Mother's recipes from the family cookbook

Mother's Day is a very special day for women all across America. Today is extra special, as our daughter has high-school baccalaureate today. As a mother, having a special event on Mother's Day makes it that much more special.

My mother, Marilyn Kinsey, easily cooked for the six of us children with no effort at all. She could make anything from nothing and stretch food like no other person I knew. We worked hard, ate well, enjoyed meals together and had fun.

I pulled just a few of my mother's recipes from our family cookbook to share with you today, in honor of my wonderful mother. She has so many wonderful recipes that I just opened the book and pointed. I will share some others with you at another time.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

Orange Delight Salad

• 1 (16 ounce) carton small curd cottage cheese
• 1 (3 ounce) box orange gelatin
• 1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, well drained
• 1 (15 1/2 ounce) can crushed pineapple, well drained
• 1 (4 1/2 ounce) carton frozen whipped toping, thawed

Mix cottage cheese and dry gelatin together. Add 3 remaining ingredients and chill.

Sour Cherry Salad

• 1 can sour cherries, drained
• 1 can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red food coloring
• 1 large carton frozen whipped topping, thawed

Mix cherries, pineapple, sweetened condensed milk and food coloring together and refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, add thawed whipped topping and fold until combined.

Potato Soup

• 2 large potatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 rib celery
• Salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk

Dice potatoes, onion and celery. Boil until they can be mashed easily but are not falling apart. In another saucepan, make a white sauce by melting butter, stir in flour and cook for a minute or two, then stir in milk. Cook until thick. Add to vegetables and heat through.

Cheesecake Dessert

• 1 small box lemon gelatin
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large can evaporated milk, well chilled
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 box (from a 1 pound box) graham crackers, crushed

Mix and cool to lukewarm 1 small box lemon gelatin and boiling water. Cool and add lemon juice. Mix together sugar, cream cheese and vanilla. Add to gelatin mixture. Whip the can of milk at high speed with mixer until it forms stiff peaks and fold into cream cheese mixture. Mix 1 stick melted butter with 1/2 box crushed graham crackers. Press into bottom only of 9x13-inch glass dish, reserving 1 cup of crumbs to sprinkle on top. Spoon gelatin mixture into dish over crust. Smooth and spread out evenly. Sprinkle remaining crumbs on top. Chill several hours. Cut into squares to serve. You may serve with a spoon of cherry pie filling or drained crushed pineapple on each serving.

Homemade Ice Cream

• 1 small carton eggs, such as Egg Beaters, equal to about 6 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (3 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding
• 1 envelope Dream Whip
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 quart liquid Coffee Mate creamer, original flavor
• 2 percent or whole milk

Mix eggs and all other ingredients together except milk, whisking well with a large wire whip. Pour into canister of ice cream freezer. Add milk to about *¾ full. Freeze according to your own freezer. Fresh fruit or chocolate cocoa powder may be added to make your favorite flavor ice cream.

Anna Mae's Pie Crust

Anna Mae is my aunt, and she is 101 years old. She has been a very strong and positive spiritual influence in my life. I am forever grateful God put us all together in the same family.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup Crisco shortening
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup water

In a bowl, place flour. Take out 1/4 cup and set aside in a small container. Add salt and shortening to the larger portion of flour and cut shortening in well. Add water to the 1/4 cup flour and mix well. Gradually add this to the shortening and flour mixture, tossing with a fork. If necessary, an extra teaspoon of water can be used if too dry. Roll out and place in pie pan. Fill with your favorite filling and bake.

Pecan Pie Filling

I grew up with the large paper shell pecans and we always had a good crop. The trees on my parent's farm were hand-grafted when my dad was a young boy. We have since sold the farm and I sure will miss that pecan crop this fall.

Mom never was too particular about the syrup in this recipe. Sometimes she would use a combination of whatever she had, including maple pancake syrup. I always loved the flavor that gave the pecan pie.

• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup dark Karo syrup
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch salt
• 1 rounded cup pecans
• 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Mix together slightly beaten eggs, syrup, brown sugar, evaporated milk, butter, vanilla and salt. Beat at medium speed until well mixed. Put pecans in pie shell. Pour filling over the pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes until browned and set. The filling will puff up during baking and will settle as it cools.

Jelly Jewel Cookies

This is one of my favorite cookies of all time. I sometimes wonder if I really love the cookies that much, or love the memories that go along with these cookies. It was a real treat to have seedless raspberry jam, but we always did at Christmas to make these cookies.

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, separated
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 small jar seedless raspberry jelly

Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add well beaten egg yolk, stir in flour. Chill dough. Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll into small balls. Dip in slightly beaten egg white, then roll in finely chopped pecans. Bake at 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Remove, and make a depression in center of each cookie with finger, return to oven for 10 minutes. Cool, fill indention with jelly. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

Happy Mother's Day to all women, because all women had a mother and that can be celebrated.

Have a great week and until next time, happy cooking.