Melissa Jo Real Recipes

As a teacher of 23 years and mother I know back-to-school season is no joke. Between getting everybody back on a schedule, signing approximately one zillion papers, figuring out drop-off and pick-up, helping with homework, running to practices, and trying to remember what day everybody needs to wear a certain color shirt, dinner can feel like one more daggum thing on an ...

Okay, listen… the other night I went to bunco at my friends house, and after I won my mini bunco and the whole game was over, my friend Jen McFadden told me I needed to make sloppy spuds! Now, Jen’s from Texas and living in Florida and I said what the heck is that??!! To which she replied, just shredded BBQ Chicken, on a hot steamy baked potato, with any ...

This Mississippi Mud Chicken Bake is the kind of dinner that makes everybody suddenly appear in the kitchen asking, “When is it ready?” We’ve got juicy chicken baked over ranch-seasoned red onions with barbecue sauce, tangy pepperoncini, loads of melty mozzarella, and a rustic buttery French fried onion topping. Everything goes into the o...

A couple years ago, I made my Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken, and if you’ve been around here for a while, you already know how much I love that recipe. But here’s the thing… I’m sorry to tell everybody, but bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are the...

If you’ve been around here for a while, you might remember my Vintage Mexican Casserole recipe. It came from an old out-of-print cookbook, and it was one of those simple recipes that completely surprised me with how delicious it was. Well…...