Southerners have many things to be proud about. But there are two things we do so well that no one should even try to compete with us: cooking and drinking. The flavors in southern food are rich, spicy and truly comforting, hence southern food being referred to as comfort food. While most people think that southern food is unhealthy there are ways of making your favorite dishes a little less fattening. You are about to find out how to make the perfect southern dinner.

Mamma’s Oven Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

15 chicken breasts

1 quart buttermilk

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tb. Salt

1 Tb. Fresh ground pepper

1 stick of butter

Olive oil

Place the breasts in a bowl full of buttermilk. Cover the bowl and allow the breasts to soak in the milk overnight.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix. Place the butter stick in the bowl and microwave until the butter is soft. With your hands, mix the butter in with the other ingredients in the bowl.

Take the chicken and cover each piece, completely with the mixture.

Pour 1-inch thick of olive oil into a baking pan. Place the chicken in the pan and cook in batches. DO NOT CROWD THE CHICKEN. Cook on each side until golden brown. After the chicken has fried, bake for another 35-40 minutes. Enjoy.

Bacon and Butter Green Beans

Ingredients:

frozen green beans

3 Tb. utter

bacon bits

1 Tb. freshly ground pepper

Soak the beans in boiling water with bacon until the green beans are soft. Drain the mixture and throw out the bacon. Then put the beans back into a skillet with all of the butter, pepper and more bacon bits. When the butter is starting to sizzle, put the beans and the bacon into a strainer to get rid of the excess butter. The beans are now ready to serve.

Cheesy Creamy Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

2 Cups uncooked elbow macaroni

4 Tb. Butter

½ Cup Sour Cream

1 Can cheddar cheese soup

½ t. Salt

1 Cup whole milk

Boil the macaroni until tender and then drain. In a medium-sized bowl mix the butter and cheese until the cheese begins to melt. In a slow cooker, combine the cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk and cheddar cheese soup. Once the mixture is nice and gooey, add the cooked macaroni. Stir occasionally for three hours and keep the slow cooker on the lowest setting. After the three hours, you are ready to eat your cheesy, creamy mac!

Extra Butter and Bacon Mashed Potatoes

1 head Garlic

5 pounds Idaho potatoes

1 t. Salt

2 t. Fresh ground pepper

3 cups butter

1 carton of sour cream

1 block sharp white cheddar cheese

1 ½ pounds bacon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut tops off of the garlic head. Wrap in foil and roast the garlic heads. In a large stockpot, cook all of the potatoes in enough salted water to cover for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the water and put the potatoes back into the stockpot. Beat the potatoes, leaving the potatoes a little chunky. Add all of the other ingredients to the crock-pot and mix. Serve those taters immediately!

So there you have it! How to make the perfect southern dinner! So invite all of your friends over and have a party. Don’t get too drunk ya’ll!