Lisa Doss

“I’m a vegetable person–old school, and I can’t get enough of fried okra, but I like to grill, too,” said Lisa Terry Doss of Bruce.

“I can still hear my aunt Penny (Starks) saying, ‘It’s pea-picking time in Pittsboro!’ when I was 10 or 11 years old,” and Lisa said that there were lots of peas to be picked.

Now she and her brother garden. “He plants and tends to it, and I put the vegetables up,” she said.

She has put up 50 quarts of hot dill pickles and 15 quarts of hot pickled okra, so far.

Fried okra is her favorite, and when she puts it in the freezer, she does it “like Mama (the late Dorothy Terry)  and Penny taught me.” 

“Wash it, pat it dry, slice it, lightly meal it. Put it on a baking sheet and let it get hot all the way through. Let it cool, then put in quart bags and freeze. When ready to use it, let it thaw about halfway, enough to break it apart. Re-meal it and then pan fry. That’s the only way I’ve ever done it,” she said.

Her mother did not measure when cooking, so neither does Lisa. But what she can tell you about how her mother made Chicken Dressing and Chicken Dumplings is that Dorothy always said to use chicken thighs and the broth they’re cooked in because it’s richer. “Also, use green onions in the dressing,” said Lisa. Family members tell her that both of her dishes are close to Mrs. Dorothy’s.

Her daughters, Laken Hawkins and Brooke Tedford, know how to cook some “old school” stuff but they also cook from Pinterest.

Laken’s husband Justin likes Lisa’s fried squash, potatoes and onions, which can also be baked or grilled.

Sometimes she puts a splash of Worcestershire on the squash, potatoes and onions right after she grills them.

Granddaughters Mattie Grace, Jessie and Kendyl ask for “Mimi’s famous” grilled chicken. Kendyl also loves creamed potatoes. “Just give Harper Ann food and she’s happy! And K.K. is still on the baby food.” 

Lisa loves the potato soup in the winter, and the “easy to make” chicken rollups remind her of chicken and dumplings.

Chicken Roll-Ups

1 can crescent rolls

1 can cream of chicken soup

4 cooked chicken breasts

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

Grease dish. Separate crescent rolls. Cut chicken into pieces and roll in crescent rolls. Put rolls in dish and pour soup over them. Sprinkle cheese on top. bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Baked Squash, Potatoes & Onions

5 yellow squash

5 red potatoes

1 onion

Olive oil

Tony’s

Pepper

Mrs. Dash’s Original

Slice squash, potatoes, onions and place in bowl. Coat with olive oil and  mix over them. Place in 13×9 baking dish. Spray with non-stick spray. Dash over the top with Tony’s, pepper and Mrs. Dash to taste. (Optional: Dot with butter.) Put about an inch of water in dish. Cover with foil. Bake at 450° about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until they get brown and tender. (Can also cook on grill, wrapped in foil.) 

Grilled Chicken

6 boneless chicken breasts

1/3 cup Dale’s

1/3 cup Worcestershire

2 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. Tony’s Creole original

2 tsp. Lawry’s seasoned salt

Wash chicken and pat dry. Mix Dale’s and worcestershire. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle Tony’s, pepper and Lawry;s over chicken. Marinade a couple of hours. While getting girll ready, let chicken set out. Grill chicken until done. Remove from grill and wrap in foil. Let chicken rest about 5 minutes.

Potato Soup

6  large potatoes

1 onion

1/8 tsp. pepper

Boil these three ingredients about 45 minutes on low heat. Then add 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 undrained can whole kernel corn, 1 can cream of broccoli soup, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can Ro-tel, 1 lb. light Velveeta cheese. Optional: Add 1 1/2 lbs. browned hamburger meat. Can cook in crockpot on low four hours.