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I have been in a kitchen, well probably since birth, but I actually got involved with the cooking when I was about 3 years old. Pretty much every Sunday, I would sit on the counter and watch my Mee Mee cook for our family. Once I got older I'd spend Summers with her, and without fail, we'd always cook my favorite meals. I've leard a lot about cooking from her, my Mom, and My KK. The three most important women in my culinary life. I've spent hours talking about recipes, how to cook, and just what it means to be a Southern Lady with those three women and I'm very thankful for them.
Anyone can be a cook, chef, or whatever you want to call it, but it takes a special person to be a Southern Lady. For one thing a Southern Lady cooks for everyone. When you come to her house you never go hungry. She is always ready to make something on the fly, and has a pantry that is always stocked with the basics for a quick whipped up meal or snack. In addition to that, she always has dessert. Its a must. There is nothing more southern than offering someone a piece of pie (pronounced p-eye) and coffee. A meal isn't a meal without something sweet to finish it off and most Southern girls have an arsenal of great recipes for just that occasion. The desserts aren't always super sweet or loaded with fat, my family is mostly German, and very few of their desserts are super icky sweet. Dessert could be a simple jello mold, or even a cookie, but there is always a finish to a great meal. Its just well... tradition. Finally, a Southern Lady cooks everything with love. The greatest way a woman from the south can show love for her family and friends is by making sure their tummy is full. I can't remember a time when my Mee Mee didn't offer someone that came over something to eat, and I'm the exact same way. My son's friends want to come to his house because they know how Hunter's mom cooks! haha! Although when I'm standing over the stove for an hour cooking 2 lbs of bacon for eight 12 year old boys I might want to rethink this Southern thing.... Seriously they like their bacon! But... I love it! Its all worth the smiles and thank you's when they have full and happy tummies!
God tells us to go and use the gifts that He has give us to the best of our abilites. To take every ounce of strength we have using those gifts for His glory. If my gift to this world is feeding people and teaching others how to do the same, then I am a very lucky woman because I love to cook and it makes me feel good knowing I provided the strength and nourishment for their journey!
So don't forget to sit down and enjoy a meal with your family today, make something sweet, and always cook with love!
You ever make this recipe and its so unbelievably simple that you think to yourself, "There is NO way this should taste this good?" I have a million times, but never as much as when I make my Simple Sausage and Rice. It is one of those "by accident recipes" that is just really good. Plus to make things even better, its fast. 15 minutes, tops and you have a warm meal that you can feed your family with the addition of a few simple sides and you are good to go!
Seriously its 3 ingredients IF you count the water!
Simple Sausage and Rice
Ingredients:
1 package of ground pork sausage
2 boxes of Uncle Ben's Wild and Long Grain Rice
3 cups of water
Brown the sausage in a pot until nice and brown, add in the rice and seasonings and stir until they are fragrant. By fragrant, I mean you can smell them. (Sometimes you gotta explain these things) Then you add in the water. Bring it to a boil and reduce it to a simmer until the water is evaporated and the rice is cooked. Usually about 7 minutes covered. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve!
And to be honest... Its one of those "Man food" recipes that involves a starch and meat, no veggies, and its easy. But this recipe is just a base for all kinds of ingredients. I'd love to add some broccoli, bell pepper, and maybe some fresh herbs... will I get to? Not unless I make my own batch!!!
You know I've been cooking a really long time and still to this day I screw up a recipe once in a while. I spend all day working on it, cooking, baking or whatever and it turns out HORRIBLE! Sometimes its because of a bad recipe, or my lack of skill, but whatever it is something just doesn't go right. This is usually the end result I always get when I try to make bread. Yes I'll admit it, I'm not good at the bread thing. Can make a 15 layer coconut cake, cook a roast like a pro, but can I made bread??... NOPE. I always do something wrong. Too much flour, not enough butter, too much kneading not enough... ugh... It frustrates me to no end, especially when I watch my Mom pull out this beautiful and perfect loaf the next day. Seriously Mom quit showing off already!
I guess though that is why I love cooking. It is so forgiving. Its a process of love that just grows and changes as you experiment. So that bread recipe didn't work, but if you keep looking you will eventually find that one recipe that works for YOU. It might not work for me, or your sister, or mother, but it works for you. Its very much like finding your soul mate, except its with food. You find this recipe that works for you and you stick with it. Year after year you make the same one and it turns out great. You teach your children how to make those recipes and it goes on and on down the line. I have ways of cooking things that my grandmother taught me, and her grandmother taught her. So actually the exact way I make beans is the same way my great great grandmother was doing it many many years ago. That is the beautiful thing about cooking. It is as much a part of your history as anything else. I think that is pretty neat!
So you might wonder if I ever did find a bread recipe that I can use... Yes I did! Its one that you don't have to knead! lol It comes out great every time and it keeps really well in the refridgerator so you can make rolls every day for a week if you like!
Here's the site with the recipe cause you KNOW I didn't write this lol:
http://theitaliandishblog.com/imported-20090913150324/2010/2/26/amazing-artisan-bread-for-40-cents-a-loaf-no-kneading-no-fus.html
Anyone can be a cook, chef, or whatever you want to call it, but it takes a special person to be a Southern Lady. For one thing a Southern Lady cooks for everyone. When you come to her house you never go hungry. She is always ready to make something on the fly, and has a pantry that is always stocked with the basics for a quick whipped up meal or snack. In addition to that, she always has dessert. Its a must. There is nothing more southern than offering someone a piece of pie (pronounced p-eye) and coffee. A meal isn't a meal without something sweet to finish it off and most Southern girls have an arsenal of great recipes for just that occasion. The desserts aren't always super sweet or loaded with fat, my family is mostly German, and very few of their desserts are super icky sweet. Dessert could be a simple jello mold, or even a cookie, but there is always a finish to a great meal. Its just well... tradition. Finally, a Southern Lady cooks everything with love. The greatest way a woman from the south can show love for her family and friends is by making sure their tummy is full. I can't remember a time when my Mee Mee didn't offer someone that came over something to eat, and I'm the exact same way. My son's friends want to come to his house because they know how Hunter's mom cooks! haha! Although when I'm standing over the stove for an hour cooking 2 lbs of bacon for eight 12 year old boys I might want to rethink this Southern thing.... Seriously they like their bacon! But... I love it! Its all worth the smiles and thank you's when they have full and happy tummies! 
