Today I have a guest post for you for Chicken Pot Pie from one of the head chef’s at UNA’s Culinary Department. But before I hand over the reins, I’m feeling chatty so I thought I’d spend a few minutes visiting with you if I may…. Y’all know how I am when I get chatty. Not much that can shut me up

I have some great friends and each one seems to have a specialty when it comes to the friendship department. Jyl is good as a sounding board. She lets me do my “brain dumps” and then she helps me put the pieces of the puzzle together until they make sense. Jason is good for talking things out to. When I get a thought in my head that I want to think more on and examine from all angles, Jason is always good for a few other perspectives.

Yesterday, I was working on a story that I’ve had in my head to write for well over a year now and I needed to go meet Jyl in nearby Scottsboro. So I asked Jason if he’d mind going along since I wouldn’t be back home til after dark and …oh yeah, did I mention Jason is a very good driver and used to staying up late at night? Well that’s one of his gifts, too.

We share a Southern heritage and a friendship that started back in high school when he was editor of the literary magazine and I was junior editor. He also fills the role of our “Adopted pitiful bachelor who needs to be fed” in the family. We always had a few of those hanging around my mother’s kitchen growing up and so I’d feel a little empty if my family didn’t have one, too. So you see, Jason is a handy feller.

So we get in the car and I immediately started in (The beauty of good friends is that you can skip the niceties and greetings and just begin your thought waves wherever they are at that given moment)  “Okay, so George Washington. You know what he did, right? He was actually offered the throne of the United States, they offered to make him KING of the US and he turned it down because he felt it was in the best interest of the country…”

He didn’t miss a beat as he adjusted the driver’s seat of my car to accommodate his legs when he replied, “Oh yeah, I know that! And did you also know that he was the one who first introduced the idea of term limits and that they used to be voluntary until it was written into the constitution in 1947″

This is a pretty typical conversation between me and Jason.

From there we somehow took a detour and got into talking about our childhoods and attitudes and the kind of people we look up to, from there we went to our culture and how it has changed in our lifetime.

And that is where he told me the story.

It was in a book he had as a child, a collection of fairy tales and fables that his mother used to read to him. This one had stuck out to him, it had struck a note in his heart that still rang true today. He didn’t know it word for word but he knew the premise enough to tell me and for me to recreate the premise for you now.

There once was a king.

One day this King chose a man and assigned him the task of going out into the kingdom and picking the most beautiful flowers he could find to bring back to him. Another man was dispatched on the same day to pick the most noxious weeds he could find and bring them back.

And so each set about their assigned tasks and at the end of the day they returned, one with a wagon full of beautiful flowers and one with a wagon full of terribly noxious weeds.

The wise king called them before his throne and he asked the one who had brought the flowers “Tell me, did you find any weeds?” The man replied “No my king, I was too busy looking for flowers, I didn’t see any weeds at all.”

The king smiled and turned to the man who had gathered the large load of weeds, which were most assuredly resting amidst the beautiful flowers and asked “Tell me, did you find any flowers?” “No my king, I was too busy looking for noxious weeds. I didn’t see any flowers at all.”

Jason’s point was that more people used to look for flowers. We talked about this a while and he thinks Watergate was a turning point. Now I know full well what Watergate is but I prefer Jason not bring it up because it just makes me want that green goopy salad with marshmallows in it. I’m not sure if Watergate was the turning point but it definitely stands one of those times in which the record skipped, the party stopped, and the lights were turned on.

I guess it doesn’t really matter when or why it started, the end effect is the same. At some point a majority of media outlets (news, tv networks, filmmakers  etc) stopped looking to Little House on the Prairie and started looking to the National Enquirer to set the standard for behavior – and once the pied piper started playing that flute all the rats just followed along behind and ran right off the cliff together. Note: My use of rats here is a pied piper reference, not calling people rats. People are hope and potential filled individuals, regardless.

At that point, they decided that the business of looking for flowers held little appeal in terms of ratings or shock value and instead began the search for noxious weeds.

And after our talk yesterday, I finally understand reality tv.

Today, as I’m writing on my second book (You can purchase my first book by clicking here) Chef Lewis from my Alma Mater has graciously agreed to share with you a simple recipe for Chicken Pot Pie. I asked him specifically to do a guest post on Chicken Pot Pie because I’ve received so many requests for one that I’ve lost count. Why haven’t I ever brought you a recipe for chicken pot pie? The same reason I won’t be bringing you a recipe for seafood. ~giggles~ Take it away, Chef! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi there, I’m Chef Lewis from the University of North Alabama’s Culinary Department in Florence, Al. I was asked to do a guest post to share some of our recipes for the holidays, and I was more than happy to do so. We’re very happy to have Christy as one of our departments alumni’s, and we’re happy that we can share some of our ideas with all of you. This recipe was done by myself and my team Kenny and Devon.

The ingredients you’ll need for the pot pie are chicken breasts, cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, corn, peas and carrots, butter, white pepper, diced yellow onion, and buttermilk biscuits.

I will give easy instructions for making a smaller quantity  below as well.

Begin by boiling the chicken breasts in 4 cups of water with ½ of your diced onion until they are fork-tender (this will be around 20 minutes).

Remove the chicken from the water, keeping the water for later. Strain the onion out of the water with a colander or strainer, and let it cool.

Next you’ll brown the other half of your diced onions in the butter until they’re soft (around 8 minutes).

Then you take the cans of mushroom soup, chicken soup, the browned onion, and the white pepper and combine all of that in a big bowl.

Then you add about 1/2 (2 cups) of the chicken broth (the leftover water you boiled the chicken in) to thin out the soup mixture.

After that you open up the can of peas and carrots and the corn, and drain the liquid out of them, then pour that into the soup mix as well.

By now the chicken breasts should have cooled down enough that you can cut them up into bit-sized pieces.

The chicken goes into the soup mix as well. Just stir it all together and make sure it’s evenly mixed up.

All of the soup mix then goes into a deep greased 13×9 inch pan.

For the topping, you take the biscuits out of the can and flatten them out (you can use either a rolling pin or your hands).

Then stick the biscuits on the top of the chicken soup mix, till they’re covered.

Then you just stick it in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for around 20 minutes, and the top should be golden brown.

Enjoy! 

Today’s quote will likely make most of y’all giggle!

“Any mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease.”

~Lisa Alther

Submitted by Louise. Click here to add your quote to the collection.

