Food Friday, Nacho Cheese

I just came in from sitting on the back porch, and as I was getting up to go inside, I smelled a “wiff of the past”, as I like to say, that took me back to the days of working in the Woodshop at Opryland.  It was the exact smell.  Funny how just a wiff of something can transport you instantly, to another time and place.

Tuesday was National Taco Day, and since the cornbread was already in the oven, and EVERYONE knows that cornbread is not a food that waits, I didn’t make any Taco’s.  I could lie and tell you that I have made Fajita Friday at my house, but alas, it was on Wednesday.  LOL

I DID, however, add a bit of Mexican to my day on Tuesday by having a “splurge” item that I bought on my last grocery shopping day.

Nacho Cheese.

Who knew the memories that little tasty treat would conjure.

Instantly, I remembered Bob and Daddy laughing at “that is NACHO CHEESE.”  Those two guys loved cheese more than anyone I ever met.  I smiled as I remembered the laughter.

As soon as that memory past, I was transported to the MANY Nashville Sounds Games that I attended with Mother and Daddy.  It was our “outing”.  I can’t count the number of times I drove home from working in Nashville, to fly into the house, change clothes and go get in the back seat of my 1985 Buick Skyhawk and ride with Mother and Daddy to the game.  Whew, amazing what we could do when we were younger.  LOL

My brother worked at the Sounds as the Clubhouse Manager, and often, it was the only way that we got to see Brian.  It sure didn’t hurt that we got free tickets.  I laughed as I remembered Miss Dot telling us that we didn’t have to ask Brian to get the tickets, because he asked her!  She was a jewel, and the office manager.  On top of that, we got FREE parking right outside the gate.  We laughed as the parking guy just waived us through. 

Once there, and walking up that STEEP hill, we would make our way to our favorite seats so we could watch the normal characters.  Red, the Beer man, would always come and say HI to us—NONE of us drank beer.  We would catch up for a few minutes with small talk and a few laughs.  I can’t remember the other Beer guy who always came to greet us.  I do remember that he would help Brian clean the cleats after the games.

We would spot, Chuck, a health-challenged young man whose Mother made certain he was able to get to all the games.  He was also a David Lipscomb supporter.  He would catch us up on where Brian was.  We would spot him and wave.  If we were lucky, he would get to come say HEY, or occasionally ask me to run an errand for him.

There were people that we didn’t know their names, but we certainly knew their familiar faces.  The people watching was spectacular on some nights.

It didn’t take long for Daddy to paste that silly grin on his face and disappear into the crowd.

I KNEW what was coming…the first round was a Hot Dog for Mother and Nacho Cheese for me and Daddy.  Of course, I ate mostly the chips, so Daddy could have more cheese!

Usually, a bit after the “first round” was over, Daddy would disappear again.  He would return later, with a plastic baseball cap filled with chocolate soft serve ice cream.  Yes, that was the REAL reason for wanting to go to the baseball games.

We watched for Nashville “celebrities”.  The bass singer of the Oak Ridge Boys was a part owner, and at several games.  There was always a BUZZ when he was there.

As I ate my Nacho Cheese and chips, I was thankful, once again, to have lived such a blessed life with a funny family who loved to laugh.  I hope that both of my brothers are still finding stuff to laugh about and that they also, have some good memories~~sometimes, that is all that is left. 

Charcoal and I sure do laugh…well, I think most of it is Charcoal just looking at me wondering WHAT THE HECK??!!

I am enjoying this beautiful weather we are having in Middle Tennessee.  The humidity is gone and the heat is bearable.  I find it funny how 55 in October is SO cold and how 55 in January feels like a heat wave!

Perspective.

My prayers are with all who are in the path of the storm.  I saw a post on FB that asked that since Haiti had been prayed about, that we not forget to pray for America…sigh

One of the MANY great things about PRAYER is that God hears every single one and that there is absolutely no praying TOO much for one thing versus another.

We are so blessed in America to have access to most everything that we need.  We have people with resources that can help others, without feeling one tinge of missing something.  We have safe places to go during a storm.

Most of us have NO CLUE what it is like to live in a shack…to be without the basic necessities of life…to have to bundle your ROOF on the ground, because if it disappears, there are no resources to replace it…no credit cards to INSTANTLY purchase what you want, much less what you need…

Oh, how thoughtless we can be!

PRAY for ALL people fighting storms—not just hurricanes, but the storms in their lives.  We have no clue what some people face, and PRAYER is the one thing we all can do and it will be heard.

As I laugh about memories of a luxury like NACHO CHEESE, I pray that the food of life will be available to every mouth…

I pray that the food of the spirit will be shared with every soul…

I wish you peace that passeth all understanding…

May we have the eyes, ears, hands, feet and mouths of Christ.

