Dorsey dad specializes in grilled meat, comfort food

And that's just fine with him.

"I enjoy doing the cooking," said Kennedy, 35. "My dream is to have a restaurant one day. I always say if I could go back, I'd have done culinary school instead of electrical. Maybe that can be a retirement thing."

Kennedy grew up in Dorsey, the son of Delora Winter Carruthers and Randy "Bubba" Kennedy. After high school, he earned an associates degree in electrical technology from Itawamba Community College. Today, he works as a programmer for Southern Automation in Sherman.

Kennedy was married for seven years, and that's when he really got interested in cooking. Before that, he'd just mess around on the charcoal grill with things like burgers and chicken.

"When I was married, I did all the cooking, because my wife didn't like to," he said. "That's just as well, because I don't know if I could have stood somebody else with me in the kitchen."

Kennedy has two daughters, Janie, 14, and Lori, 11, and he shows off his culinary skills for them every chance he gets.

"Anytime I get the girls, I cook," he said. "I may make spaghetti or a casserole so we can eat for a couple of days – until they get tired of leftovers. I try to do as much cooking at home as I can. I hate fast food places."

If he grills now – anything from steaks to ribs to Boston butts – he's sure to prepare lots of vegetables as sides, whether that's broccoli, Brussel sprouts, asparagus or corn.

"The girls can be picky eaters, but they're starting to eat different things," he said. "I started making sushi about three years ago. It's a chore to make, but they love it. I've gotten pretty good at it."

About 10 years ago, Kennedy came up with his own dry rub to use when he grills, and he's particularly intrigued with spices.

"I'd like to take a cooking class to learn more about seasonings and how they coincide with each other," he said. "I want to understand what each of them does. I like the science part of cooking."

When Kennedy gets together with friends, he likes to make big seafood boils using shrimp, scallops, crawfish in season, sausage, potatoes and corn.

"If I ever had my own restaurant, it would be like a country restaurant," he said. "You could get chicken or steak or a casserole or seafood – just whatever you want."

DO YOU KNOW A GOOD COOK? Send your nominations to Ginna Parsons, Cook of the Week, P.O. Box 909, Tupelo, MS 38802. Or you can call (662) 678-1581 or email them to ginna.parsons@journalinc.com.

CHICKEN CASSEROLE

2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

1 cup shredded cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom coup

1 (8-ounce) container sour cream 

1 sleeve Ritz crackers

1 stick butter, melted

Place shredded chicken in the bottom of a greased 8x8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine soups and sour cream and pour evenly over chicken and cheese.

Crush crackers and sprinkle over the casserole. Drizzle with butter. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until crackers are lightly browned and casserole is bubbly.

CHICKEN TACO SOUP

3 large chicken breasts

3 (28-ounce) cans chili beans, drained and rinsed well

2 (14-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed well

2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1 can Ro-tel tomatoes

3 cans shoe peg corn, drained

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 white onion, chopped

1 packet taco seasoning

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 (16-ounce) can beer

Place chicken breasts in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Simmer until chicken is tender.

While chicken is cooking, place chili beans, black beans, diced tomatoes, Ro-tel tomatoes, corn and tomato sauce in a 7-quart Dutch oven. Heat over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, taco seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add beer and stir until mixture comes to a boil.

When chicken is done and cool enough to handle, shred the meat and add it to the pot. Turn heat down to low so mixture is just simmering. Let cook for 1 hour. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

3 large chicken breasts

1 (16-ounce) package spaghetti noodles

1 tablespoon salt

1 (2-pound) block Velveeta processed cheese

2 cans Ro-tel tomatoes 

2 cans cream of chicken soup

Place chicken in a pot of water and bring to a boil. After chicken has been boiling for about 20 minutes, start another large pot of water boiling. Add spaghetti and salt and turn heat down to medium.

Cut the Velveeta into 1-inch cubes and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Pour both cans of Ro-tel over the cheese. Cover and microwave for 7 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir until cheese is melted.

When chicken is tender, remove from broth and when cool enough to handle, shred. Set aside.

Drain noodles and return to the pot. Add cream of chicken soup and stir. Add cheese mixture and stir. Add shredded chicken and stir until everything is well mixed.

TATER TOT CASSEROLE

1 pound ground chuck

1 small white onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup sour cream

1 can Cheddar cheese soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can corn, drained

1 can green beans, drained 

2 cups of shredded cheese, divided

1 (32-ounce) bag frozen tater tots

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef along with the onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Drain grease if necessary.

In a large bowl, mix together the beef mixture, sour cream, both cans of soup, corn, green beans, and 1 cup of cheese. Spread the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Top with an even layer of tater tots (you may not need the whole bag) and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, until tater tots are brown and casserole is bubbling. Top casserole with the remaining shredded cheese and bake for 5 minutes longer, until cheese is melted.

CHILI

2 pounds ground chuck

1 white onion, chopped

7 cans Chili Magic

3 cans diced tomatoes

1 can Ro-tel tomatoes

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 jar sliced jalapeños (optional)

In large skillet, cook ground beef with onions until brown. Drain off grease.

In a Crock-Pot, add cans of Chili Magic, diced tomatoes, Ro-tel tomatoes, tomato sauce and jalapeños, if using. Add ground beef mixture. Cook on high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6 hours.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

3 chicken breasts

10 cups water

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon pepper

1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning

2 to 6 chicken bouillon cubes*

2 cans refrigerated biscuits 

Boil chicken in 10 cups of water. When chicken is done and cool enough to handle, remove it from broth and shred it. Set it aside.

To the chicken broth, add the bay leaves, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and bouillon and bring to a boil.

Cut each biscuit into four pieces (or smaller if you like.) Once broth is boiling, add the biscuit pieces and stir. Cook for about 15 minutes, then add shredded chicken and cook another 15 minutes or so. Add more salt if needed. Remove bay leaves before serving.

*Note: If using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, add 6 bouillon cubes. If using bone-in chicken, add 2 chicken bouillon cubes.