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2012/01/chicken-pot-pie-flowers-vs-weeds.html/feed 41 http://www.southernplate.com/2012/01/chicken-and-wild-rice-casserole-and-becoming-the-crazy-daffodil-lady.html http://www.southernplate.com/2012/01/chicken-and-wild-rice-casserole-and-becoming-the-crazy-daffodil-lady.html#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:57:27 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=17939 Pin it

I’m honored to have been asked to be a judge at this year’s National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg, Tennessee! If you’re planning on coming to this fun event, be sure and RSVP on my Facebook page by clicking here  so I can keep you updated on my whereabouts because I’d love to get to meet you!

Christmas and New Years behind us, and most folks are in the middle of winter, snuggling within their quilts and homes, cooking up stews and cobblers. Oh I’m doing the cooking part but not the rest of it, my mind is on other things.  You see, soon as January hits, I get to expecting spring.

I can’t help it, it is my absolute most favorite time of year for a number of reasons but one in particular – I get to see my daffodils. Now before you go to thinking that I’m looking pretty far off you gotta understand that daffodils are usually in bloom here by February and the first sign of yellow, my heart up and declares SPRING!

I go by my own time table with the seasons, I’m just a wild woman that way.  

I love flowers of all sorts, I am female after all. Oh Alright, I’ll confess to not being a huge red rose fan but toss a pink one my way and I’ll throw that sucker in my teeth and do one heck of a tango. Okay, not really. If anyone shouts out requests for a tango at my next speaking engagement I’m afraid you’re gonna be let down. Holler out that you want me to sing instead, I can’t refuse that, of course you might still be let down once you hear me but that wasn’t my point…

When we moved here to Bountiful a few years back, I was delighted to find a well thought out and beautifully planted ring of spring flowers around each tree in our front yard. Tete a tete daffodils, crocus, and hyacinth came up in unison, presenting the perfect blend of spring colors and fragrance. It really warmed my heart to walk around those trees, kneeling by them and lovingly taking in the flowers, knowing that someone had once cared so dearly for this house.

So that very first fall, I ordered more bulbs. King Alfred, tete a tete, orange throat,  every variety I could find (and afford). I ordered around a hundred that year and got out with my little shovel and planted each and every one of them myself. The following spring the beautiful flower rings around my trees were joined by others out and about in the yard. I had planted them as my mother advised, randomly, with no set pattern so they just popped up in the yard like little surprise blooms of sunshine. They were absolutely breathtaking and I dearly love those few weeks of looking out my window and seeing the happy little flowers waving back at me in the breeze.

A few months back I was in Lowe’s and walked by a bag of 100 more bulbs. They hopped in my buggy and came home with me where Katy Rose and I went about planting them, wherever she felt we needed them to be.

My goal is to eventually have an entire yard filled with daffodils for a few weeks out of each year. They’ll slowly spread from the road right up to my front doorstep . After a few decades of this, and with my kids moving out and more cats coming to live with me (isn’t that the natural evolution of things?) no doubt people will start to talk. I’ll begin wearing a hat with a  giant silk daffodil in it and trade in my preferred red shoes for daffodil yellow ones to match. Folks will start calling me the Crazy Daffodil Lady as I walk around town in my finest daffodil yellow regalia. But hey, I can think of worst things to be called.  By then I’ll have so many that I can make large bouquets and deliver them to nursing homes and other spots around town that need brightening and then come back home to a yard still filled to the brim. We all gotta have dreams.

If you’ll excuse me, I found some daffodil bulbs at Wal Mart yesterday and I think I’ll plant a few before the sun goes down. I know that technically this isn’t the time of year to plant daffodils but I like to live life outside the lines. Heck, I even wear my watch on my right hand, even though I’m right handed and my engagement ring is on my finger first, THEN my wedding band (I’ve gotten more emails on this than I can count).

You see, at the end of the day, I’m just a rebel to the core. Oh yeah, I even eat raw cake batter. I do shocking things like that…and I plant daffodil bulbs in December.

And THAT, my friends, is why I’m gonna make a great Crazy Daffodil Lady someday! I hope I can count on your vote

While I am still pretending to be partially sane, let me bring you a casserole today. There are so many variations on this casserole that you could throw a rock at the internet and hit fifty on any given day. This is mine, it’s pretty easy and awfully good. Modify it, play with it, make it your own. Just let me know what time it is served and try to have plenty of tea when I show up, please Or Diet Dr Pepper…Diet Dr pepper is always good, too!

You’ll need: Long Grain and Wild Rice (with seasoning, such as Uncle Ben’s), Cream of Mushroom Soup (can use fat free), French Style Green Beans, Chicken, almonds, and Ritz crackers and a wee bit of butter to pour over the top, which isn’t pictured. 

If you don’t like Cream of mushroom soup, just use Cream of chicken, cream of celery, or cream of whatever-cranks-your-tractor. You can also use fat free or low fat or i-don’t-wanna-get-fat, if you can find it . For those of us already there, just go with the recipe because it tastes so good .

Nowadays Uncle Ben’s make quick cooking long grain and wild rice as well as the traditional featured here. Use whichever you pick up first.

The almonds are optional but I gotta tell you, I love what they do to this dish!

NOTE: You can also add a cup of sour cream to this and it will be wonderful! This is completely optional, but I love it. I’m not including it in this tutorial but I will list it as optional in the recipe below.

Cook chicken until done.

Note: Normally I wouldn’t have used chicken tenders for this because they are a little more expensive. This is a great recipe to use cooked chicken leg quarters (deboned and shredded), leftover chicken, or a whole fryer (cooked, deboned, and shredded) in, but since I did have this chicken on hand and company was a coming (did I mention I like to make this for company) that is what I used.

Dump chicken, cooked rice, green beans, cream soup, and almonds into a big old bowl.

Give it all a stir until it is good and mixed.

Spray baking dish lightly with non stick cooking spray. 

Spoon casserole filling into baking dish. 

Sprinkle crushed crackers all over top.

Drizzle melted butter over the cracker crumb topping.

Bake at 350 for thirty minutes.

Eat up!

“Your family is important. They left your home this morning and spread out to spend a day making new memories, acquiring knowledge, and growing up without you! Make it a priority to sit down to supper tonight with them and find out who they became today.”

~Christy Jordan

Goodness gracious almighty! Is it just me or are the holidays coming up on us faster than a freight train? At first I was trying not to mention them on Southern plate because, you know, there are holiday police out there waiting to pounce if we mention the holidays “too early”, but then my mother called this morning and said “You know our Thanksgiving is this coming Sunday” and I just had to blink.

