Southern Special Dinner

Southern Special Dinner

by Mom w/Dad’s coaching on the pork chops and potatoes

This meal was so yummy that we want to make it again, so the short and sweet recipes for each are below! We had many random fresh garden vegetables to cook, and this worked!

Skillet Pork Chops

Heat a few tablespoons of canola oil in a skillet to medium-high heat. Rinse pork chops (boneless) and dip in a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper. Fry the chops in the skillet for about two minutes on each side. You might want to lower the temperature to medium for the second batch to avoid burning the flour. Set on a paper towel or paper bag to drain the grease.

Sauteed Okra n Squash

Heat a few tablespoons of butter and olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add chopped, fresh okra. As you saute the okra, slice and add a zucchini squash and a yellow squash to the mix. Sprinkle with garlic salt. This was our FAVORITE!

Boiled Radishes

Wash and trim edges off of fresh radishes (save the green tops to rinse and tear for the mixed greens side dish). Boil a couple of cups of chicken broth, salt to taste, lemon juice, and a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Add whole radishes and boil for about 15-20 minutes. Turn off, cover and let sit until you’re ready to eat. This was also surprisingly delicious!!!

Mixed Greens

Boil chicken broth. Add greens of all types and a couple of fresh garlic cloves (thinly sliced or however). We had left over greens of every type - turnip, collard, arugula, spinach, and radish greens - including a bit of thinly sliced carrots! Mmm mmm!

Baked Sweet Potatoes/Potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash potatoes and pierce them several times with a fork.

Smother the sweet potatoes in coconut oil and then butter. Smother the russet potatoes in butter. Bake for one hour.

Tips: To make this run smoothly, I cooked these in this order - baked potatoes, started greens & turnips, then sauteed okra and squash - dumped it out of that skillet and used the same skillet for the pork chops. By the time the pork chops were done, everything else was all just finishing!

Strawberry "Burrito" Carmelita Dessert

Strawberry “Burrito” Carmelita Dessert

(Dessert #2 in the "Carmelita" series - A quest for more dulce de leche desserts is always in order!)

The pictures speak for themselves - ingredients and all! As a side note - these were yummy except that a nice cold dollop of either yogurt, sour cream, or whipped cream would have been a perfect addition! Be sure to save any left-over dulce de leche on a spoon for your coffee or hot tea the next morning (see below)!

Banana Pudding Carmelita

Banana Pudding Carmelita

(the banana pudding with a tan)

By Mom

2 boxes instant vanilla pudding (5.1 ozs.)

1 can La Lechera Dulce de Leche (13.4 ozs.)

4 cups of cold milk

1 large banana

½ box of vanilla wafers

• In a large bowl mix the dulce de leche with the milk until well blended and frothy on top.
• Add the instant vanilla pudding mix and blend until mixed well.
• Smooth about a cup or two of the pudding mixture onto the bottom of any large glass dish that can hold up to 2 quarts. Just cover the bottom.
• Place rows of vanilla wafers on top of the first layer of pudding. You might use all of the broken cookies for this part and save the whole ones for the top.
• Smooth another 1-2 cup layer of pudding on top of that one.
• Top with banana slices - one large banana works.
• Add the rest of the pudding and smooth the top with a spatula.
• Don it with rows of vanilla wafers, and you’re done! Cover and chill for best results!

Gnocchi Chicken Italiano de Roberto

Gnocchi Chicken Italiano de Roberto

(Proof that a country boy CAN survive - and cook too.)

Gnocchi - 1 package

3 chicken breasts

Half and half creamer - 2-3 cups

Onions - chopped

Celery - chopped

Carrots - chopped

Spinach - chopped

Butter - ½ stick or so

Salt, pepper, poultry seasoning

Brown and steam the chicken breasts in a skillet until fully cooked, then shred or chop the chicken and set it aside. Sauté onions, celery, and carrots in butter while heating the half-and-half in a pot to boiling. Add chicken and all vegetables with spices to the half-and-half. Simmer for 20 minutes adding the gnocchi for the last 5 minutes. Serve with your favorite side of bread (we love yummy naan bread) for dipping!

Knot Justa Swingin'

Knot Justa Swingin’

By Christie Williams

“A figure eight on a bight," David casually explained.

