So for the Writing 101 Day Ten post, I’m supposed to write about my favorite food, and do it in my own voice. But everything I write is in my own voice, so what does that even mean?  I mean, I have different voices, obviously – there’s the voice I use with my kids, the voice I use with my kids when they’re in trouble, the voice I use when I’m talking to other adults, the voice I write novels in (and that changes depending on the story), the voice I write blog posts in, the voice I write my diary in…

I guess I’m just going to have to pick one, aren’t I? 😀

Alrighty, then.  I have about as many favorite foods as I have voices (apparently I have a lot of those), but the one that immediately comes to mind is pork chops and rice.  I usually replace the pork chops with chicken breasts, though, which is also fantastic (maybe even better than the pork chops), and my dad would often substitute steaks.  My mom used to make this dish, and I adored it.  Couldn’t get enough.

But the rice is the best part.  The recipe:

1 pkg. chicken breasts
2 c. minute rice
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans milk

Preheat oven to 350° and place chicken breasts in a baking dish.  Combine soup and milk and pour over chicken.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Add rice; mix well and return to oven for 15 minutes.

Doesn’t that sound divine?  Of course, when I don’t feel like waiting for an hour to eat, I just do the rice part:

2 c. minute rice
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans milk

Combine soup and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Add rice and cook till tender.

I don’t know where my mom came by this recipe, although I suspect she got it from her best friend, Connie, who was also my best friend’s mom.  The original recipe called for one can of cream of celery soup and one can of cream of chicken soup, but I like mushroom better.  It gives it a richer flavor and, the one time I tried to eat just a bowl of cream of mushroom soup, I found myself wishing that it was full of rice, too.  It’s a comfort food like none other.

Well, sort of, I guess.  Clearly I’ve changed my mom’s original recipe quite a bit.  But I think she started the mushroom soup substitution, and I’ve gone on to add parsley to it as well (and sometimes other seasonings – everything from basil and rosemary to sage and thyme – depending on my mood).  When I’m in the mood for some good ol’ down-home cooking, this is one of the first things I turn to.  It’s creamy, rich, and warm, and it just can’t be beaten.

Unless, of course, you happen to have some chicken alfredo…

(c) 2014.  All rights reserved.