So I’m just gonna come on out with it and tell ya – My house is decorated for Christmas and I’m thrilled to death. I know, some of you are thinking “But Thanksgiving is first! You can’t decorate until after Thanksgiving!” Well that all depends on what you’re giving thanks for. The thing I’m most thankful nowadays is the entire meaning behind Christmas, and I’m thankful for that with every breath I take, so what better to give thanks for at Thanksgiving than the meaning of Christmas? ~grins~ Ya just gotta decorate for that… 

My in laws came to visit this past weekend so they could attend my Holiday Cooking Show (I’ll post a recap of that with photos soon!) and while they were here, we put up all of my Christmas decorations.

Is it too early to decorate? Not for me! I’m in the Christmas spirit 365 days a year so getting to take off my hat and let my elf ears show is always a welcome change. So I had my mother and father in law were here for a whole weekend. I’d been traveling some, under the weather for a while, and kinda feeling snowed over with all the work I had on me and I thought “HEY! They can help me with the Christmas decorations!”

With all of us working together we got the halls decked and trees trimmed in no time flat. I was on a roll so to top it off I even made Christmas cookies and the kids had a wonderful time decorating them with their grandparents. We had a great weekend before the folks had to head back to Georgia and we would have missed out on all of that had I stuck to any one person’s plan or ideal time frame as to when holiday activities should happen.

We even got the lights up on the house, so I can heave a sigh of relief that we got through one more year without my husband falling off the roof – I always worry about that. Now little Teaaspoon (our kitten) is enjoying the wonder of a Christmas tree. We have yet to explain to her that it isn’t her personal chew toy or kitty winter wonderland themed obstacle course. I think we need to post before and after pics of our trees when we have cats…

Speaking of trees, we got a new tree this year. It is somewhat smaller, not as big in girth, but still pretty tall and just fits in our den a little better. I went all over tarnation looking at trees before settling on this one. It came from Hobby Lobby (oh my, they have beautiful trees). The display model was on a revolving base and it was just beautiful. I had every intention of getting that base until I found myself gazing at the tree on my third visit to the store standing next to a sweet lady who said “I sure do love that base, but my cats would have fits”. She had a point ~Watches at Teaspoon eyes a sparkly ornament hanging just out of her reach…~

Artificial tree? Yup, it sure is. I’ve always loved real Christmas trees but the winter before I started college (when I was 23) I was in the midst of a mad dash to make as much money as I could in order to make it through my first semester and took an evening and weekend job at a Christmas tree farm. I worked in a credit union during the day and then headed out to Greenbriar, Alabama to hand out saws and explain the finer points of tree cutting for all of the days leading up to Christmas. I’ve never been so cold for so long in all of my life. Just looking at a live tree now makes me want to find an electric blanket and a few more pairs of socks. As a result, I’m one of the few people whose heart (and toes) feels considerably warmer around an artificial pine

So as we head on into the final stretch before Thanksgiving, I thought I’d bring you a quick and easy skillet supper. This is one of those meals that just makes your stomach feel good when you eat it. I could eat this every day of my life and be happy as a lark so I hope you get to try it soon. My son was feeling under the weather when I made it yesterday and I took him a plate and said “Here baby, try to eat this.” He saw what it was and said “Don’t you worry one bit Ma, I’ll SURE be eating all of that!”

**Note: To make this vegetarian, just use cream of celery soup in place of the cream of chicken and ask your hens to lay off the worms before their “big day”.

Just kidding…:)

~Giggle~

You’ll need: Chicken breasts, a can of cream of chicken soup (I’m using fat free*), a package of ranch dressing mix (dry), a bag of frozen vegetable blend (your choice), and some egg noodles.

You’re also going to need a little bit of milk, just 1/2 a cup.

I forgot to put that in the photo because … well when the day arrives that I only have to think about one thing at a time I’m just sure I’ll remember to put everything in the photo them. Unfortunately that isn’t today and as they say tomorrow isn’t looking good either .

*Occasionally I grab something like fat free soup just to show y’all that you can use it and it won’t make a difference. If fat free makes you happy or if that is what you have on hand, knock yourself out. It’ll be just as good. If you don’t have fat free, please don’t go out buying it just for this recipe. On a normal day (one in which I was just doing whatever I wanted and not trying to prove a point) I’d just use regular cream of chicken soup.

Place a little bit of oil in the bottom of your skillet and heat over medium heat.

Add your chicken breasts and cook over medium heat, turning as needed, until lightly browned on both sides.

Once your chicken breasts are browned on both sides, add in the cream of chicken soup, dry ranch dressing mix…

and milk.

Stir that up a bit as best you can.

Note: Your chicken breasts won’t be done at this point, just browned on the outside. That is okay because we’re fixin’ to finish cooking them.

This is our chicken with our little sauce we made all stirred up.

Now cover and reduce heat to simmer for about ten minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center.

After about ten minutes of simmering this is what you’ll have.

That sauce is absolutely delicious and we’re about to toss some veggies into it to make it even better.

I like the California blend of veggies that has carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli in it but you can go with whatever you like here.

Pour your frozen vegetables into the skillet and stir them up a bit to coat them.

Continue cooking this whole shebang until the veggies are tender.

Voila! Dinner is done

Salt and pepper to taste if you like, but I like it just as it is.

The ranch dressing mix gives it a fantastic, well seasoned flavor and the cream soup and milk join in to make a delicious gravy, perfect for serving over cooked egg noodles.

Like this.

I’m a talkative person, but it’s not a conversation unless I hear back from you!

Please leave a comment below  

Thank you! 

Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind.

To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy,

is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

~Calvin Coolidge

Towards the end of the week I’ll be giving away an

ENTIRE Set of Calphalon pots and pans!

Be sure to stay tuned to Facebook and Southern Plate for information on when this great giveaway starts!

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2011/11/creamy-chicken-skillet.html/feed 102 http://www.southernplate.com/2011/10/14-favorite-soup-and-stew-recipes.html http://www.southernplate.com/2011/10/14-favorite-soup-and-stew-recipes.html#comments Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:09:16 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=17253 Pin it

I returned from Houston last night just in time to sit down to supper with my family! It isn’t really fall there (yet!) but it sure is here in Bama, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite soup and stew recipes with you today.

If you’re on Facebook, I sure would appreciate it if you’d click that little “like” button above! If you’re an email subscriber and received this in your inbox, please forward it to any friends you think might enjoy Southern Plate! Have a wonderful Wednesday
Gratefully,
Christy

BBQ Joint Stew (Commonly Called Brunswick Stew)

At the first sign of chill in the air, BBQ joints around here start cranking out this delicious stew. It helps them use up any leftover shredded pork and chicken that they may have. By mixing in their signature bbq sauce (my No. 5 signature bbq sauce recipe is in my cookbook in case you need one) and whatever vegetables they have on hand they can turn out a flavorful and filling stew unlike any other.

