What recipes do you know by heart? You know, the recipes you pull out of your soul when you cook on auto pilot; the recipes that a special loved one made for you once upon a time and now you make them for the people you love?
Recipes You Know by Heart
By Gina 2025- www.AtHomeMyWay.blogspotcom
What recipes do you know by heart,
made from memory each time you start?
Where recipe books sit packed away
and stains adorn them where they stay.
Where biscuit bowls sit and wait
for sifts of flour and sleepers late.
Where sizzling butter becomes pancakes fluffy
and tummies become happy stuffy
Where muffins don't need a mix
and frosting needs no special tricks.
Where warm chocolate pudding doesn't start with a box
and ice cream churns in icy rocks
So many Spaghetti Sundays through the years
for celebrations, hugs or tears.
Simmered slow by moms and grannies
with bread to swipe all the crooks and crannies.
They are the meals that families remember
and inlaws soon admit surrender.
The comfort food that grandmas made
before minds and bodies began to fade.
It's rice and beans when money is tight
and soup or chili on a cold winter night.
Mama makes her own mac and cheese
that tops the blue box, yes indeed!
These are the meals that remind you of home
and take you there even when you're alone.
Bridging present to the past, they are a secret sign
that these meals connect hearts, yours and mine.
Recipes I know by Heart
Breads/Breakfast
3. French Toast
4. Plain Muffins (add-ins of your choice)
5. Granola
6. Cornbread
7. Garlic Bread (will share soon)
Meals:
10. Parmesan Chicken
12. Oven / Crockpot BBQ Chicken (just chicken w/ bbq sauce)
15. Hobo Packets
Sides:
16. Pot of (Dried) Beans
17. Rice - Plain, Spanish
19. Homemade Mac & Cheese
20. Pepper Gravy (butter/flour/milk/salt & pepper) (recipe coming soon)
Desserts:
21. Homemade Frosting (Chocolate / Vanilla)
25. Fruit Dip
26. Whipped Cream
Snacks / Miscellaneous:
28. Cinnamon Toast
29. Grilled Cheese
As a young mom, I was once invited to a friend's farm for an imprompu birthday celebration. After I got there and our kids were playing, she led me to the kitchen where she was taking the birthday cake out of the oven. She quickly mixed up some chocolate frosting without a recipe. She added a little butter, some cocoa, powdered sugar and then created the right texture by adding less or more milk and a drizzle of vanilla. I was stunned! I had never really paid attention to my mom doing this although I know she did nearly every day of the week.
Its funny the little things that make us who we are today. THIS was the thing I wanted for my own family. I wanted to be the kind of mom who could mix up frosting for cakes or graham crackers without a cookbook; the kind of mom who could feed her family without always needing measuring cups and spoons; the kind of mom who could host a birthday party without a store bought cake! THIS was incredible! Now - nearly 35+ years later, I have a few of these "recipes" up my sleeve. I was surprised at the number of things I make without a recipe. I guess after 40+ years of cooking, I SHOULD be able to cook without a recipe. I always say that if you want to do something well, do it a lot. The rest will fall into place. Not everything I make turns out perfect but after this many years, I can pretty much guaranty that these meals will always turn out delicious - even without looking at the recipe.
Do you have recipes you know by heart? Please share if you have the time -and if you don't mind my silly rhyme 😍:
This recipe was shared at Sweet Little Bluebird's Potluck 706 HERE! Go check out all of the amazing recipes featured there this week!
Enjoy!
Gina
Love cooking and baking, cooking I do with my heart and memory, but baking, I will mostly look at a recipe and then go with my gut feeling.
ReplyDeleteVisiting via Sweet Little Bluebird
My entries this week are Garlic Herb Roasted Chicken with Baby Potatoes and Peppermint Crisp and Caramel Ice-cream Sandwiches
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Thanks for visiting! I'll check out your entries at Sweet Little Bluebird. So fun to see all of the ideas. Peppermint Crisp especially sounds yummy!
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