Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Carey on Pinterest
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I know y’all get sick of hearing about how busy I have been, how I don’t currently have a reliable internet or cell phone connection, how I have a lot to post and just can’t seem to get it done… so I won’t bore you with that schtick again this week.
BUT… I will tell you that there has been a Pioneer-Woman-Lollapalooza going on out in my neck of the woods. My sister-in-law has made more Pioneer Woman recipes in the last 2 weeks than I have made ever! And it has been TASTY, let me tell ya. Here are some of the recipes that have passed over our taste buds lately:
- Blackberry Cobbler- I’m not sure this technically qualifies as a cobbler but technically I don’t care! It is so darn delicious!!
- Steak Sandwich- It’s easier to make than you might think and because it’s made with cube steak it pretty economical.
- Wedge Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing- need I say more?
- Sherried Tomato Soup- a refreshing spin on a classic. Seriously, the sherry makes all the difference.
Yesterday my SIL made the dish you see pictured above, Beans with Cornbread. What my SIL couldn’t have known is that my mother used to make beans with cornbread and it was a favorite weekend meal at our little country home. Smokey, garlicky beans with hearty, only slightly sweet cornbread (generously slathered in butter of course)… this is the food of my childhood. Beans & cornbread is such a normal, everyday meal in country cooking that mom never bothered to write down her recipe, not for the beans anyway. So I was thrilled to find that Pioneer Woman’s version is almost identical to my moms. It was a big hit, there was barely 2 cups worth of beans left over and zero cornbread left over.
You might be thinking that with the winter months behind us this meal might be too warm to eat in the summer but it’s so not true. Ask any good Mexican cook (or you can ask a 1/2 Mexican cook like myself!), eating hot foods in the hot weather will cool you down. I think it’s all the sweating. Ew, sorry. But try it anyway and you’ll see I”m right!
Beans and cornbread is an easy meal that simmers away on the stove so you can still get your weekend projects done and have a glorious meal waiting for you at the end of the day. Don’t feel bad about cheating a little if you need to buy your cornbread from your grocer’s bakery or get one of those Jiffy or Marie Calendar’s mixes. I won’t tell.