My Favorite Potato Soup 

Includes lots of ideas to customize this classic and make it your own!

Chicken Tortilla Soup 

Full of flavor thanks to the Enchilada sauce, this soup is a cinch to throw together!

Christy’s Slow Cooker Chili

Any southerner worth their salt has a great chili recipe, preferably a signature one. This is mine

Ground Beef Stew (with a secret!) 

Here is a  fuss free, economical, and delicious beef stew to warm you from the inside out. I just love stew weather! To me, this tastes a lot like Cracker Barrel’s Vegetable Beef Stew, but with more goodies inside! 

Our Family’s Chicken Stew Recipe

This stuff is good, you really need to make it!

Simple Tomato Soup 

With a few ingredients and a few minutes, you can have an outstanding tomato soup. Can you say Grilled Cheese?

Shortcut Senate Bean Soup

Oh my goodness is this ever good. Warm, soothing, filling, and with shortcuts to save time!

Tina’s Corn Chowder

This corn chowder is a great meal for vegetarians. Simply substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth and you’re off to the races!

Chicken Noodle Soup

This soup is the absolute favorite of my son and all of my nephews!

“Free Soup” – Dieter’s Best Friend! 

This recipe is one my mother and I have used for over twenty years, and we still love it. Many diets have “free” vegetables, which are basically vegetables that are allowed without restriction. What this soup does is combine those vegetables in with a richly flavored broth and serves them up as the perfect anytime dish to fight off the munchies, serve as a quick and easy lunch, or a filling side dish with your evening meal.

Tomato-less Rustic Beef Stew

I worked up this recipe especially for my Aunt Sue, who makes the worlds best pound cake but can’t eat tomatoes. How are those two related? Well, beyond me just putting them in a sentence together I reckon that’s about it, but you can get her pound cake recipe in my cookbook ~winks~.

Spaghetti Lover’s Soup 

So if you love Spaghetti…

Taco Soup

World’s Easiest Supper – Nuff Said!

 If you’ve made any of these recipes I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

Which of these recipes is your family’s favorite?

(I’m trying to decide which one I want to make for supper!)

My Facebook Good Morning Post for the day (I hope you’ll join us on the Southern Plate Facebook Family Page soon!)

‎”We can always be a little nicer. We can smile a little bigger and more often, instead of passing by folks on the street quietly we can greet them with “Good Mornin”. We can be the bigger, nicer person to the persistent grump at work. In time, you’ll be amazed at the people you can soften through the simplest kindnesses but you’ll be even more amazed to find that each little act removes another brick over a huge fountain of joy within you. Eventually, you’ll have a geyser.”  ~Christy
P. S. Good Morning!

I have a little bit of travel coming up over the next two weeks for Southern Living. I’ll be doing television appearances in Atlanta, GA and Houston, TX. The Atlanta segment will be filmed this week and air this Saturday during the 9:00 AM hour on WXIA and then I’ll be live on Great Day Houston during the 9:00 hour on October 25th. I’m so looking forward both of these and hope you’ll be able to tune in if you’re in the area.

As I get ready for a wee bit of travel (The Atlanta filming will only have me away from home seven hours!) I can’t help but think about last year on my book tour and all of that time away from home. Folks often ask me what my favorite meal is and so today I thought I’d show you the things I crave when I’m away from home. You’ll find I’m really a simple gal  

#1.Spaghetti. I LOVE Spaghetti and you just can’t get anything like spaghetti at home when you’re on the road. Everyone wants to dress it up or put some odd meat in it. I just want plain old spaghetti with ground beef. This is the meal I make most on those days I’m home in time for supper.

#2.Chicken Planks, Meme’s Mashed Potatoes, and Fried Corn. Okay so when I’m on a book tour, the meal I am thinking about most is the one featured on the bottom right of my book cover, so it only stands to reason that it is the one I am wanting, after spaghetti, of course!

#3.Grandmama’s Fruit Salad – I could eat this every single day for the rest of my life and still not have enough.

So there you have it, my top three things I like to make when I get home from traveling.

I’ve gotten to eat at some pretty nice restaurants over the past few years but I gotta tell ya, I’ve yet to eat a restaurant meal that could hold a candle to anything cooked at home.

Your kitchen beats out any five star restaurant hands down – and the company surely can’t be beat.

For more recipes, hop on over to the Southernplate.com index where I’ve got over 500 recipes, with step by step photos, too!

I’ll be posting links to videos on my television appearances on our Facebook Family Page so be sure and join me. I tend to hang out there throughout the day posting recipe links, quotes or sayings that inspire me, and randomness from my day, so be sure and “Like” our Facebook page if you’d like to visit a little more!

Talk to you soon! I’ve got a brand new recipe I’ll be posting later in the week!

Gratefully,

Christy

What is your favorite meal at home?

Tell me in the comments below!

“I am aware that I am less than some people prefer me to be,

but most people are unaware that I am so much more than what they see.”

– Douglas Pagels

I dearly love this quote. Thank you, Jenny, for submitting it. Everyone is welcome to submit their quote to our page as well. Anything that you find uplifting or inspiring. Please click here. 

In today’s video I talk about why I LOVE MY SLOW COOKER and offer some great time saving tips on how to use this wonderful appliance.

I’m happy to bring you another Quick Fix Supper Video from Southern Living! Video is below and may take a moment to load. To get this quick and easy recipe, click the red link below the video.

To get this recipe, please click here.

To view more Quick Fix Supper Videos, please click here.

“We do not see the world as it is. We see the world as we are.”

― Talmud

Submitted by June. Submit your quote by clicking here.

I hope you enjoyed all of the great apple recipes on Southern Plate last week! I’m working on getting ready for the Southern Living Taste Of Charleston Food and Wine Festival next week and also in the planning stages on my Holiday Cooking Show so today my friend (and adopted brother) Stacey Little is doing a guest post that I know you’ll enjoy. You’ll also see why he is my adopted brother. We share the same heart on so many things! If you enjoy Stacey’s post today, be sure and leave a comment below and visit him over on his blog when you get a chance at Southern Bite!
Have a fabulous Tuesday and I’ll be back with a new post from me in a day or two!

Gratefully, Christy

Hey Everybody! I’m thrilled to be able to come back and visit with you and honored that Christy invited me to post! I have loved being a member of the Southern Plate Family for a couple of years now and getting to share one of my own recipes with you is always a fun treat for me. Today I thought I’d share something that is on my heart because I know it will resonate with you as much as it did me.

The other day a dear friend of mine posted something on Facebook that really got my attention.

Under the title “wisdom” she posted the following excerpt from Anna Quindlen.  The message struck a chord with me and I haven’t been able to shake it.

