The "Meat and Potatoes" Story

It was an ordinary day. I'm trying to make sure I won't miss any entries into my most favorite meals story. I already typed a story about my favorite desserts, and now it is time for the meat and potato meals. I have listed my favorites, but not in any special order, since I like most all the entries equally as well. Here goes:

1. Oyster Pie - Carol makes her own crust with a recipe she got from a neighbor, then adds the ingredients. Lots of oysters, diced potatoes, onions and some special spices which she will not reveal. When the crust on the top starts to turn brown, it's ready to go. Oh my gosh, is it great! Don't forget to add the applesauce.

2. Chicken Pot Pie - Carol mixes flour, eggs, salt, pepper and water together to make the dough. She rolls it so it is about 1/4" thick and cuts it into two inch squares. She adds that to the stock which is the liquid that she had boiled the chicken in. Cooks until the dough is gooey, adds the chicken pieces and 5 or 6 quartered potatoes and wow, it is great. Need some applesauce on the side.

3. Asparagus Shepperd's Pie - Not especially hard to make, but instead of using vegetables on the bottom of the hamburger, she uses asparagus. Real mashed potatoes on top and in the oven until it gets a crispy top on it. Lots of real butter on top is needed to eat this treat. Meal always tastes better with applesauce.

4. Potato Soup - This is one that I can now make after a few tries. Dice about 8 potatoes and put in a pot and boil until they are soft. Add to the batch after the potatoes are soft, hard boiled eggs, chopped celery, chopped carrots, salt and pepper. Before you are ready to eat it, add a can of evaporated milk. Gives it the white color that you associate with potatosoup. have to eat this with a couple pieces of white butter bread.

5. Chicken Corn Soup - Another one I can make. Boil the chicken in a pot of water. Sometimes I'll ask the butcher for extra chicken fat to make the flavor better. After the chicken is cooked, remove it and take it off the bone. Cut it up and put back in the broth. Add two dozen ears of corn and any worms that you may have found. Also need salt, pepper, hard boiled eggs and a pack of baby lime beans. When you cut the corn off the cob, try to scrap as much of the juice off as you can to add flavor to the soup. Also need a few slices of buttered white bread with this. You know it's good if your nose starts to run. Avoid eating the worms, naturally.

6. Sea Bass - Now this isn't that hard to prepare. Pop on the grill until cooked. But, the part that I like is the sauce that Carol makes. She melts real butter until almost brown, adds tons of garlic and a spoonful of capers. Simmer until brown and pour over the Sea Bass. What a treat. Come to think about it, we pour this over roasted cauliflower, asparagus and almostanything we can. What a flavor.

7. Roasted Vegetables - Carol goes nuts with this one. She will put carrots, squash, turnips, onions, red potatoes, zucchini, peppers, etc. into a pan and cover it with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Into the oven to roast until veggies are soft. A meal in itself.

8. Creamed Peas and Eggs on Toast - One of my childhood favorites from elementary school. Carol will make a cream sauce and put baby peas in it to cook until the peas are soft. She then adds hard boiled eggs to the mixture. Toast some white bread and pour the mixture over it. What a meal. Still love it after all these years.

I could go on and on, but you may want to give one of the above a try. If I can make them, you can also. And ..... I'm really good at eating all of them. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.