You asked for it :)

So here it is! This is a super simple and incredibly satisfying dish. The cornbread recipe has no dairy or no eggs because The Bear is allergic, but you can use any other different cornbread recipe instead.

Bear's Southern-Style Cornbread (I specified some brands because not all ingredients are created the same)

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Bob's Red Mill egg replacer used as dry ingredient (do not mix with water)

1-1/2 cups "buttermilk" - place 1 tbsp white vinegar in measuring cup and fill to the 1-1/2 cup marker with Pacific Select Soy (unsweetened) low fat plain soy beverage

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup hot water

vegetable shortening

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift all dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Batter will be very thin and puffy.

Grease rectangular Pyrex glass baking dish thoroughly with shortening and pour batter into pan.

Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cornbread comes out clean.

To make Bear's Cornbread and Sausage, you will need:

1 recipe of Bear's Southern-Style Cornbread (or your own recipe) - uncooked batter

4 Aidells Chicken/Mango Sausages

2 ounces of Follow Your Heart Vegan cheese - Monterey Jack

Slice each sausage down the length without cutting all the way through. Slice cheese into long thin pieces and stuff each sausage with cheese.

After pouring batter into greased pan as above, place sausages evenly in cornbread and bake as instructed for plain cornbread, 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cornbread comes out clean.

My grandmother used to use hot dogs and she'd spread mustard in before adding the cheese when she cooked this recipe, but when I substituted the mango/chicken sausage, I didn't think the mustard would taste very good. That being said, I love whole seed mustard with turkey dog and cheddar. Yum!

Poor Mr. Romi is asleep and trying his best to heal from the oral surgery. I'm taking a little breather and enjoying the fact that:

1. The Christmas shopping is finished,

2. The kids are finished with their semester,

3. The cat has not destroyed the tree yet even though she is sleeping in it,

4. Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners are planned and everything is purchased,

5. 5 batches of cookies are baked and given away,

6. The cold I thought I was getting decided to leave, and

7. I just received a big gift box of yarny goodies from Deb Accuardi, late of Pico Accuardi Dyeworks.

I may even relax a little now. :)

Happy holidays, everyone!