, finely diced
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1 tablespoon creole mustard
• 1 tablespoon pickle relish (I prefer dill, but sweet will work just fine, too.)
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• dash of hot sauce (or more – to taste)

Instructions

1. Peel and coarsely chop eggs.
2. Combine ingredients in a large bowl.  Chill and serve with crackers or as a sandwich.

We’re all busy and we all are looking for quick ways to get supper on the table!  Well, Pillsbury just made that a little easier.  As part of their annual Pillsbury Bake-Off (where the winner wins $1 million!) they’ve now posted a host of recipes from the competition online at Bake-Off.com.  You can fins everything from Hazelnut-French Silk Turtle Pie, to Marmalade-Glazed Asian Meatball Cups !  They’ve really got some great stuff on there!  We tried the Buffalo Chicken Cresent Puffs and were delighted!  We’ll be making those again soon!

As a little incentive to get you to try one of those recipes, Pillsbury and Walmart will provide one Southern Bite reader with a $25 Walmart Gift Card to get what you need for the recipe (or anything else for that matter).

Find all these amazing recipes at: http://bit.ly/bakeoffweb

To save even more at Walmart, check out these amazing coupons:  everydaysaver.com/Walmart

To enter, click over to the Bake-Off site, look around,  and come back and comment below and let me know what recipe you want to try if you win – or you can take the easy way out and just say “pick me”!  Entries must be submitted by Monday, April 2nd, at 11:59 p.m. CST.   The winner will be chosen at random and will have 48 hours to respond to my email to claim the prize.  The winner must be a resident of the US.  For extra entries, post about this contest on Facebook and Twitter.  Just be sure to tag Southern Bite in the post. Facebook: @The Southern Bite  Twitter: @SouthernBite

“Disclosure:  The gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Walmart and General Mills, through MyBlogSpark.”

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, divided (2 sticks)
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 – 15.25 oz can of pineapple slices in juice, juice reserved
• small jar of maraschino cherries
• 1 – 15.25 oz box of Betty Crocker Super Moist Butter Cake Mix
• 3 eggs

Directions

1. In a well-seasoned, 10.5 inch cast iron skillet, heat 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar over medium heat until butter is melted; stir constantly.  Remove from heat.
2. Drain pineapple juice into a measuring cup and add enough water to make 1 cup of liquid.  Add to cake mix in a large bowl with eggs, and 1/2 cup melted butter.  Mix well; set aside.
3. Place drained pineapple rings and maraschino cherries in the bottom of the skillet on top of the melted butter/sugar mixture.
4. Top with cake batter.
5. Bake in a 325 degrees F oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  
6. Immediately cover pan with a platter and invert.

If you’re looking to score some sauce of your own, check out Whole Foods in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia and a select few Krogers in the Atlanta area.  You can also get some online at Snazzy Gourmet.

Y’all do the folks at Fox Bros a huge favor (and me for that matter) and jump over to their Facebook page and show them some love from the Southern Bite family.

To enter, just leave a comment below telling me how you like your sauce: sweet, tangy, spicy, etc.  The contest closes at midnight central time next Wednesday (March 28th).  The winner will be chosen at random.  The winner must be a resident of the US (yes, we do have readers outside of the good ol’ US of A) and must respond to an email notification within 24 hours of being chosen.

Good Luck!

Today’s a little bittersweet for me and my family.  Today our house goes on the market.  It’s a little tough because this was the home that Heather and I came home to as a married couple.  It’s the house we brought our little boy home from the hospital to.  We know it’s the right decision, but it’s still a little hard.  I know home is where you make it, but this place has memories. It’s a great little house and we’re sure to miss it.  But the truth is, we didn’t really plan on starting a family as early as we did and the yard just isn’t great for a 3 year old.  The backyard has a huge slant and there just isn’t much place to play.  And our little guy needs LOTS of room to play.  That kid would be outside from sun up to sun down if we’d let him.  We need a little more room to spread out, too.

It’s the first of many changes on the horizon for us.  Heather will graduate in May and she’ll be transitioning to a new job.  And just have to brag a minute, she’ll graduate with honors.  Yep, Magna Cum Laude…  I’ll be more like thankya laude ~grins~.  Kidding aside, it will be great to have the stress off of her.  That will allow her to relax a little.  She’s done a pretty good job though being a full-time student, mom, and wife all while holding down a full time job as an RN.  I’m so proud of that girl!

Well, I just felt like I hadn’t chatted with y’all in a while and just wanted to let you in on what’s going on in my life.  I’ll have a little bit more free time now that my travel with work is over, so I hope to be able to chat with y’all a little bit more than I have been so far this year.  By the way, what happened to January, February, and the first half of March???  Whew!  Seems like I was just taking down Christmas decorations.  Good grief!  Well, y’all be good!

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
• 2 cups sugar, room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3 heaping tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• pinch of salt
• dash of nutmeg
• unbaked deep dish pie crust

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar together with a hand mixer.
2. Add eggs; mix well.
3. Add buttermilk, flour, vanilla, salt and nutmeg; mix well.
4. Pour into unbaked pie crust and bake in a 350 degrees F oven for  55 minutes to 1 hour, or until set.  Allow to cool completely before slicing.