I know most of you, especially those of you 30  and under, may be wondering what this is.  If you did not grow up in the deep south you probably have never heard of it.  This recipe started in the south and was a way to have a great side dish, and sometimes a main dish, without costing very much. My parents cooked this often and I have changed it some. I am proud that my children know what this is.  Actually, some restaurants have started serving this, but not many. This recipe is very simple and is great with almost any meat you plan on serving. You can make it spicy or keep it mild. This is a mild version but feel free to spice it up some.

Tomato Gravy

1 medium to small onion diced–if all you have is large–use half

2 pieces of bacon–diced

oil–I use olive oil, but you can use whatever you have

2 cans of petite diced tomatoes–with the juice

water

flour–can use all purpose or self rising–about 1/4 cup–maybe less

salt, pepper, garlic powder, sugar, Italian seasoning or parsley, oregano, and basil

In a large skillet or pot, saute the onions and bacon in a tablespoon or two of oil. Sprinkle with just a little salt. Stir and cook for 5 – 8 minutes–you want the onions and bacon to be tender. Now add a tablespoon or two more oil and the flour. I would start with just shy of 1/4 cup. With a whisk, stir and cook for 5 – 8 minutes–you need it to cook some to remove the “flour” taste. Now add the cans of tomatoes and the juice, stir again to combine and cook for 3 or 4 minutes.  Add about 2 cups of water and stir. Let this come to at least a simmer until it gets hot.

Because this is a gravy, you will want it kind of thin so cook this for 35 – 45 minutes. If it is too thin it will thicken while it cooks. Once it starts to heat up and thicken, add some salt, pepper, about a tablespoon of garlic powder, a teaspoon of sugar–this cuts some of the acid in the tomato and helps it to sweeten–and the Italian seasonings or the herb mixture. If using Italian seasoning–use a tablespoon or two….if using the oregano, parsley and basil separate–use a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of each. Let this cook for 5 minutes and then taste–you will know if you need more of any seasoning.  Only add a little–then taste again later. Turn this down to medium low and let cook. It needs 30 – 45 minutes so stir often so it doesn’t stick. This gives you time to cook your main dish and some rice to serve this over.

Another idea is to slightly brown some chicken (bone in or breast) then add to this gravy and cook for at least 1 hour. Now you have great stewed chicken and a side dish. This whole dish including the rice will only cost about $2.00 and will serve 5-8 people. You can’t beat that! Enjoy!

Years ago we were visiting some friends for dinner. Everything was going well. We all got full and started to go into the living room so we could hang out and talk. In the living room, there was a cordless phone sitting on the end table and every time it rang this remote control car came racing in the room. I was just about to sit down when the dang thing came through and nearly took me off my feet.

This kept on happening throughout the night so I started looking for their kid behind the couch, down the hall, behind a door but he was nowhere to be seen. All this time I never said a word about it and neither did they.

Where the heck is that kid?

I finally gave up and asked where he was. They said he had been in the bed for over an hour, so I went and checked it out and sure enough he was sound asleep.

Hmmmm! Who’s trying to kill me with the remote control car? No one in the room was holding anything that looked even similar to a remote!

The phone rings again and here comes the four wheeled demon nearly taking me off my feet once more. Why isn’t this happening to anyone else?

Then I noticed my friend laughing and the gig was up. Apparently they were all in on it but me. Whenever the phone rings it crosses signals with the remote controlled car and the car just takes off. They had figured it out a few weeks back when the phone rang in the middle of the night and my friend thought the car was possessed.  He sprinkled it with holy water and was seconds from calling a priest before he figured it out!

My friend’s wife had been sitting there the whole time calling their house phone on her cell phone and hitting redial. I have to admit that it was a pretty good gag. But now every time a phone rings I skip to the side out of reflex. I’m just sayin’.

For whatever reason, this is the year I really started thinking about aging and all that comes with that—wrinkles, gray hair, and infertility. OK, I turned 32 today (so I’m not totally old) but if you had asked me 10 years ago what I thought my life would be like at this age, I would have put money on the fact that I’d be married with a couple of kids. 

