For the longest time I would not share any of my family recipes…at all. When people would ask, I would always say no. I felt like I was protecting part of my heritage – these were recipes from my Mamaw and Mama – why should I share them with someone else? Go get your own recipe and leave me alone! It’s MINE! All mine! *Insert crazy, insane laughter here*
And let me just be honest here…I like that people enjoy my cooking. The thought that I would give someone a family recipe so that they could make it themselves didn’t sit well with me – it would mean it was their recipe now and I would no longer get praised for it since they could make it. Man, what a big ole fat head I have. I’m surprised I can fit it through the door.
You know those moments when you hear someone tell a story and you have a moment of clarity? Well, sometimes it takes my moment of clarity to come and visit…my clarity comes when I have time to think on things.
I heard someone tell a story (forgive me, but my Momnesia takes away where I heard the story) about how they had given someone at church a family recipe. The lady had taken a dish to a potluck and someone enjoyed it and asked for the recipe. She gave it willingly. Years later, these two ladies saw each other again and the one explained to the other that she thought of her often because when she used the recipe, it always brought her friend to remembrance.
Do you know something? The original owner of the recipe didn’t even recall giving her friend the recipe – BUT it had made a HUGE impression on the person she gifted it with. Every time she made the dish, she thought of her friend.
WOW! What a legacy to leave behind!
When I realized that leaving my recipes behind was like leaving a legacy, I felt like I should have smacked myself in the head. Why I had been so blind to that all these years? I shared my new knowledge with my Mama and I felt like she wanted to smack me in the head too. She already knew that…that was why she was sharing them with ME.
And so it is that I share my treasured family recipes with you all….I’m leaving my legacy behind. Hopefully when you make a dish, you’ll think of me and my family (insert my big head here again)…when you make that dish, pray for my family. When you make another friend’s dish, pray for her family. THAT is a legacy my friends….
I’ve already shared some of my treasured recipes with you guys, and I have many more left to share. I hope you enjoy them all – and I hope they bless your family.
I’m inviting you to my table – be a part of the Myers family and enjoy our family legacy.
Here are some family favorites that I’ve already shared:
Mom’s Egg Salad
I love to eat vegetables and then i look that Glazed Carrots. They look so delicious.
I think of you and your precious family every Sunday when I make your Kitchen Aid Mixer Bread. ;o)
🙂 That makes me SMILE!
I can’t wait for the deviled egg recipe.
The old tattered handwritten recipes that I have such fond memories of my family making TOGETHER and then sharing TOGETHER are some of my most loved treasures. There is something wonderful about cooking and cleaning up together that is comforting and caring. I heard some of my family’s best stories while in the kitchen with my Mammaw, Mother and Sister. Now that they are all in heaven, I know just how important those times were.
I’ve had a hard time nailing down that recipe because she never measures. 🙂
Thank you so much Stacy ….for ALL YOU DO.
Well today that’s been about jack squat. LOL Unless playing matching cards with Annie counts. 😉
I have a pal who makes an amazing fluffy almond icing. I have shared dozens of recipes w/her and she will NOT share her icing recipe w/me. She says if I know how to make it then others won’t be asking her for it anymore. Like it’s KFC’s secret repice or something. I do love my friend dearly, but I do hope she reads this and decides to share w/me. (Esp after I forward the link to her.) I think the biggest joy to me is to work hard preparing a recipe and then someone asks for the recipe. That makes my heart happy. I always think of whomever gave me a recipe when I am remaking it. I have sev hand written recipes from my Nonnie from yrs past. Those are my biggest treasures! Thank you for sharing your recipes w/us, Stacy!
LOL If you forward and she reads the comments maybe you’ll get the recipe today. 😉
Hi Stacy,
I did laugh at this post….I make your recipes all the time. So you are thought of often through the day in my home in Australia.
Here is a link to a most delightful story, right along the lines of what you were talking about. http://www.sugarpiefarmhouse.com/buttermilk-blessings
I know that so many of you are busy, but I can promise that anything you read from this beautiful christian blog will bless your day.
I love the idea of praying for the person who gave you the recipe.
Years ago, I was at a weekly ladies bible study, and the pastors wife who was hosting it, suggested that when we see an Ambulance(Paramedic) passing on the road with the sirens on , we should pray for the person who is ill and their family. I have done this each time since, and it has been a BLESSING for me as well.
Thanks for lovely start to 2013, Helen
Helen, our family does that as well…even if we’re talking, we stop what we’re doing and pray for that person. 🙂
Stacy,
I’m very thankful you share your recipes! I’m not much of a cook, so the fact that your recipes are EASY means a lot to me. Sometimes I’m wondering what I can make out of the same ole chicken breasts and think, “I’ll bet Stacy has a good crock pot recipe for this!” Thank you! Thank you!
🙂 This just made me grin from ear to ear.
I need to rethink sharing recipes. I stopped sharing when all of my extended family would tell me they were bringing this or that dish to a family gathering leaving me with not knowing what to bring. It was like they took over my dish. Very frustrating. I know it’s sad that I am a little bitter about it. What do you suggest? Forgive them, forgive myself and just enjoy each others company. Another resolution 😉
That made me giggle – because I totally get you. 🙂
I know what you mean about sharing a recipe and then someone else taking it over. I use to take things to a potluck that we had weekly. I made a couple salads and had shared the recipe. Well someone else started to bring those salads. So it soon became a personal challenge for me to find recipes that i could make. A new favorite one is the sauerkraut salad. I even just made it for my sisters wedding. 🙂
Oh my gosh! I LOVE KRAUT SALAD!!!
I have encountered this too. I have to admit, I used to think like you did. Isn’t it nice to wake up and shrink our big heads? It’s much better on the other side! I love empowering women to feel more confident in the kitchen. Many women have helped me and it is such an honor to help others. YOU are one who has helped me and I do think of your family when I make your recipes. I will insert a prayer with those thoughts from now on. Thank you for your willingness to share. It is a GIFT.
Thank you. 🙂 Your prayers are MUCH appreciated.
I must admit that it makes me frown when someone won’t share a recipe. Most often, a simple google search will yield something very nearly close, anyway. I do like to make recipes and think of the people who made them before me. 🙂
🙂 You make me smile.
That is a wonderful idea to pray for the person as you make the recipe. I have a recipe from my friend who has since passed away. That recipe card in her writing is a true treasure to me.
Sandy, I have a recipe that my grandmother wrote and I display it proudly in my kitchen. 🙂