"Welcome to my home, I'm Darleen Dreamer. Today I am making my husband, Darren's favorite dinner, Fried Cafish with Collard Greens, Mac and Cheese and a nice Dinner roll. I know how much he misses my cooking so, I decided to cook this for him."

We're going to take this in 3 steps as to not make it so hard on everyone. Let's get started shall we?

"Earlier this morning after Darren went to work and Dirk left for school, I cooked the collard greens. Why might you ask? Well these take about 4 hours to cook so we wanted these done ahead of time. Here's what you will need:

3 bunches of collard greens,cut into bit-sized pieces (may vary depeneding on the # of people you serve; greens "shrink" when they are cooking so keep that in mind)
1 smoked turkey wing (vegetarians don't need to add this)
1 large onionn
1 container of chicken stock (again, vegetarians can use vgetable stock)
1 large pot with lid

We won't use the peppers that are shown here, so we'll save those for another time.

Now you'll want to take your vegetables, all but the collard greens that we already cleaned, washed and cut yesterday. To cut the greens, take a few leaves, roll them up loosely together ad cut into pieces. The greens have been added to the pot already as well. It cuts on time when you do the greens like that for me. Anyway, take your veggies, cut off the stems, take out the seeds and place in a food processor or chop by hand. We don't want the veggies chopped in tiny pieces but we don't want them in huge chunks either.

Once their done, take them and place in a bowl to transfer to the cooking pot containing our greens. We want to add some seasoning to the greens or else they'll taste really bland. So grab these:

1 tsp. salt ( not too much is needed since the meat and stock have salt already)
1 tsp. crushed black pepper
1 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional if you want that kick to it)
2 capfuls of white vinegar (also gives it a sort of twang)

When the water begins to boil down, go ahead and add the stock which will give it flavor.
Add these seasonings one at a time and stir. Place lid on pot and let cook for about 4 hours or until tender. Nothing's worse then eating a stringy, tough green, you can choke very easily.

The smell absolutely takes over the house. Mmmm....it tastes so good. Now I see why Darren likes it so much.

Darren awoke from his nap, work must've been hard for him today because he walked right in and headed straight for the bedroom. He always kisses me when he comes home, maybe dinner will make him feel better.

"Honey, what is that smell?"
"Oh, I decided to make you something special tonight."
"Really?" *Darren sniffs the air* " Is that greens?"

"Yes it is."
"Oh you remembered my favorite meal! I hope you made enough, you remmeber the last time I got sick from eating the whole pot." They both laughed.
"Don't worry, there's enough for second and third helpings."

Darren and I decided to play a games of chess since it helps to pass the time and to get his mind off of those greens. Dirk called earlier to say he was with his girlfriend, Lillith and would be home later. So it would be just the two of us for a while.

Since I've tasted the greens to make sure they are seasoned the way I like (you can add more if you prefer), I'll get started on the macaroni and cheese. You will need:

1 lb. of macaroni noodles (uncooked)
1 small loaf of Velveeta cheese spread (don't know what else to call it besides a loaf lol)
1/2 cup of milk
3 Tbs. of butter or margarine
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 mixing spoon

Take your Velveeta and cut up into cubes, add to medium microwave safe bowl with milk and place in microwave, turn on and melt cheese. We want a nice creamy cheese sauce. Remember to check on the cheese as it melts to stir so it won't burn. Nothing like eating homemade macaroni and cheese only to taste burnt cheese sauce..............yuck! When sauce is done, set aside.

Cook the macaroni noodles until tender. Drain, rinse and shake off excess water. Place back into pot, add butter/margarine, cheese sauce and stir until everything is evenly combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour macaroni and cheese into a baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, take the shredded cheddar cheese and sprinkle over macaroni. Place in oven on 350 degrees and bake until the top is a nice golden brown. Set on top of stove and let cool until it's ready to be served with the remainder of the food.

Now we are going to make our fried catfish, you will need:

2 lbs. of fresh or frozen, cleaned and de-boned catfish ( we happen to have some fresh fish thanks to the little specialty market we have here in town)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal
1 medium mixing bowl
cooking oil (vegetable, canola or whatever you prefer)
1 large frying pan
paper towels

I have rinsed the fish off removing any leftover scales or whatever. Now we place each filet on our cutting board ( NEVER use your meat/fish/poultry cutting board for anything but those 3 things as bacteria can spread and make everyone very sick). After we season them with salt and pepper, we take the cornmeal and flour we have mixed together in that medium bowl and we begin to dredge the fish in it. Coat both sides evenly and shake off the excess coating.

Since Darren had decided to help me out a bit by adding just enough cooking oil to the frying pan to fry our fish,it's time to fry the fish since I can hear oil sizzling a bit. We are going to fry our fish a few at a time. We don't want it too crowded in there.

Make sure you brown both sides well without burning them. Once they are done, place cooked fish onto a plate lined with paper towels so that the excess oil can drain instead of absorbing into the fish.

Oh how I adore cooking, I wanted to be a chef but then I met Darren and everything changed.

You only learn to flip foods like this when you've been cooking for quite a long time *children please do not attempt to cook by yourselves and everyone, please be careful when flipping if you choose to do so when cooking as hot oil splattrs and burns. Safety first............ALWAYS!

Add our lovely store bought dinner rolls and we have our lovely meal. It took quite some time to make but anything worth the effort often does. Believe me, you will be rewarded for all of that hard work once you take that first bite.

Darren should be arriving any minute at the table since he's been watching my every move in the kitchen *chuckle*. I wonder if Dirk will bring his lovely girlfriend, Lillith home for dinner? I've wanted to meet her since I've been back.

*After dinner*

"Darling, that dinner was superb! You really outdid yourself that time."
"Why thank you Darren. I'm happy you still enjoy my cooking."

Hope you enjoy this meal as much as we have. Until next time, remember, the extra special ingredient that makes all meals so delicious is always love. Take care."

*Special Thanks to Eris3000 at MTS2 for her Fried Catfish Custom Content for without this meal, this tutorial wouldn't be possible.*