FAMILY FAVORITES

On Mother’s Day, many children make reservations instead of cooking a meal for Mom. Maybe it’s because we think we can’t live up to her standards.
For some of us, Mother’s Day is a time of remembrance. It’s when we think about mom’s butterscotch pies, oatmeal cake, or yeast dinner rolls.
Here are some favorite Mom recipes from our files that readers shared.

Cream cake

Cream cake was a favorite when Edith Crawford Ambrose of Berea was a child. This recipe belonged to her mother, Llewellyn Crawford.

• 3/4 cup butter
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 cups sifted flour
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of soda
• Dust of mace
• 6 eggs
• 3 cups thick cream
• 1 teaspoon lemon flavoring

Cream butter and sugar. Sift flour with dry ingredients. Add eggs one at a time, alternating with dry ingredients. Add cream and flavoring and mix. Pour into prepared cake pan. Bake in 350-degree oven. Check every 15 minutes. The length of baking time depends on the type of pan used.

Blackberry cake

Martha Yarber of Mount Sterling has saved many of her mother’s recipes. Here’s the recipe for a blackberry cake that her mother baked when Yarber was a child.

• 2 sticks butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 2 teaspoons soda
• 2 cups fresh blackberries, and juice
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup nuts, chopped

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Add berries and juice, alternating with dry ingredients. Beat until smooth. Add raisins and nuts, which have been sprinkled with flour. Pour into greased and floured pan. Bake at 350 degrees 1 1/2 hours or until done.

My mother’s hash

When Carolyn Ford of Prestonsburg was growing up, the family always had beef roast for dinner on Sundays, she said.

“My mother always used the leftovers to make hash on Monday night. I remember one Monday when we sat down to eat, we did not have hash, and my mother explained that since we had had company Sunday for dinner, there was not enough roast beef left for hash, to which my father replied he sure was glad.

“My mother was very shocked and said that he had eaten hash every Monday for 25 years, and she did not know he didn't like it. We have my mother’s hash at least once a month and sometimes more often, and you know what? After 47 years my husband has never said anything — one way or the other.”

• 3 to 4 cups leftover beef roast
• 1 medium onion, cubed
• Oil
• 4 to 5 potatoes, cubed
• 1 15-ounce can beef broth

In a large skillet, cook onion in small amount of oil until tender. Add potatoes and beef to the onion. Add beef broth. Cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender.

Sloppy Joes

Mary Lynn Walsh of Lexington grew up in Romeo, Mich., a town of 3,000 about 30 miles north of Detroit.

"My dad was a Rotarian and went to a dinner meeting every Tuesday night. Those were favorite days for my siblings and me because we were allowed to take turns and ask mom to fix our favorite meals.

“My brother always wanted waffles and bacon; my sister insisted on a can of tuna fish, hard-boiled eggs and cooked spinach; while I craved sloppy Joes."

• 1 1/4 pounds ground chuck
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons prepared mustard (French's)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

In a large skillet, brown the meat and drain. Add remaining ingredients and cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns with a tossed salad and fruit.

Beef stroganoff

For Leanne Warren of Versailles, birthday dinner that was always her favorite meal.

“When my sisters and I were growing up, we always got to choose what we wanted for dinner on our birthdays. My favorite dinner was beef stroganoff; I always asked to have that for my birthday dinner. Even now that I'm grown, I still think of that meal as the birthday dinner. Here is my mom’s recipe for beef stroganoff.”

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large can of mushrooms
• 1 stick margarine, divided
• 2 to 3 pounds sirloin
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cans French onion soup
• Oregano
• 1/2 cup red cooking wine
• 8 ounces sour cream
• Brown rice, cooked

In a large skillet, saute onion and mushrooms in 1/2 stick margarine. In a separate pan, saute meat and salt and pepper in 1/2 stick margarine. Combine the onion and meat mixtures. Add onion soup and oregano. Simmer for 45 to 50 minutes. Add wine and sour cream. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more. Serve over brown rice.

Hot chicken salad

LaVece Hughes of Jessamine County said it's amazing how her mother, Kate Dickinson Ganter of Glasgow, always “would teach Sunday school, go to church service and then come home and within 30 minutes serve a delicious lunch in the dining room for all the family to enjoy.” Hot chicken salad was a favorite with the women, and roast beef was favored by the men, Hughes said.

• 3 cups cooked, cubed chicken
• 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
• 3/4 cup slivered almonds
• 6 ounces sliced water chestnuts
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons grated onion
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 10 3/4 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 3/4 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 cups Chinese noodles

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except Chinese noodles. Pour into a 9- by 13-inch casserole dish. Sprinkle noodles over the top. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 8 servings.

Alice’s fried chicken

Sarah Zopfi of Richmond said she and her brother, Adam, “were raised on the most moist and delicious fried chicken that only our mom can make. While there really wasn’t any particular day of the week that she fixed it, this chicken was a hit with the family any day of the week.

“We liked it so much growing up, it was the first meal we asked our mom to fix when we had serious boyfriends or girlfriends. We knew our mom’s fried chicken would welcome them into the family.”

