Fondness for Food and Family

Even when I have just finished lunch, I'm instantly hungry if I walk into our local grocery store and smell the mouthwatering aroma of chicken frying. 

 Fried chicken is a long-standing comfort food in my family. My grandmother made it with Crisco, flour, eggs, buttermilk, and cornflakes in a big cast iron skillet. It was the absolute best.  

As I grew older, special family gatherings always included a big bucket of original and extra crispy KFC, with cole slaw, mashed potatoes and gravy, mac and cheese, biscuits, and honey in those tiny plastic packets. 

If it was Kentucky Fried Chicken time, it was a good time.    

I’ve wondered how particular, seemingly ordinary foods and meals can trigger such delightful memories.

The childhood moments that make me smile the most include my Gram and food. 

We spent much precious time together in her bright, colorful kitchen, her personal space. We looked at birds through the window adorned with red and white curtains over the large sink. We ate or simply talked with drinks in hand at her silver metal table on red, puffy, plastic cushioned chairs. We opened and closed her large refrigerator thousands of times with the freezer on the bottom that held my special ice cream. 

I made my first open-faced cheddar cheese sandwiches in her new toaster oven with the glass window to know when the cheese was melted just right.

We baked cakes together from scratch using the Kitchen-Aid mixer, which had to be turned off before the blades could be lifted.  

 I learned this fact the hard way. 

I was handed a rag and wiped much of the yummy icing off the cabinets, countertops, and my fingers. Gram got a mop for the ceiling. 

 She seemed to have all the latest cooking gadgets. An electric rotisserie sat on the counter, holding a chicken tied with string for Sunday dinners. 

Gram had pretty, always feminine cookware, aqua glasses, and red plates.

 Gram made fudge, divinity, and peanut brittle every Christmas, sold most of it at the Olin factory where she worked and donated the funds to her church. 

She made my first taco salad with Fritos and Catalina salad dressing (recipe below), came up with different flavors of poke cake every week, and poured my first glass of Tang. She always found new recipes, and almost everything she made was a masterpiece. I was never that crazy about cottage cheese with pineapple or green jello with unknown items floating inside, but I tried it. You can’t win them all.  

In sharp contrast, my stepmother didn’t win a lot. She was a terrible cook.  I’m unsure how you can make beef stew inedible, but she managed. Something having to do with the gravy, I suspect. My older brother and I, after over 55 years,  still will not eat beef, potatoes, and carrots on the same plate. Liver and onions, bratwurst, and gray, unappetizing Polish dishes were at the top of the list of meals that inspired me to eat at my friend’s house for dinner. Still, she gave me heated Dr. Pepper when I was sick and made a hot tuna salad in hot dog buns with tons of Velvetta. You can’t go wrong with cheese. 

My Dad was the “king of the grill,” especially with ribs and steaks. He was your man if you like medium-rare meat, and we grew up on it. In the kitchen, his expertise was mainly egg salad sandwiches at Easter and snow ice cream in the winter.  

With Memorial Day weekend upon us, I’m again reminded of summer staples like ribs, baked beans, potato salad, corn on the cob, and watermelon. Holidays, along with family, evoke memories of ever-present foods on each occasion, such as:

•  Thanksgiving = My grandmother’s meat dressing and whole berry cranberry sauce 

• Christmas = a table full of finger foods, a veggie tray with dip, oysters, and fudge (quite the combo!) 

• New Year’s Eve = pizza

• Easter = Ham and deviled eggs   

On that note, my only child remarked last Easter that the green bean casserole his mother-in-law brought was “his favorite. ”  

That was the perfect opportunity to ask, “What foods or meals were his “favorites” growing up, or what food I made that he liked or remembered?” With a confused look on his face, I saw a mental tape of thirty-six years of meals playing in his head.

 “I don’t know, “ he shrugged, “maybe shake and bake pork chops?” 

Clearly, I have more work to do in the kitchen. 

What are some of your family's food traditions, memories, and special meals? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.

 I wish you all a Happy Memorial Day weekend! Make some excellent food and lasting memories! 

Thanks for reading!

Keep smiling!

xx

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Mom’s Frito Taco Salad with Catalina Dressing

Author: Jamie Sanders

 Prep Time: 20 Cook Time: 1 Total Time: 25 minutes 

Yield: serves 5 to 6 

Description

This Frito Taco Salad with Catalina Dressing is always the standout “salad dish” for potlucks!  The Fritos and taco-seasoned beef combine perfectly with the sweet and tangy flavor of the Catalina Dressing for a flavorful taco salad everyone enjoys.

Ingredients

• 8 to 10 cups of romaine or iceberg lettuce, chopped.  (Or whatever looks like enough to feed your family.)

• 1lb of lean ground beef (or turkey)

• 1 package of taco seasoning (or 2.5 tablespoons bulk seasoning)

• 1 can of black or pinto beans, drained (pintos are best)

• 1 cup of corn

• 2 tomatoes, chopped

• 1.5 cups of shredded cheese

• 2 cups of Fritos

• Catalina Dressing  (use your judgment on the amount.)

(optional toppings:  chopped green onions or black olives)

Instructions

Brown the ground meat, adding the package of taco seasoning in towards the end (If your taco seasoning is in bulk, use 2.5 tablespoons.)

Tip: Don’t break the ground beef up in too small of pieces – larger bites of taco seasoned ground beef are just tastier. Remove from heat and drain if needed.

Add all the ingredients to the salad in a large bowl and mix everything together. Combine well, making sure everything is coated with the dressing.

Top with extra Fritos and desired extra toppings. Serve immediately!

Notes

If you want to put this together ahead of time for a party or potluck, mix the cooked and seasoned beef with the beans and corn and place in one container and the lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese in their separate bags. Once you are on location, combine everything, adding the Fritos and Catalina dressing to the salad last.

Nutrition

Calories: 504 Sugar: 14 Fat: 29 Carbohydrates: 38 Fiber: 5 Protein: 24

Find it online: 

https://www.scatteredthoughtsofacraftymom.com/taco-salad-fritos-catalina-dressing-recipe/

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