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is that I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs.

There is one picture of my kids sitting in the grass on a quilt on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.

I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.” — Anna Quindlen

The unfortunate part about living in a world that is constantly connected and ever-changing, is that we frequently forget to slow down and notice the small things that can make each day extraordinary.  Ever since I read this, I’ve been making a concerted effort to notice those small things – the way my little boy talks, the way he eats, the way he smells after a bath.  You might find my living room floor scattered with toys, my car may be littered with baby wipes and candy wrappers, and there might be a dozen loads of laundry to be done, but I’m going to make the effort to stop each day and pay attention to the other things – the more important things.  Our days here are numbered and I’m positive that when I look back and remember the inflection in my little boy’s voice the time he told me I was his best friend, that pile of laundry and that dirty car won’t even be on the radar screen.

Do me a favor.  Sit down with your family at dinner tonight and just be.  Turn off the television, the smart phones, and computers.  Ask, “How was your day?” and mean it.  Don’t expect the same old “good”.  Make a real effort to learn how your family’s days were.  Reconnect.  It’s past due.  Trust me.

Now lets make a supper for you to sit down to.

You’ll need: cooked chicken, instant rice, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, frozen diced onion, shredded cheddar cheese, Ro*Tel tomatoes, some cumin, garlic powder, and chicken broth.

(Okay, so you’re thinking… why the frozen onion? Right?  Well, there are several reasons.  First, frozen diced onion and frozen diced green pepper are a great thing to have in the freezer in a pinch.  And second, use frozen because it cooks through faster and with this relatively short cooking time you’ll need them to cook faster.  Using raw onions throws the cassserole texture way off.  Trust me.  I know these things.)

Okay, this is very scientific, so follow the directions exactly…

Dump all of the first nine ingredients and half of the cheddar cheese in a large bowl and stir to combine.

Next, turn the mixture out into a greased casserole dish (9X13). Again, very scientific. Then top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

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“The smallest deed done is better than the greatest intention never carried out.”

Submitted by Rejoiced Over. Submit your quote to our collection by clicking here.

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2011/09/mexican-chicken-casserole.html/feed 103 http://www.southernplate.com/2011/07/slow-cooker-cashew-chicken-teriyaki.html http://www.southernplate.com/2011/07/slow-cooker-cashew-chicken-teriyaki.html#comments Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:18:47 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=16004 Pin it

It wasn’t until a phone call I had with someone in New York last week that I realized most people consider slow cookers to be for fall and winter dishes. From reading my Facebook page, though, I know that most of us (you and I) LOVE our slow cooker in the summer time. There is nothing like having supper ready on a day when it’s 100+ degrees outside and not having to turn on your oven. A slow cooker sure does keep your kitchen a whole lot cooler!

So today I’m bringing you my latest slow cooker recipe that I dreamed up last week. I love chicken teriyaki and I also love cashew chicken so a combination of my favorite ingredients turned out to be a supper that I loved so much, we’re having it again tonight .

Before we go into that though, lets talk about your weekend. Did you have a good one? Ours involved a trip to Sam’s club, a drive through the car wash, and taking the kids to play in the fountains at a local shopping center. On Sunday we went to church and then participated in our church’s first family fun night last night where we all got to watch the premier of the Princess and the Pop Star, the latest VeggieTales movie. After that we had an ice cream social in the church’s gym. I thought our weekend was fun, of course, but since we didn’t travel anywhere or do anything specifically planned it seemed low key to me (I’m used to planning these big Hallmark moment weekend adventures, I can’t help it).

I realized I was very wrong this morning when Katy got up and said “Mama, wasn’t this weekend a blast? It was more fun than playing on a rainbow!”.

Wow! More fun than playing on a rainbow? Now THAT is some kind of fun!

Now keep in mind that the main money we spent this weekend was on groceries. Other than that and the gas we used just piddling around, we may have handed over a whopping $20 total. So to anyone who thinks great time together as a family has to cost a lot of money, here is a recap:

Folks, Katy is right, this is the life!

Check out today’s quote at the bottom of the page for another dose of perspective but in the meantime, I suppose we gotta eat…

You’ll need: Chicken tenderloins, Teriyaki marinade and sauce, cashews…

and rice.

This is my favorite rice. You can get it near the Asian foods section, it usually isn’t near the regular rice. It’s kind of almond shaped and a friend of mine who is from Korea refers to it as “sticky rice”.

My Mama (and consequently myself) was raised eating rice for breakfast. We like to take hot rice and stir some butter and sugar into it for a quick breakfast, lunch, or even a sweet evening treat. I call it sweet rice and this brand makes the best on earth!

You’ll also need some type of veggie to toss in there towards the end. Go with what your family likes. I just used these.

I put them in the microwave for about two minutes, just enough to thaw them out a bit, then poured them in the slow cooker. One box was plenty and they are so good!  You can also use fresh sugar snap peas if you like or any other vegetable that cranks your tractor.

Place your chicken in your slow cooker.

Pour in one cup of teriyaki sauce and add in your cashews if you want them to be cooked and tender.

*If you prefer your cashews to stay crunchy, add them in the next step.

Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

Lots of folks might prefer water chestnuts or even peanuts to cashews. If that is you then go for it!

Water chestnuts make me cringe every time I bite into one so I try to avoid them and really only use them in my cooking when I make Chicken lettuce wraps(click here for that recipe), but they’re diced pretty fine for that so they aren’t as noticeable.

After your chicken is fully cooked, add in some sugar snap peas if you like, or other vegetables.

Stir that up and cover again until your veggies are tender.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

This supper is easy, delicious, and easily customizable for your family.

Add this recipe to ZipList!

Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken Teriyaki

Ingredients

• Chicken (4 boneless skinless breasts or 8-10 chicken tenders)
• 9 ounce package frozen sugar snap peas (or veggie of your choice), thawed
• 1 Cup Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce (I used low sodium - because it is what I grabbed first)
• 1 Cup Cashews (can substitute water chestnuts or peanuts)

Instructions

1. Place chicken in slow cooker. Add sauce. Add in nuts if you prefer them tender but if you want them crunchy wait until step #3.
2. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 3-4
3. Thirty minutes before serving add in thawed vegetables and nuts (if you didn't in step #1). Cover and cook another thirty minutes.
4. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Google Recipe View Microformatting by ZipList Recipe Plugin

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Enjoy this moment, for this moment is your life.

~Omar Khayyam

Submitted by Jenny

Speaking Engagement in Huntsville, Alabama

I’ll be speaking at the Huntsville Public Library on August 27th. Please click here to visit my facebook page for that event and rsvp if you can come so I can be looking for ya (I love to recognize faces!).

