It’s true. You need some junk in your trunk. There’s absolutely nothing attractive about protruding shoulder blades and revealing rib cages. Contrary to popular magazine spreads and celebrity snapshots, everyone deserves a filling supper consisting of some of the south’s finest cuisine. Therefore, allow me to introduce to you a simple and mouth watering recipe straight from the family kitchen. With a little bit of time and skill, we’ll be sizzling in no time!
For our first southern cooking lesson, the SouthernCharm menu will consist of moist cream of mushroom pork chops, scalloped potatoes, and brown sugar and bacon green beans. To top it off, we’ll bake one of the South’s most decadent desserts and wash it down with a true southern staple: peach cobbler and southern sweet tea.
For this complete meal to feed a family of four, you’ll need to gather the following ingredients:
4 Pork chops
Fresh potatoes (1 bag if from the grocery store)
Fresh green beans (1 can if from grocery store)
Fresh peaches (1 can if from grocery store)
Bacon (approximately 10 pieces)
3 sticks of butter
Dash of salt and pepper
Shredded cheese
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of milk
1 cup of brown sugar
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of flour
3.5 cups of water
4 bags of tea leaves
Beginners, you may want to set out all of your ingredients as not to forget a crucial step.
Now that we’ve got all of our essentials, let’s get to cooking! To begin, we’ll start by baking the peach cobbler since it takes the longest to cook. Don’t fret kitchen newbie’s, I’ve got the easiest peach cobbler recipe in the South. If you can’t master this easy concoction, you may want to steer clear of the kitchen. To begin:
1. First, heat your oven to 350 degrees;
2. Next, melt one stick of butter in desired casserole dish (This only takes a few minutes in the oven. However, for faster results, place the stick of butter in the microwave until melted);
3. Then, mix the following ingredients in a separate bowl:
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of flour
2 cups of water4. Once mixed, pour on top of melted butter;
5. Place your sliced peaches on top (this is called “folding”). If you don’t have access to home grown peaches, it’s perfectly acceptable to fold canned peaches on top and pour remaining juice. (If you’re not a fan of peaches, you can substitute this fruit with just about any other fruit or pie filling);
6. Last but not least, bake your cobbler for about an hour at 350 degrees.
See, that wasn’t so hard! Not only does your cobbler make an excellent ending to a fabulous supper, but it also makes a great air freshener for the house! Now that we’ve got the best part cooking, let’s go ahead and prep for the southern green beans and scalloped potatoes.
To begin prep, place one stick of butter in each casserole dish (one for the southern green beans and one for the potatoes) and melt in the oven at 350 degrees. While you’re waiting for your butter to melt, go ahead and peel your potatoes and slice them into three to four sections for faster boiling. Next, rinse your potatoes under clean water and place them in a pot of cold water for boiling. Then, boil your pot of potatoes on the stove until you’re able to cleanly slide a knife through each potato slice. While your butter is melting and potatoes are boiling, you are now ready to fry your bacon on the stove (you may want to spray Pam on your pan first so the bacon doesn’t stick).
By now the butter should be melted, so we can finally begin on the side dishes! We’ll first begin on our southern green beans since the potatoes are still boiling (and take less time to bake in the oven). To get our brown sugar and bacon green beans ready to bake, complete the following:
1. First, take one casserole dish out of the oven and place your green beans in the melted butter (if you’re using canned green beans, make sure to drain them first);
2. Then, add the following ingredients:
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of water
1/2 of fried bacon (approximately 5 pieces)3. Finally, bake your southern green beans for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees. However, the longer they cook, the better they are. So if you’re still working on the rest of the meal at the end of 45 minutes, go ahead and leave them in a bit longer.
By the time you put the green beans in the oven, your potatoes should be good and ready to take off the stove. So once you’re able to cleanly slide a knife through your potatoes, complete the following steps and you’ll be well on your way to potato perfection!
1. First, drain your potatoes once they come to a boil;
2. Then, take the other casserole dish out of the oven and place your potato wedges in the melted butter;
3. Next, run a knife through the potato wedges in order to slice them into smaller portions;
4. Once your potatoes are no longer large wedges, add the following ingredients:
A dash of salt and pepper
1 cup of milk
1/2 of fried bacon (approximately 5 pieces)
Sprinkle with shredded cheese of choice5. Last but certainly not least, bake your scalloped potatoes for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Finally, our dessert and side dishes are baking to southern perfection! But no worries, my friends. Just when you thought the fun was over, it’s time to cook the main meal! That’s right folks, the main cuisine for tonight’s feast calls for moist cream of mushroom pork chops! After all, we didn’t climb to the top of the food chain to become vegetarians. However, before we can get our grub on, we must complete the following:
1. First wash your pork chops;
2. Then, add a dash of salt and pepper as desired for seasoning;
3. Next, use the remaining bacon grease used earlier to brown your pork chops (make sure to flip your pork chops occasionally) and pour the following ingredients onto the pork chops:
1 can of mushroom soup
1/2 can of water4. Finally, cover your pan and let your pork chops simmer for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil four bags of tea leaves on the stove. Once they come to a boil, drain your tea bags into a gallon pitcher, add a cup of sugar, and fill the remaining container with cold water. Suddenly you have the finishing touch to a superb southern meal! By now, your feast should be ready!
However, make sure to do the tooth pick test for the peach cobbler. If you can slide a tooth pick cleanly through the cobbler, it’s finished. If the tooth pick brings some residue with it, let it bake until you’re ready for dessert.
See, that wasn’t so bad! In fact, even a busy college student could easily prepare this meal in between studying and cramming for tests. Students, for more easy recipes, check out the Student Cookbook for Dummies, written by Oliver Harrison. It’s fast, simple, and delish!
This meal should be a hit whether you’re trying to impress the new love interest, or just trying to show mom and dad you’ve learned a thing or two while in college. From my kitchen to yours, happy eating!
xoxo, Nikki May
