Paula Deen Quotes

I don't care what the haters and naysayers say. If they make jokes about me, I'll laugh because they'll probably be funny.

Life is too short to wonder where you hid your waffle maker.

I am proof that the American dream still exists.

There was one thing my daddy wouldn't tolerate in any shape, form or fashion, and that was being unkind or rude to somebody. That was just very important to my folks. And as it turns out, that was a legacy that he left me that money can't buy, is how to be able to treat people.

I know when you think about the South, you think about fried foods, but we eat a tremendous amount of vegetables. I have my own garden, so vegetables have always been a big part of my life. I love broccoli. I love fresh beets. It's not all about the fried chicken and the biscuits.

I am proud to be a Southerner. I think Southern hospitality is very... I don't think it's just a term. I think it really exists. You can come to Savannah, and the people are so sweet and so nice.

I will never use a substitute for butter. Margarine is one molecule away from eating plastic.

Change doesn’t happen overnight. It starts with the desire, then one small step in the right direction.

I was determined to share my positive approach and not let diabetes stand in the way of enjoying my life.

I found that when I went from Albany to Savannah, that I needed to put that white rice away, and I needed to turn that into Savannah red rice because they were big into that sausage, tomato-y, bell pepper-y rice mixture.

Growing up, I had a very busy social life. It wasn't until I was a sophomore in high school that I asked Mama if I could come into the kitchen and have her teach me how to cook something.

In order to have good fried chicken, you should wash and season the bird the morning you're preparing it for dinner. Don't wait and do it right before you start cooking. Throw it in the refrigerator, seasoned, that morning, and give it a chance to soak up all the salt and pepper and goodness.

I don't want to spend my life not having good food going into my pie hole. That hole was made for pies.

Down South, even our vegetables have some pig hidden somewhere in it. A vegetable isn't a vegetable without a little ham hock.

Well what I would really like is a bunch of little n***ers to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties. You know, in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around. Now, that would be a true Southern wedding wouldn't it? But we can't do that because the media would be on me about that.

A balanced diet is a cookie in both hands.

I think no matter what the occasion may be, you can never go wrong by showing up at the dinner table with a hot plate of fried chicken.

Onions and bacon cooking up just makes your kitchen smell so good. In fact, one day I'm going to come up with a room deodorizer that smells like bacon and onions. It's a fabulous smell.

Bein' rich is having leftovers. Good leftovers make yo' tongue fly outta yo' mouth and smack yo' brains out.

You can have diabetes and have a piece of cake. You cannot have diabetes and eat a whole cake.

I'm making little changes in my life to take care of myself, like putting in a mile or two on my treadmill every day.

You know, nobody can ever cook as good as your mama.

I'm so glad I'm not a dentist. How many times does someone say, 'Oh, Doc, it felt so good when you were drilling my teeth'? Never. But when you give someone a wonderful cookie, you put a little of yourself in, and you see someone's face light up - that's immediate approval.

You don't want to make a steady diet of just lettuce. You don't want to make a steady diet of fried chicken.

Talking about money is garish. It's tacky.

I feel like 'embattled' or 'disgraced' will always follow my name. It's like that black football player who recently came out.

The first thing I did was give up sweet tea because I drank so much. I'd start drinking at lunchtime and wouldn't set it down until I went to bed. When you calculate how much empty calories and how much sugar I was consuming, it was staggering. So I haven't had a glass of sweet tea in three years.

You know, I understand that a lot of people, especially up north, put fruits and nuts in their stuffing, which is good, but for myself personally, I love an old-timey savory dressing.

I am living proof that the American dream still exists. It is still alive and well. There is only one trick, you have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and work very, very hard.

Everyday you wake up on the right side of the dirt is a good one.

Southerners have never been afraid of seasoning. It's kind of the other way around; our seasoning is afraid of us.

I pay people very, very well - probably more than I have to. But that costs me less money in the long run because I'm not having to constantly train somebody. I pay them enough that they don't go seeking a higher scale at the next restaurant.

Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.

Stone-ground grits are wonderful, but because they take so long to cook, I usually go with quick cooking grits - which I also love. But I never make the instant kind - some things a Southerner just won't do!

The thought of eating rabbit and squirrels doesn't appeal to me. And that was on our table quite often as a kid. In your uppity restaurants, they serve a lot of rabbit. But I just can't help but think of Peter. And deer, I can't go there, because of Bambi.

I is what I is, and I'm not changing.

I know I can cook, but the place where I cook... it's a mess! I'm very disorganized.

I believe that everyone should be treated equal, that's the way I was raised and that's the way I live my life.

Chicken breast is the driest, [most] tasteless part of the chicken as far as I'm concerned.

I love Hershey's chocolate. I feel the same about chocolate as I do about wine. Connoisseurs like dark chocolate and they like nasty wine that doesn't taste good to me. I don't get it!

We are our brothers keeper. Its going to be up to all of us.

When it's said and done, the one thing I want to leave on this earth is hope. I have felt hopelessness, and it's a terrible feeling. Hopelessness will destroy you. I want to bring hope to other people.

There's nothing better than being able to give your children wings so they can soar and fly in the direction they want to go in.

Cooking has always brought me a happiness that I didn't think was available. I just fire up the stove, and things start to fade away.

It’s just what they are — they’re jokes…most jokes are about Jewish people, rednecks, black folks…I can’t determine what offends another person.

Don't ever give up. You can't let discouragement get you down. You can always find negative people that will try to discourage you from your goals. You can't be discouraged, and you can't let the word "no" stop you.

Working with family is probably one of the hardest things in business, but it can also be one of the most rewarding. You have to be very, very careful that you don't overstep the boundaries that you wouldn't with anyone else. Sometimes, we think that the unconditional love they have for us makes overstepping boundaries alright. It's really not. You have to work harder to not damage the family dynamic. That lasts forever.

I'm more spiritual than I am religious. I don't go to church; I go to the beach.

I have my new food line in the works - I think it's over 200 items. Hopefully I can make a difference; it's delicious food that's just so easy. I think it'll help people enjoy their lives... it's good!

I have a lot of secret uses for sour cream, which is the magic ingredient in my mac and cheese. It's an old-timey, Southern version, and the sour cream makes it that much creamier. Oh, it's so good!