...good for the SOUL
Homemade Mac and Cheese...
just about EVERYones comfort food.
Mr. Sweet's mom added sausage to her Mac ...
..seemed kinda strange to me until I ate some.
Love it and fix it that way quite often.
Mr. Sweet's mom added sausage to her Mac ...
..seemed kinda strange to me until I ate some.
Love it and fix it that way quite often.
(image from the net)
My mom could make a meatloaf that was the
GRANDDADDY of all MEATLOAF.
I am really funny about meatloaf...not liking too many.
But...boy howdy, I did love hers.
I have the recipe, I make it JUST LIKE HER
and it never....ever tastes the same..
Wonder why that is ??
We all have a SOUL food...a step above even our COMFORT foods...a food that makes us feel better
than any other food on the planet....especially when we are a little lonely...a little tired...and a little.HUNGRY.
My SOUL FOOD, my heart food, is CHICKEN AND DUMPLINS.
My mom could make the very best ones in the whole entire world.
*
Tonight, I made another comfort meal..
Mr. Sweet and I ate until we thought we would just BUST or BURST, whichever way you want to say it..
Mr. Sweet and I ate until we thought we would just BUST or BURST, whichever way you want to say it..
It was so good and we both grew up on
SOUTHERN CHICKEN FRIED CHICKEN
Mother had fresh or canned green beans and, in later years,
they were always warmed in a CORNING WARE BOWL WITH BLUE FLOWERS..
in fact...this is the very bowl.
I have about 3 of her VINTAGE Corning Wares and just love them to pieces.
TONIGHT, we had canned green beans with our chicken....
but just looking at them, simmering in my mother's bowl took me right back to her kitchen.
*tears welling up
but just looking at them, simmering in my mother's bowl took me right back to her kitchen.
*tears welling up
Many times, my mother would *dress* her platter of FRIED CHICKEN
with celery leaves, which she always saved.
She seldom had parsley to use...
I find that I do the exact same thing and I used celery leaves to pretty up my platter of fried chicken.
and I do believe that there is a
SOUTHERN LAW
that requires homemade CREAMED GRAVY served with fried chicken. !!
and creamed gravy cooked in the same pan the chicken was fried in....
O HONEY
I like my gravy over biscuits the very best..
'Course, I like HOMEMADE biscuits better but gravy is good over canned ones, too..
and nothing any better than CREAMED GRAVY over buttery toast...
LOVE IT.
'Course, I like HOMEMADE biscuits better but gravy is good over canned ones, too..
and nothing any better than CREAMED GRAVY over buttery toast...
LOVE IT.
My mom always canned PICKLED OKRA...
and so did Mr. Sweet's mother.
I don't have access to fresh okra right now so
we had the next best thing...
TALK O' TEXAS
CRISP OKRA PICKLES.
ummmm um...good.
This is 3 chicken breasts, flattened...
DOUBLE DIPPED in an egg and BUTTERMILK mixture, then into flour.
I always add salt and pepper to my egg mixture...
and, if you don't care for the Buttermilk, just use your regular milk.
The smaller pieces you see on the platter...
after I've dipped all the chicken, I add the leftover flour to the leftover egg mixture,
forming little balls to be added to the hot oil and fried right along with the chicken.
They are almost as good as the chicken itself.
We finished up with iced tea and a couple of
SESAME COOKIES..
another old recipe that I'll share with you another time...
*
After this comfort food meal...the one that is artery clogging (but we don't do it often)
I think I am going to sleep sooo good tonight.
The sweet memories we had as we talked and ate are still fresh on my mind..
giving me a comfort
so good for my soul.
*
I am linking with
FULL PLATE THURSDAY
VINTAGE THINGY THURSDAY
TIME TRAVEL THURSDAY
OPEN HOUSE THURSDAY
Please go by each one and see the goodies offered up today.
Thank you for stopping by..
xoxo bj
*
After this comfort food meal...the one that is artery clogging (but we don't do it often)
I think I am going to sleep sooo good tonight.
The sweet memories we had as we talked and ate are still fresh on my mind..
giving me a comfort
so good for my soul.
*
I am linking with
FULL PLATE THURSDAY
VINTAGE THINGY THURSDAY
TIME TRAVEL THURSDAY
OPEN HOUSE THURSDAY
Please go by each one and see the goodies offered up today.
Thank you for stopping by..
xoxo bj
43 comments:
Mmmmm that all looks so yummy!!! :-) Would you come cook dinner for me tonight? haha Thanks for sharing the yummy looking food!
BJ, boy does that look good. All I had tonight was cereal. That is some good southern cooking you did there. I fix some good chicken and dumplings and haven't made them in a while. Haven't fried chicken in a while, but I just may tomorrow night. You have my mouth watering.
Nothing better than old fashion home cooked meals like this.
