Southern Made Simple

Keeping things simple with a smidge of Southern charm

Laura Tucker

Double Mint Brownies using Peppermint Essential Oil

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Christmas is right around the corner, y’all! It’ll seriously be here before we know it. It always has a way of sneaking up on me! I’ve already been pulling out my Christmas gift list (and checking it twice) and making notes here and there of what I’d like to give my friends and family as gifts this year on the big day. It’s always fun to make sweets and package them up and give to others. It’s also fun to receive sweet treats (just in case you needed an idea of what to get me!) 😉

One of the first things I associate with the holidays is food – particularly sweet treats. I’ve always loved to be in the kitchen, but I especially love to be in the kitchen during this time of year. Once Thanksgiving has come and gone, I start putting away the pumpkin and break out the peppermint! I’ve always loved chocolate and peppermint together. My husband is not a fan, but that doesn’t stop me from digging in! 😉

One chocolatey and pepperminty dish that’s so easy to make is Double Mint Brownies. They’re so delicious, and they are perfect to wrap up to give as a little gift to someone on your Christmas list! I think instead of baking Santa cookies this year, we might be leaving him and his reindeer some of these beauties. Who knows, maybe he’ll leave us a little something extra special!

Double Mint Brownie Recipe using Young Living Peppermint Essential Oil

Double Mint Brownie Recipe using Young Living Peppermint Essential Oil

I have been using essential oils for over a year now. I’m always amazed at how many different uses each oil has! This time of year, I really love to use peppermint essential oil when baking. In this recipe, I use it in place of mint extract.

Note: If you would like to learn more about essential oils, my sister has a really informative post that may help you out! You can find it here.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 sticks butter, melted
  • candy cane or peppermints
  • semisweet morsels – optional
  • 5-6 drops peppermint essential oil. (*Note- If you don’t have or don’t want to use an essential oil, you can use 1 tsp mint extract. BE SURE to use the proper amount of essential oil if you decide to use it. It does not measure the same as using mint extract.)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl
  3. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients
  4. Combine wet and dry ingredients and pour into greased 9X13 pan
  5. Crush candy cane/peppermints in a ziploc bag using a meat mallet  or hammer
  6. Sprinkle a few crushed mints and a handful of semisweet morsels on top of batter
  7. Bake for 22-25 minutes
  8. Remove from oven and allow to cool. If desired, sprinkle additional crushed mints on top.
  9. Enjoy!

Just FYI – If you’re in a time/ingredient crunch, you can also accomplish this pepperminty awesomeness by buying a box of brownie mix and just adding the peppermint to it. I won’t judge!  Don’t you ever let anybody tell you that store bought isn’t fine. 🙂

To give these brownies as a gift, put them in a cute little holiday tin and put a bow on top! I actually stacked them and placed them in a clear plastic cup. I covered the cup with cellophane, tied it together with ribbon, and added a name tag. Easy as pie, y’all!

Have you ever cooked using essential oils before? Do you love chocolate + mint like I do? If you try this recipe for peppermint brownies using peppermint essential oil, I’d love to hear how it turned out!

Glazed Pumpkin Praline Mini Cakes

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I have a problem, y’all.

When Fall rolls around each year and I see that the grocery store has moved the pumpkin puree to the end cap or center aisle (hello impulse shoppers!), it’s like moths to the flame. Every time. No lie. There is no buying just one can. I’ll buy seven! There’s just something about this time of year that sends my mind in a tizzy. If you could hear the voices inside my head, they’d probably sound something like this:

Pumpkin Meme

I mean, I don’t mean to be THAT girl, but I cannot deny my love for pumpkin. There’s just so many things you can do with it. What’s not to love?!

I found this recipe scribbled down in a 3 ring binder in my recipe collection. I made it several years ago and actually forgot all about it! I did a little tweaking and turned it into something new that I am absolutely loving. These little cakes are so stinkin’ delicious. Make sure you have a tall glass of milk on hand, because you’re gonna want it after you have one of these bad boys!

These Pumpkin Praline mini cakes are SO delicious and perfect for a holiday treat!

Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks butter, room temp
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin (roughly half the can)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla flavoring
  • 2 c all purpose flour
  • 1/2 c sugar
  • 1/2 c brown sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • dash of salt

Glaze:

  • 3 tbs butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 c milk
  • 1 1/2 c powdered sugar
  • chopped pecans (No limit. Use however much you like!)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder & soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt
  3. In another bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar together
  4. Blend egg, vanilla and pumpkin into butter/sugar mixture
  5. Mix flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture
  6. On a greased cookie sheet, drop a tablespoonfuls of the batter spaced roughly 1-2 inches apart
  7. Bake for 10-11 minutes
  8. Remove the cookies and immediately transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely
  9. Prepare glaze as follows:
    • Glaze: In a small saucepan, stir butter and sugar over medium heat and allow to bubble. Stirring constantly, cook for roughly 1 minute. The sauce will begin to thicken slightly. Pour milk into mixture and stir.
    • Beat in powdered sugar and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes. The sauce should thicken considerably. You’re going to want to frost the cookies quickly, as this sauce will harden fast.
    • I personally dunked the cakes into the sauce, allowing only the top to be glazed (pictured below), but you can also brush the glaze on with a basting brush.
    • Pumpkin Praline Mini Cakes Recipe
    • While the glaze is still wet on the cakes, sprinkle with pecans. Using a spoon, drizzle a little more of the sauce over the pecans.
    • Enjoy!

What are some of your favorite fall sweet treats? I absolutely love cooking with pumpkin and am always looking for a new way to use it in the kitchen! If you try this recipe for glazed pumpkin praline mini cakes, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it!

Thanksgiving Turkey Hair Bow

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Thanksgiving Turkey Hair Bow

It’s been one full week since the launch of Southern Made Simple, and I have been absolutely blown away by all of the support I’ve received! I genuinely feel so encouraged by all of the kind words I’ve heard from others. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

To celebrate a successful first week, I decided to do a quick giveaway. Yesterday I shared a fun little DIY project on how to make a turkey ribbon sculpture. I’m giving away a Thanksgiving Turkey Hair Bow to one of you! You MUST enter through the widget below. If you have any questions about how to enter, please let me know! The giveaway will run until Friday, November 13th.

Thanksgiving Turkey Hair Bow

Also, please follow me on any/all of my social media outlets so you can stay updated on future giveaways!

 

DIY Thanksgiving Turkey Hair Bow + Video Tutorial

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I’ve been having so much fun trying my hand at ribbon sculptures. There are so many different things you can make, and some of them are SO stinkin’ simple! I recently shared my first ribbon sculpture with you, which was a super cute little elephant bow. You can find it + a video tutorial on how to make it here. This time, I’ll be showing you how to make a cute little turkey hair bow!

DIY TurkeyHair Bow Ribbon Sculpture + Video Tutorial. This is a GREAT thrifty project to get you ready for Thanksgiving!

I absolutely love Thanksgiving. The cool Fall air, the fabulous food and time well spent with family has always made it my favorite holiday. (Except that one year that my mom made my little brother and I dress up like a pilgrim and a Native American on Thanksgiving day back in 1998. No amount of dressing and cranberry sauce could’ve made that frown turn upside down!) 😉

Little brother is NOT impressed!

Judging by that major side-eye, I’d say little brother is NOT impressed!

Anyway! I knew I wanted to make something cute and festive for my daughter, so I decided to give a turkey sculpture a try. Hopefully she won’t be embarrassed by this later in life. But really, how could she? She’s SO cute! I’ll take her wanting to model it at 5:00 this morning as a sign that she likes it. 🙂Turkey Collage

Below I’ve shared a step-by-step video tutorial on how to make this little holiday bird. Get your glue guns ready! This one will take no time at all! Here’s what you’ll need:

 

DIY TurkeyHair Bow Ribbon Sculpture + Video Tutorial. This is a GREAT thrifty project to get you ready for Thanksgiving!

DIY Thanksgiving Turkey Hair Bow Tutorial:

If you decide to give this a try, I’d love to know how yours turned out. Stay tuned, I’ll have a Christmas ribbon sculpture tutorial coming up soon! 

