Friday Friend Recipes #247 and #248 Chicken Vegetable Bake and Carrot Pudding

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

What is the Friday Friend cookbook? I once had about 50 of my closest friends and family (from all over the county) on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends . At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 20 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions, exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts, had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday. (plus so much more....)

AND, we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

I was looking at the cookbook the other night and I said, "I should make every recipe in here for my blog."
The Handyman--who thinks he knows me better than I know myself (this happened to be a question on the Friday Friend forum once---does your spouse/partner know you better than you know yourself?)--said,  "you'll never, EVER do that."
WELL---maybe I'll show him!  Maybe I will.

Which brings me to this... recipes #247 and #248

My Chicken and Vegetable Bake and my mom's Carrot Pudding

The Chicken and Vegetable I actually got from my mother-in-law.  It is the most comforting winter Sunday afternoon dinner there is. Roasted chicken!  Roasted veggies---look at that little teeny roast mark/scorch on that carrot.  So yummy!

Put some butter and salt and pepper on there and it's so good!

You could probably add in any veggies you want--and I added some kielbasa this time. It's also the easiest thing to do when  you are pressed for time, but still want a comfort type of supper.

(LOOK!!  I need a spreadsheet---I already marked this as posted, but I can find no evidence of it anywhere in/on my blog.  Not with the tags, chicken, Friday Friend Cookbook, me, mom B.  OR the date in April 2019.  So I will cross that off and wonder what I did make that didn't get marked off in my book.  sigh.)

Now the carrot pudding?

It's my mom's recipe.

Does anyone even make a steamed pudding for dessert anymore?

I had to purchase a special steamed pudding cooker thing from Amazon to make this one recipe. 

And you actually 'steam' it in a pot on top of the stove.

It's a weird process, but it tasted good. It's very similar to a carrot cake, altho a very moist--VERY MOIST carrot cake.

(moist is a weird word when you say it over and over. I just had to point that out)

We liked it, the carrot pudding. Would I make it again?  I'm not sure, maybe for a special occasion or something.

It was a fun, old-fashioned, comfort kind of day when we had this meal.

I have a confession to make--I stole my mother-in-law's recipe box.  

For many  years, I've been wanting to make a memory book/cookbook for my sisters-in-law, with their mother's memories and recipes, so....when we were with her in October,  we were visiting about recipes and she mentioned a tamale pie that she used to make and the recipe was in her recipe box inside a cabinet behind the pasta.

I never knew she had a recipe box  (she actually had 3) and I thought I'd been thru all of her recipes/books etc.  I've been married to her son for almost 42 years!  I thought I knew everything about her.   I don't even know if her daughters know she has recipe boxes!

I stole 2 of them!  My secret is out now.  (okay, okay, I'm going to give them back.  I'll just place them behind the pasta and be like "oh look what I found!")

She used to make menus for every week and I love her notes!

She would write:

The vegetables were always buttered  and parslied in her menu lists.

And the salads were always 'tossed' or 'green'.  I wonder if there were in a difference in her mind back then?

There was no evidence of  Jell-O salads as were commonplace on my own tables growing up.

I think that once the cookbook countdown is over, I will make her menus.  We will eat as they did in the 60's and 70's.  As a new challenge!
😊

At this time in her life, she will never know the recipe boxes are missing from her home--she was in a senior living apartment for a while (but she still owns her house, so us out of towners can have a place to stay when we come to visit--and she's very lucky to be able to afford to do so) but at the moment she is in a rehab facility recuperating from a foot surgery.

So, she'll never know---but her daughters will!

I am going to blame their brother!

(and I better get to working on those memory books for them)

Because these two recipes were actually my mom's and mother-in-law's, I thought I would share my story of Cooking Club.  Because the very first Cooking club we ever had, had the theme of:  cooking like mama used to do.

Before I go any further, I wanted to say that we still do get together a 3-4 times a year and have a great time.  Many fun themes have been experienced from Cajun Cooking to Famous Chefs to Breakfast for dinner--next week we will be doing Jewish Deli Cooking.

Now back to our Mama's Cooking in 2015 -- taken straight from my blog!

*****

 Cooking Club #1

March 22, 2015

WE DID IT!!

We finally started The Cooking Club!

You might think it just looks like a normal dinner party, 

BUT

It is not.

It's our Cooking Club.

I tried to get everyone's attention to take a photo....

April's eyes are closed (sorry April), and I caught Debbie mid-bite (sorry Debbie) but at least every one is looking my way.

Everyone but the Handyman, that is.

(He's busy buttering his bread or something.  He must eat, has no time for photos)

a disclaimer--this was when Shelly and her husband Lorin were just substitutes for Cooking  Club, they later became permanent members. So, no photos of them. (this time) even tho she is a best cooking friend too.

 I picked my best cooking friends and we had a great time!

Gina and Sally

  Debbie and April

There is no picture of me.  Maybe next time.

This is what we did --- 

we drew names for a dish.

for example:   appetizer, salad, side, main dish and dessert.

And then we decided on a theme.

Tonight's theme was: cooking like mama used to do.

You had to make a dish that your mother used to make.  

Then you had to come talk about it and 'justify' it if need be.

We had so much fun talking about the dishes our mom's used to make.  Even the guys got into it, they started telling stories of  mom's cooking and food memories when they were growing up. 

Gina brought her mom's old recipe box.

It was fun to see the old typed ones?  It seems we all have some that were typed on note-cards. As well as all those hastily written on the backs of envelopes and stuff.

And you notice the 'old momish' type of appetizers?  Stuffed celery and olives and gherkins? 

Those were from Debbie E. she even served them in her mother's old serving dishes.

 I should have taken a photo of everyone's dish, but I didn't.

(what was I thinking???)

But our menu for our Mom's Cooking Theme was:

Stuffed celery/olives/pickles-- Debbie E

Mini Meatloves -- me

Vegetable Salad-- Gina

Scalloped potatoes-- Sally

Cream Cheese Brownies -- April

Just like our mom's used to make!!

Oh...and I put the type of bread on the table like my mom use to:

white bread slices on a plate!

(Sally's husband Paul was very excited about that! )

At the end of the evening, we drew from a hat  (Okay it was a basket-- that basket on the table there) and our theme for next time is

Cajun Cooking!

And I just happened to have a cookbook I got out for everyone to look thru.

 (see that book shelf in the background --- those are all cookbooks.  I have a problem)

My friends I bring to you recipe #247 and 248

Only 119 left to go!

Woo Hoo!