Sizzling Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread

What is it about winter that makes me just want to eat a soup or stew with bread all the live long day? I think that it comforts our body from the harsh cold weather outside and when our body is comforted and warmed that also soothes our soul a bit, too, don’t you think?

I live in Kentucky, and in our part of the state we consider ourselves Southern. That said, I come from a long line of fantastic Southern cooks, so I have eaten a lot of amazing cornbread in my days! My mom makes some of the best I’ve ever put in my mouth!  She usually makes it with white cornmeal and it is buttery, very light and tender, and melts in my mouth. Mom has her own secret ingredient (maybe I can ask get her recipe to share with you) that her mom’s mom used. 

Recently my wonderful husband and I traveled to Boston to celebrate being married 17 years, and there we visited Union Oyster House . A national historic landmark, Union Oyster House was established in 1826 and is known as America’s oldest restaurant! This place was a gem!! Nestled in a very cozy nook of a street in the heart of downtown Boston near the bay, we enjoyed buttery lobster rolls, fish and chips, and a cup of delicious clam chowder! They served it with a large piece of their famed cornbread! This wasn’t Southern cornbread, because it was sweet, but it was really delicious!! On the frigid but beautiful day that it was, that quintessential New England cuisine was just what we needed to continue our walking The Freedom Trail. 

Highly recommend trying this place if it’s you’re first visit to Boston! It may be a bit touristy for locals but the atmosphere was tight and warm and welcoming with nostalgic pictures and memorabilia.

If you’re wondering how my husband and I liked Boston and the New England, we LOVED it. Absolutely will be back to visit. It was cold, yet stunningly gorgeous in the fall! Boston was more beautiful than I could’ve imagined with all the historic neighborhoods, old churches, original cobblestone streets, the maple trees and the lovely Boston Harbor. The city was a food-lovers dream, and the people were so friendly and welcoming! We drove up to Rockport and then up Maine’s coast and I can’t say enough to how scenic everything was!!! I felt like Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote—my favorite mystery novelist character! ;)

So as I was saying before, I love cornbread. Haha! The recipe I’ve used mostly in the last few years I sometimes change up a bit, but it’s basic Southern cornbread recipe from the bag of Martha White buttermilk cornbread mix. I sometimes elevate it by subbing out the oil for melted butter and adding a drizzle of honey.

But the way I prepare it makes it special. I always, always use my cast iron skillet. Sometimes I use my 9 inch and sometimes my 12 inch if I want it a bit thinner and a tad “crispier” in texture. If you like Cracker Barrel’s cornbread muffins, you’ll probably like the way this is prepared.

I’ll say that you can absolutely use shortening or lard in this application, but I prefer butter. So as my oven is preheating, I stick my skillet in the oven to heat with it. I bake the cornbread at 440-450 degrees F. I am wanting the pan to be blazing hot. I mix up the cornbread quickly as the pan is heating in the oven. 

Once the cornbread batter is ready and has sat for a moment, I take the pan out and plop about 2-3 Tbsp. of salted butter in the pan and give it a swirl and place th pan back in the oven for a minute to melt. It will happen fast. Take it back out (carefullly—please don’t burn yourself) and immediately pour the batter into the hot and buttered pan. It should sizzle and the batter will begin to set! Place back into the oven to bake the cornbread.

This method will yield you a moist (I said it) cornbread that’s crispy and buttery on the bottom, like it’s been fried! It’s just so good! Once finished baking I melt another pat of butter on the top of the pan before cutting it to serve.

I hope the next time you make some chili you’ll think about making a pan of cornbread and try this method! Also, if you don’t have a cast iron skillet, they’re so easy to find! Lodge brand sells them already seasoned or if you want to go vintage, but one from an antique or thrift store second hand. For under $40 you should be able to get a wonderfully homemade seasoned pan that will last forever if you take care of it.

Stay warm and cozy and enjoy this soup and bread season while it’s here!

Simple Southern Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread

2 c. Martha White Buttermilk Self-rising Yellow Cornbread Mix

1 Egg

1 1/3 c. Milk

1/4 c. Melted Salted Butter of Canola Oil

Drizzle of local honey, or whatever kind you have

3 Tbsp. Salted Butter 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. I usually put mine at 440 and it’s just right. Place your cast iron skillet in the oven to heat up.

In a large bowl mix a lightly beaten egg with the milk and butter or oil together. Add the cornmeal mix and drizzle of honey and mix well.

