I enjoyed reading Commonwealth Managing Editor Charles Corder’s column last week concerning music and concerts. It came on the heels of a discovery my husband and I had made just last weekend.
As I have written before, Steve and I are very different in many ways and alike in many ways as well. One way we differ is in our tastes in music. I like country music, and we’ll just tactfully say he doesn’t care for it. He’s the hard rock and roller and loves his music of the past. I, too, enjoy the music of our teens — the 1970s. There is an infommercial that comes on television for a collection of music of the ’70s. It’s hosted by Donny Osmond — one of my young girl crushes. I always watch it just to hear the music and see the clips of the performances.
Last week, we were in Jackson and went to Barnes & Noble to browse. We stopped off at the music center to look at the CDs. As we looked through the music, nothing really appealed to us until we saw the $4.99 bin off to the corner. Suddenly, we both had a stack of CDs that had piqued our interest. Most of them were replacements for our favorites we have had in album, 8-track, cassette and now in CD form. You know you are old when you can get half a dozen CDs for around $30!
One of my favorite purchases was James Taylor’s “Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon.” Many of the songs are fairly popular and well known, but I still remembered the more obscure songs word for word. Half the time I can’t even remember why I walked into a room!
I’ve seen James Taylor in concert twice, and I would love to see him one more time. I was envious of Mr. Corder’s experience of attending his concert while on vacation. The first time we saw James Taylor was at Mississippi State back in the ’70s, and the last time was in Jackson about 20 years ago. He appeared on the ACM country music awards show several years ago and sang with Zac Brown. They performed a medley of Zac Brown’s “Colder Weather” and James Taylor’s “Sweet Baby James.” The performance was put on YouTube, and a friend of my sent it to me.
As I was reading about all of the concert experiences, I started thinking about concerts we have attended through the years. We saw Billy Joel at State when he was simply the piano man. I still have hearing loss after attending a ZZ Top and KISS concert in Memphis. We’ve seen Lynryd Skynyrd perform several times. We both agree on them and never tire of “Free Bird.” You just can’t beat listening to James Taylor!
If I could attend a “dream concert” it would have to be The Eagles.
If you lived and loved the music of the ’70s, I am sure you would agree.
Today, I have two of my family’s favorite casseroles. They are quick to prepare, and you pop them in the oven and forget about them for the period of cooking time. The quick bread today is an easy accompaniment for both. Hope you will give them a try. Thanks for reading.
COMPANY CHICKEN
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 (8-ounce) sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 slices bacon
1 jar dried beef
Spray a 9-by-12-inch baking dish with Pam. Salt and pepper each chicken breast, and wrap each with a slice of bacon. Line the casserole with the slices of dried beef. (I like to cut mine into smaller bite-size pieces.) Place the wrapped chicken breasts in the dish. Mix sour cream and soup together and spread over the chicken. Cover with foil and bake at 325 degrees for about three hours. Serve over rice.
PORK CHOPS AND GRAVY
4 boneless pork chops
1 package Lipton dry onion soup mix
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 soup can water
Place pork chops in a greased 9-by- 12-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with onion soup mix. Mix soup and water, and pour over pork chops. Cover with foil, and bake at 300 degrees for about two hours. Serve over rice.
EASY CHEESE BREAD
3¾ cup Pioneer biscuit mix
1¼ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1½ cups buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
½ teaspoon dry mustard
Poppy seed
Mix biscuit mix, cheese, buttermilk, egg and dry mustard until well blended. Grease a large loaf pan or two medium-sized loaf pans. Pour mixture into pan, and sprinkle with poppy seed. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until browned on top.
I like to use my mini loaf bread pans. Everyone has their own loaf of bread. Just reduce the cooking time accordingly.
• Contact Lee Ann Flemming at lafkitchen@hughes.net.