Zopfi learned to fry chicken by watching her mother, “but who knows. She might have some secret ingredient up her sleeve because it is just so good,” Zopfi said.

• 1 3-pound chicken
• 1 cup Crisco
• 2 cups flour
• Salt and pepper

Cut the chicken into pieces, wash it off and let sit in a bowl of cold water and salt for 1 hour. Remove chicken and drain. In large skillet, heat about 1 cup Crisco on medium-high heat until melted. In brown paper bag, combine 2 cups of flour and a little salt and pepper. Two pieces at a time, drop the chicken in the bag and shake. After chicken is coated with flour, place into skillet and brown.

Cooking time varies, but chicken should be brown and, when cut into, the juices should run clear, about 30 to 45 minutes total.

Macaroni casserole

“My mother (Dolores Peckskamp) used to make this macaroni casserole on Sunday afternoon to be reheated for Monday dinner when she came home from work. It really does taste better if it is made the day before and reheated,” Colette P. Irtz of Lexington said.

• 3 slices bacon
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (about 1 pound)
• Tomato liquid, plus water to make 1 cup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 cup mushrooms
• Butter
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 cups cooked macaroni

Dice bacon; mix with ground beef in a skillet. Brown.

Add chopped onions, tomatoes, tomato liquid (drained from tomatoes), salt and brown sugar. Cover and simmer 2 hours.

Saute mushrooms in butter and add to sauce with chili powder. Cook macaroni and add to sauce. Refrigerate and reheat the next day. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Jocie’s vegetable soup

Memories of “wash day” flavor this vegetable soup from Rosa Floyd of Lexington.

“My mother couldn’t wait for spring to launder her lace curtains, which she would wash, starch and stretch onto a large rectangular wooden frame with nails sticking out all around to hook the lace panels onto. I had to help, and if it were a cold day, the curtains would freeze before we got them on the frame.

Also the nails often pricked our fingers, causing them to bleed," Floyd said.
"On wash day, my mom would make her vegetable soup. She used home-canned tomatoes; instead I use tomato sauce. She would add anything else she had on hand, such as cooked macaroni, fresh cabbage, lima beans or just about anything else to fill up the pot if she were short on any one of the original ingredients."

• 2-pound beef soup bone, or larger
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• Salt
• 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 small bunch celery, sliced bite-size
• 6 medium carrots, peeled and sliced bite-size
• 1 15-ounce can whole kernel corn
• 1 15-ounce can peas

In a large pot, place the beef soup bone in a quart of water. Add tomato sauce and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Add more water as needed. Add potatoes, onions, celery, carrots, corn and peas. Bring all to a boil and simmer at least 4 hours.

Turkey corn chowder

Turkey chowder was a treat for Sandra W. Miller of Lexington when she was growing up.

“When my mother roasted a turkey, I eagerly awaited the use of the leftover turkey because I knew she would use it to make turkey corn chowder. Mom made the delicious chowder in the deep well cooker on our range, and she always served it piping hot with garlic bread. What a treat. My mouth waters when I just think about it,” she said.

• 4 medium onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 5 medium potatoes, pared and diced
• 2 sticks celery, sliced
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups water
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 5 cups milk
• 2 cans whole kernel corn
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1 cup light cream
• 1 can cream-style corn
• 3 to 5 cups cut-up turkey
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Parsley

Saute onions in 1/4 cup butter until golden brown, stirring often. Add potatoes, celery, salt, pepper, water and bouillon cube. Cook 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add all the remaining ingredients except 2 tablespoons butter and parsley. Heat and dot with butter. Snip parsley over top.

Skillet meatloaf with potato wedges and cheese

Rebecca L. Bach of Lexington said this recipe for skillet meatloaf with potato wedges and cheese “brings back wonderful memories of my mother and her wonderful cooking.

“My mother, Barbara Harper, is the best cook I know. Growing up, she always had a home-cooked meal fixed for my brother and me at every meal, and it was always prepared with love. Mom still cooks for family and friends as much as she can."

Skillet meatloaf is “truly a down-home Southern dish” and the leftovers are “incredible,” Bach said.

• 2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 pound lean ground beef (preferably ground sirloin)
• 3/4 cup biscuit mix
• 1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• Salt and pepper
• 3 medium potatoes, unpeeled, cut in quarters
• 4 slices American cheese

Dissolve bouillon in boiling water. Mix 1/4 cup bouillon, beef, biscuit mix, saltines, onion, green pepper, salt and pepper.

Make mixture into a round loaf. Put mixture in a 9-inch cast iron skillet and pat it down to within one inch of edge. Pour remaining bouillon mix around edge of loaf (between meat and skillet). Place potato wedges on top of meat loaf in a pattern like spokes on a wheel. Lightly season with salt and pepper.

Cover with foil and cook on top of stove on low heat for 30 to 40 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 180 degrees. Uncover; put cheese on top of potatoes, cover and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Remove meatloaf; drain on paper towels.