Mom recipe collection

Giant-batch spaghetti sauce with ground beef, blended onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and tomato paste simmered all day. A freezer-friendly family recipe meant to fill two 5-gallon pots and stock your freezer for months.

Buttery shortbread cookies studded with spiced mincemeat and finished with sweet vanilla glaze. Festive holiday treats that taste like Christmas in every crumbly bite.

Mom's mango chutney made with green mangos, raisins, walnuts, brown sugar, and white wine vinegar simmered until thick and jammy. A simple homemade chutney with just 30 minutes of cooking.

Southern congealed salad with cottage cheese, Jello, mayonnaise, fruit cocktail, and nuts blended smooth and chilled. A retro gelatin salad that's creamy, sweet, and ready in 10 minutes.

From-scratch pineapple upside-down cake baked in cast-iron skillets with a caramelized brown sugar and Karo syrup topping, pineapple rings, maraschino cherries, and optional pecans. A buttermilk batter with folded egg whites for extra lift.

Mom's shepherd's pie: leftover lamb cubed and simmered with onion, red pepper, rosemary, and parsley under a mashed potato crust. The classic Sunday-roast reinvention.

Old-fashioned strawberry shortcake biscuits made with shortening, folded with melted butter, and cut into diamonds. Flaky, tender, and baked at high heat.

Pork tenderloin coated in a horseradish Dijon mustard paste with scallions, garlic, and fresh thyme, then roasted on a rack with chicken broth. Lean and flavorful.

Old-fashioned date and nut candy rolled in a wet towel and sliced into rounds. Just five ingredients, no thermometer fuss, with a soft fudge-like chew.

Peach Melba parfaits with peach-amaretto vanilla ice cream layered with raspberry coulis and fresh berries. Escoffier's classic dessert in parfait form.

Sliced sweet potatoes baked under a golden, flaky pie crust with cinnamon and sugar. This old-fashioned Southern cobbler is simple as can be and twice as good.

Quick chicken pot pie with creamy vegetable filling topped with golden biscuit pieces for a comforting weeknight dinner ready in 35 minutes using shortcuts.

Herb-seasoned baked chicken breasts layered over ziti pasta with tomato sauce and melted provolone cheese. A simple, comforting Italian-American casserole for two.

A whole cut-up chicken microwaved in spaghetti sauce with green chilies, Parmesan, dill, and lemon pepper. Sounds unconventional, tastes surprisingly good. 30 minutes, one dish, done.

Old-fashioned stewing hen braised tender in seasoned broth, served over mashed potatoes or rice with a lemony green pea cream sauce. The kind of cooking grandma got right.

Chicken breasts layered with Swiss cheese, cream of chicken soup, tomato slices, and buttery herb stuffing crumble. A comfort food bake that's on the table in 40 minutes.