BabyBjörn Baby Carrier One Review

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During my pregnancy, one of the things on my humongous to-research list was baby wearing and baby carriers. I watched my sister and brother-in-law carry both of their girls in a baby carrier, and it definitely piqued my interest. I loved the idea of holding on to your baby while having both hands free, but I was skeptical that it would only add unnecessary exhaustion and back pain. Once I started my research, I looked heavily at BabyBjörn brand carriers.

BabyBjörn Baby Carrier One Review - Southern Made Simple

I was very fortunate to be gifted with a few baby carriers during my pregnancy. I currently have 3 different BabyBjörn models that I love very much, but the all-star out of the bunch is definitely the BabyBjorn Baby Carrier One. Because of it’s ability to grow with your baby from newborn to age 3, it’s marketed to be the only baby carrier you’ll ever need. It’s a pretty sweet deal, honestly!

Here are a few features I’m lovin’ about the BabyBjörn Baby Carrier One:

  • Grows with baby
    • Newborn-3 years (or 8 lbs-33 lbs)
  • 4 Carrying Positions
    • Newborn carrying position (Inward facing)
      • No infant insert required! This carrier has a neat little zipper feature to allow you to adjust the height the baby will sit at depending on their size.
    • Lower height inward facing position
    • Front facing position (Currently my daughter’s favorite! She’s a nosy little thing, so she wants to see what’s going on at all times)
    • Back carrying position
  • Sturdy and comfortable support straps
    • Remember that back pain that I was concerned about? It doesn’t exist for me with this carrier. It just doesn’t happen. And I’m SO THRILLED about it! The support straps are very thick and padded, making this carrier super comfortable for myself and my daughter. When the straps are positioned properly, they help to evenly distribute the weight of the baby, making it easy on the ol’ back.
  • Hip healthy carrier
    • This carrier has been tested by the International Hip Dysplasia Institute and allows for the baby’s hips to be held in a position where the legs are angled outward. This is an important feature to look for in a baby carrier as it helps promote healthy hip joint development.
  • Machine Washable
    • Babies spit up. They just do. If you use your carrier regularly, it’s going to get dirty, and depending on the babies age, it’ll get spit up on. Some products like this require you to hand wash and spot treat. But seriously, y’all. Ain’t nobody got time for that!  I love that I can just toss this in the wash and not worry about it!
  • Folds compact
    •  There is also a way that you can fold this carrier up into a neat little compact square for easy storage that takes up minimal space. For me, asking me to fold something up neatly immediately makes me feel anxious and sort of defeated. Luckily, folding up this carrier isn’t that hard. It also helps that I have a hubby who’s incredibly patient with me and helps me with this sort of thing. Thanks, love!
  • Ease of Use
    • It’s very simple to get baby in and out of this carrier. Check out the instructional video from BabyBjörn below. It really gives a great demonstration of how to easily and effectively use the Baby Carrier One. There’s even a few helpful tips and features at the end!

 
The BabyBjörn Baby Carrier One is currently available on Amazon for just $105.73, marked down from $189.95. If you’re currently on the market for a baby carrier, I think this is a wonderful option!
 
What are some features that you look for in a baby carrier? Have you ever tried BabyBjörn products before? I’d love to hear about it!
   





Disclosure: Southern Made Simple is a part of several affiliate advertising programs. This means that if you click and/or make a purchase through certain links on this site or any related social media platforms (including Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest), I may make a commission from that click and/or purchase. Although I participate in these programs and have sponsored posts, all opinions are my own.

Turkey Pesto Sliders with Brown Sugar & Poppy Seed Glaze

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My family absolutely LOVES sliders. I mean, who doesn’t love a teeny little sandwich?? You really just can’t go wrong with them in my opinion. One of my favorite things about sandwiches in general is that you can go in any direction with them. Hot cheesy Mexican-inspired slider? Sure! Cold cut with Italian prosciutto? Don’t mind if I do! Smothered and covered in saucy deliciousness? Uh, HECK YES!! The possibilities are nearly endless. However you serve it, my family will probably love it.

Turkey Pesto Sliders with brown sugar + poppy seed glaze

This particular dish is our #1 pick when it comes to sliders. It’s sweet, savory, a tad bit sticky, and insanely delicious! They’re perfect for game days, tailgates, pot lucks and especially a random Tuesday night. Whatever the occasion, these are always a good call!

