10/4/2022 0 Comments 24![]() Twenty four years ago today we said I do, and we did and we still are! It never ceases to amaze me how each year I love you more. You make me laugh until I cry and that alone cures so many of life's ailments. You work harder than I can even fathom and care so much about your work and I love you for that. The way you provide for us doesn't go unnoticed, although I don't think I show you enough gratitude. I love you more than I could ever say, #1
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10/4/2022 0 Comments Happy Birthday, Macadoo!
9/30/2022 0 Comments Nana's Squash Casserole RecipeSquash isn't our enemy, y'all!When Daddy and I first started dating it was a bit of a shock to my system to eat dinner at his house. Nana has always been a phenomenal cook, but for the longest time I was a fairly picky eater, I know such a shock. Green beans aren't even an option for me and I didn't go near things like squash or butter beans, much less something called a purple hull pea!? Thankfully they wore me down and I grew to love some of their southern staples. I have especially enjoyed adding Nana's Squash Casserole recipe to my collection. In true Teresa fashion I have made some *very* slight modifications over the years. I am including a photo of Nana's recipe that is printed in the St. Francis cookbook. Nana worked at St. Francis as a pharmacist. This is one of those dishes that isn't at all what you think it will be and is truly a crowd pleaser at the Holidays. I am so glad I tried it all those years ago and I hope one day y'all will as well! Squash Casserole
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Love, 9/30/2022 0 Comments Four Layer DelightThe holy grail of holiday desserts.I wish there was a way to make trumpets sound when this page is opened. This dessert recipe is hands down the favorite of the Earnest household. My step-dad's mom made this when I was a kid and I remember wanting to steal it and run away to have it all to myself. Not because I had serious issues, but because she would serve us about a 3" square. WOMP WOMP WOMP. I swore one day when I had my own family I would serve ridiculously huge portions and I am proud to say I have lived up to that. I won't lie, this one isn't the quickest recipe and it's a mess in the kitchen but I promise it's worth it!
Four Layer Delight serves from 1-10 people depending on who's eating it Ingredients Layer 1
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Chill for several hours before serving and then bask in the glow of the love everyone has for you for making it. With love and second helpings, 9/30/2022 0 Comments Pepper Steak RecipeThis classic from my childhood got a glow up over the years!When I think of this recipe I think of the 80's. Of riding my bike over to Anna's and then getting into an argument likely over barbies and storming home, of playing ghosts in the graveyard and the CBS nightly news playing on TV.
It's truly the flagship recipe from my childhood and the fragrance of it cooking in our kitchen on Lantern Lane comes right back to me when I make it for my own crew. This has always been a favorite of Emma especially! I have to laugh when I really break it down as a recipe because it's in no way gourmet or even remotely healthy but it's so good and so easy! At some point after I was grown and flown, Grammy gave me this recipe and for years I followed it to a "T". As I became more confident in the kitchen I started to tweak it just a bit to suit our tastes. However, what I have now is very similar to the original I am sure with the addition of water chestnuts. You can't serve this without the 80's mainstay chow mein noodles, if you do a cabbage patch kid loses their adoption papers. 😂 Pepper Steak Serves 4 and can be doubled as needed Ingredients
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I hope cooking this will also bring back fond memories for you! Love, 9/30/2022 0 Comments Judy Jetson's KitchenSince I was a kid I have always been a sucker for a kitchen gadget! Just like watching the Jetson's, it always felt like the future had arrived when we would get the next great thing. Over the years I have owned many myself but none will rival those of my childhood!
![]() It's interesting to also reflect on the gadgets I've owned as an adult. Some of those were a complete waste of money and some I can't go without, like my instant pot. I honestly don't know how I cooked before it. Originally a gift for Grammy that she hasn't used in 3 years, it's now my go-to for almost every meal. Am I still a little afraid it might explode? Of course I am, but I trudge on because it saves so much time and locks in so much flavor. {I really should be in cooking commercials!} Another that I use frequently is my air fryer. I've owned a couple over the years and the current model which is more like a mini oven, is my favorite. It's funny to think we built our dream home with higher end appliances and yet I still mostly use my air fryer and instant pot! A mainstay that I don't use as much since getting the instant pot, is the crock pot. I feel like you're not a true southern cook if you don't own a crockpot or three. Ours is Alabama themed. I always have a little laugh when I use either the IP or CP because Mac absolutely hated them both growing up. He wasn't much of a fan of blended meals where everything cooked together, so he felt like he was being punished if I cooked with one. He's grown out of that thankfully! Roll Tide, 9/29/2022 0 Comments Daddy's LemonadeThis perfectly sweet and oh-so-sour drink makes me so happyWhenever my Daddy would visit us or when we would visit him in Tennessee, he would make us his fresh squeezed lemonade. It was truly his specialty and he would squeeze bags and bags of lemons. Not with a juicer either, by hand! As soon as one pitcher ran out he would just make more.
