Traditions?

I honestly cannot remember any Easter traditions that my family did when I was growing up except for going to church service.  I do miss the "old days" when we would have Easter Sunrise services at 6:00 in the morning! Those were glorious services....they were always held outside.  The grass was wet with the morning dew, the folding metal chairs were cold, everyone was wearing jeans and their jackets, deacons had their baseball caps on, the sun was just beginning to peek up over the horizon.  There is something special about singing "Up from the grave He arose" as the sun makes its appearance in the sky!

I don't remember if my mother fixed anything specific for Easter dinner.  Our standard special on Sunday was pot roast.  I loved my mother's pot roast.  I have NO idea how she could afford to do it.  It can be so expensive these days.  The only holiday I truly remember what she made was Thanksgiving.

I guess I was yearning for that tradition yesterday as impulsively I purchased a large turkey that was on sale at Wal-Mart.  I put it in the oven before we left for church this morning.  I made my mother's stuffing recipe, mashed potatoes, corn, peas and carrots and deviled eggs.  I completely forgot to do any gravy or bread.  Sort of an epic fail but it was good.

I rounded that hearty meal with a nice afternoon nap with my sweetie.  It was a good day overall.  And the most important thing to remember about today? The celebration of our Savior's Resurrection.

Just as I was getting ready to close this post I suddenly remembered one Easter tradition.  My mother would keep a big white box in the garage with Easter hats and gloves.  Each year she would pull that box out and dress up my sisters and I.  This is a picture I found of it.  I am not in this picture as it was taken before I or my baby brother was born.  The oldest woman in the picture is my grandmother, Cora.

Christmas disaster, I mean dinner

I am not entirely sure I should be allowed in the kitchen anymore.  I went shopping on Monday morning for Christmas dinner.  It should have easily been a "No-Brainer".  I got a turkey breast, bread for the stuffing, celery and potatoes.

Late this morning I put the bird in the oven.  It was not that heavy so I expected it to be finished by 3:30.  Around 3:00 I started getting the ingredients together to make the stuffing when I made a horrible discovery....I was OUT of sage.  My mother's stuffing is extremely basic: ripped white bread, chopped celery, onion, melted butter and rubbed sage.  That  is it. And I had no sage.

Next I discovered I forgot to get ALL the ingredients for the green bean casserole.

Then I checked my bird to see if it was ready for the foil to come off and start browning.  It was no where near done.  Not even close.  I left it covered and kept it cooking in the oven.

I decided to make some form of stuffing.  It would not be mine/my momma's stuffing.  I still used the ripped up white bread, added the chopped celery and onion.  What to do? I started looking around in my spice cabinet.  I added some chopped and smashed fresh garlic, dried basil, paprika, a little bit of cayanne and the melted butter.  I mixed it up and then added more basil, freshly ground black pepper and some freshly ground sea salt.  Are you shaking your head yet? I am.  It's awful.  I went ahead and put it in the oven to bake with the turkey.

My oldest daughter was nice enough to peel potatoes for me.  I got those boiling when I went in the fridge for butter I realized I had not even started the collards.  What is worse is my brain was stopped and I could not even remember how to fix them.  I went ahead and got a pot started with a small amount of real butter, some diced up ham and smashed garlic.  I sprinkled in some red pepper flakes and then added my cut up collards and some chicken stock.  I put  a lid on that and let it steam.

I made tea.  The worst tea ever.....I have no idea how that happend either.  I got the bird out of the oven and upon slicing it realized why it took so long to cook.  I forgot to take the guts out.  The stuffing came out and we all sat down and had a weird Christmas dinner.  Don't get me wrong, I am thankful I am so blessed to be sitting at the table with my family and we have food.  Yes there is that to be thankful for.  The rest? Maybe a shot of pepto bismal or something is needed....and a vacation.  Because usually when my cooking goes bad is when I know I am having some kind of sadness in my heart.  Guess it is time to get more visits in with my heart doctor, Jesus.  He is the one and only one who can lift this burden.

Merry Christmas Y'all.  I hope you had a blessed day with the ones you love.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

First Turkey just landed in the oven....

I can't sleep. :)  I keep thinking of my sweet friend Tabitha who is currently having a C-Section to deliver her new baby.  I am stalking hers and her hubs Facebook page for news. 

SO.....I decided to go to Wally world at 1:30 in the morning.  It was very nice! Most of the people in the building were the crew re-stocking the shelves.  No lines, no fuss.  I found the second turkey that will be needed for Friday.  I also got some of my grocery essentials since I have not been shopping recently!

When I got home, my turkey for Thanksgiving Day was nice and chilled out and ready to put in the oven.  I pre-heated my oven to 325 degrees and opened the turkey package and gave the poor little bird a nice bath.  Into the roasting pan he went, landing on a nice bed of rough chopped celery and onions.  I usually put carrots here too but I forgot to get any.  I poured one stick of melted butter over him, sprinkled some Soul Seasoning and some Chipoltle Chili powder on him.  I don't usually do that but I think my brain is off since is it 3:30 in the morning.  I need to get him baked so I can use the oven for other things!

I forgot to take a picture! Oh well! I think I am going to try and sleep a tiny bit while my new oven does its magic.  I will be back here soon, hopefully with pictures!!

The Thanksgiving Marathon begins

I was out shopping at Food Lion tonight.  YES....I am one of those people who wait until the last minute! Fortunately my son, Nick came with me.  We had a budget of $140 dollars to get various items we needed.

For the two sweet girls we ran into in the stuffing/baking aisle that were disappointed to discover that there were only two little bags of stuffing mix left. I asked them if they wanted the recipe for my momma's stuffing and they said yes.  They were so pretty and sweet!  I will write down the recipe again in case they come to look.  I am hoping they give it a try. My momma's stuffing is as follows:

5 - 6 loaves of cheap white bread
2 - 3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped (or 2 medium) (I prefer using just your regular yellow onion, not the sweet or white variety)
butter (I prefer real butter but my momma always used margarine) melted
Ground Sage

Tear the bread up into pieces in a large bowl.  Add your chopped celery and onion and give it a quick stir.  Sprinkle in a large quantity of of sage.  Pour on your first stick of melted butter and stir.  Lean down and take a deep breath.  If you do not get a good fragrance of the sage, ADD MORE.  Don't be afraid! As you add more melted butter, the sage will spread throughout.  The amount of butter you add is dependent on how you like your stuffing.  I like to add extra butter (no surprise there, huh?) so it is good and wet when I stuff it in the bird and put the rest in a dish to bake.  It does not take long to bake, depends on the size of the dish you stick it in.

I hope they get to try it!!  They were awesome.

I will be taking lots of pictures and posting as I go along!  Happy Thanksgiving!!