These delicious turkey pesto sliders make for a simple, yet savory dish perfect for any occasion!

These delicious turkey pesto sliders make for a simple, yet savory dish perfect for any occasion!

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of Kings Hawaiian sweet rolls
  • 1 package of your favorite sliced turkey
  • 1 package provolone cheese slices (you’ll probably only use half of the package)
  • Pesto sauce (you can make your own, or you can buy it in a jar)
  • 1 stick butter (+ 1 Tbs)
  • 1 sweet onion – sliced
  • 2 Tbs yellow mustard
  • 1/3 c brown sugar
  • 3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • Poppy seeds

Directions:

  1. Saute sliced onions in 1 Tbs butter until caramelized.
  2. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Slice Hawaiian rolls in half and place on baking sheet.
  3. Spread a thin layer of pesto onto the bottom bread.
  4. Place your desired amount of turkey, cheese and caramelized onion onto each sandwich and close your slider with the top half of the roll. If you’d like, place a toothpick in the center of each sandwich to help hold them together.
  5. Preheat your oven to 350.
  6. In a small sauce pan, bring 1 stick butter, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and poppy seeds to a boil.  Quickly remove and pour sauce evenly over sliders.
  7. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes
  8. Enjoy!

These sandwiches are best served warm and are delicious as leftovers. If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think about it! I know you’ll love them as much as my family does. Maybe it’ll even become a staple dish in your household!

Are you a fan of slider sandwiches? What are some of your favorite slider recipes?

 

Laura

5 Reasons why ThredUp is Awesome! + $20 Credit for Readers

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When my husband and I got married 3 years ago, we were on an incredibly tight budget. We allotted just $25 per month to be spent on clothing and accessories between the two of us. In those rare occasions that I went shopping for clothes, I went straight to the clearance racks. (Heck, who am I kidding. I still do that! You can find some really great deals there, and I am all about getting a good deal!) But while I was on such a tight budget, I knew not to even look at the pretty on-trend clothes hanging in the display window. The only time I would get to buy designer brands was if I got incredibly lucky at a thrift store, and that was after spending all that time rummaging through the stuff that I definitely didn’t want.

And then one GLORIOUS day, I heard all about this new online company called ThredUp. In short, ThredUp is an online consignment store that sells gently used name brand clothing for women and children at 40-90% off retail prices. While being able to purchase name brand clothing at affordable prices was great news to me, what really piqued my interest was that they were offering brand new customers $10 in free credit to shop, no strings attached. I was sold! Since finding out about ThredUp, I have made several purchases and even sold some of my own clothing. It’s my new favorite way to shop, hands down!

5 reasons why ThredUp is awesome + A FREE $20 credit for new customers!

Below I’ve listed 5 reasons why I’m absolutely loving ThredUp in hopes that you, too, will find love like I did. If you’ve never heard of or purchased from ThredUp before, I encourage you to give it a try! I’ll include a referral link (like this one) throughout this post that will give you $20 in FREE credit to do a little shopping yourself! Score!

  1. Recycling: It’s what the cool kids are doing!

    •  Shopping and selling with ThredUp is an excellent way to incorporate a recycling philosophy in your home. Did you know that the average family in America throws away roughly 6 pounds of textile waste per month? That’s unused or unwanted clothing and other items going straight into landfills and polluting our environment. By choosing to reuse and recycle clothing through ThredUp, we can all live a little greener!

  2. ThredUp Supports Schools

    • Fundraising for your school has never been so easy! Right now, ThredUp is giving back 5% of your purchase to a K-12 school of your choosing! You can easily select a school you would like to support here. Once your school has reached a threshold of $100, a check will be sent to the PTA of that school. Score cool clothes for you while giving back to your school…talk about a win-win!

  3. Discount Codes

    • On top of having prices that are already AWESOME, you can score even deeper discounts by downloading their free app! Usually 3-4 times a week, they send out alerts containing coupon codes to use on your purchases. It’s not uncommon for me to score anywhere from 10%-20% off of all my orders. Sweet!

