Going to try this one last time - my computer went stupid on me twice now. And this is long.
When son was stationed in Georgia, he found himself a girlfriend and asked me for directions for cooking some nice meals for her. I will copy and paste my emails here.
PORK CHOPS WITH MUSHROOM GRAVY
Buy four pork chops.
Buy an onion.
Buy two cans of Golden Cream of Mushroom Soup (Campbell’s is the only one that makes it - if they don’t have Campbell’s, the store brand or any brand of Cream of Mushroom Soup can be substituted. They are 10 3/4 ounces usually. But if the store has big cans, one big can can be substituted.)
Buy one box of Betty Crocker Butter and Herb Instant Mashed Potatoes
Buy whatever kind of vegetable you want to make.
Buy Olive Oil
Buy Milk
Buy Butter
Buy Salt and Pepper
Buy a sharp knife
Buy a measuring cup
Buy a spoon to stir stuff
Buy a skillet that will hold four pork chops and has a lid. If you can’t find one with a lid, buy heavy duty aluminum foil.
Buy a pot to make your mashed potatoes in
Buy a pot or a microwave to make your vegetables in
Buy beer or other beverage.
Unpack everything and have a beverage. You will be tired from shopping.
When you are about an hour from wanting to eat all of this stuff, start by chopping the onion. You can chop it any way you want but I usually do about a 1/2" dice. You can see how to chop an onion by googling it but it’s pretty dang easy. Then, put the skillet on the stove, turn it on medium high, and add about a tablespoon of oil - spread it around the skillet. When it’s hot, add the onions. You can tell if oil is hot by dropping in a piece of onion - if it sizzles you’re good. Add the rest of the onions and cook them until they get kind of soft - you aren’t trying to brown them. As you’re sauteeing the onions, add some salt (just sprinkle a little in. Two shakes of a salt shaker.
Next, salt and pepper the porkchops (both sides - lightly), and put them in the pan. You will need to brown them. Leave it sit in the pan till the bottom is browned, then turn them over and brown the other side.
Once they are browned nicely (not burned, just browned), put them on a plate. Leave the onions in the pan. Next, dump both cans of soup in the pan and about a 1/4 cup of milk. Stir that all up until mixed. Put the pork chops back in the pan, cover wth the sauce, and wait until it starts getting bubbly. When it gets bubbly, turn the stove all the way down to simmer or low, cover the pan with either the lid, or with the foil making sure that the edges are pretty tight, and let it cook on simmer for about 50 minutes. Stir it once or twice so the sauce doesn’t stick or burn in the pan. When it’s about 10 minutes from done, read the directions on the box of mashed potatoes and make those, and read the directions on the vegetables and make those.
Eat.
Love and Mom Hugs!!!
MISS YOU!!!
Ma (DUH! :D)
The next one I sent him is for Craig Chicken. Don’t ask how it got that name. It just did.
CRAIG CHICKEN
Buy a package of Buddig Beef. They are in the lunchmeat section - and they hang from hooks. They’re basically a cellophane package of slices of processed beef.
Buy a package of chicken thighs (6 or 8).
Buy a package of bacon. Cheap bacon is ok - just so long as it’s uncooked. It doesn’t have to be Oscar Meyer - cheap bacon is still bacon. And all bacon is good.
Buy two cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup (10 3/4 oz).
Buy a 16 oz tub of Sour Cream
Buy a 13 x 9 baking dish, preferably Pyrex. Yes you CAN use a foil pan, but trust me, I’m you’re mother. You’re going to need a decent baking dish.
Buy a box of minute rice
Buy whatever vegetable you want
Buy whatever dessert you want
Buy milk. No, the recipe does not include milk, but I know you and you are probably not drinking enough milk so get some. Besides, it will go with dessert.
Buy something to drink - you know I was right from the first recipe! You’re gonna be tired.
Buy a can of PAM nonstick cooking spray.
