The Food Network, this ain't.

Alrighty folks. Grab your elastic waist pants and follow me.

I am leaving a post on Sunday - which I rarely ever do - to let you know what we have on the menu this upcoming week. (That was a play on words, did you get that?)

Thanks to those of you who sent in your favorite family recipe. You know I needed it to be easy, somewhat quick and family friendly. And boy did you ever help me out. The recipes you sent in are about to make their glorious internet display. But I need to clarify a few things first.

First of all...Poppy seed chicken is obviously an American favorite because I got four of them! The only fair thing to do, though, was to accept the first one I received. So whenever I make Poppy seed chicken it will be from the recipe of the first person I received it from. Now, if you sent it to me later than this sweet reader did, don't go gettin' your poppies all in a wad (again, a play on words). I'll figure something out. Some of you put more than one recipe in the email and so I may have to make one of those dishes and use that as your entry. But hey! All's fair in love and food, so don't worry, you'll still be up for the grand prize of the Cadillac El Dorado.

Secondly...The order I will be making the dishes in next week will be the order in which I received them. So if you came in late to the game then your recipe won't show up until closer to the end of the week or first of next week. The only exception to this rule is...the meatloaf. I did receive two different meatloaf options and they are both different, so I feel the need to try them both. However, asking the AG to try two different meatloafs one right after the other and render an opinion is asking a lot. I can't do that to him. Plus, that is alot of meat! And when his digestive system gets out of whack - well, we're all in for a world of hurt. So I have placed one meatloaf in the middle and one at the end just to throw him off. Aaaahh...now we're cooking with gasoline. (See what I'm doing? I'm choosing words that have to do with cooking, or eating, or gas stoves. Clever.)

And lastly...some of you sent me emails with more than one recipe. But let's be honest. I am doing the AG a favor here by cooking every single night for the next 12 or days. I cannot, and will not, cook that much ever again. So, I have had to narrow some of you down to just one entry. That doesn't mean I won't be using each and every one of your recipes over time. But it won't be the one that may or may not win you a Cadillac El Dorado. That's all I'm saying.

Oh, and one more thing. To my sweet aunt, who sent me a recipe and asked specifically if she could win the prize because we're family...it was a recipe for "dip".
I was looking for entrees.
Substantial things my family could eat on once every week or two.
Something I could freeze for them should I need leave town due to being in full-time ministry and all. (Oh hush, I hadn't thrown that in for a while and needed a little "self pick-me-up.")
Or something my housekeeper Alice could make in my stead, where I to pass.
I was talking Poppy seed chicken, brisket, chicken spaghetti and the like. Which brings us to the real problem that all of us in the family have recognized about you for years.
Dip is not a meal. It's really not.

So stay tuned everybody. What you are about to see will have everyone talking. We're talking water cooler discussion here, because the Attorney General thinks it would be wise to video me making the said dinner, then recording our thoughts, and posting them here. Which I have to admit might end up being a real hoot. What do you think? Should this be videoed and then posted? Or am I biting off more than I can chew? (Oh man, I didn't see that one coming, did you? I am amazing at this.)

So we'll see. Gotta give the people what they want, is all I'm saying.