When Mom passed away in 2009, my sweet sister-in-law, Jackie, and I divided her cookbooks between us, and I even shared some with Mom’s friends. Mom had a ton of cookbooks! Which was only fitting. June Gattis loved to cook.
Me and mom on my wedding day
December 15, 1984
While I enjoy cooking, I really love to bake. That’s my passion.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I’ve been flipping back through recipes, finalizing the menu, and have enjoyed running across recipes I’ve gathered from family and friends through the years. I especially treasure the ones written in that loved one’s own hand.
Mom’s Sour Cream Pound Cake
De-li-cious!
These handwritten recipes grow even more special once that person has passed from the Shadowlands and has been “swallowed up by life!”
Don’t you love how II Corinthians 5:4 describes that transition: “While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.” What a way to phrase it. And don’t those who belong to Christ have so much to look forward to!)
Oops! I almost started preaching there for a minute! 🙂 Now back to the food.
Here are a few more of my family’s favorite recipes that I’ve made through the years. Some of which I’ll be making next week. And NOTE: These are actual pics of recipes I keep on my phone so I’ll have them handy when I’m at Publix and remember I needed to bring the recipe! So forgive the poor quality of some of them.
Sue Scott’s Apple Pie from Colorado days. So simple, sooo good!
Marilyn Lewis’s Dallas Dip is the BEST!
Marilyn is a fabulous cook, so she gets two entries! I’ve heard this dessert referred to by many names, but any way you slice it, it’s fabulous!
Mom’s scrumptious White Wine Chicken—or “Creamy Baked Chicken” since this recipe was included in a church cookbook! : )
I love Mom’s note just beneath the title. And she was/is still right. Her White Wine Chicken is still a company “go to” for me.
Do you have those kind of main dishes you reach for?
And lastly…
Kelsey in Abilene, Texas years ago, sneaking into the kitchen and getting her little paws into a chocolate cake I was supposed to take somewhere. Little urchin!
Do you have treasured recipes you’ve kept and made through the years? What are some of your “family favorite” recipes? Please share! And if you’re game, share the recipe with us, too. And please tell me someone else keeps pics of recipes on their cell phone!
Blessings on your Tuesday, friends,
Tammy
** JACK CAM **
My buddy, Dana Corkern, walked down to see me yesterday, and Jack was keeping watch for her…in very relaxed fashion.
Tamera Alexander
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I do have some recipes on my cell phone, but mostly I enter them into the website – twofatchefs.com. Then they are easy to find and I can have them with me anywhere there is internet. I often use it at the grocery store by way of cell phone. (you can type in or upload the most precious recipes)
One recipe I give away and use often is Macaroni Ham Casserole. It came on a box of Mrs. Skinner macaroni I bought while my husband was stationed at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, in 1971. It is a family favorite and easy to make. It is always what I give for the new brides or college kid recipe sharing.
Thanks for sharing.
Cool, Susan! Thanks for sharing that!Great ideas too.
I have scrapbooked some of our family recipes. Pictures of the family making pizza with the recipe that my grandfather used in his restaurant. Notes like the banana cake is my cousin’s favorite but you don’t use the maple frosting recipe that’s with the cake recipe but a caramel frosting. Or you need to use sausage broth not chicken or beef broth to make potpie (thick cut square noodles not chicken & veggies in a pie crust) so it tastes like Grandma’s. The story of our Spanish sauce for coney dogs where they would used the hot dogs that were left over at the end of the day for the meat. It’s these memories that make the recipes so special.
Becky, what a treasure!And those memories, what a gift!
Hi Tammy, I loved this post! Yes, I have some treasured recipes from my mom and my mother-in-law. This is a fun time of the year to take those out and include them in our Thanksgiving celebration. Thanks for the memories!
So agree, Carrie. Let the cooking begin! ; )
Oh! The hand-written recipe cards with their smudges from baking! I have lots of those. I have two of my mom’s recipe boxes that also include a few of my grandmother’s recipes. Those are the best!
Yes, Linda, so true! Hugs to you, and prayers for you in your job, friend!
Your post made me hungry, Tammy, and it’s only 8:30 am! I’m going to try your company chicken recipe. And yes, I have recipes on my cell phone, too. Very convenient! (Loved the picture of Kelsey. I miss that girl! I have a picture just like that one of Ben, covered in chocolate.)
She misses you too. You’re gonna LOVE the White Wine Chicken. So good. Especially when made with white wine sneaked back into the country from Germany, leaking in your luggage. : )
P.S. Eat for the hunger that’s coming!.
Like you I have many recipes gathered through the years, but the ones I love the most are those hand written by loved ones who have passed on. I can remember when they grabbed a piece of paper or the back of an envelop to write down the instructions for this young bride who was trying to learn to cook. Thanks for sharing the verse about this body being “swallowed up by life.”