…Blessings to YOU…~charlotte♡

One of my most favorite Fall recipes:

Pumpkin Bars

2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

2 cups sugar

2 cups Pumpkin

4 eggs

1 cup oil

Sift dry ingredients, including sugar.  Add slightly beaten eggs, pumpkin and oil.  Beat with a Wooden Spoon (do not use the mixer).  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes in 15 ½ x 10 ½ x 1 inch pan (a jelly roll pan).

Frosting:

3 oz. cream cheese

¾ stick butter

2 tsp milk

1 tsp vanilla (or lemon juice)

1 ¾ cup powdered sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

Blend cream cheese and butter.  Add rest of ingredients.  Spread on top of pumpkin bars while they are still warm.

OR Powdered sugar icing:

 ¾ cup butter pinch of salt

2 tsp lemon juice

1 ¾ c. powdered sugar

1 cup pecans, optional

Food Friday

A friend asked the other day if I cooked…I laughed.

Roasted potatoes with Parm Cheese

I have been cooking since I could be in the kitchen.  Mother wisely taught us that to be part of a family, you were expected to contribute.  I can remember the conversation about getting an allowance~~WHY would I pay you to do what you are expected to do for free as part of this family?

Spaghetti with peas, carrots and shrimp

Now, don’t get me wrong…I understand the concept, but don’t think just because we didn’t get paid, we were not taught responsibility.  In the 8^th grade, Daddy opened a bank account for me and for Brian to teach us to be responsible.  I can remember that first check~~I asked if I could buy a pair of shoes, and so off to Chandler’s we went, Daddy in tow, to do his FAVORITE thing~~SHOP (she says giggling)

Well, you know, now, I have to share another funny memory.  It was one of my 11^th grade SubDeb dances, and I needed an outfit to change into after we had pictures taken.  Daddy agreed to take me and LuAnn to Rivergate Mall to get an outfit.  I phoned Lu to tell her that after Daddy stopped to get his coffee at Clindard’s Drug Store, we would pick her up.  All went well.  We arrived at the mall.  Daddy plopped himself down in front of the fountain at the entrance of JC Penney.  Lu and I strolled to the then Caster Knotts, my favorite store.

Wilted lettuce...oh, my!! Southern at its very very best!

I tried on a few outfits and decided to go to another store at the other end of the Mall.  When we passed Daddy, about 30 minutes into the shopping, he asked, “Are you NOT ready YET!”  Yikes!!!  I looked at Lu and decided I would just go buy the baby blue jeans-type pants with the matching net-type cotton shirt and be done with it!  In and out of the mall in less than ONE HOUR!!  WHEW…

Mother's very favorite~~buttered noodles with spring onions

We got back in the truck and headed home.  In a few minutes, Lu asked, “Isn’t your Daddy’s coffee cold?”  I was quite befuddled, and looked at her with puzzlement and a “huh???”  THEN, I looked at Daddy picking up his Styrofoam cup that had almost caused the demise of my parent’s marriage on many an occasion, and that almost caused many a wreck in trying to CATCH it from falling off of the dash in the car, and I just started to giggle…Yep, I can still remember the anger and “icks” from Mother describing having it in her shoe!!

Oh, Lu…That is his spit cup!!  Eeeeeeewwwwwwwwww….

WELL, we learned the hard way for Mother, that NEVER would a spit cup be the same type cup as our Nashville Sounds cups!  A Styrofoam cup, it was!!!

Ok, now that I have grossed out everyone, let’s talk FOOD…cue: evil laugh…

Yep, I cook.  Most every day I cook. I usually cook a LARGE amount of something, to freeze for another meal.  It is my version of frozen food meals.

White Beans cooked with Ham hock...it doesn't get much more SOUTHERN than that!

Right now, there are six packages of homemade BBQ that I prepared on Monday from an almost 9 pound Boston Butt Roast.  I shared with a friend that there was something very wrong with my saying I had a Boston Butt in the oven…hmmmm….Hello New England Friends!!  LOL

I have shared that I have winter foods and I have summer foods, and now, I am switching to my summer foods, but every now and then, I find a package of winter food and eat it…I had yummy white beans over cornbread last week.

Everything is good over cornbread!!  This time is is white beans with ham hock and Vidalia onions

I tend to make a lot of tuna in the summer.  One of my favorites is to mix celery, tomato, Vidalia onion, balsamic vinegar, sugar, hot pepper flakes together and eat with Keebler-type crackers.

Tuna with celery, tomatoes, Vidalia onions, balsamic vinegar (too much liquid--this would be awesome with Baby Shell Pasta)

My new favorite is to mix avocado, tomato, Vidalia onion and drained tuna together and eat with Tortilla Chips…I am addicted to that, and boy, how I wish I had an avocado right now!!

