Copycat KFC Mashed Potato Bowl

I said yes. To the publisher. To the hardcover. To the expanded "Pantry Rules" with the stories and the photos and my name on a spine in a bookstore. I said yes the way I said yes to the food bank job and the cooking classes and the market and the dump cake announcements — fully, without reservation, because the yeses are what built this life and the only thing I've ever gained from "no" is the safety of not trying, and safety never fed anyone.

The publisher — a small press called Red Dirt Books, which is the most Oklahoma name for a publisher I can imagine — sent a contract. I read it at the kitchen table after the kids were in bed. Dustin read it next to me. We understood most of it (the royalty structure, the timeline, the rights) and Googled the rest (what is "first serial rights"? what is "subsidiary licensing"?). The advance: $3,000. Not life-changing. Not nothing. $3,000 for a cookbook that started as handwritten recipes in a composition book on a two-foot counter. The composition book is in the kitchen drawer, next to Mama's recipe cards. It started there. It's going to a bookstore.

I called Mama. She said, "A real book?" I said, "A real book. In stores." She said, "With your name on it?" I said, "With your name in it. Page 47." She said, "The pinto beans." I said, "The pinto beans." She was quiet for a long time. Then she said, "Baby, your daddy left and the tornado came and the lights went off and you dropped out of school and your brother went to jail and you made pinto beans." She said, "And now you have a book." She said, "From pinto beans to a book." I said, "From pinto beans to a book." And the sentence, spoken out loud, over the phone, between a mother and a daughter who survived everything together, was the best sentence I've ever spoken. From pinto beans to a book. That's the story. That's the whole story.

Mama’s pinto beans are going on page 47, and they deserve every word — but when Dustin and I closed that contract and the kids were finally asleep and the house went quiet, this is what I made us for dinner: a big, piled-high mashed potato bowl, the kind that asks nothing of you except that you show up hungry. It’s the recipe I reach for when something enormous has just happened and I need food that feels like a hug from the inside out. “Pantry Rules” is full of meals like this — the ones that don’t require a special occasion to deserve a place at the table.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk, warmed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 lb frozen popcorn chicken or crispy chicken tenders
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 jar (12 oz) chicken gravy (store-bought or homemade)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons sliced green onions, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Boil the potatoes. Place cubed potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and cook 15—18 minutes, until fork-tender. Drain well.
Mash and season. Return drained potatoes to the pot. Add butter, warm milk, and garlic powder. Mash until smooth and creamy. Season generously with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.
Cook the chicken. While potatoes cook, prepare popcorn chicken or chicken tenders according to package directions — oven-baked or air-fried both work well. You want them crispy.
Warm the corn and gravy. Heat corn in a small saucepan over medium heat until warmed through. In a separate small saucepan, warm the chicken gravy over low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth and hot.
Build the bowls. Divide mashed potatoes evenly among four bowls. Top each with a scoop of corn, a generous handful of crispy chicken, and a ladle of warm gravy. Finish with shredded cheddar cheese.
Garnish and serve. Add sliced green onions on top if using. Serve immediately while the cheese is still melting.

Nutrition (per serving)

Copycat KFC Mashed Potato Bowl — The Kind of Comfort Food That Belongs in a Real Cookbook