Classic Pineapple Upside Down Cake, {Granny's Recipe}

This classic Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe brings back so many memories of a fancy dessert that graced my Mother's dinner table growing up in the 60's. The original recipe came from Dole in the 1950's, and after that you could make it as elaborate as you wanted to by adding pecans, coconut and other ingredients, but Mother always made it with the simple recipe. 

Southern Fried Okra

Southern Fried Okra , a simple Southern classic, is dredged in self-rising cornmeal and then fried until golden.  Want to know the simple secret to keeping okra crisp on the outside while tender on the inside?  FRIED OKRA This fried okra recipe comes together in no time and is simply the most delicious little pieces of crunchy okra popcorn you will ever eat.  It's not your deep-fried restaurant fried okra.  It is the skillet pan-fried okra, just like my mother taught me. My Mother was an expert at Pan Frying Okra.  She could fry it crispy on the outside, almost caramelized shell, and at the same time very tender inside. Her method of pan-frying the okra was in the fat she fried it in.  She used melted shortening and bacon grease. If you do not like shortening and bacon grease (horas), then vegetable oil is fine. One rule she did have was  not to salt the okra until after frying  because it makes the okra lose too much moisture as it frys and will...

Homemade Banana Pudding {Granny's Recipe}

Homemade Banana Pudding , rich and creamy homemade pudding poured over Nilla wafers and fresh banana slices, old fashioned goodness like Grandma makes. You could say my Mother made real homemade pudding, the kind you cook on the stove from scratch, not out of a box.  It's not hard just takes a little more time.

Crispy Fried Squash, {Granny's Recipe}

Crispy Fried Squash , golden outside, tender, meaty inside, fried squash is so simple and so delicious!  In the South, a meal for King and Queen, in my house for sure. Every time I am going to cook yellow squash, my "Hunny Bunches" ask me, "will you fry it this time?" His favorite way to eat squash is fried.

Skillet Fried Corn {Granny's Recipe}

Skillet Fried Corn , easiest recipe for fried corn that makes you think you are eating fresh corn cut off the cob and then fried in a skillet with bacon grease.  Just like Grandma use to make. Growing up in the 60's my mother would buy fresh produce from farmers in the area, and sometimes to save on the cost, we would go and pick it fresh ourselves. As a child, I felt like picking corn was a gruesome and suffocating job walking in between the corn stalks, which grew up over the top of your head.

Pear Salad {Granny's Recipe}

Pear Salad  is   a vintage recipe going way back.  Pears are filled with mayonnaise and freshly grated cheddar cheese, then topped with a cherry. This recipe is a childhood favorite of mine. My mother would always make Pear Salad with canned pear halves, as none the difference from fresh pears.

Oven Fried Chicken {Granny's Recipe}

Oven Fried Chicken is a method of cooking chicken in the oven, but taste just like fried chicken, without all the fuss it takes to fry it. Oven Baked Chicken is another recipe from my mother's dinner table. I remember coming home from college, and she would have Oven Fried Chicken on the table, one of my very favorites. My mother worked for a half-way house, Monday through Friday.   She cooked the noon meal, and when she came home in the evenings, she would often cook a recipe much quicker and easier to prepare than she cooked at noon. If you want to, you can add some rosemary, thyme, and other herbs on top while baking. It gives a delicious depth of flavor. Although My mother was such a simplistic cook and cooked with few ingredients, she always brought a lot of love to the table with her delicious dishes. Mother would have served Oven Fried Chicken with something similar as I served,  Chunky Buttered Potatoes , and Glazed Carrots . Come and join me over...

Classic Chocolate Peanut Clusters {Granny's Recipe}

Chocolate Peanut Clusters were a classic Christmas treat around my house when I was growing up.    2-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE PEANUT CLUSTERS With just two simple ingredients, you can create these delightful treats that are sure to impress everyone during the holiday season. The delicious taste of the sweet and salty together makes these the perfect treat. Chocolate Peanut Clusters are unbelievably easy to make, and when you have unexpected company, they are just what you want to make to wow your guest. I must say that they are a great addition to my Christmas gift boxes this year also. Instead of dropping spoonfuls of the clusters on waxed paper, I decided to use a scoop and drop the clusters into a mini muffin pan lined with mini muffin papers. Whether you are making them for gift giving, company coming or just to have some around the house, you can't go wrong with mixing Chocolate Peanut Clusters 36 mini muffin paper liners 1 lb. Milk Chocolate 16 oz. ligh...