Well, here I am—still single. I always wanted to be a young mom but it doesn’t look like that’s in the cards for me.  Heck, I might not ever marry. That’s a scary thought! I’m very traditional and I want to be a wife and a mom very much. And I prefer to get married at an age where it’s still acceptable to wear a big, poufy wedding gown. It’s also extremely important to me that my parents and grandma be in attendance. And I want them around to see me have children. I want them to be a part of my kids’ lives. 

Speaking of children, as many of you know it’s more difficult to get pregnant later in life and there are more health risks when you do. It’s a lot to think about so I try not to let it invade my thoughts more than once a week. 

Moving on to more superficial things, this year I’ve also started noticing gray hairs and wrinkles that weren’t there before.  I’ve taken to plucking out my gray hairs, unconcerned with that old wives’ tale about two sprouting in its place. I’ve also begun researching Botox. I have friends my age who regularly indulge in the wrinkle smoother.   think I can get away with putting off the poisonous toxin for a couple more years but honestly, I don’t like the forehead wrinkles and fine lines around my eyes I see when I look in the mirror.

Girls, am I alone here?  At what age did any of you start having these thoughts? 

This one particular night I am in my Sleep Number bed knocked out cold. I mean I am cutting some good zzzzzzz’s and having the best dream ever. Then wouldn’t you know it, out of nowhere, I’m being violently shaken followed by a soft whisper coming from my wife’s side of the bed.

 “Are you awake?”

“Well heck yea I’m awake. You just gave me whiplash.”

“Go let Max inside, he must have been left out last night.”

 ”It’s three o’clock in the morn…”

Before I can even finish my sentence I get the look.

I get up and stagger to the door in my Tweety Bird boxers. My hair’s in a rooster tail and drool is dripping off my chin. I walk out in the yard and try to focus on my target and start calling our little poodle dog, Max, to come inside.

“Come on boy.”

I sit there for the longest time calling this stupid dog and he ain’t moving. I’m gonna have to go get him…craaaaaaap! I’m barefooted and the grass is wet. I tip toe his way and start calling him again real sweet like.

“Come on Max, come on boy, GET YOUR DAAANG SELF INSIDE SO I CAN GO BACK TO SLEEP!”

He ain’t moving a muscle and is gonna make me have to go pick him up. I tip toe a little further out and the closer I get the more something just don’t seem right. I scratch my head, rub my eyes and I finally realize what is wrong. I have spent the last 15 minutes, outside, in the middle of the night, barefooted and in my drawers calling a daaaang soccer ball to come inside. Good grief. I’m going to get my eyes checked. I’m just sayin’.

So, I’ve been thinking, with the economy and all, what are you eating? It seems like my grocery bill (and the electric bill) are going through the roof! I am trying to find some recipes that make buying groceries a little easier. I have posted a few…spaghetti, lasagna, steak kabobs, but sometimes you want something different, or unique. With most of the meals that I make, the main dish is not too expensive…it’s the sides that cost!

Well, I have been experimenting and have come up with a few ideas for side dishes. These are low cost and will feed a lot of people—by a lot I mean I serve 5 people each night…sometimes more…and still have leftovers!  You can search this site and find some main dishes and a few sides that are economical. I hope to offer a more soon!

With this dish I must confess, I really do not like squash unless it is sliced thin and fried….or diced and placed into a casserole with a bunch of cheese! My husband does not like any squash or tomatoes–both of which are in this dish but when he tryed this he LOVED it. He now wants me to cook it all the time. My daughter-in-law cooked it for her family and forgot the tomatoes. Cooking it this way, for some reason, makes the squash not taste like squash and the tomatoes not taste like tomatoes. My daughter-in-law said that without the tomatoes the squash is still “squashy!” She also said that maybe she’ll add some diced chicken next time. Could be another idea!

