Fried Chicken

When I was a little girl, my favorite meal was anything, as long as it included my mom's fried chicken. When asked what I wanted for my birthday supper, I always asked for fried chicken. I have wanted to make her chicken for most of my adult life, but I failed to get her instructions before her death in 2003.

Figuring that my mother and her sister both learned to cook from my grandmother, I asked my aunt for her recipe. She kind of laughed and said that there's not much too it, it just takes a while. Here's what she told me-- flour chicken (I added a bit of salt and pepper) and brown in oil on high heat. Then, turn down the heat, put the lid on the pan and simmer for about an hour. Finally, take off the lid and turn the heat back up to crisp. That's it!

And it is heaven on a plate!

Easiest Cake Recipe EVER!

My friend Karan suggested this recipe to me and it's brilliant!  It has only two ingredients and they may already be in your pantry.  This cake is super moist and has almost as many variations as there are cooks.  Here's what you do--thoroughly mix a boxed cake mix with a can of pie filling, pour into a 13x9 inch pan that you've sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes (check for "doneness" with a toothpick at 30-35 minutes).  That's it.  No, really.  That's it.

I made mine with devil's food cake mix and cherry pie filling, but I've also made one with spice cake mix and apple pie filling.  My daughter said it tasted like fall!  I'd also like to try lemon cake with lemon pie filling.

I'd love to hear your ideas for other combinations.  What do you think- lemon cake and blueberry filling?

Let the cooking begin...

I'm starting my Thanksgiving cooking with Cran-Apple Relish. It is delicious and freezes well, so not only am I set for tomorrow, I'm also set for Christmas.

Here's the recipe for Cran-Apple Relish:

1 orange, unpeeled

5-6 red apples unpeeled

1 pound of cranberries (actually, they usually come in 12 oz bags and that's enough)

2 cups sugar (I reduced this to one cup and it tastes fine.)

1 20 oz can of crushed pineapple, well drained

1/2 cup chopped pecans (I usually leave these out.)

Quarter orange and apples; remove cores. Grind apples, orange and cranberries in a food processor. Add sugar, pineapple and pecans. Mix well and refrigerate overnight. Makes 2 quarts.

Thanks to Cousin Leanne for the recipe!

Baked Pork Chops for Dinner

Last night, I baked pork chops for dinner. I put them in a baking dish, with pineapple juice, pineapple pieces and some fresh pineapple sage from my herb garden. The whole thing went into a 350 degree oven for a little over an hour, covered with foil.

The pork chops came out nicely browned and very tender.
We also had appetizers, sliced gouda (my family's new favorite cheese) and crackers, topped with Laughing Cow cheese, a fresh basil leaf and a slice of tomato. Yummy!

So, this was dinner: pork chops, broccoli, homemade pickles, fresh cucumber slices and a roll.
What did you have for dinner last night?

How do you take your oatmeal?

I'm having oatmeal for breakfast. It's chilly in the swamp today, below freezing, (honest, I live in a swamp) so oatmeal sounded good. Please understand, I'm a southern girl, so grits are still an important part of the morning menu, but today it's oatmeal for me.

Growing up, my mom made a classic breakfast every morning-- eggs, bacon, toast and grits if she were feeling particularly chipper. She and my dad were active people, so they burned it off by 10 am most days. But oatmeal was rarely on the table until later in life, when they started to watch cholesterol levels and even then, they were more likely to have cereal than warm oatmeal.

So, on to my life today. I'm not a morning person. I freely admit it. My husband is usually in charge of breakfast for himself and the kiddos. I'm on my own, mostly because I don't want food for a couple hours after waking.

My "recipe" is 1/2 cup quick oats, 3/4 cup of water, microwave for 1.5 minutes.

As to how I take my oatmeal, it should be sweet. I know some people add salt, but salt is for grits. No self-respecting southerner adds sugar, honey or syrup to grits. It must be butter and salt, red-eye gravy, or on occasion, a cream gravy. For oatmeal, it should be brown sugar, syrup or honey. After that, it could be any combination of cinnamon, raisins, butter, maybe even apples.

Today, I had butter, cinnamon-sugar and raisins. Yes, I know the butter kind of defeats the cholesterol-lowering benefit of the oatmeal, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

I'm always looking for other ideas to dress up my humble bowl of oatmeal. How do you take yours?