Hey Y'all! - 12 oven-baked recipes to WARM UP you and your kitchen! (2024)

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL FIND IN THIS ISSUE OF HEY Y'ALL:

12 OVEN-BAKED RECIPES TO KEEP YOU AND YOUR KITCHEN TOASTY
When it gets cold like this I love to cook in my oven! Here are my FAVORITE recipes for the oven.

I'M GONNA DO IT. I REALLY AM
I've decided to do the thing we all say we will, but rarely do.

YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP
Things that made me ugly-laugh or otherwise occupied my attention, mind or heart this week.

CAN I PLEASE HAVE SOME?
Recipes (not my own) I came across this week that REALLY caught my eye.

WE EAT FISH STICKS TOO
My weeknight meal plan for feeding my busy family and how I've been making it LOW CARB for myself. Because we all need ideas. And yes, we eat fish sticks too.

12 OVEN-BAKED RECIPES TO KEEP YOU AND YOUR KITCHEN TOASTY

Man, DANG! Is it cold where you live?? We’re about to freeze to death in the southeast! And every time the weatherman so much as mentions the phrase “wintery mix” every loaf of bread and gallon of milk gets GONE! I walked into Wal-Mart the other day and thought the zombie apocalypse must surely be upon us because the dairy section was slap empty! By the way, cashew milk is not terrible in coffee.

When it gets cold like this I love to cook in my oven! The oven gets good and hot and keeps the downstairs nice and toasty for hours. When I take whatever I’m cooking out of the oven, I turn it off and leave the door open to make sure I get every nickel’s worth of heat out of that sucker.

Here’s a list of my favorite oven-baked recipes to keep your kitchen toasty. I like to cook these when it’s cold because they’re yummy and I like the heat from the oven BUT ALSO because I do NOT bake stuff like this in the heat of the summer for the same reason.

YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP

Things that made me ugly-laugh or otherwise occupied my attention, mind or heart this week.

• Lord, I could sing this woman’s song! Y’all have NO IDEA how mean people are on the internet. I keep saying I should keep a list of the best zingers thrown my way and publish them someday but that’s just letting the bad stuff double-dip in my heart and ain’t nobody got money for a therapist for that.

• OK, so Husband was listening to this the other day and for whatever reason, I zeroed right in on the lyrics. And before the first verse was over I was juicy-eyed. By the time the song was over I was downright snotty. I had to do a little research on the song and these two singing it (I was curious where all this passion came from). These two gentlemen, Finbar Furey and Christy Dignam, are Irish musical legends and this song was written in 1976 by a Scottish folksinger as a response to the anti-Irish sentiment in Britain during the IRA bombings in the 70's. Just listen.

• Did you notice the PAIN-IN-THE-BUTT popup ads that used to take over everything are GONE??? I am super happy to report that we are 100% up and running with the new ad management company and everything has been wonderful! You’ll notice there are less ads too! But, y’all, I still have to have the ads or I wouldn’t be able to afford to do this so I hope you don’t mind them tooooo much.

• Ain't this some truth?

I'M GONNA DO IT. I REALLY AM

I've decided to do the thing we all say we will, but rarely do.

I keep thinking about something and I think it’s time I actually do something about it. I don’t have a ton of family here. Mama’s from Maryland. Daddy only has one sister still with us. Husband is from Canada. And most everyone else is scattered to the wind. The family I do have kicking around these parts are all just like me, wrapped up with our daily grind.

Because of the long weekend before Christmas this year, I found myself with nothing I absolutely had to do the Saturday before Christmas (miracle of miracles, right?). So I called my Aunt June to see if I could come sit with my Uncle Tyrone (who suffered a stroke this year and needs constant care) so she could get out of the house and have a day to herself. She said, “No, you can’t but you can come down here anyway because I got nowhere I need to be, your daddy’s sitting at my kitchen table, your cousin Lisa is here and your cousin Lori is on her way.” Do what??? How did the planets align for so many of us to be in the same spot when we so rarely ever see each other?

So I loaded up a tray of Christmas sweets I’d made, hopped in the car and headed out there. I spent the afternoon catching up with the family I used to spend SO MUCH TIME with as a child but hardly ever see anymore. And it was fantastic. It was everything I needed.

We always always always say we need to get together more but we never do. None of us is to blame… we all have our own families, jobs, etc. that keep us hopping. But I keep thinking about how good it was to sit at my Aunt June’s table, share goodies over coffee and hear what’s going on in everyone’s life. How my cousins and I cuddled up on the couch and giggled like school girls like 30 years hadn’t passed since the last time we’d done that.

So, I’ve decided to try to make it happen. To hold on to these people who helped shape me into who I am. I’m not sure how or when it’s going to work but by me putting it in writing here, I’m holding myself accountable to just do it!

CAN I PLEASE HAVE SOME?

Recipes (not my own) I came across this week that REALLY caught my eye.

Pecan Pie Cobbler Cake from Something Swanky
OK, this photo is what grabbed my attention – I mean, LOOK at it! And then I see that it only has 5 ingredients and one of those is just WATER? Oh, yeah, I’m all over this one! I can just imagine what that caramelly, pecany bottom layer is going to be like!

Chili Cheese Crescent Hot Dog Bakeby Best Recipe Box
I was scrolling through Pinterest one night with Brutus sitting next to me on the couch and he says, “MAMA! Can you make that?!” and pointed to this recipe. Can I make that? Pffft. This one’s happening soon because it DOES look gooey and cheesy and yummy but also because that boy never asks for anything so when he does, I listen up!

Bangers & Mash with Stout Onion Gravyby Self Proclaimed Foodie
This one’s been on my bucket list for a while and it popped back up in my news feed this week so I took it as a sign! I love sausage – like, I LOVE it, love it. And y’all know how much I love beer so this one has Mandy written all over it!

WE EAT FISH STICKS TOO

My weeknight meal plan for feeding my busy family. Because we all need ideas.
And yes, we eat fish sticks too.

MONDAY
Blackened Salmon
Roasted Cauliflower
Pasta & alfredo sauce
I get that GIGANTO slab of salmon from Sam’s or Costco, brush it with melted butter, coat it with blackening seasoning then bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through. The leftovers are AMAZING for lunch!

TUESDAY
Scrambled egg and cheese sandwiches
Sausage links
My tribe wants theirs on buttered toast but I like mine on white bread with mayo (ya know? and when you take a bite it sticks to the roof of your mouth?? anybody else weird like me??). I didn’t actually get the bread this time because I’m still doing the low carb thing.

WEDNESDAY
(homemade)
Cornbread
Fruit co*cktail

THURSDAY
Crock Pot Smothered Chicken
Green beans

FRIDAY
Hoagies
We have a pack of gorgeous bakery sub rolls that I REFUSE to let go bad so we’re eating hoagies for supper (or at least they are - I'm still off bread). I slice tomatoes and onions and put them in a bowl with Italian dressing for a bit. Then I make the subs with deli meat and cheese then toast them under the broiler. Then assemble with mayo, lettuce, marinated tomatoes and onions and they are KILLER.

Thanks for catching up with me this week! Don't forget to like, share and pin the stuff you enjoy from South Your Mouth - it's what keeps the wheels a' turning!