Thursday, February 3, 2011

Southern Dinner, Fancied Up

So I discovered a blog last night (and have lost too many hours in my life already...oops) BUT I did however, manage to cook a fun, filling, and fantastically delicious southern meal tonight thanks to those lost hours!

I didn't get around to taking pictures so I'm borrowing the original ones from the original chef and photographer over at How Sweet Blog.



For starters, I made Cheesy Sweet Potato Crisps - I need to work on them a little, but for my first time they weren't too bad.


For our main meal, I made Mashed Potato Pancakes and Parmesan Ranch Chicken Fingers, and OH MY GOSH, they were both delicious!

First off, for those who know my mom, you know she can cook. So, not only does she play a huge part in my love for food, but she always helps me in the kitchen (not that I cook every night, but when I'm there, she's right there with me!) With that said, she was genius and decided to add some garlic and green onions to the mashed potato pancakes. Can we just say, this recipe could win awards!



The chicken fingers were my favorite of the night (putting aside dessert of course). All I can say about these, is MAKE THEM! The dry ranch mix completes the flavor, and since they are baked and not fried, they aren't greasy and filling like most chicken fingers (or any southern meal for that matter).

I have to admit though, we didn't shy away from the fact that we saved a few cals by baking these...so my mom whipped up some of her delicious homemade white gravy :o)  It was so worth it.


We also had fresh green beans as a second side, but there's no special recipe or pretty pictures for that, sorry.

And to complete this overly delicious, flavorful meal, I kept dessert simple by making brownies. Oh, but not just any brownies, I made Oooey Gooey Fudgey Brownies. And boy are these oooey and gooey! I have a tendency to be impatient while dessert is cooling, and always cut into the baked good WAY before it's ready to be cut...maybe I'm a chocoholic...besides the point though. Anyways, I cut into these about 30 seconds after they came out of the oven. Honestly, bad idea. They were so oooey and gooey that they didn't even stay together as a square to be enjoyed. So I tied my hands behind my back...or made my self useful elsewhere, and cut these babies after they were completely cooled down. And again, so worth it! They are still so moist that they could probably sit out for days and still be just as moist!

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I don't believe any picture could do these brownies justice. When they came out of the oven, the smelled good of course, but they didn't look like anything that would knock some socks off. So, along with everything else I made tonight, give these brownies a try! They are SO EASY and quick to assemble, and again, so ooey and gooey that you just might eat two or three and not remember :o)


2 comments:

Unknown said...

How Sweet is one of my favorite blogs! All of these recipes sound so good, and of course anything with the word "southern" tacked on to it is something I have to try. I wish I lived closer to you so we could do some damage in the kitchen!

Love you!

Anonymous said...

This dinner was awesome! So proud of your culinary interests & skills, and so thankful that you're testing recipes out on us!! ~Mom