So you love food...me too! Being from the southeastern region of the United States, I love southern food. I mean it's a nice warm hug. My favorite food happens to be soul food, and nobody makes it better than my grandma or my mama (although I'm not too shabby if I do say so myself). Soul food, or southern food in general, is like a nice warm hug, and it just makes you happy. It's perfect for a day with the family or hanging out with friends. So here are my 10 favorite southern recipes passed down in my family!

1. Fried Chicken

This one is kind of an obvious recipe, but it's a favorite among us southerners and everybody has their own way, and of course, they think theirs is the BEST way. But here's mine.

2 3pound separated chickens (you can buy them pre-cut, or butcher them yourself)

2 cups buttermilk

1-1/2 TBSP Cayenne pepper (you can reduce this if you don't like a kick. Or feel free to add more).

1 TBSP paprika

1-1/4 TSP garlic powder

1-1/4 TSP onion powder

4 cups of all-purpose flour

3 Large eggs

2 cups of buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, you can use regular milk)

2 TBSP salt

1 TBSP black pepper

10 cups canola oil (any oil with a high heat temperature will do. I just like canola oil because it has a neutral flavor. You can also use lard if you wish).

Marinate chicken overnight in buttermilk,salt, and black pepper overnight. This allows the chicken to absorb the flavor and moisture. There are few foods worse than dry fried chicken. If you can't marinate overnight, marinate for at least three hours in the refrigerator.

Mix together cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, together.

In one bowl add eggs, and add flour into two bowls. In each of the bowls of flour add 1/2 of the spice mix. Stir to incorporate the spices evenly into the flour. This creates your dredging station.

What you'll do is take your buttermilk soaked chicken dip it into one bowl of flour, dip it in the eggs, dip it into the second bowl of flour, and then stick it into the fryer. This makes the chicken crispy and locks in all of the flavor and moisture that you worked so hard to get!

In a large pot or regular frier, add oil. Heat oil to 325 degrees F.

Fry chicken until cooked through and to a beautiful golden brown. If you have a meat thermometer, poultry should be cooked to 165 degrees F.

Take chicken out of the fryer. Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Baked Mac & Cheese

Again, another obvious recipe, but absolutely delicious. This is actually my grandma's recipe and a personal favorite. So go ahead and pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

2 cups uncooked elbow noodles

1 tsp salt

2-1/2 cups mild Cheddar and Colby Jack cheese

4 cups sharp cheddar cheese

14 oz evaporated milk

2 cups milk

3 eggs (whisked)

3/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tbsp liquid mustard OR 3/4 tsp ground mustard

1 dash of hot sauce

1/4 cup butter diced

Boil elbow noodles until tender (just over al dente) in salted water.

Drain water. DO NOT RINSE NOODLES!!! You want the delicious starch on those babies in order for everything to stick together and add flavor! (This is a rule of thumb for all pasta).

In one bowl, mix the 6-1/2 cups of cheese together.

In another bowl, mix evaporated milk, milk, whisked eggs, black pepper, cayenne, mustard, and salt.

In empty noodle pot, add noodles, butter, 3-1/4 cups of cheese and GENTLY mix together.

In the same pot, pour the milk mixture into the noodle pot and GENTLY incorporate into the noodles.

Pour Mac & Cheese mixture into a buttered 9x13 casserole dish.

Top with remaining cheese

Bake in oven for 30 minutes until nice and bubbly.

3. Collard Greens

Collard greens are a staple in a southerner's diet. Seriously, we have them on almost every major holiday.

5 Bunches of collard greens

1/2 pound smoked ham hock (if you don't or can't eat pork you can substitute this for smoked turkey wings).

1/4 cup garlic powder

1/4 cup black pepper

1 TBSP red pepper flakes

3 TBSP seasoned salt (I use Lawry's)

1/4 cup vinegar (apple cider or white balsamic are my personal preferences).

4 cups of water

Before you do anything (and I do mean anything) you HAVE to clean your collard greens thoroughly.

Remove the stems that run down the center of your greens. You do not need to remove the stems that are smaller and more tender at the top of the greens.

Stack greens about 8 leaves thick and roll. Chopped rolled leaves into 1 inch thick slices.

Boil ham hock (or turkey wings) in water with red pepper flakes, garlic powder, black pepper, seasoned salt, and vinegar.

After 20 minutes, reduce heat and add greens to the water.

Simmer for 90 minutes

Add salt and pepper to taste

4. Fried Pickles

Oh yes, the notorious fried pickle! I mean who doesn't love these? These go well with a side of your favorite ranch dressing (feel free to add a dash of hot sauce to add a little something-something.

2 Cups drained dill pickle slices patted dry (reserve juice in ).

1/2 TSP cayenne pepper

1 TBSP seasoned salt

1 Cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup cornmeal

2 whisked eggs

1-inch canola oil in the bottom of a frying pan heated to 375 degrees F.

