Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Sunday lunch today just seemed to call for Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Haven't made one of these in a long time and they always remind me of my mother and grandmother. Pineapple Upside Down Cake was a frequent dessert for us....maybe because it was so simple and ingredients could always be found in the pantry. So, today I made it for lunch. Ingredients are simple: Cake mix (white or yellow, makes no difference) Sliced Pineapple (large can) 1 Cup Brown Sugar 1/2 Stick Butter or Margarine Maraschino Cherries Diet Coke.....oh wait......that was mine...not part of the ingredients)) Pineapple Upside Down Cake can probably be made in any sort of pan, but being a country girl......it has to be made in a black skillet. This particular black skillet is one I got as a wedding gift over 40 years ago. You cannot break, destroy, or ruin a black skillet.....you might lose it or you might have to "season" it at some point.....but once you have one, you have it forever. Many skillets last longer than husbands! It's true....but both of mine are still around))) There is a sweet elderly lady in my community and many, many years ago any time a young girl got married.....Mrs. Sallie B would always give them an iron skillet. No one else would buy you one, because they knew that Mrs. Sallie B was going to give you one)))) I need to remember this the next time I see her and mention that I'm still using my skillet))) She's well into her 80's by now.....and probably still giving young ladies black iron skillets))) Now my mother and grandmother most of the time probably did not use a cake mix, but lets face it....it's so EASY. So mix up the cake mix according to the directions on the box.....doesn't matter if it's white or yellow. Mix the batter up and set aside. Melt the butter or margarine .....I used margarine for this cake since it's what I had in the frig. You can start with 1/2 stick.....and my Cardiology friends...just look away at this point.....use 3/4 to a whole stick if you like.....we're from the South remember. Position the pineapple slices in the skillet on top of the melted butter/margarine and put the cherries in the centers. Isn't this pretty! Sprinkle about a cup of brown sugar over the pineapple, be sure to get it nice and thick around the edges and between the pineapple. Pour about 1/2 to 3/4 of the cake batter on top of the pineapple. You can take the remaining batter and make cupcakes or something out of it. I put the rest of this batter in mini muffin tins with a few chocolate chips.....grand kids will love them and think you've really done something special just for them today))) The cake mix box calls for an oven temp of about 350 degrees for around 30 minutes. I adjusted this down a bit and baked around 325 degrees. With all the brown sugar in the bottom of the skillet it seems like it just cooks quicker....so slow it down a bit. Once it has baked, set it out to cool a bit.....and hope for the best! You wouldn't think a cake would stick with all that butter, but it can....or you can let it cool too long and the sugar causes it to stick in the pan. So just let it cool for 5 minutes or so and turn it out onto a plate or platter. And there you have it! Homemade Pineapple Upside Down Cake......okay, okay.....partly homemade......making it will a mix still counts! And you might wonder......reckon why she's only showing one slice........you guessed it. Had my plate.....had my pot holders....#&@*(# plate slipped when I was turning it out of the skillet and I only caught half of it on the plate! And this was one cake that came out of the skillet with ease....go figure......if I hadn't been planning to Blog about it, it would have been a perfect landing! And Matt loved the chocolate chip cupcakes.....told ya)))