I’d love to be able to travel more to meet all of you but my personal budget and family time with all that I have going on right now just doesn’t allow for that. In the meantime though, my grateful heart is with you and I sure do appreciate you visiting with me here on Southern Plate!

What did you do this weekend that seemed simple,

but ended up being more fun than playing on a rainbow?

A lot of us have big cooking plans over this wonderful holiday weekend so I asked on Facebook the other day what Southern Plate recipes folks were planning on making. Below you’ll find their answers along with a few pictures (just to liven things up a bit) to help inspire your menu, should you need just a little inspiration. ~grins~

Just click on the recipe name to go to the tutorial for that recipe and even print it off if you like! Recipe names in red are exclusive to the cookbook. For more great ideas, check out the index of SouthernPlate.com. So far I’ve got over 400 family recipes here with full photographic tutorials of each one.

Have a wonderful 4th of July and don’t forget to show your appreciation for our wonderful armed forces, past and present, who have given so much to ensure we can live in freedom.

Gratefully,

Christy

Alabama White BBQ Sauce

Cathie - Crockpot pork, Alabama White BBQ sauce, Coleslaw, Elvis Pressley cake!

Amanda – Lemon Meringue Pie.

Catherine – I’m making Beefed up Baked Beans and peanut butter cake.

Fresh Strawberryade

Monica – Strawberryade is a must!

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Jill – I’m seriously considering that Fresh Strawberry Pie!

Mandy – That strawberry pie you posted!

Lisa – I made the new baked bean recipe last night, mm mm, yummy! We will have mandarin orange cake, fire and ice salad, more baked beans and the best grilled steak.

Alana – Trying the Elvis Presley cake for the first time!

Becky - Beefed up baked beans!

Easy and Eggless Peach Ice Cream

Lauren – Homemade Peach Ice Cream, Fire & Ice Salad, Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Angie – the easy peach ice cream for one… =)

Debra- funny you should ask, I was thinking about the no egg peach ice cream.

Beth -Lemon Chess Pie….yum

Sweet and Sour Green Beans

Heather – Sweet and Sour Green beans! Made them last night – put them in a zip lock for traveling

Christi – Cobbler with strawberries and I’ve never made one w/ strawberries before, so this could be interesting!!

Southern Style Pulled Pork BBQ in the Slow Cooker

Ginger – Beefed up baked beans and the slow cooker Southern pulled pork for sandwiches!

Becki – Baked beans for sure, and sweet tea of course!

Vikki – Decisions . . . decisions!!

Miss Mary Anne’s Twinkie Cake

Mary Anne – That delicious baked ham from your recipe book. And my Twinkie Cake.

Denise – Crock pot pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, Mandarin Orange cake, beefed up baked beans & relish tray!!

Dalene – Mandarin orange cake!

Sandi – We are going camping, so river food will be on the menu!

Christa – Diet Dr Pepper congealed salad...yum. Can’t wait!

Ronda - Butterfinger cake!

Sharon – Sweet and sour green beans

Jody – Been looking at the baked beans recipe think i will make those

Christy – Mandarin Orange Cake…yum,yum!

Sharon -um, oh? You mean I have to cook/make something?????? Um…..welllllll, lets see here………will have to think on that one! LOL

Carrie – Mandarin orange pie! And sweet and sour green beans.

Grandmama’s Orange Supreme Cake

Ana – I am going to make Grandmama’s Orange Supreme Cake for the first time! I have all the ingredients…now just need a bundt pan

Sandra- Strawberry Cake!!!!!!

Danielle – Banana Puddin‘!

Sharon – Corn Bread !!

Demetra – Butterfinger cake

Judith – Another batch of Jordan Rolls and Daddy’s Coconut Cake.

Terri – Mandarin Orange pie and the Hash Brown casserole

Amanda – Im not doing anything i have to go the next day to have a baby im just going to relax (Christy – Congratulations! We’d love to see photos on the Facebook page!)

Debbie – Kind of off topic, but not really, because I MIGHT make it if I could….but do you have a recipe for dirty rice?? Since moving back to Upstate NY from Virginia a few years ago, I’ve tried to recreate it, and just can’t get it right. I miss Southern food more than anything…except my son….who was smart enough to stay put when Mamma move back north! Christy – Debbie, here is the link to my Dirty Rice recipe. Hope you enjoy it! Anytime you are looking for something you can either browse the SouthernPlate.com index or use the search box in the top right corner. I’ve got over 400 of my family recipes up here so far and still growing!

Kay – Going to a barbecue, asked to bring side dishes,taking Ms.Millies best coleslaw, Aunt Looneys Macaroni Salad and deviled eggs. Have a Happy ,Safe 4th !!!! We are celebrating our 51 st wedding anniversary on July 2nd.

Mary – Hodge Making the Chocolate Sundae Cake for a cookout tomorrow night, and the Fresh Strawberry Pie and the “Grilled” Chicken Tenderloins for a get-together on Saturday night.

Marsha -making your Daddy’s Coconut Cake tomorrow, so its ready Monday…oops, I mean Saturday, teehee:o)

Debbie – What is fire and ice salad? i would love to make this for the 4th thanks

Christy – Here ya go Debbie! It is one of my favorites Fire and Ice Salad

Welcome to another edition of the Southern Plate Digest! I had so many great submissions and I’ve been working on getting them all linked to the recipes most of the day today. I ended up only doing about half of them because my kids really want me to get off the computer .

I want to thank everyone on the Front Porch Forum and Facebook who contributed and I hope you’ll enjoy the comments and discover some new recipes below! Simply click on the recipe name to go directly to that post. While many of the recipes can also be found in my cookbook, some are exclusive to the cookbook and can’t be found online. These are typed in red.

Did you know that SouthernPlate.com has well over 400 of my recipes right now? Each with photos of every step. Anytime you see me post a link on Facebook or The Front Porch and can’t find it later, simply visit Southern Plate and use the search box in the top right corner or browse the index.

I’d love to get to chat with you sometime! I’ll be hosting a live chat on Thursday June 23rd from 7:00-8:00 PM Central time over on the Southern Plate Front Porch. If you’d like to participate, head on over and join! Membership to Southern Plate’s Front Porch is entirely free but each account is personally reviewed (to make sure you’re a real person) before approved so register today so I or one of our great Admins can approve ya! There are OVER 17,000 posts on the Front Porch already. We share recipes, stories about kids and grandkids, talk gardening, offer and answer prayer requests, and more! To register, just click here and look in the top right corner for the registration link.