Girlfriend, if ever I get to Texas I intend to knock on your door and put my feet under your table! You can load the table with all the good food you always show....except for that okra, I can't abide okra in any form. Must be my northern heritage huh? :>)
All of this is my all time favorite comfort, although I have never had pickled Okra. Actually I have never had Okra.
Everyone has their own favorite fried chicken recipe and they all seem to do it well. Us gals do pride ourselves in our fried chicken. I can make a mean fried chicken too and a pretty mean gravy to go along with it.
I am right there with you about meatloaf. I have only one recipe that I use. I don't care for any others. However I do love a meatloaf sandwich the next day and I am not too fussy about the recipe by then.
I know better than to visit you when I am hungry. I had my dinner and then popped over for a visit, and darn if I wasn't hungry after reading your post. You get me every time girlfriend. My mouth is going to be watering for the rest of the night!
Congratulations bj..you have just made me miss my mother and feel like I am dieing of hunger! LOL Yes, comfort foods are the very best! ;D
It all looks delicious! I could use one of your delicious biscuits with my coffer right now! You are a wonderful wife to fix all of your mil's recipes for dh! A wonderful homemaker!
My little grand-daughter has a favorite food now and it is mac and cheese so I will have to make up some to look just like yours in this post. Hugs, Deb=^..^=x4
Oh, wow, you hit all the great comfort foods! My grandmother used to make the most divine chicken and dumplins. That fried chicken looks delicioius ~ and you have to have the white gravy. Delicious. Now I'm hungry. :)
Oh my goodness! That chicken looked wonderful. You know, I've never fried chicken. I really should try to do it - I could just about smell yours, tho' I don't know about biscuits with gravy on them. Where I come from, we eat our biscuits with butter and molasses.....but I'd love to try them your way too.
You took me home tonight too...to the meals I made when our kids were growing up. I always added a dash of Lawreys to my fried chicken that I made just like yours...nothing like it in the world...and I had an old battered lightweight cast iron skillet that I always used.
Did you ever have chocolate gravy over homemade bisquits? Yummm...I do that for the grands every once in a while.
I want to tell you-I found you a week or so ago and I am so glad I did...it is like visiting an old friend. I love your blog! You are my kinda gal! Hugs-Diana
Oh how I love mac and cheese!!!!!!! It dies fill my SOUL, but I haven't had homemade mac and cheese in YEARS and years....or fried chicken for that matter! It sure has my mouth watering! You are the best cook and Mr. Sweet is a lucky guy! I am so glad you 2 had such a nice evening! XO, Pinky
Yum! Now, I really am hungry.
My maternal grandmother cooked the best fried chicken. I always use my memory of hers as a measure.
Yummy post! I can almost smell the chicken! I have been using a corning ware dish with the blue flowers for 38 years now. I recieved it at my wedding shower. I can't seem to part with it. Aren't food memories powerful! I have so many favorite recipes from my childhood that we just don't make very much because they are so unhealthy, but they are so good!
Talk about mouth watering!! Mine is! Loved your pics as well and the memories you described. We do not eat that well anymore.....but I am happy you shared this bountiful meal with us. I consumed NO calories OR carbs OR fat grams!! I could all but taste everything and I think I DID smell the chicken cooking!!
dear friend, that is exactly how I fry chicken. I MUST have this at least once a month. But, I have to have mashed potatoes along with the biscuits too. Each time I cook chicken, I have to have Karen over cause she never does it, and it's her fave too. Nothing better than sitting at the table with loved ones and soul food. I feel soul food is that which gets to that core hunger and satisfies like nothing else.
happy cooking! Alice
This looks very tasty and nice!
I am now very hungry:)
Wish you a pleasant Thursday and send a greeting and a kisses:)
Dinner sure looks good BJ! Love fried chicken! Have to chuckle, I just use a Corning pie dish to make my tomato bread for the Doughboy Cook-Along! Found it for $1 at a yard sale. I'm always on the look-out for older pieces like that, they just work so much better:@)
What a feast you prepared; I am so impressed with your mel. I is only 6 AM am I am already starved; I never made this kind of gried chicken.Mealoaf is on my menu for next week; all those pictures have me drooling.
Rita
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, everything...and I mean everything here today is just all so very scrumptious. Take the peppered cream gravy and a biscuit and boy howdy do you have a great breakfast. Yum. Don't get me started on fried chicken, or the mac/cheese....hey, I won't leave out the meatloaf either. Got food?!!!!
Thanks for popping by this week. Hope to see you again real soon. I love having your company.
A River To Cross is my Thursday post. And, ps...yes, it's HOT here too!!!
Oh bj, the dinner looks so good I'm going to have to make the chicken for sure. I'm sure after this post everyone will be cooking up bj's specials! Yummy........