His lemonade is the sweetest, best thing you could ever taste. Foolishly, I never asked him write the recipe down for me so I squeezed up a version that is spot on. I knew I had an exact match when the sugar in one gallon reached 4 cups. YES: FOUR CUPS. My Daddy's Lemonade Ingredients
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9/28/2022 0 Comments Granny Little's Oatmeal Recipe![]() I chose Granny's Oatmeal as my first recipe to share on the blog because it's one that isn't only delicious, it's very sentimental. My Granny Little (My Dad's mom) used to make this for me each time I would visit her. At risk of sounding cheesy, one bite of it wraps me in warmth and love! I loved making this for y'all when you were little on a cold rainy evening. Breakfast for dinner was always a hit! This recipe is about as far from healthy as it gets but it's so good and definitely one to make when you need a little comfort food. Granny's Oatmeal Recipe Serves 2 Ingredients
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I would be remiss to share this recipe and not share the story that I ALWAYS tell when I cook this. Once I was staying with my Granny and she made me oatmeal and topped with milk as usual. She wasn't eating any herself so she didn't realize she had poured sour milk on top until later in the day when she went to get a glass of milk. She immediately realized it was rotten and remembered I had it for breakfast. She felt so bad and went on and on about it and how she couldn't believe I didn't say anything. It was pretty awful but I didn't want to hurt her feelings or embarrass her at all. That was me as a kid in a nutshell, I wanted everyone to be happy even if it meant drinking sour milk. I definitely grew out of that and will never forget her telling me I should always speak up! I hope you enjoy making Granny's Oatmeal! Love, 9/28/2022 0 Comments A kid & a kitchenSome of my earliest memories of a child involve playing "house". Like most kids I loved to play kitchen and grocery store and Grammy would save empty cartons for us to play with. Our bed became a conveyor belt like at Delchamp's (our local grocery store in Mobile) and we would even make the "bong" noise each time we "scanned" something. I had a Holly Hobbie easy bake oven and thought it was just about the greatest thing ever. I also had a snoopy snow cone machine. Any sort of cooking or kitchen related toy or gadget was a huge hit for me. Don't get me started on my Barbie McDonald's set! So you can see that from a very young age I loved cooking! The first time I really cooked I was probably 9 or 10 years old. I made a grilled cheese sandwich and thought it was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten. I even added a sliced pickle on top for garnish. From there I was pretty much hooked! I would make up recipes whenever I could get away with it and one I really liked to made I called "bread balls". So original. 😂. All it was was little balls I rolled up after pinching off part of a slice of white bread (no crusts of course!) and then I would stir them in melted butter and jelly and microwave them. I don't think they were very good at all but I loved making them. My permanent spot in the kitchen when Grammy would cook was right on the counter. She once had to throw me across the room when grease caught on fire! I loved to visit my Papa and cook with him. He was Italian, larger than life and confined to an electric wheelchair so I was his sous chef. I would climb and gather all of the things he couldn't reach and we would cook together. Cooking for me has always been so much more than preparing food. It really is ritualistic in a way. This is likely why I am such a messy cook. Thank goodness for Grammy who follows behind me cleaning up my messes. Love, 9/28/2022 0 Comments What's for dinner?![]() In my past (and sometimes present) life I was a Food Photographer. I've recently entered into a bit of an early retirement due to my health which has left me with extra time on my hands. For quite some time I have wanted to photograph my own recipes. Nothing extravagant just things our family loves. Now that I have the time I want to do this here on the blog. I would love to say that each recipe will be expertly prepared and photographed but I don't want that pressure on myself, I want to enjoy the process and know that these recipes and tips are kept someplace for years to come. I once thought I would self publish the recipes to give as gifts to the kids, and maybe I still will, but I plan to follow the outline I had created for this sticking with the title, "What's for dinner?". I LOVE cooking. I always have. a-kid-a-kitchen.htmlThere's something about creating a meal for someone you love and seeing them enjoy that brings me an immense sense of joy and satisfaction so I think this will be a fun project. Below is part of the outline I wrote some time ago and saved in my notes app. I don't know that this will get used, but it makes me smile so I wanted to add it here. For fun I added a song recommendation for each section. 😂. There are a couple missing.
Below are the sections and recipes I would like to document: Desserts Flag cake Dump cookies ✨ Four layer delight Pecan pie Strawberry pie ✨ Grammy and Emma’s brownies Grammy’s peanut butter cookies Apps AKA “football food” Bruschetta Kirsten’s Salsa Pigs in blankets ✨ Pizza rolls (very important) Buffalo dip (opening day for college football) Chicken Fried chicken ✨ Chicken parm Chicken spaghetti BBQ chicken ✨ Franks red hot chicken ✨ Chicken noodle casserole Pork Pork chops (Grammy) Oven Ribs ✨ Savannah red rice Spaghetti carbonara (Bacon & Egg Spaghetti) ✨ Creamy Sundried tomato Parmesan pasta Italian pork parmesan sandwiches Soups and chilis Baked Potato Soup ✨ Tomato basil Soup Chili Beef Pooler poutine Lomo Saltado Pepper steak ✨ Walking tacos (Kirsten) Mexican pizza (Kirsten) Lasagna ✨ Meatloaf Daddy’s giant burger (Hear that mooing?) Spaghetti Sides Broccoli casserole Squash casserole Mac and cheese ✨ Outback noodles ✨ Fried green tomatoes Mashed potatoes ✨ Potato casserole Baked beans Breakfast Granny’s oatmeal ✨ 7 up biscuits ✨ Uncle Mac’s biscuits ✨ Grits ✨ Breakfast burritos Sausage and egg skillet ✨ Breakfast skillet Avocado toast Tips and tricks section Playlists Memories Brown butter Always Saving pasta water The Grilled chees-el Why unsalted butter is from the devil himself Special Disney section Bread pudding from Ohana Tray Potstickers ✨ Alcoholic dole whips because dreams really do come true Bananas (pro tip: you don’t eat it you just hold it and cry) Margaritas (pro tip: Drive to Epcot and buy there) Le Cellier martini (pro tip: best served in a plastic cup) Egg rolls (pro tip). Make sure Toby sits in the middle of the table when eating these so as not to miss anything) Nachos (trigger warning: do not eat around anyone with diabetes unless there’s ample seating) Tobys Japanese (yum yum sauce included) |