Wow - after reading everyones comments, I am so jealous! My family never cooked big dinners like the ones everyones talking about. If my mom or dad cooked, it was usually something frozen from the store. Because of that, I never learned how to cook, hence why I am on Paula’s site. I love watching her show and trying to teach myself how to cook with her recipes. My poor husband grew up with homemade dinners like youve all mentioned, he had never heard of Stove Top Stuffing before he married me LOL Hopefully I will learn enough to pass something on to my four children. Thanks for the wonderful stories everyone!

By Lisa on November 12, 2010

I love the stories, sooo funny! So honest about not wanting but maybe one person to accept Jesus, so you could hurry home to Sunday Supper! LOL
Brings back memories of my Granny. Miss her.

By Sheri on November 04, 2010

What great memories everyone has. Paula and I read through your comments today and she pointed out to me how similar everyone’s meals were according to what part of the country you are from. By the way, my mom tells me she NEVER wore hot pants to church…I have a photo to prove differently and when I can find it, I’ll share it with you all. Thank you again for all your wonderful meals and memories.
PS A shout out to Debby Randolph. Hope you are well, and I too remember the “chicken velvet” at Kwan Yinn!

Libbie Summers, Senior Food Editor for Paula Deen

By Libbie Summers on October 20, 2010

My grandmother lived in Jefferson City in the 70s and she made green beans with salt pork, southern fried chicken and mashed potatoes with red eye gravy and cornbread on Sunday! Plus, corn on the cob, if it was summertime. Num nums! Miss you, Grandma Gladys.

By Mary P Thompson on October 20, 2010

Sunday supper in our house was a little weird according to my friends.  But we all loved it.  Every Sunday night, my mom would fry up some side pork, make Johnny cakes and serve them with butter and honey.  Then she would take her old beat up aluminum bowl and mix up homemade chocolate malts.  We would take our food into the living room and watch Walt Disney. Yummmmm!

By Sue Walker on October 20, 2010

Oh, how I loved Sunday dinners when I was a child. We would go to Grandma & Grandpa Kirkpatricks and she would have the biggest plate of Fried Chicken you ever saw. A big bowl of homemade mashed potatoes with a pool of butter sitting on top was just waiting for the gravy bowl of homemade chicken gravy. Fresh green beans, cooked with bacon or little pearl onions or carrots sat in her favorite gold trimmed bowl, (which I still have). Picked beets, watermelon rind and little peppers stuffed with kraut sat on her round glass pickle plate. she always had fresh rolls or biscuits and plenty of hand churned butter and her wonderful elderberry jam. The thing I miss the most was her plum pudding that was served at Christmas time. But on sunday it was her dutch apple pie and blueberry/rhubarb pies. Thanks Paula for a wonderful memory revisited. I will have to put this one in my next book.

By valerie Osborn on October 19, 2010

My grandmother always had the best food waiting for us when we all came in from church! I don’t know how she did all that before we went to church and had it ready and waiting. My favorite thing was her homemade rolls that we absolutely loved! We would sometimes eat the rolls instead of dessert. When my sister was little she got caught “patting down” the rolls that were set out to rise. My grandmother had been having problems with her rolls not rising….until she caught the little vandal!! ;=)

By Betty on October 19, 2010

I remember mother getting up early on Sunday to start cooking lunch.  Everything she cooked was homemade along with fresh vegetables.  One of my favorites was her chicken and dressing with the chicken cut up and cooked in the dressing.  She also made the best chicken gravy.  She would have green beans with new potatoes cooked in them and fried corn along with fried okra and field peas…She cooked the best cornbread and we always had sliced onion and tomato to go with the meal.  She would have a fresh homemade cake cooked…usually a coconut, strawberry pecan or yellow cake with fudge frosting…and always as much tea as you could drink.

By Shirley Ward on October 19, 2010

My most memorable Sunday Suppers were my grandmother’s Chicken and Dumplings. She made them from scratch and put so much love in.  She had a special copper bottomed pot she would make the dumplings in, and she never measured a thing, but oh my gosh, they were always AWESOME.  She would roll them out and cut them with her favorite butter knife.  Whenever I get lonely and want to feel close to her, I dig out my rolling pin, find my bowl, boil some chicken with onions, celery, lots of salt and pepper and get out the butter knife.  If I really need her spirit, I whip up a 7-UP Cake too, and wrap myself in a blanket of her memory.  Thanks for letting me share…She would have loved you as much as I do.

By Phyllis on October 19, 2010

As a young girl we would often go to Grammy and Grampy’s after church for dinner. Most of the time it was roast leg of lamb, mashed potatoes with the tasty gravy and lot of veggies. Grammy started cooking lamb during WWII because it was cheaper and easier to get than other meats (I understand you had to have coupons back then to even get certain foods). I still remember the smell as I walked in the front door YUMMY!

