Mama Bandit's Special Dinner

So...

Green Eyed Bandit's Mama was visiting the ATL last week.

And of course, she likes to get her cook-on.

All I know, I was bugging The Green Eyed Bandit in EARLY September about her mother's visit.

"Please let me know when Mama Bandit come to town so I can come over."

Yeah, so I can eat.

Because Mama Bandit know she can sho nuff cook. She always cooks when she comes to town.

People tend to worry about what I will eat if I come over. Heck, do YOU. Don't worry about all that... Just cook. I will show up with my own fruits and veggies, or I will eat whatever. Last time she cooked up a storm, she cooked some fried pork ribs. I had never had those before so you KNOW I had to try a little one.

So cook whatever. I will work it out. I am there for the fun and fellowship! And I like Mama Bandit. She's a cool Mama!

Anyway, I usually take pics with my cell phone, but when it comes to Mama Bandit's cooking, I had to dig out the Fuji digital camera and make sure it was charged to the max. I knew I would be taking plenty of pictures!

You know me. I don't show up empty handed. I'd talked to Green Eyed Bandit the day before.

"You want me to bring some cookies."

Bandit asked someone in the room. I heard "Hell yeah!" from someone off in the distance.

It was none other than Auntie Bandit. She likes the chocolate chip cookies.

She likes them a lot.

Anyway, I made chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies.

I think that's about 45 cookies. I wasn't sure how many people would be there, so I thought that would be enough.

They dove into those time I got there. Never mind that dinner wasn't even ready.

Aunt Ray-Ray was there when I got there. She was asleep on the couch. She is always smiling. She even sleeps with a smile. O_o.

Anyway she made her famous brownies. As you can see, they'd already dove into those.

On to Mama Bandit's creations.

She was standing in the kitchen at the stove with on hand on her hip, and stirring something with a spoon with the other hand. I looked around, and quickly realized she'd already finished cooking...

Mama Bandit hooked up the fried pork chops!

They sure looked good! I wanted to pinch a piece off with my finger, but decided against it. Me and pork just don't get along all that well these days.

She made candied yams!

Those yams were great! I told her,  "Mama Bandit! You went out early this morning, before the sun came up, and got down on your knees, and dug the sweet potatoes used to make these yams out the ground. Cuz they sho nuff good!"

There was a pot of green beans on the stove!

"Woo wee!" I hollered. "Those beans know they look good! Got every piece of pork in the world in them, but they sho nuff look good! I'm getting some of those!"

"You picked these green beans out of your magic garden, Mama Bandit! Early this morning!"

LOL

There were pinto beans and mashed potatoes.

"Boy! The beans!" I yelled. "What kind of beans are those!?"

"They are pinto beans," Mama Bandit said. "We weren't sure what you can eat."

"Whatever! I'm going to work it out, Mama Bandit!"

I lose my mind when I see vegetables! Hell, they could've had the pig's head up in the pot staring back at me.

No matter. An oldgirl gonna have some beans! That is all!

A pan of smothered chicken sat on the kitchen counter.

I had to pause and look closely at that.  I 'm from the south. Our smothered chicken is fried, then smothered down in thick gravy. This was different. It looks like it was baked, and a gravy was made for it.

I didn't question it. Mama Bandit is from Cleveland. This is smothered chicken... Cleveland style. I suppose they do things a bit differently up north, you see.

A close up of the chicken:

That looks good! Looks real tasty! A lightweight version of the southern version of smothered chicken. Nothing wrong with that.

Again, I wanted to pinch off a piece with my finger and taste it. But that would have been rude. LOL

Another pan held some smothered roast beef.

That looks mighty tasty. As you can see, Green Eyed bandit is holding up a piece of roast beef... just for you.

"The gravy is the bomb!" Auntie Bandit hollered.

"Really?" I said. I looked over at the mashed potatoes. "Uh, yeah, I believe I'm gonna have to try the gravy."

Yes sir. I did. And it was GREAT.

"Mama Bandit," I said. "You went outside early this morning and killed the cows, the pigs and the chickens just for this dinner!"

LOL.

And then there was the hot water cornbread.

I do love good cornbread. And the whole hot water cornbread is special if you can get it right. (Reader Lisa B.... are you still trying to figure it out?)

Down south we call those hoe cakes. No hot water used. I didn't know much about hot water cornbread until Lisa B. and I discussed them. They are called hot water cornbread because they are made with hot water.

That was the best cornbread I've ever had.

"Mama Bandit! You went outside and ground the corn to a fine meal on a rock. That's what you used to make this conbread! You ground it by hand! Early this morning!"

(I had her laughing hard with my pontifications about how she prepared the food.)

Yes, I talked much food trash. The food was GREAT!

"Take some beans home, Lee," Mama Bandit said. "Because they're not going to eat all of them."

You don't have to tell me twice, honey. I had some fresh nacho chips at home. I was gonna have some of those pinto beans with chips and salsa. Me and Bandit fussed over what to pack my beans up in. I told her to give me some ziploc bags and let me work it out. 

(Already had my beans and chips and salsa. It was DIVINE. That is all).

Thank you Green Eyed Bandit for allowing me to come fellowship with the family. I had a great time. Me and Aunt Ray-Ray were stretched out on your couch with the 'itis something awful. I'm not sure how that happened for me, as I had a plate full of beans and potatoes. Maybe it was the beef gravy on my potatoes! Maybe the starch got me! Because I really just wanted to lay out on that living room floor and go to sleep!

Bandit lives some 30 miles from me... The drive home was long. I took a much deserved nap when I got home!

Yo, holler at me when Mama Bandit comes back to town!

I will make sure to get there... EARLY in the morning! So I can help her get those vittles together!

LOL