Southern Comfort

Growing up in the south, Lord knows I have partaken of my fair share of Chicken Fried Steak. Until tonight, I have never been brave enough to try and make any on my own ...

I'm quite proud of myself. I even made gravy from the "drippings" ... and it wasn't lumpy!

The whole reason why I decided to make this tonight was because Dad had to work late. Primo time for me to make a huge mess in the kitchen (I had plenty of time to clean up!). Guess what? I made virtually no mess at all!

I called Dad to let him know that dinner was in the refrigerator:

Mom: I wanted to let you know that there is chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and gravy in the refrigerator for you when you come home.

Dad: Where did you get that? (This was spoken in his oh so familiar "You have exceeded your eating out budget, your grocery budget and I know for a fact you have used all your cash for this week, why in the WORLD did you blow our budget to go and get chicken fried steak????)

Mom: I made it.

Dad: You did? How?

Mom: From scratch. With the meat our friends gave us last week from the cow they have in their freezer ...

Dad: Wow. Thanks. (In that tone that says he is impressed ...)

I think Dad was just as surprised as I was. I might just see if I can do it again sometime ...

PS - Don't you love the quality of the picture???? My replacement camera finally came today. I was so excited until I realized that it is a refurbished model. That is NOT going to cut it for me. I've got Dad the bulldog on it. I should be getting a new one soon. Until then, we will enjoy the wonderful photos of much better quality than my blackberry ...