By Loretta Russell on October 19, 2010

My mom would make pork chops with cream of mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, scalloped corn, fresh homemade white bread, salad, and some type of pie for dessert.  Sure wish I could make pie crust like hers…there is none better.

By Patty D on October 19, 2010

Paula, I love all of your shows and admire you very much. I lost my mom this past Christmas day and have had a rough time getting back to normal. My mom was 91 years old. I can remember our Sunday dinners after church were always so good. We usually had fried chicken,Chicken & dumplings, or Roast beef with Butter Peas,corn and mom made the most delicious home made yeast rolls. My mom and dad did catering in Aiken, S.C. and like you started with cooking lunches and selling them out of the home. They both were good cooks. I would love to meet you in person one day and eat at your Lady & Sons in Savannah. Thank you for your time.  Anne Bishop

By Anne Bishop on October 19, 2010

My Grandparents were from Italy so we would all ways have home made speghetti and sauce with meatballs ,salda and dessert we would make cupcakes,cinn sticks butterballs and stuff like that it was great

By Chris on October 19, 2010

My Mom put in a rump roast, potatoes, carrots one Sunday for lunch and the next we had a baked ham, potatoe salad and baked beans or baby limas. Was starving after church each Sunday but knew we had our lunch waiting and ready when we returned home.  Great memories of all my Mom did for us.

By Judy on October 19, 2010

My grandmother would make some of the best Sunday dinners you could very imagine.  She owned her own diner by in the 1950-60’s and was an excellent cook.  We ate all kinds of good things from pot roasts to chicken and dumplings to her wonderful desserts helped to round out her delicious meals.  I actually learned a lot about cooking from watching her in action in her kitchen.  Although she did not really let me help much, I did get to be her “taste tester”, which was a real treat.  My great grandma that I spent my summers with In NC was the one who actually taught me how to cook though. 

By Grandmereb Lovestobake on October 19, 2010

and they didnt have all those fancy spices like on tv now they did it all home made
sandy
thats how i learn to cook…too expensive to cook with all of the spices..they cook with now..
and my moms cooking i bet was just as good!

By sandy on October 19, 2010

No one could cook like our moms…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...they were the best!!
too bad they couldnt have a show like the ones they have now!
they would be a hit!

By sandy on October 19, 2010

What I remember most about Sunday dinners…most of the time we had the same thing, fried chicken with white gravy, mashed potatoes and green beans or corn, a salad and my mom’s favorite pie, lemon meringue.  I remember those dinners very fondly.  Mom was a good cook, except she had a tendency to kill vegetables, which ended up kind of grey green. Otherwise, everything else was wonderful!

By Lauree Eastman on October 19, 2010

Oh Paula, Sunday after church dinner, what memories that congers up!!  My mom was the best cook, we always say Mom could go to an empty cupboard and make dinner for 12!!  She had this uncanny knack of being able to combine things and make wonderful meals from leftovers, etc.  In the winter we would probably have a beef roast, pork roast, or roasted chicken for Sunday dinner, sometimes chicken and dumplings.  Yummm!!!  In the summer Mom would have fried chicken, potato salad, sliced tomatoes we grew in the garden, and some kind of pie or cake!!  She was a fabulous cook and now even my son and my husband say you are just like her you can do the same thing!!  I always feel like Mom must be sitting on my shoulder when I go to prepare a meal and I haven’t been to the grocery store yet, I hear this little voice saying well add this to this and that to that and there is supper!!  Thanks Paula for being the person you are and thanks for giving us such great recipes, and for reminding us we can cook a good meal simply and inexpensively!!  Hugs to everyone,
Sincerely,
Judy Chlupsa
Payson, Arizona

By Judy Chlupsa on October 19, 2010

AMEN Sister Paula, bless your heart.  Roast beef w/ potato’s, onions and carrots, or FRIED CHICKEN pinto beans (with a big ole chunk of onion), fried okra, cole slaw, corn bread and sweet tea and enough banana pudding to feed the whole church!  Seems we always had at least three our four families at our house every Sunday afternoon.  What’s happened to that kind of gathering, rarely happens any more.  Sad!  WOW, I haven’t thought about this in years…my daddy and big brother loved to crumble up cornbread pour pinto beans over the cornbread and put a big glob of mayonnaise right in the middle and mix it up and were happy as a pig in sunshine…my brother’s still does this today and his children loves it too. I could never find the sanity with it and never developed the love for it. But I do love me some mayo and butter!

I love you and all your work.  Thanks for being you and sharing parts of your life and your world with us all!

Sincerely, I pray that God blesses you beyond measure.

Pam

By Pamela on October 19, 2010