10 Old MAMAW Suppers for Seniors Living Alone (Nothing Goes to Waste)

Every recipe card in my tin says serves six, and since Harlan passed in 2014 there has been one plate in my drainer. For a whole year I made the same mistake most folks make cooking for one, and the fix was never a smaller pan. Three pots, soup beans, a stewed hen and a Dutch oven of chili, make all ten of these suppers, down to a chili that goes in the oven and comes out a pie. Mama learned these ways as a girl in the Depression and fed nine off the garden in an eastern Kentucky holler, and she never once ate standing up. The free Pantry List of every shelf staple behind these three pots is in the pinned comment too. THE RECIPES SOUP BEANS (supper 1: 1 1/2 cups, a cornbread wedge, a slice of raw onion) - 1 lb dry pinto beans - 1 smoked ham hock or piece of side meat - 1 whole peeled onion - 8 cups water, 1 tsp black pepper, about 1 1/2 tsp salt 1. Pick over and rinse beans. Soak overnight, or boil 2 min and leave covered off heat 1 hour. Drain. 2. Heavy pot: add hock, onion, water, pepper, no salt. Boil, turn low, lid half on, simmer 2 1/2 to 3 hours at a bare tremble. Add hot water if beans uncover. 3. Remove hock and onion, chop meat, stir back. Salt to taste. 4. Done when a bean mashes flat and broth is cloudy brown. Makes about 6 1/2 cups. Into shallow containers and the icebox within 2 hours. CREAMY BEAN SOUP (supper 2) - 2 cups beans and broth - 1 cup water or chicken broth 1. Combine in a small saucepan. Mash 1/2 cup beans, stir back. 2. Simmer 10 min till creamy. PINTO BEAN CAKES (supper 3) - 3 cups pintos, drained and blotted dry - 1 small onion, grated; 1 egg - 1/2 cup cornmeal, 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp pepper - bacon grease 1. Mash beans, some left whole; mix in the rest. Shape cakes 1/2 inch thick. 2. Fry in 1/4 inch shimmering grease, 4 min a side unmoved. Top with a fried egg. STEWED HEN - 1 whole chicken, about 4 lb - 8 cups cold water, 1 onion quartered, 2 celery ribs, 2 bay leaves 1. Dutch oven: bring up, skim foam, simmer low covered about 1 hour. 2. Done when a leg wiggles loose and thigh reads 165F. Cool 20 min, pull about 4 cups meat, strain about 7 cups broth. Freeze half. STEWED CHICKEN OVER BISCUITS (supper 4) - 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp flour - 1 1/2 cups broth, 1 cup chicken - 1/4 tsp pepper, salt, 2 split biscuits 1. Melt butter over medium, stir in flour, cook 2 min. 2. Whisk in broth, simmer 5 min. Add chicken and seasoning. Ladle over biscuits. CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS FOR TWO (supper 5) - 1 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tbsp lard - about 6 tbsp hot broth, plus 3 cups broth - 1 cup chicken 1. Cut lard into flour and salt, stir in hot broth for a stiff dough. 2. Roll 1/8 inch thin, cut 1 by 2 inch strips. 3. Drop one at a time into barely simmering broth, flour left on. No stirring 2 min, then simmer uncovered 20 min. Stir in chicken. CHICKEN HASH (supper 6) - 2 tbsp bacon grease, 1 cup diced cooked potato, 1/2 onion - 1 cup chicken, splash of broth, egg optional 1. Cast iron: cook potato and onion 5 min. 2. Add chicken and broth, press flat, leave 6 to 8 min till it crackles. 3. Turn in sections, 5 min more. CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP (supper 7) - 3 cups frozen hen broth, thawed in the icebox - 1/4 cup long-grain rice, 1 onion diced - 1/2 cup frozen pulled chicken, salt, pepper 1. Boil broth in a 2-quart pan. Add rice and onion, cover, simmer 18 to 20 min. 2. Add chicken the last 5 min, back to a boil. Chill leftovers within the hour. CHILI (supper 8: 1 1/2 cups, saltines, raw onion) - 1 lb ground beef, 1 large onion, 2 garlic cloves - 2 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin - 1 big can crushed tomatoes, 1 cup water, 1 tsp salt - 3 cups soup beans 1. Dutch oven: brown beef, drain. Cook onion 5 min, then garlic and spices 1 min. 2. Add the rest, simmer 45 to 60 min. Dry kidney beans must boil hard 10 min first. CHILI MAC FOR TWO (supper 9) - 1 cup elbow macaroni, 1 1/2 cups chili, 1/4 cup water, cheddar 1. Boil macaroni a minute short. 2. Heat chili and water to a full bubble, stir in macaroni, cheese on top, lid on 2 min. TAMALE PIE (supper 10) - 2 cups chili - 1/2 cup cornmeal, 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt - 1 egg, 1/2 cup milk, 1 tbsp melted bacon grease 1. Oven 400F. Bubble chili in an 8-inch cast-iron skillet. 2. Stir batter, spread over hot chili, sealed to the edge. 3. Bake 20 to 25 min till golden and a toothpick comes out clean. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:30 Mamaw June's Story 1:03 The Cookbook 1:33 The Cooking Mistake 2:19 Starting the Beans 2:42 Simmering The Pot 4:13 Three Bean Suppers 5:43 Cooking The Whole Thing 6:14 Stewing The Hen 7:44 Chicken Dumplings Debate 10:00 Chicken Rice Soup 11:13 Chili Three Ways 13:03 Tamale Pie Finale