Take the hot skillet out of the oven carefully and place the 3 tablespoons of butter. Place skillet back into the oven for one minute to allow the butter to melt.

Take the skillet out and carefully (not to burn yourself) pour the cornbread batter in the sizzling hot skillet. 

Bake for 20-23 minutes. Rub a pat of butter on the top and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Slice and serve promptly!

 

Resting and Fulfillment

By the incandescent glow of candlelight wafting a sweet plum fragrance and the small light atop my book, I am thoroughly enjoying my new book, Help, I’m Drowning—Weathering the Storms of Life with Grace and Hope by one of my favorite author’s and podcasters, Sally Clarkson. 

What a treat this is for me! Sitting on a soft, cushy sofa across from my husband at the end of another long day. It feels like I’ve crossed a finish line when I get to this point! The coffee topped with a blanket of foam from the new milk frother/steamer along with the book is icing on the cake. Just to put up my feet feels like Heaven touching earth, if for just an hour! What you don’t see are all the strewn toys around because I was too tired to rally the troops for clean up before bedtime tonight.

This book was a really sweet Christmas gift from my sister, Faith. One that I’ve really wanted since it came out in September.  I won’t dwell on it here but last year was one of the most challenging years I’ve faced. As I trusted and knew that He would, the Lord in His faithfulness, picked me out from the miry pit of the last couple of years and set me on a rock!! Praise to Him! (Psalm 40:1-2)

It’s so interesting because though these days haven’t been instantly easy, I feel as though when He picked me out from the pit He sat me right on His lap! I’ve experienced real intimacy with Him the last 6 weeks or so that has been wonderful and refreshing. He has been so very precious and loving as a Father to remind me how much He loves me! That He remembers our family and has shown us in unique ways that I will get into more as the year unfolds. 

My time spent with Him hasn’t changed. I’ve always woken up early and given Him first fruits. I am not perfect at this and I never ever want to paint myself like that at all, but I love spending time with Jesus every morning in prayer and His Word. I need Him truly, and my need for Him became a desire for Him that became a fire for Him!

I’ve learned in life that sometimes the seemingly insurmountable change or breakthrough that you’re praying for, takes place not after something remarkable except for the faithfulness of walking with Jesus day in and day out no matter how good or bad the days get.  

Faithfulness. That’s a quality way underrated these days and yet worth more than gold!

Remaining faithful and trusting His perfect timing. Sometimes doubt and fear creeps trying to convince me that whatever I’m struggling through will last forever, but that’s where time in His Presence renews my mind and He gives me joy that becomes my strength!! So over time I have always seen the faithfulness of God to fulfill His promises in my life! Always.

After a long but good day, it’s so fulfilling to know you are tired from whatever you are called to do— for me it’s mothering and homemaking. What a blessed calling to raise my kids, help with the projects, pick up groceries, sing songs, cook homemade meals and organize and clean the house day in and out. It’s exhausting and wonderful beyond words for my soul. My husband must feel the same with after a long day at work when we come back together an relax in the evenings before bed.

I hope you find yourself in a place to kick your feet up, knowing that Jesus remembers you and He loves you, therefore we can deeply enjoy the life we have!

Sweet dream, my Friends! 

A Little Note…

Hello again, Friends!

I see that I received some sweet comments not only on the blog I just wrote but from some I wrote over the fall! I am really sorry that I’m trying to respond but can’t at this point. Working on it. 

It would be such a blessing to move my blog one day from Blogger and own a tiny bit of the internet (what fun!) honestly because of all the technical problems it’s given me. That clearly hasn’t happened yet, however, just know that I have tried to reply to you! My smart hubby will help me figure out whatever is going on. In the meantime, thanks for all the grace!! 

I really do have the sweetest friends in here from years and years of writing, and I’m so happy when I see that I also have some new ones, too.

So my sweet baby girl, who is almost four, is playing in the girls’ lightly “updated” and organized playroom! It’s way more fun when they can actually see what is there and when there’s plenty of floor space in their play nook. :) Seeing her busy at work delights my heart.

Again, I apologize, but please know I loove reading your comments and the community that has grown between my blog to Instagram or Facebook and back over the last 12 years I’ve been doing this. Thank you all for taking a moment to read and I always hope you leave feeling blessed.

Stay warm, safe, and cozy out there and remember above all else, Jesus loves you!

 

Snow Days & A Beautiful Beginning to 2022

 The first week of the 2022 gave us in Kentucky the best gift this year—winter came!

And as you can see, we were ready for it!!!

