Thursday, December 16, 2010

growing up in a big family

i grew up in a family of eight, and eating dinner together was a daily thing back in the 70's.  With a momma like mine, dinner was something we all looked forward to.  That woman could cook!  Her fried chicken was to die for, and on the holidays she would make turkey noodles that were so good, just looking at the pot would gain me two pounds.  i just couldn't get enough noodles.  she would start out the night before, rolling out the dough, slicing it into quarter inch strips, then hanging them all over the kitchen on coat hangers to dry.  when she got done cooking, there was a huge 6 quart pot full, and when we got done eating, there was nothing left, i mean nothing. It wasn't easy feeding all of us.  Saturday mornings we would wake to the smell of buscuits and sausage gravy, my dad's favorite food.  i can still smell those buscuits baking.
  Now days, at 74 years old, momma is still working full time as the food editor at Sauk Valley Newspapers in Sterling.  Every other tuesday, a crew comes to her house, films her cooking, taking pictures and video for the paper.
  I am going to put a few of her recipes on the recipe link so you all can enjoy.  Mom's recipes are always simple, and they use ingredients that a cook might have already in their pantry.

Monday, December 13, 2010

turning "Hop and Shop" chicken into a tradition

  This week my youngest son learned how to set a table for dinner, and i learned that my youngst son is very creative at getting out of school homework.  i would call it a success on both fronts.  sometimes, when you let a child speak, just let him talk, you find out more than if you had asked questions.  So, at dinner, i have let him talk, and boy can he talk. 
  Our dinners haven't always been conventional these days, but we have managed to sit down a few times each week to dinner.  it might be "Hop and Shop" chicken on tuesday night, and chili from a can on thursday, but i have thrown in a piece of fruit and a salad her and there.  The one thing everyone at the table likes is a nice salad.  i have to pick the tomatoes and cucumbers out of my youngest son's salad, but it's worth it.  "Pick your battles"  my dad used to say. 
  Anyway, i have received a wonderful payback already from the "Got a minute" program.  i have been given the gift of a son's rambling thoughts on a daily basis.  Maybe it doesn't seem like much to some, but to me it is an awesome gift.