Your Mom's (or Dad's!) best meal

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jkath

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(This is an idea from Taste of Home, which has a similar feature in each issue.)

Growing up there was always that one meal your Mom (or Dad!) made that you loved ... Tell us about it! And share the recipe with us if you can by posting the recipe in the appropriate recipe forum and posting a link to it here - like I did with my Mom's chicken pie recipe below.

Fortunately, my Mom is a fantastic cook. She has the ability to look in the fridge and make a giant meal out of whatever is inside...and it always tastes good. She's the queen of comfort foods.

Her roasts are always perfect, as are her steaks and soups, but one of my very favorites is Mom's Chicken Pie. It's not fancy, but oh so yummy!

As for my Dad, he doesn't cook much, but I remember his special Sunday breakfast is toasted sourdough bread (the really good and sour sourdough) with a large heaping of avo dip (1 avocado, 1 Tbsp miracle whip, 1-2 tsp lemon juice, a dash of salt and pepper & 1/2 tsp tabasco).

So, what's your story?
 
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My mom made the best homemade spaghetti sauce. It had beef, tomatoes, sauce, spices all the right amount! All of my family loved her spaghetti. Unfortunately, noone got the recipe before she died and we never found it in her collection. It was probably something that she did by memory. I never saw her looking at anything or measuring. It always came out perfect everytime too.
 
Years ago I read about some women whose Dad had the best spaghetti sauce, but, like you, they never got his recipe before he died. After he passed, they were cleaning out his house, and found cases and cases of empty grape jelly jars. Turns out, that was his secret ingredient in the sauce! They figured it out and were able to recreate their Dad's best meal.
 
I wish we could find her recipe. That would make my day!! My Mammaw may have it somewhere and not realize it.
 
I really liked having my mom cook breakfast...we had a rough go of things and she really wasn't around to cook for us, and I did a lot of the cooking.
 
Mom.... I thought she was a good cook. Used to love her pork chops in mushroom gravy ( well... mushroom soup from a can). And I thought her spaghetti was to die for but.... since I've learned to cook I realize she's very plain in her cooking style and really kind of boring. Still, there are some good memories connected with those meals. I make them myself once in awhile. She never had a recipe for either but... I think I come close.

Dad... is one of those silly people who won't share recipes!
I just don't get it. I only see him once every other year or so but if we're there at breakfast time I always beg for his French toast. He does something different to his that I've never been able to figure out. It's great. He also used to make the best peauntbutter milkshakes and pies. Yummers.
 
My Dad had two specialties. (He had more, but two are especially famous). His coleslaw and his Manhattan style clam chowder.

There is no real recipe for the clam chowder, you start with side pork diced up and sauteed, then you toss in veggies and canned tomatoes, and on and on til you have a potful. It was soooooo good. I miss it.
 
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Mom was a fantastic cook; she could make something out of nothing, and sometimes had to! She was an early fan of Julia Child and added to her repetoire with learning the classics of European cooking, starting with her own Scadanavian heritage.

She taught us all to enjoy good food and to broaden our cultural horizons.

And we cooked together as a family so we have the recipes...from country pork chops in cream gravy over noodles to Boulabaise.

But what are the "comfort foods" from our childhood...split pea soup with lots of ham, served with popovers! roast chicken with stuffing and gravy! chicken caciatore over spaghetti. and of course Swedish Meatballs...small, mixed meat, softened with potato, flavored with allspice! yum.

Anyway, from reading these "we never got the recipe" responses, I hope everyones cooks with their kids now...it's so important for all kinds of reasons.
 
I loved my moms baked chicken with french fries and a salad on the side, simple but delicious, and her pot roasts were awesome. My dad's specialty was New England clam chowder and clam cakes.
 
My mom didn't get the chance to experiment much with cooking, even though she is a good cook, because my brother, sister, and I were very picky eaters when we were younger. Well, the other 2 still are. I can't even get them close to trying any fish or anything new. There was one meal she would fix though, that every one, parents and kids, loved. Spicy Vegetable Beef Soup.
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f12/healthy-comfort-food-possible-11934.html?highlight=spicy+vegetable+beef+soup

My dad is great on the grill. He makes a wonderful marinade for his steaks. He doesn't have an exact recipe and sometimes he will alter it, but basically he heats up in a pot, butter, worcestershire, orange juice and seasoned salt. He use to add garlic, but my mom can't eat that anymore.
 
My mom makes the best fresh french fries. She's a great cook now but when I was little, I remember my dad doing most of the cooking. When she cooked us dinner it was generally omelettes with french fries.

And my dad...he makes a lot of good stuff. My fave is pork chops stuffed with cheese and breaded with cornflake crumbs that is fried in CRISCO!! Since then I've come up with a healthier version.

And last but not least my dad's kahlua mousse pie. Just click here:
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f40/tnt-chocolate-kahlua-mousse-pie-popular-demand-17859.html
 
I agree, great thread! But, I can only kindly say, momma can cook anything, and only she does it best! EVERYTHING she cooks is the best!! Love ya, Mom!
 
My mother makes fantastic spaghetti sauce. She gives it as birthday and Christmas presents. She does pretty well with fried chicken, but her mother's was even better. Her veal cutlets (breaded and fried) are wonderful.
 
My mom made the best blackberry pie. I would request it for my birthday every year. I can remember her rolling out the dough and filling the pie with the blackberries. She would let us kids eat the extra dough and dip it in the leftover blackberry juice.

The other thing that we requested the most was her meatloaf. It was awesome and made great meatloaf sandwiches. It still is a family favorite.
 
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my mom made a lot of really good things, so i'll just have to list the most memorable.
for breakfast, she made awesome norwegian pancakes (a type of crepe), norwegian egg nog (chocolate milk whipped with raw eggs), and always perfect eggs over easy with toast and bacon.
for dinners, i'd say her best were chicken parm, pot roast, leg of lamb, labscaus (norwegian corned beef hash),pepper steak, beef and veggie soup, irish hamburgers, corned beef and cabbage, and grilled chicken quarters.
 
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My mom also made so many great things. Her ham dinners with ham gravy were among the best. Her bbq sauce for chicken on the grill. Lasagna, chicken divan, and no bake cookies were all great too. MMMM....this is making me want to move back home!
 
Liver and onions. The neighbor kids would even come over for it, it was so good.

I need to get mom's tips on how to make it. Mizzphinz won't eat it, but that means more for me.
 

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