Hallelujah for the Lord giving us a whole day of watching beautiful, fluffy, snow fall!!!

After a December that felt way more like a terrible case of the worst of spring with an F-5 tornado, flash flooding, and warm gray days, we deserved a cold, seasonal white winter to enjoy.

Right at about 5-6 inches, our area received a perfect blanket of snow that came in the form of big fluffy flakes that began in the early morning with the sunrise (somewhere behind the snow clouds) and ended mid afternoon. It fell gracefully throughout the day, the perfect way to watch it fall from swollen snow clouds to the frozen ground. It stuck right away! 

Truly, I don't know if me or the kids were more excited! 

We gathered all the snow gear we could find and all the warm hats and gloves and scarves for it was honestly bitter cold, but our excitement kept us outside over 15 minutes! 

Tiny tongues caught snowflakes, snowballs were thrown, snow angels made.

It’s a lot of dedication for moms to get everyone all layered up and ready from head to toe, including ourselves, and bundled like Ralphie and Randy from the Christmas Story! When it’s 11 degrees outside, every inch is covered in at least four layers here! Why, in just a matter of moments we are back inside and dropping clothes on the rugs in the mud room and setting them in front of the electric fireplace we have in there to dry before our next outing.  

It’s a lot, yes, but once I’m out in the brisk air and feel the snowflakes on my own cheeks I come alive!! I understand why kids love snow so much, because I still love playing in the snow!

          

This snowfall came with brutal temps so the outside play may have been few, but that means we come in for mugs of hot cocoa, which I enjoy making from the Hershey’s recipe on the cocoa container. I also add a handful of marshmallows to melt in the cocoa on the stove and then top with even more fluffy marshmallows in the mug! Perfect to sip while watching a movie. Later I had a deliciously fresh cup of my favorite Starbuck Christmas blend coffee in one of my favorite mugs, my brother Taylor brought home for me from Washington D.C. There’s nothing like warm sippers in hand and cozy blankets to snuggle under on snow days!

In these cozy pictures you’ll still see our Christmas trees still up from Christmas, but now we have everything put away at this point except a few twinkle lights to liven up the long winter nights. I’ve learned that gives me joy!

I’m so glad the Christmas trees were still up so we could enjoy the snowfall and the twinkling lights together! We rarely ever get December snowfalls like this, although I remember vividly a few Christmas snows growing up.. the last was the year we married in 2004. It felt like a perfect Christmas miracle! 

I gathered the kids and read to them a new precious book my sister gifted them for Chrismas about Jesus. They played while I read. I don’t read to them all as much as I used to or as much as I would like to, but when I do it warms my heart so much! 

The following day I awoke to a glistening white outside, and I knew I absolutely had to bundle up and get back in the frosty snow globe of a world. 

The sun made the snow crunch under our feet!

Rosemary and I played in our yard while the big kids snow boarded down the neighborhood hill nearby. We had such a good time!! 

My big two probably walked up that hill a dozen times or more so they came back in cold, tired and wanted to zone out on the couch with a movie.

Being this is only the second or third measurable snowfall since we lived in this house, I’m still in awe of how pretty everything looks. The edges of the reflective pond were frozen while the rest were smooth as glass, as you can see.

In the surrounding woods, every single branch and limb, highlighted. 

Our home looks dreamy dressed in winter white, so I had to snap some pictures to remember just how pretty she looks!

To cap off an already exciting week, we took the kids to the movies to see Sing 2 the following day once the roads were fine to travel on, and we had a sweet “date night” with our kids, which we haven’t done in months! Cheesy Pagliai’s Pizza was devoured in our favorite corner booth after the movie and then a visit to my my grandparents’ home in town topped off the night with extra joy!

It really has been a very full and busy month, but this new year, so far, has been abundant in the Lord’s favor and blessings on our family! 

The busy hasn’t been stressful like it can be sometimes, but instead it’s been refreshing~all good things. Have we had changes to adjust to? Yes, definitely! But also I’ve carved out time with some of my favorite people, that’s been long over-due because of different factors over the course of the last 12-18 months. 

Many of you know I have taken a break from social media. It’s not only helped me focus to get everything done but enjoy it all to the full and be completely present!! I needed to simplify some things for a bit and for me that starts with the clutter I carry in my mind. 

I really want to remember this peaceful season and listen to all the Lord is speaking to me. He is speaking, and moving, and in our family He is redeeming what the locusts had eaten in the previous year!! 

His great faithfulness is like the morning sun!!!