Nana’s Recipe Box

I never realized how strongly memories are associated with food until my mother died in 1990. The first time I made spaghetti the way she cooked it I didn’t have to add salt because I had mixed enough tears in it to supply the flavoring. Mom loved to cook for her children and her grandchildren.  She was a teacher and after a long day at school if she wanted to whip up something fast and good that would feed a bunch of us she made spaghetti.  I remember her watching my oldest son slurp noodles one Halloween night before we went trick or treating and her laughing so hard she cried. We had told Nick, our son, that he couldn’t have candy if he didn’t eat at least some of his spaghetti so he was slurping up noodles as fast as he could and by the time he was finished he resembled the little boy in the picture above.

All of us have certain foods that bring back childhood memories, so every Thursday I’m going to add a recipe to Nana’s Recipe Box. If you have one you would like to share, please send me the recipe and the memory that goes with it and I’ll share it with my readers.

Mom’s Spaghetti

Brown and drain one pound of lean ground beef (I double the recipe because I have so many to feed)

Chop one small onion and one small green pepper (I use fresh mushrooms too when available and canned when they aren’t)- sautee and add to beef

Add some Italian seasoning, or oregano and basil, or both. More if you like spicy, less if you don’t

Add two cans tomato soup (not sauce).

Keep stirring and when it starts to bubble add four slices of American Cheese.

When cheese is all melted it’s ready.

Cook noodles accoriding to directions. Sprinkle Parmesan on top and dig in.