Gratefully,

Christy

P.S. If you find that one of the links below isn’t going to the right post, please leave me a comment and let me know which one so I can fix it. I’d love to hear from you in the comments section in addition to that though! I really enjoy getting to read each comment left by you. Y’all know all about me and I want to know about you, too! Thank you for being such a wonderful part of the Southern Plate Family.

Now let’s see what Southern Plate Recipes you’ve been cooking up! HERE WE GO!

Kim Johnson – The very yummy Strawberry Pecan Bread and my Dad’s favorite Rise and Shine Biscuits.

Ruth Dennison – My friend made me the Mandarin Orange Frozen Pie, it was sooooo good.

Veronica Farrar – Absolutely love the chicken and dumplings.

Joanna From the Front Porch – In the last couple of weeks I have made the following: The Strawberry cake and the Butterfinger Cake for a few birthdays at work recently. They were such a huge hit! I have been asked by all grade levels to make all birthday cakes from her on out  Fire and Ice Salad for a teacher luncheon….everyone loved this too! Deep Dish Pizza and my step daughter says this is the best pizza ever!

SundayCook from the Front Porch -I made Kathy’s country casserole this week. It is so good and filling! The only thing I added was a drained can of Rotel for a little spice.

Terrigodawgs from the Front Porch – Squash casserole and Daddy’s coconut cake

Hope from the Front Porch – I made the No Bake Cafeteria Peanut Butter Bars. They were my favorite in school! I remember watching the cafeteria menu to see when we were getting them next. ~giggle~ They were so easy to make and they taste even better the second day!

beebee751 from the Front Porch – I made the Butterfinger Cake to take to a pot luck at church this Wednesday night. It was a big hit! I had to give the recipe to several people and told them about Southern Plate. I stopped last week and bought a flat of fresh home grown strawberries and I have made the Fresh Strawberry Pie and the Simply Easy Pound Cake to help use them up. With fresh home made whipped cream they both were delicious! My family loves the Chicken and Dumplings and I make them at least twice a month. Another favorite at our house is House Autry Pork Chops.

Jen from the Front Porch – Here are some of your recipes that I have used recently: Dishpan cookies, chicken and dumplings, vegetable salad with the shoepeg corn, slowcooker chicken/wildrice, fire & ice salad, broc/cauliflower salad with purple onion, vanilla wafer cake, mandarin orange cake (a makeahead for Easter, since we are working). Thanks for all the great recipes, Christy! 

Deb from the Front Porch- I made the laundry detergent today with the Fels bar soap and it smells so yummy! my bedding from the pad up is being washed. Can’t wait to go to bed, i love clean sheets enough to do them ~2x/week…this may make it more often! 

Sonya from the Front Porch - I make the kraut and weenies when I’m too busy to cook anything complicated! I like to mix half plain cabbage and half kraut so it’s less sour. The lemon chess pie is one of my husband’s favorites! He loves lemon and that one is easier than a lemon meringue pie! I made Daddy’s Coconut Cake for Easter- half as cupcakes to take to the extended family gathering and half as a 9″ single layer cake. I just happened to have all the ingredients!

Christy from the Front Porch – I have been reading your cookbook in bits and pieces and find myself laughing, crying, and feeling a little homesick. I can’t wait until my sister gets her copy – I think she’ll enjoy it as much as i do. The story you wrote about listening to the old folks was wonderful. I suspect the rest of the women in the family will be getting a copy for Christmas or sooner – they’re all there in your back yard. Have a wonderful weekend.

Kim Stone - I made your yummy hamburger steaks recently for my husband who LOVED them along with the fried cabbage! I also made your strawberry-pecan bread a few weeks ago for decoration at my church & everyone raved about it. Being a newlywed I need all the meal-inspiration I can get & SouthernPlate.com never fails to deliver!

Veronica Farrar – I know the lemon poppy seed bread was not yours, but it’s a hit here at home

Kristan Stanton – Well I’m always cooking the pb fudge iced brownies (its a no fail crowd pleaser-its also REAL impressive to be so easy!) I also made the mandarin orange pies and those were the easiest pies EVER! My 5 year old just might be able to make them Your orange cake with the mango necter so moist so good a refreshing summer dessert! I served the pie and the cake at the same function to give people options and they all had to have “a little sliver of both” which turned into seconds!

Kimberly Bird - Butterfinger Cake is a favorite around here now, I mean, it’s an addiction.

Veronica Farrar - The no bake cafeteria peanut butter bars are to die for!! I’ve renamed them the Reese Cup Bars!!

Sandy Combs - We’ve been eating lots of Texas Caviar this week. So cool and yummy. A great summer side dish.

Betsy Brown - Your coffee concentrate! It’s easy, delicious, and it’s saving me a TON of money! I make it strong and pour it over ice with milk. Delicious!

Marina Kutsch - The chicken stew was just what my sick teenager needed to feel better. When our guest from out of town got here late tonight I served them the rest of stew with grilled cheese sandwiches. They loved it.

Diana Casabar - That iced coffee was to die for!

Jeanine Wilson -Love the Crunchy Beef Casserole, hamburger steaks & the cubed steaks w/gravy were so good! OH that pimento cheese was awesome… great appetizer w/wheat thins!! I especially love the stories in the cookbook, very sweet…the CZ one.. Awwwww!!

Wendy Slopsema - I know I’ve used a bunch, but the ones that I have bookmarked are MeMe’s mashed potatoes, Thanksgiving Menu Bonanza, and your Holiday Fruit Salad! They were delicious! Whenever I want a recipe for anything, I first search your site before trying anyone else!

Bettielou Welch - laundry soap made it last night all ready washed 3 loads love it

Alisha Courtney - Fresh strawberry cake with cream cheese icing. Everyone loves it and asks for the recipe. One friend even said it was better than her Grandmother’s!

Jill Sanders - My family LOVED The Apple Doozie! Will definitely be a staple on my menu from now on and so easy!

Shelby Henderson My daughter and I made your corn casserole last night, and we are having your Chicken Planks tonight! My children love them with milk gravy. Thank you Christy & Southern Plate!

Susan Helton I keep a bowl of Texas Caviar in my frig at all times so good I eat it for a quick lunch.

Virginia Edmunds Hamburger steaks, tater tots casserole, pulled pork.

Joyce Kaiser Chocolate Sundae Cake…big hit with my family…thanks Christy!

Mary Harris My favorite all time recipe is the chicken chicken. It was delicious! of course, almost everything else I tried was wonderful as well. I have bought your cookbook and given it as a gift many times over!!!

Cara Burrows I’m making the strawberry bread today!

Judy  Blaise I made the fiesta chicken on Tuesday night and my DIL and Son really liked it. (My two grandkids even liked it!)

