🌵🍲 Chili Champions & Backyard Cooks 🍲🌵🌞 Chuckwagon Recipe of the Day – Monday, August 10, 2026 🌞

Sarah Skaggs
Aug 10
3 min read

🍯🔥 Cowboy Honey Butter Cornbread Chicken & Bacon Skillet 🔥🥓

Good morning, folks! 🤠

Happy Monday! We're starting this week with something a little different—and I think this one might become a family favorite!

Today's Cowboy Honey Butter Cornbread Chicken & Bacon Skillet starts with tender seasoned chicken, smoky bacon, sweet corn, and a creamy country-style sauce. Then we cover the whole skillet with cheesy cornbread batter and bake it until it's golden brown.

And just when you think it can't get any better, we're brushing that hot cornbread with homemade honey butter! 🍯🧈

It's sweet, savory, cheesy, and hearty—all in one cast-iron skillet.

🍗 What You'll Need

For the Chicken Filling

1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 small sweet onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1½ cups corn, fresh or frozen
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
½ cup sour cream
½ cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

🌽 For the Cornbread Topping

1 box (8.5 oz) corn muffin mix
1 egg
⅓ cup milk
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons melted butter

🍯 For the Honey Butter

3 tablespoons softened butter
1½ tablespoons honey
Tiny pinch of salt

🔥 Let's Get Cooking!

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Cook the bacon in a large oven-safe cast-iron skillet until crisp. Remove the bacon and set it aside, leaving about a tablespoon of drippings in the skillet.
Add the chicken and onion. Cook until the chicken is browned and nearly cooked through. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
Stir in the corn, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, chicken broth, smoked paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, and half of the cooked bacon. Let everything simmer for about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle 1 cup of cheddar cheese over the chicken mixture.
In a bowl, combine the corn muffin mix, egg, milk, ½ cup cheddar, and melted butter. Stir just until combined.
Spoon the cornbread batter gently over the chicken mixture. Don't worry about making it perfectly smooth—a rustic topping is part of the fun!
Bake uncovered for 25–30 minutes, or until the cornbread is golden and cooked through in the center. If your skillet is very full, place it on a sheet pan to catch any bubbling filling.
Mix the softened butter and honey together. As soon as the skillet comes out of the oven, brush that warm honey butter all over the golden cornbread topping. 🍯

🔟 Sprinkle the remaining crispy bacon over the top and let the skillet rest for about 5–10 minutes before serving.

🥄 Serve It Up With

This one is already a meal in itself, but I'd add country green beans, sliced garden tomatoes and cucumbers, fresh watermelon, and a cold glass of sweet tea.

For dessert, how about a big old-fashioned banana pudding? 🍌

⭐ MawMaw's Kitchen Tip

Want to give this recipe a little kick? Add diced jalapeños to the cornbread batter. 🌶️

And if you're feeding little ones who don't care for spice, leave them out and put sliced jalapeños on the table for everyone else.

💜 Monday Encouragement

Sometimes Monday arrives and we're already thinking about everything we need to accomplish before Friday.

But don't let the busyness of a new week steal today's blessings.

There may be dishes in the sink, laundry waiting, appointments on the calendar, work that needs finished, and a hundred things competing for your attention—but there are also people to love, prayers to pray, memories to make, and blessings to notice.

We don't have to have a perfect day to have a blessed day.

Thank God for today, do what you can, give Him what you can't control, and keep moving forward in faith. ❤️

📖 Scripture for Today

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

— 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV)

🌞 Monday Kitchen Question

🌽 How do you like your cornbread?

Sweet with honey? 🍯Savory with cheese? 🧀Spicy with jalapeños? 🌶️Crumbled into beans? 🫘Or old-fashioned in a cast-iron skillet with lots of butter? 🧈

👇 Tell us in the comments! And if your family has a special cornbread recipe that's been passed down through the generations, we'd love to hear about it.

Have a blessed Monday, folks! Here's to good food, grateful hearts, and another week of making memories around the table. 🤠🌵🍲❤️