Tuna Guacamole--oh my...this stuff is addictive!!

Food is just packed with memories for me.  I was blessed to be taught to cook at a young age, as were most young ladies on a farm.  We fed the “hands” many times when they helped us.  I “found” who would later become a lifetime boyfriend (LONG, sad, pathetic story) sitting around our table with a group of high school football players, who were friends of my brother.  Of course, I was only 13 at the time, and it would take 4 more years for that relationship to happen~~ROFL…40 years later, I THINK I am finally over it…heavy sigh…

I keep telling you that there is NO way to have too many pictures of cornbread...Crunchy Goodness!!

I still laugh at the time I made “sugar” cookies with my brother Brian to give to the preacher and his wife who were visiting for Revival.  We were probably 6 and 8…We were putting in the ingredients, and it would NOT mix together, so Mother asked us to go over the recipe.  As she called out the ingredients, each of us said what we had put into the mix.  When she read: 1 Tablespoon of Baking Soda, I stood very still and very quiet.  They both looked at me, and I said I thought it said 1 CUP!!

Pizza Rolls with Pepperoni~~oh, so yummy!! Charcoal REALLY approved,,,

My brother’s quick temper ended our days of baking together!!  ROFL…

You know, to this day, I am not a fan of baking.

I still remember the voice of my mother telling me that it “wouldn’t hurt me to learn…” 

Homemade Chicken noodle soup...I had no carrots...

She was right on so many occasions.  I am thankful that I was taught to do things that I might not have wanted to do, but it taught me great lessons.  I’m glad that my parents didn’t always give us the CHOICE to choose what we would do, because I would not have learned the importance of having to do some things that I might not have wanted to do, but that helped shape my character, and gave me the courage to know that I COULD do more than I thought I could, and yes, doing some things I didn’t want to do, did not hurt me one bit!

Cornbread with Roast Beef/Potato Hash...it was so so yummy!!

You know, life is not always as we WANT it to be.  Being content is a gift…

May you have the best weekend and I hope it is filled with doing things that YOU LIKE…

Find those blessings that are all around you, and PRAISE God for His mercy…I am simply blessed to create~~charlotte♡

Serendipity Sunday

Lately, I have had this almost aching desire to reconnect with past memories through food. 

I don’t know why, but I have had the desire to cook the favorite foods of my family.

I have shared so often that most all of my memories surround food, and really, is that a bad thing?

There is some great comfort in holding that black iron skillet in my hand again.  It holds memories from years of meals provided for our health, so that our health could be used for HIS service, and eat we did, and yes, serve, we did, also.

I loved hearing that line that Daddy said in his prayer each time he prayed, “bless this food to nourish our bodies, and our health to Your service.” 

I think that about sums up the motto of my family.

So, once again, I was reminded this week of yet another family memory.

My cousin asked for the family recipe of Chicken and Dumplings like Mother and Aunt Becky made.  I told her that I really didn’t think there was a recipe, but I would look and let her know.

Mother made so many things from memory, and that is how she taught me to cook.  I have shared that often she would remember a recipe with how many ingredients it had in it~~Eggplant casserole was 5: crackers, butter, egg, flour, onion (salt and pepper was always a given).  Oddly enough, this was one of Daddy’s favorite things to eat, yet he would not eat cooked squash!  SERIOUSLY??!!  Ah, but fry those suckers and he couldn’t get enough, but in all fairness, it is hard to fathom someone not liking that.  LOL

Sooooooooo, into the old file I went, and that is where the serendipity moment happened. 

I didn’t look so much at the recipes, as I did at whose recipes they belonged to.  Memories flooded my soul as I remembered Miss Bertha (and Mr. Henry), Miss Jeannette (and Mr. Horace), Avis (and Holcolm), recipe after recipe from her best friend and classmate, Shirley, my cousin, Trish, and on and on…

My mind recalled moments spent with each as we visited on a Sunday Afternoon, back when people took time to visit their neighbors and to go for a Sunday drive.  I laughed as I recalled visiting the Jones’ and she asked if we wanted a piece of pie.  I asked, “what kind” KNOWING if it were coconut, I would not eat it…I KNEW that asking was wrong, and as soon as it came from my mouth, those Blue laser-beam eyes drilled two holes in my skin.  What is a small child to do~~get in trouble for asking or get in trouble for wasting food!!  Mother tried her best to teach me good manners…she tried… =(

I laughed as I saw “never fail” on a recipe from Miss Jeannette, because Mother had shared the story of Jeannette making some “never fail cookies” that failed all over the cookie sheet!  It became a challenge to find those recipes and exchange them at Christmas.  Miss Jeannette taught Mother, Miss Mildred, and another Miss Mildred, how to knit, and the joke was that Miss Mildred Matthews had to rip her project out so many times, it became mohair!  Priceless…

I giggled as I saw a recipe from Miss Betty B, because when she married Mr. Bill, Miss Jessie (Bill’s mother) was so concerned about Miss Betty B’s lack of cooking skills, because she was, after all, a city girl and she could not have her city girl starving her big old hunk of a strong star football player!!  Miss Betty B “allegedly” made a tuna casserole and a pot of chili every week~~spring, summer, fall, winter!! (yes, I have shared HOW WRONG that is on so many levels.)  BUT, Mr. Bill was a big man, and I think he did just fine and never seemed to starve to death.  Oh, to have one of Miss Betty B’s forgotten cookies right now…That was love in a cookie.