Squash Bake

2 yellow squash or 1 squash and 1 zucchini—diced

3 strips bacon, diced and cooked….you will cook this with the onion

1 onion–sweet or regular–diced and cooked

1 large tomato–diced…or two small ones

1 tablespoon minced garlic

salt, pepper, maybe more garlic powder, Italian seasoning

shredded Parmesan cheese

Italian bread crumbs

olive oil

1/2 cup diced mushrooms

First of all, do not wash the mushrooms. Just wipe them with a damp paper towel–if not, they will soak up the water and not be any good. Dice the bacon and place into a oven safe pan and sautee. Now add the diced onion and cook until the onion is tender…about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, dice the squash. Once the bacon and onion are tender, add the squash then add salt and pepper. Stir well.

Now dice the tomatoes and mushrooms. after cooking for about 10 minutes, add the tomatoes, mushrooms and the garlic…stir and add a sprinkle more of salt and pepper. Stir well.  Now add the Italian seasonings. If the pan you are using is not oven safe, transfer everything to an oven safe dish. Add a generous amount of Parmesan cheese (shredded) and then a light sprinkle of Italian bread crumbs. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 or until the top is golden.

I hope you enjoy this dish. I have found it to be great with chicken or pork. The entire dish costs right at $2.00 which is great when you talk about feeding 5 people. That means 40 cents a person for a side dish. You can’t beat that. Enjoy!

One beautiful Sunday morning I get up and get ready for church. Now, I wear a ball cap a lot of the time but this particular morning I spray my hair to keep my cow lick in place for church. I’m no professional but I do normally prefer the pump, but since we are out I guess an aerosol will have to do.

So I start spraying and this hazy fog begins to choke me down, not only me but everyone else in the house too.  It’s getting late so I start rushing everyone to load up. As we head out I grab my Bible and a can of body spray off the kitchen table and add a little extra smell good to my shirt.

We get through church and are shaking hands and giving out hugs before we leave and I can’t help but notice a few odd looks that I’m getting. I think to myself, ”That dang cow lick must of popped up on me, craaaap!”

So I go to the restroom and check it out but everything is in place.

On the way home everyone keeps asking what that odd smell is. I take a big sniff and sure enough it is different but very familiar. I just can’t place it. Finally everyone looks in my direction and says it me. We get in the house and Melissa sniffs me up like a hound dog and says, “What is that Wayne?”

I start retracing my steps and go get the hair and body spray and show her what I used. She looks at the cans and just breaks down laughing showing me the labels. Guess I should have read the cans first, I have done loaded myself down with “Lysol” on my head and some “Raspberry” new car smell on my shirt. Like you never done that before. Atleast I’m 99.8% germ free and smelling brand spankin’ new. I’m just sayin’.

I must confess, this is not my recipe.  My 8 year old loves the Velveeta or Kraft Mac and Cheese but my husband does not!  After trying several recipes, I found this one and the hubby will definitely eat it. For the past 2 Christmases, I have bought my daughter a Paula Deen kids cookbook. This recipe was in one of them. I still want to try it with different cheeses and maybe some bacon. After all, everything is better with bacon!

Three Cheese Macaroni

cooking spray

2 cups macaroni–you can use whatever small pasta you like–I use the larger shells

salt–some for cooking the macaroni and some for the dish

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1 cup cheez whiz

4 tablespoons butter–melted

1 cup whole milk–don’t use the 2 percent

3 eggs–beaten

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, bring the water to boil, add some salt and cook macaroni until done. Actually, just under done cause we will bake this, too. (Probably around 10 minutes.) Drain the pasta and return to the pot. While the pasta is cooking, in a bowl combine the cheddar and the mozzarella cheeses: remove 1 cup for the topping, the rest will go into the pasta. Then in a separate bowl, combine milk, eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, mustard, and black pepper. Whisk to combine.

Once the pasta is cooked and back in the pot, put all but the 1 cup of reserved cheese into the pot and stir. Add the cheez whiz, stir and then add butter and stir again. This will start to get hard to stir–just keep with it. Add the liquid mixture and stir again.

Spray a casserole dish and pour the pasta mixture into it. Spread with a spoon to make an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining one cup of cheese over the top and bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until the top is slightly brown and bubbly. Enjoy!

It seems that as our short lives continue forward, life gets busier and busier. As a child, I would play endlessly outside- making mud pies with my cousin, climbing hay bales, and playing in the tree house. No, I didn’t live on “Little House on the Prairie,” but I guess you would say that I lived in the country.

