Sunday Traditions With My BIG, FAT SOUTHERN FAMILY

I realize that I have been MIA for a couple of weeks.  But it was for a very good reason; I have had kids and grand kids here for the past two weeks.  It has been utter chaos, with toys strewn from one end of the house to the other, wet diapers  balled up and peeking from whatever corner they were changed in, not to mention the croup!  Yes...my time has been VERY occupied but now that I finally find myself caught up with the dirty clothes and dishes and my house is clean and quiet it's time to post on the blog again.  And today's post is one about traditions.

I LOVE traditions; holidays, birthdays and family vacations.  Recently I decided to start what I like to refer to as our "Sunday Tradition".  Now this BIG, FAT SOUTHERN FAMILY of mine continues to grow and as kids and grand kids continue to move back closer to us, we like to spend our Sundays together and I decided to create a new tradition that will hopefully be carried on for many years throughout the generations of our family.

This is what our family does on Sundays:  First, we get up and go to Sunday School and church service.  This is where I refuel for the week.  We start the day out by worshipping together.  And yes...we all attend the same church where we all sit together.  When everyone is in town (12 adults), we take up an entire row by ourselves!  After church, everyone comes back to our house for Sunday lunch.  And that is precisely what I want to talk about today.  THAT is our new "Sunday Tradition".

In order to be able to have my BIG, FAT FAMILY over for lunch on Sundays some advance preparation is necessary.  Hubby and I usually start the food prep on Saturday; cooking the meat and dessert.  Some times, Ryan and Allison have shown up with a dessert and it has even been suggested that if we continue to do this everyone should bring a dish...HEY, I like that idea!  Anyway, I've decided to start posting our Sunday lunches on here with recipes included (in case they look so yummy you just MUST try them yourself).

The first thing I do is to set the table in the dining room.  Yep...you heard right.  I have decided, "What use is it to have a dining room and china if you only ever use them on special occasions or holidays?"  So I decided that we will eat in the dining room every Sunday on the china...with pretty napkins!

                                                    This week's Sunday menu was...

   Pork shoulder that had been brined, seasoned and cooked on the Green Egg for 6 hours Saturday.

                                This corn was a side dish; picked fresh and taken off the cob.

These green beans were also fresh.  They were blanched for 1 minute, put in cold water and then returned to a skillet that had sauteed bacon in it and cooked with a lid covering them until done.

This Rice Consomme is a favorite of everyone...even the people who are not big rice eaters!  I'm including this recipe for you because it is SO YUMMY and I'm certain your family will like it as much as mine does.

RICE CONSOMME:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Place 1 stick of butter in baking dish in heated oven until melted.
Add 1 10 1/2 oz. can Beef Broth and 1 10 1/2 oz. can Beef Consomme, along with 1 cup uncooked rice.  Cover the dish with foil and put back in the oven until all the liquid is cooked out (approximately 30-40 mins.).  ENJOY!

I also always prepare some sort of bread to go along with the meal (What would a BIG, FAT SOUTHERN MEAL be without bread?!).  This week it was Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits.  I wasn't planning on making them but when Hubby heard me say that I needed buttermilk to make dessert, he started saying he wanted Buttermilk Biscuits.  And it WAS Father's Day, so...

I not only made those Buttermilk Biscuits but I served them on one of my favorite serving dishes...The Wooden Pig!

Last, but certainly NOT least was this WONDERFUL Kentucky Butter Cake!  I had seen the recipe on Pinterest and immediately knew that I had to make it.  I'm including the link to the recipe I used...Just in case it also looks too yummy for you not to try:  (Kentucky Butter Cake Recipe).

And then it's time for conversation at the table, followed by children playing while either a football game or NASCAR can be heard on the television in the background.  Some are reading, the babies are napping and it is as a Sunday should be.  A day of rest.  Spent worshipping God and then fellowshipping with family.  It's the simple things that make the best traditions and I love our new "Sunday Tradition" with my ever expanding crew!