Grandma’s Recipes: Chicken Livers and Tomato Gumbo

1985 Recipe Book cover 

I found several of my Grandma P’s recipes on an old church cookbook sold by the choir as a fundraiser in 1985.  I know my Grandpa and my brother Bobby loved fried chicken livers and gizzards. (I think my brother started eating them to ross out us other kids, but grew to like them.) Below is a casserole-type recipe my grandmother made to stretch the liver into a more substantial meal.   

I think everyone in my family loved my mom’s fried okra. Some even love okra anyway you fix it.  A popular way to fix okra is in gumbo.   Also below is Grandma’s tomato gumbo side dish, which I’m sure she made with stewed tomatoes she canned from her own garden.  I doubt she served the two together, but with my Grandpa’s love of lots a variety at a meal she might have.   (Grandpa liked veggies and bread with his meals unless he was eating  sandwiches, for which he only required a side of either dill or sweet pickles, usually canned by my Grandma,  and  fried potatoes or packaged chips.)

Except for any notes I added at the end, the recipes are typed as they appeared in the cookbook.

Chicken Livers 

1 lb. chicken livers (washed, salted, and rolled in flour)
Put 2 tablespoons Crisco in skillet, melt.  Then add livers and brown on both sides.  Remove from skillet and put n casserole dish. 

Mix together:
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken)
½ cup milk.
Pour mixture over the liver; then place frozen onion rings on top. Bake 30 minutes. 

NOTE:  The original recipe did not have an oven temperature on it, so I assume she used the setting that was on the package of onion rings. 

Tomato Gumbo

 About 3 cups okra, cut-up
1 large onion, chopped
Fry in 2 tablespoons melted margarine about 15 minutes.  (Salt and pepper only – NO cornmeal.)

Pour in 1 pint stewed tomatoes.  Turn fire low and simmer about 30 minutes.

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