Happy Mother's Day: Momma's Recipes

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people,
promptly announces she never did care for pie.
~Tenneva Jordan

Since it's Mother's Day, I wanted to share a few of my favorite recipes from my momma’s kitchen. Although she has been with the Lord for more than 20 years, in my mind’s eye, I can still see her making biscuits, baking cookies, and frying fresh-from-the-garden okra. All these things were a labor of love for her. I now feel the same joy as I prepare food for my own husband and children. Some of these recipes will be very familiar. I hope they will bring back sweet memories for you, as they do for me. 

Happy Mother’s Day! 

No-bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

My siblings and I used to literally beg my momma to make us a batch of these cookie! Now my kids plead with me to do the same!

1 stick butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
2 cups sugar
½ cup milk

Melt butter.
Whisk in cocoa.
Add sugar and milk.
Bring to a boil and boil for one minute.
Remove from heat and add:
3 cups quick oats
½ cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Drop on wax paper by tablespoonfuls.

Hamburger and Bean Casserole

This dish is the closest thing to a casserole I can remember my family eating during my early childhood. Although I was very young, I still remember the first time my momma made this dish and the friend who shared the recipe with her! It quickly became a family favorite!

1½ pounds ground beef
2 small or 1 large can of pork and beans
1 onion, chopped
½ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease casserole dish.
Brown beef and onions; drain.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Spoon into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. 

Ground Beef Casserole

As we rolled into the 80’s, casseroles became much more common on the Southern supper table. This was the first casserole Momma taught me to make. She helped me prepare it for a fairly new boy friend I had met at Ole Miss. The dish must have met with his approval! Two years later he asked me to marry him. It’s a good thing he liked this casserole. Since my cooking skills were fairly limited, I think I made this dish at least once a week during our first year of marriage!

2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can English peas, drained
1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce or a can cream of tomato soup
1 (16-ounce) package egg noodles, cooked according to package directions and drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
Brown ground beef, onions and peppers; drain.
Gently combine all ingredients except shredded cheese.
Layer half of mixture into prepared dish.
Sprinkle with half of shredded cheese.
Repeat layers.
Bake until hot and bubbly, about 20 - 30 minutes.

Wanda’s Pineapple Cake

This was Momma’s “go-to” dessert. I’m guessing she made at least a hundred of these over the years. Although mine turn out pretty good, they never seem quite as tasty as hers. One of my favorite childhood memories is carrying slices of this cake to school in my red plaid, metal lunch box. Momma often tucked in a slice for the teacher, too!

1 package Duncan Hines Pineapple cake mix
1 package Jell-o pineapple instant pudding
4 eggs
½ cup Wesson oil
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan well with shortening.
Combine all ingredients and pour into prepared pan.
Bake about 45 minutes or until cake tests done.
Ice while hot.

Icing:
1 box confectioner’s sugar
1 small can crushed pineapple

Combine until sugar is melted. 
(Although the recipe doesn’t indicate this, I remember my mom heating this icing just a bit.)

Pink Velvet Pie

Do any of the rest of you remember this pie? I haven’t seen it or heard of it in years. Momma made this a lot during the summer. Until recently, I thought it was a frozen pie. I now realize Momma just stuck it in the freezer so she could more quickly serve it to her over-anxious kids, who were pleading with her for a big piece of this pretty, pink pie! I don’t think there were ever any leftovers to store!

16 graham crackers crushed 
1/4 cup melted butter
1 (3-ounce) package strawberry gelatin 
1/2 cup boiling water 
1/4 cup lemon juice 
1/4 cup sugar 
1 (12-ounce) can chilled evaporated milk 
whipped cream and strawberries for garnish

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter.
Set aside ¼ cup of crumb mixture.
With fingers, press remaining mixture onto bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. 
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. 
Add lemon juice and sugar; set aside. 
In medium bowl with electric mixer at high speed, beat evaporated milk until frothy. 
Add gelatin mixture and beat until stiff peaks form. 
Pour filling into pie plate. 
Sprinkle with reserved graham cracker mixture.
Chill for at least 4 hours. 
Top with whipped cream and fresh strawberries just before serving, if you like.