A Southern Girl

The BEST (and easiest) Peach Cobbler Recipe…

I just love the smell of a cobbler baking in the oven. Don’t you? Do you know what’s better than that? How about the fact that this recipe is so easy that the prep time will have you in and out of the kitchen in no time!

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Here is what you will need:

1 stick of butter

4-5 cups of fresh or frozen sliced peaches

2 cups of sugar (divided)

1 cup of flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup of whole milk

2-3 tablespoons of cinnamon/sugar mixture (optional)

9 x 13 baking dish

Preheat oven to 375. Place stick of butter in baking dish and place in the oven to melt while the oven preheats. Add peaches to the saucepan along with 1 cup of sugar. Cook over medium/high heat until bubbly. Remove melted butter from oven once completely melted. Mix remaining dry ingredients. Give the dry ingredients a quick mix and then add milk. Mix until all dry ingredients are wet, no need to overmix. Pour mix directly over butter. DO NOT MIX. Then pour peaches on top. DO NOT MIX. Sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar. You could also use nutmeg or just cinnamon. This step is optional. The crust rises to the top while the cobbler bakes, so be sure not to mix as you layer the ingredients. Bake for 30-40 minutes until browned. Serve by itself or with ice cream.

It is delicious and so easy!

*You could easily substitute any fruit for the peaches.*

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The beach…

Photography

One of my favorite places to break out the camera is at the beach. I’m a firm believer that it is impossible to take a bad photo. Well, almost. I’m a manual setting girl, but even the novice point-and-shoot photographers are sure to capture amazing photos. Here are a few I took while on our annual family vacation a couple of weeks ago.

I love all of the birds that call the sea their home. I always try and take as many photos of them as I can while we are there.

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The sunsets.. wow! When we go to the beach we have to stay beach front. Once you have a place right on the water nothing short of that will do. There’s nothing like waking up to this amazing view. How could you not fall in love with this?

Our view from the upstairs balcony. Gulf front is definitely the way to go.

The sunsets were different each night but all were beautiful.

I have another post planned about our favorite places along the gulf if you are planning a trip to the Florida panhandle soon! Stay tuned!

Instant Pot Recipe – Spaghetti

Recipes

Who doesn’t love a one pot meal? Less dirty dishes, less time in the kitchen, and a great meal. I have been using my Instant Pot more and more, and I’m constantly amazed at what all it can do. The hardest part was browning the hamburger meat. After that, I tossed everything in and walked away. It was done in 6 minutes. Perfection! Don’t mind the horrible photo. Sharing on the blog was a total afterthought, because I was just cooking dinner like I do any other night. I didn’t decide to share it until I was already putting the leftovers away. It was too good and too easy not to share. 😉

*If you aren’t familiar with Instant Pot Pressure Cookers, see my post HERE

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One Pot Spaghetti… in the Instant Pot

Ingredients

1 lb hamgurger meat
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 jar filled with water
1 small can of tomato sauce (optional)
spaghetti

Instructions

Select ‘saute’ on the Instant Pot control panel. Brown hamburger meat. Turn off Instant Pot. Break spaghetti in half and spread evenly over the hamburger meat. Add jar of spaghetti sauce, jar of water, tomato sauce (optional. Make sure liquid is covering spaghetti. More water may be needed. Close the lid and cook on Manual for 6 minutes at high pressure. Then use quick release. Remove lid and stir. Boom! Dinner is served. 🙂
*If you like your spaghetti not quite as tender, I recommend 4 minutes.

I’m In Love With My Instant Pot…

Recipes • Reviews

Do you hear that? That would be the sounds of angels singing. I’m not talking about just a couple of angel’s singing either.. I’m talking a whole choir! I have finally discovered the Instant Pot! Where have I been this whole time? If you aren’t familiar with what the Instant Pot is, then let me tell you… this ain’t your Mama’s pressure cooker. This electric pressure cooker is so much more than a presser cooker, but more about that later. The Instant Pot has changed how I think about meal times. More often than not, I dread dinnertime… like really dread it. I have been in a dinnertime rut and this is just what I needed. Also, the time I have saved in the kitchen has made it worth every single penny. I swear, I am not a paid spokesperson or receiving anything in return for my recommendation. I got mine on sale when Amazon dropped the price to $68 for Black Friday. Knowing what I know now, I would have GLADLY paid full price for it. Since I have had it, the only days I haven’t used it is when we’ve gone out for dinner.

instant-pot

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Ok, so back to how versatile the Instant Pot is. Any time I thought about pressure cookers, I always thought of the typical things they are used for, like roasts, stews, etc. I had no idea how far pressure cookers have come. Did you know that you can make a cheesecake in a pressure cooker??? I didn’t. Rice? No problem. Do you like to sear your cuts of meat before cooking them? Yes, please. What about making your own yogurt? Sure! With the rice, saute, and yogurt features it’s a breeze! I’m all about making delicious meals while only using one pot. It’s the second best thing to enjoying delicious meals that I had zero hand in preparing. 😉

You can also use the Instant Pot as a slow cooker. Plus, almost any slow cooker recipe can be converted into a pressure cooker recipe. Most are easy peasy to do. Some of the things that I have made so far: Mississippi Roast in 1.5 hours (super delish and tender), a whole chicken in 30 minutes (literally fall off the bone good), 3.5 lbs of pulled pork in 1 hour (soooo good and tender). I seriously look forward to finding new things to cook in this pressure cooker!

