Oh, everything looks pretty darn gorey! The RW&Blk theme for the table sure works for this holiday! That candlebra just spooks me ... w/blood & spiders galore! Ewwwk! And the bowls w/finger foods...ewwwww! Your side table/buffet looks so good in your new room ...even w/all that skull stuff...love the pop of purple, too! TFS, maxi & looks like you all had a great evening of terror! Jeanne S.

Lizzy, I think that's an even better idea than chicken on the bone, and here chicken is removed from the bone, added to the gravy and spooned over the waffles, much like your version I'd guess, except the chicken is fried. Many times chicken "strips" or "fingers" are used. Renee, you're right about regional dishes even within a state. Elery moved to Michigan when he was 11, but he spent his childhood in Tennessee and had never heard of chicken and waffles, although I thought it was a "southern thing". He was astounded when I dragged out the sorghum molasses to put on my cornbread, and said that was a southern thing but I've been doing it all my life and I was born here in Michigan. Of course, he claims that Grandma had to be from the south because of the way she cooked, but she grew up in Ohio. A little searching revealed that Grandma's stepmother, who raised her from a very young age and taught her to cook, was from Kentucky. So some of her cooking "migrated" to Michigan with Grandma and my kids grew up eating what is considered by some to be "traditional southern cooking". I guess after a couple of generations, the way people move around, anything can become a regional specialty! As for the chicken and waffles with syrup, I know a lot of people who will cover their sausage with syrup when they have breakfast, so chicken with syrup is no stranger than that, I've just always seen it served with gravy and never for breakfast. Annie

Everyone's food looks so good. Lori those home made ravioli. Swoon material. Sharon your diet meals look pretty darn good. It does seem a bit funny not to see your normal sweet potato and veggie mixture on your plate. Annie we have been eating quite simply too. For the past few Saturdays we've been having corn for supper. Yesterday we had our easy pork chop casserole and an ear of corn on the side. Sliced onions in a 9x13, lay some pork chops on, then scatter 2 cups of rice on top. Pour 6 cups of beef stock/broth on top, cover with foil and bake for an hour. Easy and the rice is great the next day, though not very picture worthy. Tonight we had low cal tacos with some of the wonderful tomatoes. Tomatoes are gorgeous this year. Right now I'm using ones from my friends farm stand about a mile down the road. I browned very well some ground beef, put it into a strainer to drain grease, pat with paper towels to get more grease off, then salt the meat. When I assemble the tacos I put a couple teaspoons of meat in the bottom, then about a half ounce of cheese. Bake this in the micro/oven combo at 350 for five minutes to melt cheese. Shred bunch of lettuce and dice plenty of tomatoes. Mix them together with some salt and overfill the taco's. Sounds quite plain but is actually very delish. The fresh tomatoes make a nice sauce for the tacos with their juice after salted. Tomorrow I'm going to use some of the browned meat with some of the tomatoes that are getting too ripe and make a simple fresh pasta sauce for some ravioli I have in the freezer. Thanks for the idea Lori. I put in my tomatoes and basil on July 4th for a fall garden but I think I can take some of the basil for this, although I do still have quite a bit of frozen left. I had an order for a pecan pie so I made some cinnamon crisps with the leftover pie crust. I'm going to dig up the dessert thread to post those pics on. I had quite a surprise when I was taking the pics.

I've made the strawberry soup numerous times, but mine is a little different. Have it cruising on Carnival everytime I go. PATTI, check this out. rosemary braised white beans We first had these in a Greek restaurant called "Zoe�s Kitchen." My sister figured out a way to duplicate the amazing white beans they make. These are finger-lickin good. You need a few hours to let them simmer. Ingredients: 4 cans white beans (great northern) drained but not rinsed 4 cloves garlic 1 onion fresh rosemary, 1-2 sprig 1/4 c. olive oil plus 2 T salt and pepper chicken broth, about 1 cup Instructions: I used my ceramic Dutch oven pot so I could saute, boil, and bake in the same pot. If you don�t have an oven-proof pan, you will need several different pots. Begin by drizzling the pan with the 2 T of olive oil. Saute the onion with 1/2 t salt until soft, 5 minutes. Add the pressed garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 min. Then add the unrinsed beans, chicken stock, rosemary and 1/4 c olive oil. Cook on high until bubbly. Then turn the heat way down and simmer with the lid on for a nice long time. Keep your eye on it � you may need to add more chicken broth if starts sticking to the bottom of the pan. After an hour or so, use a potato masher (or spoon) to mash some of the beans, maybe half. Season with salt and pepper. Stir, and place in a 300 degree oven for another hour or so