Amanda Pevey

Elmore Autauga News

For Stacey Little, the heart of cooking has never just been about what’s on the plate. It’s about who’s gathered around the table.

Now, the longtime Prattville resident and founder of Southern Bite is inviting families back to that table once again with the announcement of his second cookbook, Supper Made Simple: 100 Recipes to Feed Your Family, available for pre-order starting today and set for official release on Nov. 3, 2026.

“This book is about helping the average family put food on the table,” Little said.

Little, whose first cookbook, The Southern Bite Cookbook, became a Wall Street Journal bestseller shortly after its 2014 release, said his journey into publishing was not part of some grand plan. At the time, Southern Bite was simply a hobby, a creative outlet rooted in family recipes and Southern traditions.

That changed when an editor took notice and persistently encouraged him to write his first book.

“This wasn’t about writing a cookbook for the world,” Little said. “I was writing a book for my son… a way to preserve family recipes and that heritage for him.”

What began as a personal project has since grown into a thriving business and a full-time career. In 2017, after losing his previous job, Little leaned fully into Southern Bite, a moment he now sees as a turning point.

“As things grew, I kept asking why I had been given this platform,” he said.

The answer, he realized, had less to do with recipes and more to do with connection.

Inspired by a friend’s perspective on the importance of dinnertime, Little reframed his mission.

“I knew it could not just be about Southern food,” he said. “It had to be about getting people back to the supper table.”

That idea is at the core of Supper Made Simple. The new cookbook focuses on approachable, time-saving meals designed for busy families, from air fryer favorites to one-pot dishes, slow cooker meals, and sheet pan suppers.

Little said the goal is to meet people where they are, not where they think they should be.

“We’re busier than ever,” he said. “If using a shortcut helps you get your family back to the table, that is what matters.”

With recipes like Shortcut Chicken and Dumplings, Sheet Pan Pepper Jelly Pork Chops, and Un-skewered Teriyaki Steak Kebabs, the book also introduces flexible features with every recipe, offering ways to “make it supper,” “make it simple,” or “make it special,” depending on the time and energy families have on any given night.

“With this second book, there is a level of pride for me,” Little said. “My first book was filled with recipes from my family. This new book is filled with all of my own recipes. These are recipes that I created specifically for my followers, to help them put food on the table.”

The philosophy is simple: the meal itself is not the most important part.

“The most important thing at that table is the people in the chairs,” Little said.

With Supper Made Simple, Little hopes to continue what he started more than a decade ago, not just sharing recipes, but helping families reconnect in the midst of their busy lives.

Because in kitchens across the River Region and beyond, supper is still more than a meal. It’s where stories are told, days are unpacked, and, if only for a little while, everyone comes back together.

The new cookbook, Supper Made Simple: 100 Recipes to Feed Your Family, can be pre-ordered for $26.99 and will be released on Nov. 3, 2026.

Reserve your copy today! You can purchase through Amazon, Books-A-Million, Barnes&Noble, Bookshop.org, and Walmart. You can also purchase on the website at: https://www.southernbite.com.