The Original Hello Dolly Cookie Bars {Granny's Recipe}

Hello Dolly Cookie Bars are one of my all time favorites at Christmas. I remember my Mother would make these at Christmas time just before I got married in 1972.

America's Favorite Chocolate No Bake Cookie {Granny's Recipe}

Chocolate No Bake Cookies , America's favorite for years, children and adults alike have an affection for chocolate, oatmeal, peanut butter, and cocoa melted and swirled together into a no bake cookie. One of the first cookies I ever learned to make was Chocolate No Bake Cookies . I remember mother would make these cookies, and there were enough of us to eat the whole batch in one sitting.

Classic Southern Cornbread

Classic Southern Cornbread is the iconic bread of the South that has graced tables for generations.   GRANNY'S SOUTHERN CORNBREAD My Mother's recipe is simple and straightforward. It is cooked in an iron skillet using three must ingredients: bacon drippings, buttermilk, and yellow cornmeal.   About cornbread , I don’t want to expound on this too much for fear of stepping on some people's toes. The people in the North like cornbread, made with sugar, half cornmeal, and half flour. But the people in the South like their cornbread with cornmeal and a little flour, if any, and definitely no sugar. Also, southern cornbread is traditionally made in an iron skillet, giving it the desired crispy crust I like so much. I must say, my taste for cornbread has been swayed to somewhere in the middle because I actually like both recipes.  I go back and forth. Sometimes, I want the salty, tangy taste of my Mother's cornbread, and sometimes, I like the sweetness of the nor...

Salmon Croquettes {Granny's Recipe}

Salmon Croquettes  are crisp, crunchy bundles of deliciousness for a quick dinner.   Another plus is a few ingredients, canned pink salmon, eggs, minced onion, and saltine cracker crumbs. My mother prepared the noon meal for a halfway house in the town where I grew up in the late 60s and early 70s.  I remember she would make   Salmon C roquettes   every Friday.

Mama's Southern Style Potato Salad {Granny's Recipe}

Southern Potato Salad ,  family gatherings are not the same without Mama's potato salad, cubed potatoes, chopped onions, chopped dill pickles, chopped boiled eggs, and mayonnaise with a little mustard.   The secret to my Mom's potato salad is in how you cook the potatoes.  She always said you have to cook them with a tablespoon of salt in the water. She told me you can never get the right flavor in the potatoes if you don't. She is correct.  It makes all the difference in the overall flavor of the potato salad.

Homemade Pimento Cheese and Homemade Chicken Salad {Did You Know August is Officially National Sandwich Month?}

Homemade Pimento Cheese and Homemade Chicken Salad are the favorite salad to make sandwiches.  Pick out a favorite bread, and you can have the perfect sandwiches for any gathering. I was thinking this past Wednesday about what dish I was going to take to our Sunday evening Life Group meeting, when I thought about August is National Sandwich Month, and what better time to take sandwiches.

Chinese Style Chop Suey {Granny's Recipe}

Chop Suey   is a  Chinese dish  consisting of meats (often chicken, fish, beef, shrimp or pork), cooked quickly with vegetables such as  bean sprouts ,  cabbage , and  celery  and bound in a starch-thickened sauce. It is typically served with rice but can become the Chinese-American form of  chow mien  with the addition of stir-fried noodles. This is a recipe that my mother used to make me when I was a young girl. I remember it was the first time I knew anything about what Chinese food might taste like, not that this is an authentic Chinese dish, but for me, back in the 60's it was as close as I was going to get to authentic Chinese food. The closest Chinese restaurant was 150 miles away. The Soy Sauce we used with it was probably the only authentic taste I really experienced. I remember my mother would make this when the round steak was on sale at the grocery store. I think back then as it is today, it was one of the less ex...