Thanks for sharing, Elyce. And yes to that verse. So filled with hope!
A cute idea I got from a Pinterest post: take handwritten recipes from a mom or grand mom and frame them, make them as plain or elaborate as you wish. I plan to do this. I have index cards of recipes hand written by my mom and mom in law that I plan to frame and give to my daughter and daughter in law.
Love that idea. And love Pinterest. Hugs, Gail!
One of my husband’s cousins asked all of us submit our favorite “Wade family” recipe to her, along with a memory of the dish. She then used a webs site to compile all the recipes into a cookbook. It was such a labor of love! We each paid her the cost of printing our copy and she distributed them. It’s wonderful, because I only had one or two recipes from that side of the family. Now I have them all! 🙂
May I hire your husband’s cousin? 🙂 What a fabulous labor of love. Food is such a part of our gatherings, isn’t it? Thanks for sharing, Becky!
Love the post Tammy! My Mom was an excellent cook as well. Her idea of a nice day was perusing the grocery spice aisle to check out all the seasonings and spices. She had quite a spice cabinet at home! She LOVED trying new and different things, she always said “The secret to a dish is in the seasoning.” Oh how I miss her! She had lots of written down recipes, but I am sorry to say that I did not get any, somehow they were lost in the shuffle after she passed, I am very sad about that. But I do have the cookbook that was published years ago that was made up of recipes by the ladies in my hometown (Hartsville, South Carolina). My Mom gave me and my sisters each a copy. She was not included in the cookbook, but used those recipes often. One of my favorites is Squash Casserole…melt in your mouth girl…for real! Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Our Mommas are celebrating in Heaven! Thank You Lord!
You are such a jewel, Veronica!You always make me smile, lady. I’d LOVE that squash recipe, if you’re willing to share. I love squash casseroles! I love squash anything. And yes to our precious moms. They’re praying us Home! Much love…
What a great post, Tammy! Brought back so many memories of how recipes have shaped our families! And I don’t have my recipes on my phone, but I will soon! That is a GREAT idea! I’m always second-guessing myself about what ingredients I need for a certain recipe!
My daughter made tile coasters with some of our favorite family recipes embossed on them, and my daughter-in-law framed some family recipe cards to hang in her kitchen. Like others have said, I love the ones smudged from cooking spills, and written in the familiar handwriting of a loved one.
I love your food posts on FB, Deb. Always looks so delicious! I’m going to check your phone come January, so get those recipes on there, babe!
LOVED this post, Tammy (and I’ll echo what others said about now being hungry after reading these recipes –YUM! And thanks for sharing too). 🙂
My sisters and I divided up my Mama’s cookbooks after she went to Heaven, and I have her Betty Crocker cookbook that I loved to look at as a child. It features *color* photos of some of the goodies, and as a young child I’d practically drool over the pages showing various cookies, LOL. And sweetest of all are Mama’s handwritten notes stuck into the cookbook—keeps her even closer to my heart when I see those.
Such CUTE photos of Kelsey and Jack! 🙂
Have a terrific Tuesday, sweet friend.
Hugs, Patti Jo
Oh, the Betty Crocker cookbook. Loved that one! And yes to those pics. Those handwritten notes are so precious. As are you!
The first thing I grabbed when mama went to Jesus was her recipe box. 🙂 One of my favorite ones, I put in the Chapel Springs Cookbook, but I’ll share it with y’all. It’s not low-cal, because of the butter, but oh, is it delicious!!
JANET ADAMS’ RICE CASSEROLE
Serves 6-8 as a side dish
2 C Uncle Ben’s rice
2 cans beef consume
2 cans water
2 bullion cubes
2 cans sliced mushrooms
tsp marjoram
tsp anise seed
lb butter, cut up
Mix all ingredients together and let stand about 2 hours. Cover and bake @ 350F for 1 hour. Stir after 30 or 40 minutes. If necessary, add more water.
I’ve copied it and it’s in my file, Ane! Thanks so much for sharing. Yum!
Wow, Tammy, this is an absolute jewel of a post! I have most of my mom’s cookbooks, and I always love running across one of her written recipes, or recipes that have been written by my aunties or even my sisters. It does give me a warm feeling, kind of like they are giving me a hug from Heaven. Thank you so much for this wonderful post.
Yes to those hugs from heaven, Debbie. That’s exactly what it feels like! Thanks for sharing, friend.
Tamera,
When I saw the recipe for your Mom’s Sour Cream Pound Cake, I just about bawled. My Mom and yours must be comparing recipes in Heaven. I have recipes she wrote and I wouldn’t take a billion $$$ for them.
Thanks for the memories.
Janet E.
von1janet(at)gmail(dot)com