Like I said, I have used it every single day since I’ve had is, aside from the days we have gone out for dinner. I think so far what has impressed me the most is the fact that I took frozen, boneless chicken breasts from the freezer and I had them cooked, shredded, and bbq chicken sliders assembled in less than 30 minutes. I cannot tell you how many times I have forgotten to set down something to thaw from the freezer. This is definitely a game changer!

Word has it that hard boiled eggs are super easy to peel after doing them in the Instant Pot. That may be my next venture. Another favorite I hear a lot is how quickly you can bake potatoes and sweet potatoes. Honestly, the list is endless.

I had toyed with the idea of getting a pressure cooker for a few years, but honestly, they always seemed super intimidating. I’ve heard the horror stories and fear kept me from trying one. Man, I wish I hadn’t been such a chicken! The safety features on the Instant Pot are top of the line. I hate to say it’s fool proof, but after using it, I’m honestly not the least bit worried of any accidents.

Soon, I will be posting my favorite accessories and recipes that I have tried so far. If you already have an Instant Pot, please post a comment with your favorite way of using yours! I’m still very much a newbie, and love hearing of all the ways to use this mean machine. 😉

**There are affiliate links within this post. I do get a tiny percentage of any item sold by clicking on the links provided. It is no additional cost to you to purchase this way. I only recommend products I use myself and that I would recommend to my own family. I am in no way affiliated with or receive any compensation from Instant Pot. I just love it, and have been shouting it from the rooftops. 😉

Caramel Apples

Recipes

Making caramel apples can sometimes be a disaster. This was the case for my first attempt last year. Trying to eat one was risking an emergency visit to the dentist! This recipe was on the bag of caramels, but instead of using water, I used milk and they were perfect! They turned out great and gave us yummy ‘edible’ caramel apples. They are so good!

caramel-apples

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Caramel Apples

Ingredients

2 – 11 oz packages of caramels
4 tbsp of milk
6 apples
popsicle sticks

Instructions

Put unwrapped caramels and milk in microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat in 30 second increments until caramel is completely melted. While melting caramels wash apples, remove stems, and insert popsicle sticks.
When caramel is melted, insert apple at an angle and slowly twist until apple is covered. Place on greased wax paper until caramel is set.
You can always roll the apples in chopped nuts, or drizzle with milk/white chocolate. The possibilities are endless.
helpful tips:
cold apples work best
place caramel apples in fridge to help caramel set

The Best Popcorn Balls

Recipes

I just love popcorn balls.. there’s something about them that just brings back memories of childhood. Some popcorn balls are hard as a rock.. some are too soft and gooey.. and others are just right. These are ‘just right’ and they are so good! This recipe makes about 12-14 softball sized balls. Feel free to double the recipe if you are making them for a crowd!

the-best-popcorn-balls

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The Best Popcorn Balls

These popcorn balls are perfect! Not too hard and not too gooey. Just right….

Ingredients

3 bags of microwave popcorn (I used light butter)
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup of margarine
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup marshmallows or marshmallow fluff
2 tbsp water

Instructions

In a medium sauce pan, heat margarine, marshmallows, corn syrup, sugar, and water. Heat and stir until mixture starts to boil. Continue stirring until mixture starts to thicken. Pour over popcorn and stir with spoon. Be careful, because the mixture is really hot! I used latex gloves sprayed with cooking spray to finish mixing. Once all popcorn is covered, press firmly to form balls. Place popcorn balls on wax paper to finish cooling.
Useful tips:
I dumped all of the popcorn into a large roasting pan. I didn’t have any bowls large enough to hold 3 bags of popcorn. It worked perfectly!
Be sure and remove unpopped kernels from the popcorn before mixing, so you don’t bite into a hard kernel.

Tex-Mex Cornbread

Recipes

I love anything Tex-Mex and this recipe is so good. It’s a must try. The super easy recipe is below. Enjoy!

$Tex-Mex Cornbread Recipe$

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Tex-Mex Cornbread

So easy!

Ingredients

2 lbs hamburger meat
2 cans of Rotel (or any can of tomatoes with chilis will work)
1 can of Ranch Style Beans
1 cup of shredded cheddar
2 packages of cornbread mix
diced jalapeños (optional)
eggs and milk (per cornbread directions)

Instructions

Brown hamburger meat and drain. Add drained Rotel, and undrained Ranch Style beans. Return to simmer. Remove from heat.
Prepare cornbread according to package directions. Then add 1/2 cup of cheese and mix well.
Spread 1/2 of cornbread into the bottom of an 8×8 pan.
Spoon in hamburger mixture. Add diced jalapeno to taste. (optional)
Sprinkle on remaining cheese.
Top with other 1/2 of cornbread mixture.
Bake at 350 until cornbread is browned.