As far back as I can remember the one food which was a favorite of mine was mashed potatoes and gravy. I remember going to my Nana’s house when I was younger and she would always fix dinner including mashed potatoes. My cousins and I like to think we invented the KFC’s mashed potato bowl since we would mix everything in our mashed potatoes. Even to this day I have tried to perfect her recipe, but they will never measure up to hers.
The meal I remember the most whenever my brother and I would stay the night at my Nana’s house was breakfast. She would always have batter mixed up to make waffles when we woke up in the morning. We thoroughly looked forward to staying at her house and eating her homemade waffles. Along with the waffles was either regular or turkey bacon. She always had a supply of turkey bacon just for me because she knew how much I liked it. This meal always followed a frosted glass of cold milk which she chilled in the freezer until we were ready to eat. She still fixes this meal for us when we go stay with her today and we look forward to it as much as we used to.
My family’s holiday dinners usually varied with which holiday it was, or what the family wanted to eat. In the fall we always had turkey for Thanksgiving, which was followed with the usual sides of dressing, corn, pinto beans, mashed potatoes, green beans, and either cornbread or my Nana’s famous homemade rolls. When Christmas time rolled around we switched out the turkey and cooked up a big ham with a pineapple glaze, and the usual sides minus the dressing. The meal she fixed for Easter included either ribs, or another ham with the usual sides. She also always had a vegetable tray which included raw broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots with a bottle of Ranch dressing awaiting my cousin and me. It was always a good time when we would go visit my Nana and Papa and we never expected to leave hungry.
My Nana was always the one who cooked the meals and it was almost like she never left the kitchen. She always made sure we had enough to eat and we were never the slightest bit hungry. She never complained about cooking and her food always tasted so good. I remember how she would go around to all the grandkids and ask them what they wanted to eat. After deciding what to fix she would make another round asking everyone what kind of dessert they wanted. My favorite dessert was either her homemade peach cobbler, or coconut cream pie. She never had to ask about beverages because she knew to fix two different pitchers full of sweet and un-sweet tea.
When I was younger we lived about a half hour away from my Nana and Papa’s house and we usually went to visit them on the weekends. This promised a big meal for my whole family who would usually come in as well. I grew up on my Nana’s cooking and there’s no doubt my tastes were inherited from her. It’s hard to steer away from country cooking once you’ve gotten the chance to enjoy tender meat, creamy mashed potatoes, butter filled rolls, and sweet tea to top it off. There is nothing that will come close to my Nana’s homemade cooking and the only place to get it is McCurtain, Oklahoma.
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