Combine flour, cayenne, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder

Set up a dredging station. You will need 4 bowls.

In one bowl combine flour, 1/4 TSP cayenne pepper, 1/2 tbsp seasoned salt, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, and 1/4 tsp black pepper.

In one bowl add whisked eggs with 1-1/2 tsp reserved pickle juice

In another bowl add cornmeal and incorporate remaining spices.

Fry pickles on both sides for one-two minutes until golden brown!

Salt and pepper to taste

5. Fried Okra

This is honestly quite similar to the fried pickles recipe!

3 Cups Okra chopped into one-inch pieces

1-1/2 cups of buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, regular milk works too)

2 large eggs whisked

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups cornmeal

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 TBSP seasoned salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

6 cups canola oil (like I said earlier, you can use any type of oil with a high heat temperature. Peanut oil, grapeseed oil, corn oil etc).

Mix cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and seasoned salt together.

In one bowl, add 1/2 of the spice mix to the flour, and in another, add the other 1/2 of the spice mix to the cornmeal.

To complete your dredging station, add buttermilk to a bowl, and eggs to another.

Line your bowls up in this order: buttermilk, flour, eggs, cornmeal.

Now, run your okra through your dredging station.

In a medium-sized pot, or in a fryer, fry your okra in batches until golden brown.

Drip dry on a paper towel.

Salt and pepper to taste

6. Grandma's Drop Biscuits

These are honestly some of my favorite things my Grandma would make!

6 cups all-purpose flour

4 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3-1/2 cups buttermilk (regular milk still works just fine).

3 sticks COLD butter diced.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

*You can use a hand mixer, but my grandma always used her hands and a wooden spoon.

First combine flour, salt, baking powder together and mix.

Add butter to the mixture. Cut the butter into the dough (you can use butter knives or if you're super fancy use a pastry cutter).

After butter is well incorporated into the mix, slowly add buttermilk in a little at a time while mixing.

After everything is well mixed, take a spoon and drop even amounts of the batter onto a pan that is lined with parchment paper, wax paper, or nonstick aluminum foil.

Bake for 20-25 minutes

Brush melted butter onto the biscuits while they're cooling

7. Pimento Cheese

This spread is perfect on crackers, a piece of toasty bread, a grilled cheese, or a cold sandwich!

10 ounces softened cream cheese

3/4 cup mayonnaise

9.tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp salt

6 cups thickly grated sharp cheese

6 oz palmetto peppers

1/2 tsp hot paprika

1/2 tsp celery seeds

salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, gently combine all ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste

8. Sweet Tea

Y'all knew this one was going to be here. This is one thing that is special in the south. It's good all year long and embodies the feeling of friendliness.

16 cups of water (divided into 6 cups and 10 cups ice cold water).

1-1/2 cups of sugar

6 tea bags (I like Lipton the best).

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Remove water from heat and steep tea bags for 15 minutes.

Stir in sugar until completely dissolved.

After the sugar has been dissolved, stir in the ice cold water.

Pour yourself a big ol' glass and enjoy!

Add a slice of lemon to your cup if you want!

9. Cornbread

2 Cups Tenda Bake Yellow or White Corn Meal
1 1/4 Cups 2% Milk
1 Medium Egg
1/4 Cup Shortening (or oil)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F

melt 1/4 shortening in a cast iron skillet

Mix corn meal, milk, and eggs together.

After the shortening is melted or oil is heated, pour into the mixture.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

So I know I said the drop biscuits were my favorite things that my grandma used to make but I changed my mind! Her chicken and dumplings are my favorite things EVER!!!!!!!! She made hers with homemade chicken stock and a long time ago she would make them with hand-rolled dumplings. But...that takes a long time and I don't make them like that. So I'm going to give you, my recipe for them. But feel free to do them the O.G. way!

4 packages of "Anne's Flat Dumplings"

96 oz low-sodium chicken broth (you can buy this in 32 oz cartons)

1 whole chicken separated, skin removed(feel free to use rotisserie chicken you find in a grocery store) whichever you use, make sure you debone and remove skin.

32 oz water

Salt and pepper to taste

Use a large pot

If using raw chicken, boil chicken in chicken broth until completely cooked.

Remove chicken

Add water to the broth and bring to a boil.

Break dumplings along seams, and drop into boiling broth in batches.

Gently stir along the bottom of the pot using a wooden spoon. This keeps the noodles from sticking to the bottom. The wooden spoon is easier on the noodles.

Add water and salt as needed

In a large bowl (my family and I use an extra large mixing bowl) add noodles as each batch finishes.

In between each batch, add some of your shredded chicken.

When all noodles are finished, pour your noodle broth into the bowl with your noodles and chicken!

Bon appetit Y'all!