Mac and Cheese with a creamy, cheesy sauce — this one is a classic family favorite! No eggs, just a luscious creaminess with LOTS of cheese! It’s the cheesiest and the best! Cold, rainy, winter days…or hot, steamy, summer weekend cookouts with barbecue—both are perfect for a warm, comforting, cheesy plate of creamy baked mac and …

Southern Broccoli Casserole with crispy bacon, cheese, onion, and topped with toasted cheese crackers is the best broccoli casserole we’ve ever had! Your family will love this one! My friend, Janis, gave me this broccoli casserole recipe back in 1990 and I’ve been making it the exact same way ever since. It is so good …

Apple Sausage Stuffing with mushrooms, sage, and other fresh herbs and vegetables is a delicious variation of traditional stuffing. Stuffing is not a traditional Southern Thanksgiving dish. We always have Southern Cornbread Dressing with Giblet Gravy, but every now and then I like to throw this Apple Sausage Stuffing out there as well. I’ve tweaked …

Pumpkin Crumb Cake is sweet and fragrant from notes of allspice, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon. It’s an easy-to-make, tender cake that’s great for morning coffee or after dinner. This easy Pumpkin Crumb Cake is delightful any time of the year. It’s simple, easy, and combines all the fun pumpkin spices with a brown sugar …

Thanksgiving for Two Menu includes easy, smaller prepared dishes that will feed 2-4 people, and you’ll have just enough leftovers for a few sandwiches! We usually have a pretty large crowd when we host Thanksgiving, anywhere from 20-30 people. And I love it that way—the more the merrier! This allows me to roast a large …

This Skillet Dressing Recipe with Pear, Sage, and Bacon is just right for a smaller crowd—and it’s bursting with fresh flavor! Why is it that we only have dressing at Thanksgiving? Or is that just me? Are the rest of you eating fabulous Southern Cornbread Dressing all year long and I just don’t know about …

Oven roasted turkey breast with a maple syrup and cayenne pepper glaze is just right for a smaller gathering or for your weekly turkey sandwiches. One of my favorite things to cook throughout the year is an oven roasted turkey breast. I like to have the first meal with the turkey right out of the …

Sausage breakfast pizza with eggs and cheese over a crescent roll crust is a fun and delicious cheesy breakfast. Kids love this recipe! This easy Sausage Breakfast Pizza recipe is an easy way to serve breakfast to a crowd, especially when you’re feeding kids. My kids tend to love this recipe more than my Classic …

Moist yellow cake recipe that gives you perfect results every time! No more wondering how your cake will turn out — this recipe is easy and delicious! And you can use it for a layer cake or cupcakes. For years I used my Granny’s Feather Cake recipe when baking a yellow birthday cake, but I …

Tea cakes are buttery and slightly soft, not as sweet as a sugar cookie and falling somewhere between a cookie and a cake. They are an old-fashioned Southern favorite! This recipe is so easy–no mixer required and no chilling dough. You can have these wonderful tea cakes ready in about 30 minutes! What is a …

The best chocolate buttercream frosting with a rich chocolate flavor that’s ready in 10 minutes! You’ll want to eat this frosting on everything! Homemade chocolate buttercream frosting is made with cocoa and melted bittersweet chocolate, giving it a deep chocolate flavor.  The butter and half and half ensure that it’s luscious, rich, and creamy. That’s …

Peach Chutney with fresh ginger and lime juice is the perfect topping for your grilled meats or your holiday ham! Fruit chutneys are excellent for adding that extra touch of flavor to meat, poultry, or fish. And almost any fruit can be made into a chutney, which is basically a relish. Around the holidays, I …

This is the best Southern Banana Pudding made with a rich, creamy homemade custard and topped with whipped cream. The homemade custard makes all the difference! Southern Banana Pudding is a simple dessert: inexpensive, easy, no baking required in the heat of a Southern summer, and almost everyone likes it. And to be fair, I’m not …

Butternut Squash Soup with roasted butternut squash, apples, and caramelized onions in a rich, creamy, dairy-free soup. Perfect for soup season and holiday menus! One of my favorite times of the year is when the weather starts turning a little chilly in the evenings. I immediately start thinking about soups, don’t you? Maybe because the …

Southern Cornbread Dressing is so easy to make—with cornbread, celery, onion, sage, and lots of good chicken stock—this classic Cornbread Dressing is great for Thanksgiving dinner or as a side dish anytime!  Ahhh…here’s the star of the Thanksgiving table. It’s not the turkey, although that’s pretty nice too, especially if you use my turkey brine …

Southern green beans are flavored with bacon and cooked low and slow until tender. These green beans are so easy to make and a must-have side dish on every Southern table. I’ll tell you a secret: I prefer my Garlic Roasted Green Beans, but my family loves these old-fashioned Southern green beans, cooked to death and …

Southern Deviled Eggs are creamy with a touch of sweetness from pickle relish and a sprinkle of paprika on top. Very simple and tasty! A Southern gathering isn’t complete without a plate of deviled eggs…and that plate is always a deviled egg plate. Every good Southern hostess should have one, usually passed down from her …

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu ideas and recipes to help you plan ahead and have the best holiday with the least amount of stress! What to Do Before Thanksgiving Week Clean out your fridge and freezer – this is one of the most important things you can do! Toss that old stuff, like LAST YEAR’S Thanksgiving leftovers and …

The Thanksgiving Tablecloth is one of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions. Just take an inexpensive tablecloth and have everyone write something each year. You’ll treasure the memories that you make! Many years ago when I began hosting Thanksgiving, I was reading and searching for Thanksgiving table decorating ideas and came across the idea of a thankful …

Herb Butter is versatile and a great way to add flavor to roast turkey, chicken, fish, or even pork. You can vary the herbs for different flavors. This recipe uses sage, thyme, and rosemary, as well as several different spices.  There are several ways to make sure your roast turkey stays moist on the inside with …

Cream Cheese Pound Cake is sweet, buttery, moist, and delicious—the perfect pound cake! It’s an easy go-to cake for any occasion and it’s my family’s favorite cake! Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe Remember those cookbooks that churches or various ladies’ groups put together? Not even a hard cover book, just pages held together with a …

This Pumpkin Roll recipe is an easy and impressive dessert all year long. We think this version is the BEST with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves—with a smooth and creamy filling from cream cheese and powdered sugar.  About a dozen years ago, my daughter requested a pumpkin roll for our Thanksgiving menu, in addition to the …

Southern caramel cake with homemade caramel icing from butter, sugar, and milk. This one tastes just like Grandma’s! A classic favorite, Southern Caramel Cake is just a regular yellow cake frosted with a sweet caramel cake icing. Some folks like to drizzle the caramel icing in between the layers and just let it drip from …

Fudge pie made with cocoa takes about 10 minutes to put together and 30 minutes to bake into the most delicious pie you’ve ever had! If you ask my family what they want for dessert, hands down every single one of us will say something chocolate. Chocolate Chess pie, chocolate cake, chocolate something—which doesn’t mean we …