Don’t ask me to cook a gourmet meal in 20 minutes. I would fail miserably.

There’s a show on Food Network, some kind of cooking challenge, where the chefs have about 20 minutes to cook a gourmet meal that looks good and is edible.

I can make eggs and bacon in 20 minutes. That’s about it.

They use things like octopus (blech…..) and squid ink noodles (I thought ink was poison). Where are the beans and taters?? I seriously couldn’t be a food show judge — half the stuff they make isn’t anything I would touch!

I have graduated from hamburgers, though. Some years ago, my menu consisted mainly of hamburgers and fries. Now I’ll eat things like cauliflower, snap peas and even squash. I prefer my squash fried, though.

It’s interesting to see what the chefs come up with as they scurry around making up their dish as they go and grabbing ingredients to fix it all. I’d spend all my time in the potato aisle. You can make potatoes for any occassion and not fix the same thing twice.

Something else I’m good at making — a mean peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I have to have just the right peanut butter. None of that stuff they used to put in the giveaway boxes my papaw got once a month. It was a big ol tin can of peanut butter — and, let me tell you, it would stick to  your ribs. That was some of the thickest peanut butter I’ve ever encountered.

Now that I’ve given my age away….

I don’t think they do those boxes any more. Nothing wrong with being the recipient of a giveaway box! That was some of the best cheese. It was a big long block of cheese, and made the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever.

Now where was I? Oh yeah — I’m good at making (and eating) all the stuff you probably won’t see on a tv cooking show.

I can make pretty good hamburger helper, grilled cheese (as mentioned above), meatloaf and mac and cheese (a necessary food group).There ya go, Food Network people. That’s real food!

Now you know, there’s nothing to worry about if you can’t cook or eat like the people on tv. I seriously used to worry about that — like I was a castoff because I didn’t eat fancy food. Now that was just crazy.  Southern grandma food is in — just ask the Cracker Barrel gang.

That’s where I could do a competition and win — or at least make it to the finals. Cracker Barrel food war is right up my alley. My between-college-semesters job at The Biscuit Company would come handy! I can make homemade biscuits with the best of ’em – and eat my share of them.

Since most of my topics include food, maybe I need to consider changing the name of this blog to The Doublewide Kitchen, or something like that. Most of the fun times in my life include food –either making and eating it or going somewhere to eat.

I tried something different the other day that I had in mind I wanted to make – it was kind of a banana pudding cobbler. The end result: it was good while fresh, but don’t try to save any for the next day. Sometimes my concoctions turn out ok and sometimes… well…

Anyway – in case you want to try it — I don’t mind sharing the recipe. If you try it with your own spin, let me know how it turns out:

Doublewide Banana Pudding Cobbler

2 large boxes, vanilla pudding mix (I used the cook and serve, but you don’t have to)

2 medium to large bananas (cut up in a bowl – squirt some lemon juice on to keep them from turning brown)

1 box, yellow cake mix

1 stick butter — melted

9X10 glass baking dish — or metal cake pan will do

How to make: prepare pudding according to the package directions and spread in baking dish. Then put the sliced banana pieces in the pudding — try to spread them evenly throughout. Next sprinkle the yellow cake mix over the pudding and bananas. Finish by drizzling the melted butter evenly over the cake mix. Bake in 350 degree oven for about an hour — or when the conglomeration browns. Mine only took 30 minutes, but all ovens vary.

Top with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

Like I said, mine turned out pretty good. It was not so good the next day after sitting over night in the refrigerator. You be the judge.

Happy eating! Look for more of my “homemade concoctions” from time to time as I get weird food ideas and decide to see of they’re actually edible.

(Post and recipe first shared on Wisdom from the Doublewide 6/2/2019)