Buy a mixing bowl (see above explanation re the baking dish)
When you’re ready to do this, turn the oven on to 350. It needs to preheat.
Now. Open the bag o’beef and count how many slices you have, and divide it by the number of chicken thighs you have. This is how many slices you will put in the baking dish per chicken thigh. So you will have eight stacks if you have eight thighs, six stacks if you have six thighs.
Next, spray the baking dish with Pam. Do NOT do this over a tile floor. Bad things happen. Trust me. You were too young to remember and I refuse to make a fool out of myself by describing it at this late date so just trust me - spray the baking dish over the sink.
Next, lay the stacks of beef equally around the baking dish. Put a chicken thigh on top of each one.
Open your bacon. For every chicken thigh you will cut one piece of bacon in half and drape it over the chicken.
Cover the pan with foil (you should have some left from the porkchops) and put it in the oven for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, take off the foil. Bake it for another 25 minutes. Set the timer on the oven so you will know when it’s done.
While that 25 minutes is going on, read the directions for the minute rice and whatever vegetables you chose. Get your pans ready for the rice and for the vegetables.
Grab your mixing bowl, and dump in the two cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup and the Sour Cream. Stir it all together. When the timer for the last 25 minutes for the chicken goes off, pull it out of the oven, drain the fat, and pour the soup/sour cream mixture all over it. This will become gravy so to speak. Put it back in the oven uncovered for another twenty minutes.
After you’ve put it back in the oven, make the rice and make the vegetables.
When the chicken is done, serve it over the white rice, with the vegetable on the side. The sour cream/soup stuff is gravy. So you’ll have a nice little pile of white rice, pile o’beef, chicken thigh, bacon, sauce with extra sauce on the side. And a vegetable. And dessert.
Love and Mom Hugs!!!
Miss you!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
PS - Dog says “YO!” 
Here’s the last one.
COUNTRY RIBS
Buy a package of Country Ribs. These are not baby backs - you will recognize them when you see them - they’re in the Pork section of the meat department and usually have six or seven in the package. Like I said - you’ve eaten them enough you’ll recognize them.
Buy a big bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce.
Buy an onion.
Make sure you have foil - if you don’t, buy more. You’ll need a few long sheets.
Buy a box of Betty Crocker Au Gratin potatoes.
Buy butter
Buy milk
Buy some type of vegetable
Buy dessert
Call your mother and thank her for telling you to get the baking dish because you’re going to use it again.
Buy a pyrex baking dish. Like the round one I’ve used all of your life.
Turn on oven to 350. Foil line your baking dish. Then Pam the baking dish on top of the foil. And remember, Pam + tile = BAD. Spray the dish over the sink.
Salt and pepper the ribs on all sides. Put them in the baking dish in a single layer. Slice up the onion into rings - put them over the pork ribs. Put maybe 1/4 cup of water in the baking dish. Cover the dish really really tightly with foil and put it in the oven. Bake it for two hours. Two and a half if you’re feeling lazy.
In the meantime, read the box of AuGratin potatoes - it will tell you how long it needs to bake for based on different oven temperatures. Choose the 350 option. Prepare the potatoes in the dish I told you to buy - and you’ll want to Pam that one too before you do potatoes. Those suckers can STICK!
Now - here’s the tricky part. The potatoes at the 350 version usually take about 45 minutes. So when the ribs have been in the oven for just under two hours, put the potatoes in. When the ribs have cooked, covered, for about 2 hours and 15 minutes, drain the grease and water, cover them with BBQ sauce, and put them back in the oven until the potatoes are done. Don’t cover.
During this last stage (after ribs have sauce and potatoes are baking) make your vegetables.
After you take the potatoes out, let them sit for about five minutes - they’ll still be hot, but they won’t be soupy.
You DO realize, don’t you, that when you come back on leave, you will have to cook for me, right?
Love you son, and we all miss you like crazy!!
MOM HUGS!!!
XOXOXOXOX
Baron sends a paw bump!