"A what?!" I cross-examined.

bight - /bīt/ noun - a loop of rope, as distinct from the rope’s ends

This was the gift of our son, David, toward what would become the seat of fun for his niece and nephew . . .  two ready swings hanging from an oak tree in the yard. Our newest family members - Chelsea and Grant - now three and one, would surely enjoy such fun. From this fresh idea for a family that could use something to lift them.

One year has passed since their parents divorced, with this being their home away from home when they are with their dad, our oldest son, Landon. Moreover, it has been three years since my husband, Robert, lost his leg in a hunting accident and joined the ranks of other BK (below knee) amputees. These little things like swing raising bring joy and make a difference.

As a rock climber, David knows the importance of knots and ropes and the science behind how they support not only fun and sport, but most importantly the lives of the ones they sustain. When I asked him how he tied the rope, his response led me to the dictionary following his careful explanation demonstrated with the physical gesturing of a figure eight tie around a simple bight.

It was not as complicated as it sounds but surprisingly effective and sturdy for the part of rope that secures the swing to the tree. Mesmerized by the process, it occurred to me that what each of them gave mystically mirrored who they are - climber and fisherman - even to the very type of knot and its placement.

In fact, David’s figure eight with a bight was something likened to him - methodical and purposeful, yet adaptable. This was David’s contribution.

My husband, Robert, on the other hand, applied the crafting of the fisherman’s knot - fixed, strong, and unbreakable like him. This was Robert’s contribution.

As I watched these two raise these swings like suns rising to burst the darkness, my heart smiled. I saw the blossoming of our son, David, providing for our grandchildren something he had used to scale the mighty two-thousand-plus-foot mountain, El Toro, in El Potrero Chico, Mexico; to something that would safely hold family a foot or two off of the ground.

With every part of this swing-raising event, gleaming rays of the character and personality of each continued to shine. Robert stood sturdily and gracefully at the base while welcoming his son to ascend the ladder. Assisting David to the higher part at branch-level where his own footing would have been less secure, he humbly supported it below, yielding way to his assistant. Later scaling it himself for a final shake to test the system of purposeful knots and loops applied, Robert was still providing.

My guys were not just hanging a swing that night, but like children themselves - God’s children - they were securing love for their family by the greatest means of all - their actions. What began with a bight, a loop of love, transcended our little yard that day. Like the figure eight, our family dynamics continue to gain strength from such expressions where using God-given talents supports everyone.

“Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.” - I John 3:18

UNT Mariachi Aguilas 2017

Happy Birthday, Dad

In honor of my dad and his special birthday today I am reposting my note to him here (scroll down) along with a few pictures of the wildflowers blooming today and a scissortail bird perching on a treetop. Dad has always taught me to love nature and all of God's creation, so these are for him today - a virtual flower delivery...

Happy Birthday, Dad! We thank God for you and the strong love you have for us and all of your family. I want to list 65 reasons we are thankful for you, but instead am going to list reasons for every decade of your life - and hope that this does not embarrass you too much.

1951-1961 We thank God that you were born into a loving family, that you honored your parents, and that you learned to care for others by helping your family take care of your sister, Tiny. 

1961-1971

We thank God that you excelled at learning in school, discovered your Faith and served your church as altar boy, and that you chose to share your life and have your first child - me!

1971-1981

We thank God that you completed college, worked hard toward goals to provide for your family and started a new chapter with Pattie and chose to share your life again and had Chane! 💕

1981-1991

We thank God that you continued to persevere in providing for your family, were a key figure in many things that have celebrated our family - both immediate and distant, and that you always managed to honor your parents and excel at your career as a supervisor.

1991-2001

We thank God that you helped Robert and I in our time of need as he went through the police academy, that you lavished much love on your two grandsons, Landon and David, with every chance you were given, and that you continued to work hard to provide for your family and celebrate them often. 

2001-2011

We thank God you survived these years of change and hardship, that you chose to give up one way of life for another, and that you began to be a great example to us all by taking in your father and being caregiver to him alongside Ellen.

2011-today

We thank God, Dad, that you are here, that you are growing only better with age, and that you have become the son, the father, and the grandfather that reflects God's love to us all as an example of how to live. Happy Birthday, Dad. Thank you for always giving.