Southern Lady

about me

I live with my husband of 17 years and two middle school teenagers in the rolling hills of East Texas. We have 22 acres outside several small farming/ranching/oil communities, with 1-1/2 acre pond, 4 big dogs that swim the waters (and 1 who's old and sleeps all day inside), and a mama doe who has a set of twins each year. And, of course, we have 2 mousers named Maggie Mae and Sammy. I'm a movie enthusiast and my passion is writing (novels and screenplays). When my kids are out of college in 10 years, my husband and I plan to travel extensively. I'd love to relocate temporarily to different ares of the USA and world, just so I can absorb the culture (and write about them). My whole life has been centered around food to show love and to socialize, so when I travel I'll search for the best foods and absorb the richness of the people. In "Beach Music" by Pat Conroy, you can taste the foods and drinks of the piazzas in Rome down to the detail of the Southern cuisine in S. Carolina. When I grow up, I want to write as beautifully as he in Beach Music. My favorite cookbooks are those put together as church or other fundraisers. There's nothing better than a church potluck dinner, so you're almost gauranteed excellent recipes. I love cooking but hate the clean up, so my plans are when I earn the publishing $big bucks$, I'll hire a full-time housekeeper so I may cook to my heart's content and not get frustrated over a messy kitchen. I love experimenting and trying new recipes, but my DH is a meat & potatoes man, thus prefers the basics. One of my children has been a self-professed vegetarian for 7 years, making dinner time a real treat to prepare. I've read somewhere that your pet peeve is usually something of which you're frequently guilty, so I'm a little hesitant to say; however, mine would be inconsiderate people. So, I try on a daily basis to put a smile on someone's face by doing the "right" thing and setting a good example for children.

Favorite Foods:

Italian, Southern and Mexican. I could eat my weight in homemade macaroni & cheese, frito pie, & brownies. I love shrimp and my most recent find is ROCK shrimp only found off the Eastern coast of Florida....they taste like lobster. Nothing's better than a well dressed baked potato and mouthwatering steak. I enjoy blending of flavors, so one-dish meals and casseroles are prepared often. I do enjoy the sauces, so beef stroganoff and beef wellington dishes are a treat. Favorite fish would be grilled swordfish or salmon. Cooked vegetables of any sort, cooked any way, yum. Italian pastas prepared just anyway are a hit. Southern roots: fried corn & squash, kentucky wonder greenbeans in bacon fat, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, chicken fried steak, smothered steak, cooked cabbage, and on and on. Mexican: cheese enchiladas, beef fajita quesidillas, chilies rellenos and always a top notch taco salad. Soups: chicken tortilla, French onion, beef stew. Salad Dressings: Ceasar, Blue Cheese, Southwestern. Basic Desserts: caramel cheesecake, german chocolate cake, coconut cream pie, oatmeal raisin, white choc macademia, and iced sugar cookies, and just about anything using chocolate. Any kind of bread, muffin, or roll. Breakfast: French toast, biscuits and gravy, bacon, scrambled eggs, quiches. Must have coffee and tea, Dr. Pepper is my downfall with calories. Starbuck's Decaf is delightful. Favorite alcoholic drinks are Colorado Bulldogs, Spanish Coffee, Margaritas, and Pina Coladas.

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