For the next 30 days DW and I will try our best to stay home, practice social distancing, hand washing and sanitizing and…like you…making do. Early this past Sunday morning I found myself pretty much alone at the grocery store.

I came home with everything on my list except paper towels and very happy to have found a sack of potatoes. With conservative use of our toilet paper, I think DW and I are good for another three, maybe even four weeks.

Our children and grandchildren are good too, taking this all in stride. Granddaughter Emma Kate told her mom, an outstanding second grade teacher, that her kindergarten teacher was a much better teacher than she.

And, Mack has announced that he rather likes this set up and doesn’t want to go back to school…ever.  He and his buddies have conference calls on Zoom, and get to make faces at each other, like 6-year olds like to do.  Recess in the backyard is his favorite part of online homeschool.

Soon Laura and I will be getting our bedding plants and ferns from our favorite garden center… safely via their new drive-through service. And DW is wondering what project I’ll come up with next, bless him.  I do a lot of thinking in my down time as well as cooking. I’ve made all of the following dishes, so he’s well fed and ready for another PW project.

You just might have the ingredients to make these favorite recipes starting with Beth Bell’s famous chicken enchiladas. I always double the recipe for a pan for extra. DW’s sister-in-law from Grenada makes this apple pie for him every Thanksgiving.

I prefer frozen pie crusts but homemade and refrigerated crusts will work too.  And this better-than-mine pot roast recipe is from our daughter-in-law Kristine in Olive Branch.  Her secret ingredient is a well-seasoned cast iron skillet.

Hunkered down in Tennessee and always thinking about Mississippi.

Beth’s CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

4-5 chicken breasts boiled, cooled

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

8 ounces sour cream

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can cream of chicken soup

10-12 flour tortillas

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, Mexican blend or Monterey Jack & Colby

Toppings as desired

Shred or cut cooked chicken breasts into small pieces.  Place in a bowl, blend with softened cream cheese. Stir in sour cream. In another bowl mix Rotel tomatoes with soup. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture in the middle of each tortilla.  Roll up tortilla and place in a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish. Pour the soup mixture over the top of rolled tortillas.  Sprinkle cheese over the top. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for about 35 minutes.  Serve with toppings: shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, sliced jalapeños, salsa, guacamole; black beans. * To freeze: place filled tortillas in disposable foil pans, top with soup mixture and cheese, wrap pans with foil and place in large freezer bags. Thaw frozen tortillas overnight in refrigerator then proceed with baking.

Aunt Wanda’s Apple Pie

2 deep dish pie crusts

5 – 6 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 – 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg (about ¼ teaspoon)

Extra sugar

About 4 tablespoons butter or margarine

Layer apple slices in uncooked pie crust. Mix sugar, flour and spices. Sprinkle evenly over apples, carefully shaking pie pan to help sugar settle down into apples. Dot with butter.  Carefully place other pie crust on top and pinch together.  Sprinkle a little extra sugar over top crust. Bake in 350-degree oven for 35 – 45 minutes.  So good warm with vanilla ice cream on top!

Kristine’s Super Sunday Roast

3 – 4-pound chuck roast, untrimmed

Kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

6 potatoes, peeled and cut in half

6 – 8 carrots, scraped and cut in large chunks

1 large onion, sliced

Season roast on both sides with salt and pepper. Place in pre-heated cast iron skillet and sear on all sides.  Remove from heat; place prepared vegetables around roast with onion slices on top.  Cover with tight fitting lid and bake in 350-degree oven for 2 – 3 hours.  Poke roast to check for doneness.  Should tear apart easily. Serve with macaroni & cheese, green beans, peach half salad and rolls.