  4. Selection of goods

    • ThredUp has a wide selection of clothing for women and children (Sizes Newborn-Youth XL). They even carry maternity, plus size and juniors. You’ll also find accessories such as shoes, scarves, belts, hats and handbags. There’s really something for everybody! Except men… Sorry, guys!
    • Personal Shops – One of my very favorite features about ThredUp is that you can create your own Personal Shops. If you have certain brands that you know you love, you can “favorite” them by adding them to your personal shop collection. You can even add more than one brand under each shop. I really love to dress my daughter in smocked clothing, but there are SO many different brands of smocked clothes that it’s hard to keep track of them all. Instead of searching one brand at a time, I created a collection of roughly 20 brands and put them in a personal shop that I named “Smocked Stuff”. Any time I want to see what’s new from these brands, I’ll just check out my shop I created. Easy-peasy!

  5. Referral Program

    • This is what makes ThredUp a real winner in my eyes! It is so easy to earn money to shop with through their referral program. Right now, ThredUp is giving brand new users $20 in free credit to shop with. This is AWESOME! When I signed up 3 years ago, I only received $10 in credit, so this is definitely something to take advantage of! Once you sign up, you’ll be given your own referral code to share with your friends. If your friends use your referral link to sign up and shop with, you’ll get $20 of your own once their order ships! Basically, when you give $20, you get $20. How cool is that?!

What are your thoughts on ThredUp? Have you ever purchased from this company before? If you decide to sign up and get $20 in free clothing for yourself, I’d love to hear about what you got! (Referral link included)

 

 

Super Simple Cornbread Casserole Recipe

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There’s always that one dish at Thanksgiving dinner that you just CAN’T EVEN wait to stuff your face with. Some may say that’s true about almost everything on the table at Thanksgiving, and I’m over here raising my hand agreeing with you! But there’s usually that one that you KNOW you’ll be having seconds (or thirds,I won’t judge) of.

This casserole is that dish for me. When I think of comfort food, cornbread casserole is one of the first that comes to mind for me. It’s full of warm, creamy, and savory corn-tasticness that almost melts in your mouth. It’s SO simple to make, too! I usually always have the ingredients on hand, because I love to take this dish to church events and family gatherings. It’s always on my menu for Thanksgiving dinner, but it’s great any time of year. I’ve had several people ask me for this recipe, and I’m so happy to share it with y’all!

This is a MUST have on the dinner table during Thanksgiving! Simple Cornbread Casserole - made with Greek yogurt

Ingredients:

  • 1 Box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
  • 1 can corn, drained
  • 1 can cream style corn
  • 1/4 cup sugar (I use Stevia or Splenda)
  • 1 cup sour cream (I use Greek yogurt)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9×13 casserole dish with non-stick spray
  2. Combine all ingredients and pour into dish
  3. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until set
  4. Enjoy!

If you’re looking for something with a little spice, try adding a can of Mexican corn in place of the regular corn. You could even substitute Mexican cornbread in place of the Jiffy Mix!

Do you have a favorite dish during the holidays that you’re always SO excited to eat? I always love to hear others share what they MUST have during Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner!

DIY Elephant Hair Bow + Video Tutorial

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Maybe it’s my Southern showing, but I believe a little girl is never fully dressed without a hair bow. In my eyes, a hair bow is as good as a crown. The bigger, the better! My daughter is at a blissful age where she doesn’t snatch her bows out yet, so I’ve been having so much fun making new hair bows for her to wear.

While perusing Etsy a while back for a little inspiration, I stumbled across ribbon sculptures. Have you ever heard of them? I was really excited by what I was seeing! Basically instead of a traditional hair bow, people are sculpting the ribbon to take the form of an object, an animal, or characters such as the Disney princesses and Ninja Turtles.

I decided to take a stab at making my own. Since it’s football season, I thought a little elephant would be perfect while cheering on the Alabama Crimson Tide. (Can I get a Roll Tide??)

DIY Elephant Hair Bow Ribbon Sculpture + Video Tutorial

I was pleasantly surprised by how simple it was to make! I wanted to share the hair bow love, so I made a tutorial showing you how to make one step by step. Feel free to take a look! If you decide to make one for yourself, I’d love to hear about how it turned out.

Have you ever taken a stab at making your own hair bow? Maybe you’re as excited about the world of ribbon sculptures as I am! Do you have a particular sculpture you’d like to see a tutorial on? Let me know by leaving a comment!