Mama's vinegar cucumbers and onion

• 1 cup of water
• 3/4 cup of vinegar (or less)
• 2 peeled and sliced cucumbers
• 1 medium sliced purple onion

This recipe needs to be to "your" liking, so you will just need to taste the mixture of water to vinegar and if it's too vinegar tasting..then add more water and vice versa.

Mix all of the above in a large bowl and keep in the refrigerator. Easy! This was always something my mama had on the table during the summer months, along with a plate of fresh peeled maters. She would just keep adding more onion and more cucumbers when the bowl was empty. I would recommend changing the water at least every 2-3 weeks. Oh, and use an old cool whip bowl or Tupperware bowl. This can ruin a good Tupperware bowl. :)

Chicken and Rice Casserole

• 1 whole chicken
• 3 boiled eggs
• 1 large family size can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cups of Miracle Whip salad dressing (trust me)
• 1 1/2 cups of rice (uncooked) w/3 cups of the cooked chicken broth
• 8-10 cups of water
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large bag of regular lays chips, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tbsp of chicken bouillon
• 1 tsp each of:  Tony's, salt/pepper, garlic/onion powder

I try to take all of the skin off of the chicken except for the thighs/drums, this makes the "stock/broth" not so "fatty", but still packs a lot of flavor.

In a large stock pot, add your 8-10 cups of water, chicken, bouillon, spices, bay leaf, veggies and boil for about an hour. Once the chicken is "about" to fall apart, remove it from the pot, remove your bay leaf, turn your heat off, add the cream of chicken soup, mix until dissolved, remove 3 cups of the broth to use to cook your rice, add your eggs and cover. Let the eggs sit in the HOT broth for about 15-20 minutes. This will give your rice time to cook and you can de-bone the chicken. Once the rice is cooked, remove the eggs and chop.

In a large mixing bowl, add your hot rice, chicken, chopped eggs, mayo, about 2 cups of the broth, a little more salt/pepper to taste. Mix until well combined. I usually add more mayo and broth until I get the flavor I like. Spray a 13x9 glass baking dish, add the rice mixture, top with the crushed lays chips and bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes until bubbly.

**I had about 2-3 cups left of the broth which I put into ice trays, let it cool down at room temp and then put it in the freezer. Once they are frozen, you can put them in sandwich or freezer bags for later usage. They will keep in the freezer for about 3-4 months**

Chicken & Dumplings

• 1 whole chicken
• 2 cans of cream of chicken soup or 1 large family size
• 2 cans of biscuits
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes
• 3 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped (optional)
• spices: salt, pepper, thyme, lemon pepper, onion/garlic powder, Tony's
• enough water to cover your chicken (about 8-10 cups)

In a large stock pot, boil your chicken, water, veggies, and spices for about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your chicken. I honestly never look at the weight of the chicken, just the price, which I usually buy about a $4.50 whole chicken :) On the spices, I use about a teaspoon each.

While your chicken is cooking, pop both cans of biscuits. I use the cheapest, store brand, buttermilk. I put about 1 cup of flour on a paper plate and put all the biscuits on the plate. On a floured board or newspaper, put about 1/2 cup of flour to dredge the biscuits on both sides. Roll out your biscuits and cut into dumplings. I just make sure both sides are floured and roll it until it's about the size of my fist. Put a "dusting" on top of the plate of dumplings. This is just for added "thickness" to the broth.

Once your chicken is done, let it set on a plate until cool enough to handle, then de-bone and chop. While the chicken is cooling, add your 2 cans of cream of chicken soup to the broth and stir until blended. De-bone your chicken and add it to the pot. Check your broth to see if you need to add more salt or spices. Once your broth is back up to a nice boil, turn the heat down a bit, medium high, and start adding the dumplings. A few at a time. Once they are all in the pot, cook for an additional 15 minutes at medium and turn the heat off. Let it set a while. It will be hot. I LOVE the broth. Serve with rice and cornbread.