Just Like Grandma Used to Make...YUM!

I have been in a baking mood lately! John is not complaining at all :) My recent favorite has benn my Grandma Hedinger's Banana Bread recipe! Goodness gracious it's delicious. It looks like it could be so heavy but it is moist and light. I am in love with this banana bread. Seriously. I can't make it with walnuts though because my tempermental stomach can't handle them anymore for some reason...serious pain happens. Anyway, I love it without the walnuts and John doesn't miss them either.

I wanted to make two loaves last night so I could share but...alas...only enough ingredients for one! Better luck next time.

Now, my food memories of my Grandma Hedinger pretty much revolve around baked goods and I have started to venture into more of her recipes since I love to bake. Some of her recipes are tough to follow however. In her words to me years ago when I was questioning the lack of "directions" or the "add enough flour to handle" (how much is that?), she said, "that's how we Germans cooked, add some of this and some of that and cook it until it's done". Hmmm.

My Grandma Hedinger wasn't the only cooking Grandma I had. While she was the baker that I remember, my food memories of my Granny Kleeman are of good old fashioned comfort food! My Granny's chili was a staple whenever we came to visit. We'd get in the door, give hugs and kisses, sit at the table and if the chili wasn't already on the stove it was on its way! Of course cheese and bologna crackers were the side dish for this meal :) Also a favorite and a regular of Granny's was fried chicken.

When I went to college in Indiana for my 1st two years I would go to my Grandma and Grandpa Kleeman's house on the weekends and just about EVERY Sunday we would have fried chicken for lunch. We'd also have Granny's mashed potatoes (she'd leave some lumps in for us), regular or creamed corn (Grandpa's favorite), cucumbers and tomatoes and onions in vinegar, and no meal was complete without jelly bread!

Of course, the ultimate favorite dish at granny's house...the one we always asked for...steak and gravy with dressing balls...OH...MY...GOSH! She'd start it in the mid morning and put it in the crockpot to sit on the counter all day and tease us with the delicious aroma. My dad just made this last weekend when Shea came into town because she had been asking for it. YUMMY! It took me back to Granny's.

Don't know why I've been thinking about my Grandma's (both of them) cooking so much. Maybe because I have been enjoying some of their recipes lately. Maybe I should go eat some lunch...too bad I don't have any steak and dressing balls tucked away in my fridge...turkey sandwich for me!