Miss Bertha and Mr. Henry were our special friends.  They lived up the road, around the big curve…YES, there are a lot of big curves around where I live, and you had to know WHICH BIG CURVE someone was talking about!  LOL  Daddy farmed Mr. Henry’s land for many years, and when we had the ice storm of 1970, Daddy went and brought them to our house to stay because we had gas heat and a generator, for use after the milking.  They always had a parakeet, which to a child, is extremely fascinating…even though they have been gone for many years, the tomb markers for their birds still remain in their yard.  I wonder if the owners even know what they are!!

Oh, I could go for days sharing about the olde folks, but I DID find a recipe for Chicken and Dumplings.  It came from Miss Martha Johnson, and mother got the recipe on 2/22/95.  While it isn’t the recipe that Mother used when I was young, I do remember her making this.  I remember coming home to seeing cookie sheets all over the kitchen as they dried so she could freeze some of them!  YIKES, I did not want that many!!  LOL

Miss Ma’tha, was the sister of Avis.  We went to church together and Mr. Foster (her husband) and Daddy always called each other “Lum and Abner”, an old Radio show from the dark dark ages.  Oh, how I loved them.  Miss Martha had such bad arthritis that her fingers were crossed over each other, but she never complained and she never stopped doing ANYTHING.  She cooked, canned, entertained and loved on people better than a person who had no obstacles.  While I truly believe in the goodness of people and that there are so many wonderful, Godly people walking this earth, I am convinced that the mold was broken after Miss Martha was created.  She was a one-of-a-kind treasure! The same is true of her sister, Miss Avis.

So, I will share the recipe and stop walking down that crowded street called: Memory Lane.  I am so thankful that road is crowded with folks that I love…I know that street is paved with gold, and I can’t wait when it is my turn to visit them again!!  WOW…But until then, there are recipes and memories to share.

I will tell you that the BEST broth comes from cooking a small WHOLE chicken.  While this is totally gross to discuss, the bones and the skin are what gives the broth its great flavor.  I always cook at least two whole chickens, so that I can freeze the broth and the chicken for later meals.

Chicken and Dumplins

Boil chicken in water (in pressure cooker)…Take out chicken after it is cooked…Let cool to debone…

Use 2 cups warm liquid (broth).  Add enough PLAIN flour to make a stiff dough.  ROLL VERY THIN.  Do not roll all the dough out at once…Place the dumplings onto a baking sheet until they’re all cut out and drop into boiling liquid one-at-a-time.  Stir GENTLLY…Cook 15-20 minute until done, and add chicken pieces back in with dumplings…IF you need more moisture, just add water until you are satisfied with consistency.

Ok, so I didn’t want to eat Chicken and Dumplins until the second coming of Christ, so I used 2 large thighs (bone and skin) and boiled in a pan of water (about ½ gallon) for one hour.  I removed the chicken and ½ cup of broth.  I added plain flour (I lost count, but it was at least 1 ¼ cup) until it was not so sticky.  I then moved this to a floured piece of freezer paper and worked more flour into the dough until it was stiff and no longer sticky.  I, again, was too lazy to find the rolling pin, so I just spread it out with my fingers and got it pretty thin.  I cooked the dumplins for at least 20 minutes.  Then I added the chicken~~always add your chicken after, or it will become stringy~~yuck!  It was plenty for me and Charcoal to have a big bowl.  Yes, Charcoal ALWAYS wants more.

Yep, it tasted like I remembered, and I laughed as I recounted how Daddy hated dumplins.  He also hated biscuits, which Mother could make perfectly, with one hand tied behind her back.  She was often called the most “wasted” biscuit maker, because Daddy didn’t like them, but let me tell you, my brother, Brian, could eat his share, Daddy’s share, and anyone else who didn’t want theirs.  Yes, there was the night of a LONG walk because Brian ate too many “Riz Biscuits” and was miserable…LOL

Yep, we laughed about that for years…

It really is the simple things that are the BIG THINGS in the end...Find those blessings in your life and hold them in your heart for memories during tough times...~~charlotte