Chicken Noodle Nod to Grandma

Today's culinary oddity wasn't from some fancy-pants cookbook, but rather from my very own Grandma BT. She didn't have a large food budget to feed her 4 boys when they were younger, so I guess this recipe was to help her stretch her dollar a bit further. I mean, I maybe would've picked a different soup to make gravy with, but what do I know?

Grandma gave me this recipe box for Christmas, and to date, it's still one of my favorite gifts someone has given me EVER. That being said, this is probably the weirdest recipe in the bunch, and the ingredients list makes it look like a texture nightmare.

1/2 stick of butter or bacon drippings

1 can chicken noodle soup

1/2 teaspoon salt

3-4 heaping tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

salt & pepper to taste

You start off by melting butter or bacon drippings in a pan. To reassure all the Southern folk out there, I do have a jar of bacon drippings in the fridge I used for this. (As if any of you are surprised.) You add the flour in with the butter or bacon drippings and cook the flour for a little while. The dogs were particularly interested in this step because it made the kitchen smell like bacon. I appeased them by giving them bits of egg from the breakfast sandwiches that I almost burnt while watching Motel Makeover on Netflix this morning. #multitasking

Next, you add the milk a little at a time and whisk it constantly. This isn't a dish you want to leave on the stove without supervision, so don't start a new series on TV until AFTER you're done cooking. You finish it up by adding a whole can of chicken noodle soup and some salt and pepper to taste and letting it thicken before serving over biscuits or mashed potatoes.

My husband eyed his plate suspiciously and after one bite asked if I had made Spam gravy. (Ha! Maybe next time.) But it must not have bothered him too much, because he finished off his biscuit and went back for seconds. It didn't dawn on him until afterward that there were noodles in the gravy.

Since he didn't seem offended by it, I made myself a plate and dug in. The texture wasn't as noodle-y as I was expecting, thank goodness. It was pretty much like you'd expect regular biscuits and gravy to taste, but with a little more chicken stock flavor. The kiddo even tasted a little bite after I chased her down the hallway with it and she liked it. It's like she thinks I make her eat gross food? No idea why.

Final rating: Actually edible. I definitely saw my husband lick his plate. And as usual, the dogs gave their enthusiastic approval. So, I guess Grandma does always know best.