~Emily
The French Hutch
Beeeej,
Love to see what you are cookin'. Reminds me of Granny's. She always had the table piled full of food. She used to say, "I love to see you kids eat..." :)
xoxo
Me
Last night when I was reading with one eye open and the other already having gone to bed, I loved the stories about comfort food. I make my mother's meatloaf and can't abide any other. And what is up with not being able to perfectly duplicate the taste? I am pretty certain that my dear mom went "off recipe" often. And my sis and I think we may have it figured out...extra sugar and extra fat. :D
Oh my....All I can say is Yummmmmm!!
Have a Great Day!!
Marilyn
Your chicken and dumplings reminds me of when my mother used to make them. We called it "chicken and lumps"!
Your chicken and dumplings reminds me of when my mother used to make them. We called it "chicken and lumps"!
Yummmmmy!
Wow, BJ, we can do a Cook Along with you! I want some recipes!! These would pretty much comfort me any time but I never had an okra pickle! xo,
BJ...you got my guts screamin'
"feed-me"!...these foods have me wanting to get in the kitchen start cookin' supper right now and it's only 10:53am!
Your awesome sweet lady! and a dawg-gone good southern cook too. Wish I was there in Texas warming up a plate full of left-overs(do you have any??)
~JO
LazyonLoblolly
You're lucky I don't live next door to you or I'd be over every day for a meal! lol Omigosh...chicken & dumplings...that brought back a lot of memories for me. My mom would make a huge pot of that and I must say it was my very favourite meal growing up. Haven't had that in ages!! As for biscuits and gravy, I had never heard of that until just a couple of years ago when we crossed the border into Niagara Falls, NY and went to Bob Evans for breakfast...I absolutely fell in love with their biscuits and sausage gravy. Yummmm!! Comfort food may be loaded with calories but it's just much too good to resist:-) xoxo
Oh my goodness and I mean goodness!:o) Now this is some good cookin, the kind like mama and grandma use to make...comfort, comfort.
I just love visiting your lovely blog BJ. Something wonderful is always waiting. Continue to enjoy a beautiful week.
Smiles♥
Beverly
Now I am starved!Everything looks so yummy!
BJ, I certainly am glad I have a yogurt in hand while reading your blog because it all looks scrumptious! I love chicken and dumplin's and Mac and cheese; YUM!
Nothing better then homemade biscuits and gravy made from the fried chicken grease...mouth watering and it does bring back memories.... quite a few of them.
Reminded me of all the work we had to do to enjoy this feast....couldn't run to the store and get them in my day. Maybe the resaon why they were so good was we were staved by the time we got them cooked. Trish
I can't wait to try this! What a great idea to use the flour and egg left. I think I should have been born down south!
:)Michelle
I've been eating meatloaf every single day for lunch. I made it Sunday. Not wasting it!
Brenda
OK, I MUST remind myself not to visit you when I'm hungry!!! I do believe I would be fifty pounds heavier if I lived close enough to sample all the delicious dishes you prepare. ;)
Have a blessed weekend, Friend!
Hugs,
Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/
Hi BJ,
Girl, you have got me laying on the floor begging for mercy. You are really talking to the West Texas girl in me today with all that wonderful comfort food. That table is just like going home, thanks for the wonderful memories! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday, have a great week end and come back soon!
Miz Helen
Now that there is some good ole Texas cooking !!! :)
The biscuits and gravy and Southern fried chicken... Yum! I also LOVE okra pickles--much better than pickled cukes!
Hi :->
I arrived here via you being so warmly mentioned on Miz Helen's Full plate Thursday.
"Comfort Foods" - they warm both body and soul!
So many different thoughts and memories surfaced while reading down through this particular posting. Thanks for all of the smiles!
My grandma use to be an amazing cook! She was defenetly (<-- can't spell that word for anything this morning 8-/) 'poorer than the country church mouse", but she had this way of making things taste absolutely scrumptious!
Her home grown chickens made the best chicken and home made dumplings, or fried chicken. And her green beans with bacon. Or her black berry cobbler made out of the berries she picked in the woods behind her house. or her... I best stop. My stomach is putting forth quite a racket. o;-p! Honest!
Nothing like "soul" or "comfort foods" ~ nothing! This reminds me so much of my mother's cooking as well as my aunts & grandmother. They all canned veggies too so we had totally 'organic' food all the time. :-)
I rarely fry anything but this is extremely tempting! So hot that I don't turn the oven on either. You are a brave soul.
Thanks so much for sharing and a lovely walk down memory lane.
xo
Pat
Nothing like "soul" or "comfort foods" ~ nothing! This reminds me so much of my mother's cooking as well as my aunts & grandmother. They all canned veggies too so we had totally 'organic' food all the time. :-)
I rarely fry anything but this is extremely tempting! So hot that I don't turn the oven on either. You are a brave soul.
Thanks so much for sharing and a lovely walk down memory lane.
xo
Pat
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