Julie Church My husband asked for chicken ‘n dumplings…”soon!” I love the ease of that recipe and he loves the down home taste!

Tiffany Huffer lots of strawberry shortcake. my 3 rd old loves the left overs for breakfast and i love making the homemade shortcakes and fresh whippng cream – YUMMY

Allison Saylor The baked mac and cheese, chicken and rice in the slow cooker, banana bread, banana pudding, and old timey butter roll dessert!

Beverly Baker I made the Cheesy Chicken and Corn recipe but my husband isn’t crazy about corn so I left out the can of corn and added a can of black beans instead. It was awesome!

JoAnn Walsh I haven’t done a lot of cooking lately, but I will share a comment from my husband about the chicken stew I made….”This is good, keep it in the rotation” which is what he says when he really likes something and he wants to make sure I make it again. He’s actually said that about quite a few things I’ve made from your cookbook. Thank you for the “no fail” recipes Christy.

McKenzie Crisp Made the Apple Snack cake and it was a HUGE hit!

Amanda Fierce Slow cooker BBQ! My family and co-workers can’t get enough. I love how easy it is with spectacular results every time!

Betty Solomon Nothing could be better as a summer dessert than your Fresh Strawberry Cake. I even put a few of the strawberries in the cream cheese frosting, completely ignoring your advice about how messy it can be! Yummy.

Anita Cannaday I live in Wisconson and waiting on our tomatos to grow for “Fried Green Tomatoes” … brings me back to my “Southern” roots ♥

Linda Watters I’ve made your thin boneless fried pork chops, like the ones that you make on a biscuit (minus the biscuit) several times and we really enjoy them. I had never bought them before I saw this recipe because I thought they would be dry and hard. Boy, was I wrong! They are tender and tasty and a quick meal. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Christy.

Darby DeFonzo Strawberry Pecan Bread is amazing….but lately I’ve been making those House – Autry pork chops. And last night I used the same recipe but substituted chicken breasts. Sooooo yummy! My girls had theirs on biscuits. Delish and SO EASY!

Tamara Harris My fav: fruit cocktail cake! I love the recipe on your website! It’s just like the one mom used to make. A great cake to make for those summer picnics and all year around!

Michelle Ryan Love, love, love the Vidalia Honey Vinaigrette Dressing over romaine lettuce, dried cranberries, pecans and chopped green apple. That is my go-to lunch and when I pack it for work, it’s easy not to be tempted to eat out every day. Yum!

Amanda Naff I have made chicken fingers, mashed potatoes, squash casserole and the fried chocolate pies. Not all at the same time though.

Debi Can I just list your cookbook as what I have been cooking? : ) Chicken Planks, Autry Pork Chops, Nilla Wafer Cake, Jordan Rolls, Squash Casserole, Tomato Melts, Fried Corn, Fried Okra, Home Brew, Home Brew, Home Brew and much more…. We Love It All!

Eve Ruth, the Manderin orange pie recipe .I made it earlier this week and it’s fantastic. Perfectly cool and refreshing and just right for summertime! I also made the strawberry pecan bread lately and it’s also very tasty!

Angela Woodie TONS AND TONS of the iced coffee…… my hubby and i are sooooo addicted…… Home Brew is AMAZING!!!!

Teryl  Shields OMW the berry cobbler is to die for! Since reading your cookbook (cover to cover in 2 days!) that one recipe is the one my family asks for at least once a week! Love, love, love the Southern Plate cookbook!

Teryl  Shields Also, had a cooking presentation to do for a culinary class I took in Fall 2010. Made the broccoli salad and won 1st place in the salad division! Thank you Christy!

Lauren Bobo I made the strawberry pecan bread, and it was AMAZING & easy to make!

Carrie Ivy The mandarin orange pie, fried cabbage, brownies w/ pb fudge icing, fried cabbage, cinnamon rolls, fried corn and did I mention fried cabbage?! There is no such thing as too much fried cabbage, love that stuff

Kelly Tagge ‎’Deep Dish Pizza‘ is so easy and dang good too! ‘Strawberry Cobbler’ recipe but I made it with what I had on hand which was blackberries. Ummm goooood!! All your recipes are made the easy way and you can always taste the love in each and every one of them. ;~)

Carolyn Fulton Rise and Shine and biscuits are great! So easy to make and yummy!

Jacquelyn Primrose The Mandarin Orange pie was a hit in our house. It was so easy to make and a bonus because it makes 2 pies at one time. Everyone loved it!

Shirley Reeves The Sweet and Sour green bean’s ….we just can’t get enough of them . They are so easy and yummy .

Gail Caler Ur Crock Pot Lasagna.. it was the bomb !!! my family and i loved it.. it was awesome.. I will never make Lasagna again in the oven.. I wrote the recipe down in my Southern Plate Cookbook, i will make it alot more times in the future.. Thank you for shareing that recipe.. it was great

Mumaw Beth You can win my heart over any day with peanut butter. The no bake cafeteria peanut butter bars are an 11 in my book.

Wendy K Duncan I would like the rerun of freezing tomato’s Please…..and canning salsa if any…..Thank you so much!

Cindy Reed Just got your book yesterday and marking off recipes to try. Today, tomato melts…have some fresh basil to use up..,mmmm

Lydia Cook Strawberry Pecan Bread-my husband’s favorite. We will be spending the next few days at the baseball fields with our boys, so I’m making it in muffin tins so that we can take some with us easily.

Angie Carter Just this week made your Taco Soup and Skillet Chili Bake from your “10 Favorite Quick and Easy Suppers”. Both were a hit…so easy and oh, so good!! Didn’t have to heat up my kitchen by using the oven either since they both were “stovetop” meals! Thanks!! =)

Connie Dockler Uhmm, Squash Casserole with Tillamook Smoked Cheddar Cheese is so, so good.

Rachel  Ashworth I fixed the mandarin orange pie. Absolutely delicious.

Judy Johnson The sweet and sour green beans….they were really good and so easy to fix. Didn’t have frozen beans so I used my home canned Blue Lake…..Yummy

Linda Meyers I made the zucchini bread recently which was delicious!!

Debbie Strum I guess you could smell that I FINALLY made your Butterfinger Cake! But you didn’t have to get organize a parade to celebrate the fact! I DO understand what all the fuss is about that cake, though! It IS deLISH! You looked pretty good in that majorette outfit, BTW! ~snickers~

Happiness keeps you sweet, trials keep you strong,

sorrows keep you human, failures keep you humble.

Success keeps you growing, but only family keeps you going.

Submitted by Susan Crane. Submit your quote by clicking here.