Life is so simple as a child. As we grow into adulthood, finding our way and building a family- these changes are nice; they’re amazing, and for me, it’s so much better than when I was an innocent child. Gaining knowledge, perspective and experience is empowering and exhilarating. However, taking the time for ourselves gets rather difficult to fit into daily tasks and chores; thus, sources of inspiration in our lives seem to be elusive.

The other day I went running outside. This particular day was different from most. I usually check the time every minute; mid summer is not exactly relaxing. However, it was afterward that I sat down looking across the lake I had been running around. The air was less humid and for a moment, I found myself resting, breathing in the beauty of the nature surrounding me….and most of all, being inspired.

Lately, I’ve often wondered why I haven’t been inspired. It was that moment around the lake that I realized I was not taking the time to inspire myself with things like nature, reading, and music.

The busyness of life can be overwhelming and very easily can we become like machines, programmed to spit out the right answers and perform our mandatory tasks.

We must not let our adulthood void us of times of solitude and moments of inspiration. It’s in these moments that we live, dream again, and find the motivation to continue in the busyness of our days.

 ~ Brittany Trotman

Follow Britt on Twitter.

If you have a poodle you will love this one. Our poodle, Max, loves to bark at and chase anything that comes within 100 yards of the house. He is totally harmless and would never bite a soul but when he plows out that front door he sounds like the Tasmanian Devil.

The thing about poodles is that when they have a full coat of hair, they are cute as can be, but when Max gets a hair cut he looks like a Nutria Rat on acid. What an ugly dog! Anyway, one Saturday he must have heard something outside and bolted for the door. I got up and let him out, then sat back down to finish watching an episode of King Of The Hill. He just wouldn’t shut up and just kept yappin’ and yappin’ so I finally went outside to see what he had cornered.

 I was surprised to see a car parked in the front yard that said “Redneck Cable” on the side of the door but no one was around. Max kept barking at the foot of one of our oak tree’s in the front yard like he was going to climb this thing. I noticed a clip board on the ground, which was strange, so I went and picked it up. On the top on the paper it said “Redneck Cable” in big bold letters.

I looked to the left and saw nothing. I looked to the right and again, nothing. But it wasn’t until I looked up that I saw a pair of work boots hanging down which were attached to the feet of a man I had never seen before. He was perched in my oak tree like a rooster and he just stared at me and grinned. Finally he said, “Uh, that’s mine sir. By the way, what in the heck is that?”

It took me 15 minutes before I could answer him. I just couldn’t stop laughing. Poor guy, I finally put Cujo, I mean Max, in the house and he climbed down from the tree. I asked him what he wanted and he said “Never mind, Sir. For some reason it just doesn’t seem that important anymore. I just wanna go home.”

If you’re a “beauty junkie” like so many of us at Southern Beauty it may be harder than you’d think to part with some of your favorite cosmetics.  The truth is it’s better for you when all is said and done to follow these recommendations on when to say “good bye” to your little “friends.”

Mascara:  Mascara lasts 3-6 months and is the most prone to harbor bacteria because the wand is constantly being dipped in and out of the tube.

Concealer:  Has a life of about 18 months which is when the ingredients will begin to separate and can cause problems for sensitive skin.

Liquid Foundation:  Has a shelf life of about 12 months.  Try to use a sponge or brush, and not your fingers if you can.  If the foundation separates or smells bad, throw it out.

Loose Powder:  Traditionally loose powder can last for several years.

Eye Shadow:  Lasts 12-18 months if it’s a cream, 2 years if it’s a powder.

Lip Pencil:  Can last up to three years.  Sharpen and cover between each use to minimize germ transfer.

Lipstick:  Lasts up to three years.  Discard if there is a change to the color or scent.

Lip Gloss:  Lasts up to 18 months but can harbor germs due to dipping the wand in and out of the container.

That wasn’t so hard was it? Just think, you’ll have tons more room to add to your cosmetic collection now that the old stuff has been discarded. So head on down to Sephora and find some new “friends” this season. Let us know what you find and have fun!