Day

I want to think that my best friend and I will survive anything that will test our friendship. After all, we have survived a lot of things in the past which made it stronger. I love it whenever I visit her. We don’t just banter and play with my godson, we always have these serious talks that involve her life as a mom and my life as a career-oriented woman. We both envy and admire each other in a way. She never really wanted to be a mother just yet, but circumstances happened. And now she wouldn’t exchange my god son for anything else. She said she would do it again in a heartbeat if she had to. Still, she missed her life prior to motherhood sometimes.

Marriage and motherhood are on my list, of course. As a woman, those are some of my dreams. Except that right now, I still want to do a lot of things and I couldn’t commit to something that I wouldn’t be able to do well just because I wasn’t ready. I envy her in that aspect. Every time I see my godson and her life, I wonder how it would be if it was me. But then again, at the end of the day, we still feel content over what we have. We just sigh and smile at each other over a cup of coffee and her version of this perfect mini tiramisu eclairs recipe.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Confessions of a Confectionista.

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Quick Tip: Serve with a cup of coffee or a cup of your favorite tea.

I’m not a fan of baseball, but I always watch it with my boyfriend and his brothers. I know a few basic terms, but if you ask me what is the most familiar term to me, it’s probably “homerun” and I intend no pun. I have gone to a few baseball games with them, and while I don’t understand all of the rules, I know how it works. Tyler, one of his brothers, has a dream of becoming a pro so he is working hard to make that dream come true. And his family supports him all the way.

During baseball nights, it’s Tyler who’s assigned to cook the chicken nuggets. He makes the best dressing and his brothers just gang up on him all the time. A few months ago, Tyler made his very first home run and it’s because of his chicken nuggets prowess—he batted his way straight into the heart of one of my girl friends who just happened to visit me that night. She also happened to fall in love with Tyler’s chicken nuggets. My goodness, they’re now the cutest couple ever! And it happened all because of Tyler’s “batter”, this time pun is intended.

Photo and recipe courtesy of The Southern Lady Cooks.

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Quick Tip: The dressing keeps well for several days. Store in a container and place in the refrigerator.

Whenever I’m asked whether I love liver, I can’t answer with a straight face. For one, I tolerate liver to the point that I allow myself to eat it once in a while. Sometimes I even miss it. But I’ve been living my life without it and that’s fine too. The first time I ever tasted liver was when I was still a kid. My Dad used to cook an Asian dish that involved cooking chicken liver in vinegar and soy sauce. I actually kind of loved it. It tasted quite good with rice. However, when Dad cooked pork liver, I hated it.

I remember Arthur, a former colleague of mine. He loves liver as much as I love cheese. Every week, he brought some kind of liver dish to the office just to prove to us that it’s not impossible to love them. He hadn’t succeeded in converting any of us until Marian came. She was the new receptionist. She was the only one who tasted Arthur’s “creation” of liver with onions and fell in love with it. Since then, they’ve been sharing lunches with each other. The last I heard, they have two kids. Who would have thought that Arthur would find the love of his life because he’s a liver lover? Definitely not me.

Photo and recipe courtesy of The Southern Lady Cooks.

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Quick Tip: if you don’t have the bacon grease, you can use butter or margarine.

Parents know that the best way to get a kiss from their child is to offer them something that will allow them to get over their “yuck-that’s-so-cheesy-Mom” attitude. Andy, my sister-in-law, knows the best way to get her daughter to hug and kiss her in front of people. She just has to promise to make her the sweetest strawberry cake and she will succumb to her mom. Another friend of mine, Celeste, always made sure that if her boys behaved in school, she would bring them to their favorite fast food chain that served the biggest burgers. None of them hesitate hugging their mother in front of everyone in school.

It works for adults, too! Whenever I feel bad, my boyfriend cooks my comfort food to cheer me up and to apologize. My best friend always bakes the best red velvet cupcakes for her husband whenever they had a fight and it’s her fault. My Mom makes the most tempting honey pork loin for Dad whenever they have a shout out and Dad gives her the silent treatment. I witnessed it once. Mom received the sweetest kiss after Dad finished a serving of his favorite food. I wish I hadn’t witnessed that, but I also have to say that food really does work wonders at times.

Photo and recipe courtesy of The Southern Lady Cooks.

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Quick Tip: Mashed potatoes can also be the perfect side dish for this recipe.

One of my friends, Emily, has a strange meal routine with her kids. When you eat meals with them, you can see a jar at the center of the table. It’s empty every morning, but filled to the brim in the evening with pieces of white paper that are hastily rolled. When I first experienced it, I was there for a job. Emily needed help with a company project and she hired me for it. I arrived during breakfast and was promptly invited to join her, her husband, and her five kids. I didn’t want to ask about it at first. Until I saw one of the kids drop something on the jar while Emily was flipping pancakes.

The strange thing was, she didn’t even seem to look surprised upon seeing the jar with a note. When everyone left, I just had to ask what it was about. Emily said it was for food requests and food compliments. Anyone was required to give constructive comments about the food. Anyone whose comments about the food seemed sincere, he or she will get her request for breakfast the next day. I thought it was quite cool. It’s a way of learning things and at the same time gave the kids a sense of responsibility. We had cheese grits the next day. From the look on her husband’s face, it seemed he had won.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Southern Bite.

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Quick Tip: You can make it the night before and just place it in the oven the next day.

I don’t know about all of you but I often find myself falling into the yo-yo dieting vortex.

I’ll try one fad and move on to the next. I’m tired of gaining and losing. Can I get an ‘amen?” I have a friend who is a faithful follower of the Atkins Plan. Even though this low-carb diet has helped her to lose 40 pounds and keep it off, cutting out entire food groups just isn’t my thang. However, cutting down on simple carbohydrates is doable for me and I have lost about 10 pounds since doing so. My friend gave me a recipe for bunless golden mushroom burgers and it is seriously good!

If you are following a low-carb plan then you are going to be gaga over these burgers because they are bunless and fabulous. Talk about a huge heap of flavor! You’ve got tender, juicy beef, sweet onions, and mushrooms all grilled together in a pan of goodness.

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Quick Tip: If you’re wanting to watch your carbs this tip isn’t for you but if not, feel free to add mashed potatoes to the mix. It’s almost like a mock shepherd’s pie!

Unfortunately, the respiratory flu has made its way into my household. My oldest child seems to have caught the bug pretty severely. In fact, I’m taking her to the doctor’s this morning. I am proud to report that the rest of us have not caught the evil flu bug and I attribute that success to elderberry syrup. Yep. No flu shots are handed out in this house just good old natural elderberry syrup that I make myself. You may be wondering why the girl child is sick with the flu. Well, folks, she is too cool to take the syrup. I bet my little darling is regretting that descion now! Oh well, I still love her and I’ll be taking care of her accordingly. Tonight for supper I’ll be making this delicious chicken noodle soup casserole. I’m sure it’ll soothe my poor flu-stricken child’s spirit and body. Enjoy!

We all know that chicken noodle soup is the gold standard food for nursing a cold. It’s such a nice gesture to bring soup to a sick friend, but transporting a half gallon of broth (especially if it’s still hot!) without spilling it all over you car is definitely a challenge. Along those lines, have you ever tried bringing soup to a potluck? Not only is it hard to get it there, you have to have bowls and spoons, which can wreck a perfectly good food line setup.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Recipe Lion.

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Quick Tip: This recipe is very easy to double or triple when feeding a large crowd.