Laurie's Story

The kitchen was the one place you would most likely find Laurie'.  Big celebrations or private conversations, Laurie's kitchen was where you wanted to be.

The oldest of four children, Laurie started cooking for herself when she was 12.  She was soon wanting to cook dinner for her family, often experimenting with new recipes.  Even though her picky younger sisters would wrinkle their noses and say they wouldn't eat it, Laurie never got discouraged.

After Laurie got married and had a kitchen of her own, it was amazing how often her sisters would come by for conversation or advice, sitting at the table while Laurie prepared dinner, spooning out as much advice as helping of her latest recipe.

Laurie was famous in our family for her recipe collection.  Some of her recipes were old family favorites like Grandma Pancakes or Aunt Connie Potatoes.  some came from magazine clippings she tested and tweaked to perfection.  And others were her own true inventions, like "Dead Pig".  When asked for her marinade recipe, she would say "Just add something sweet, something salty, something with a tomato base, and pineapple juice," which meant she didn't have a recipe, but made it up as she went along.

As every holiday approached, and family members were assigned which dishes to bring, Laurie's phone would ring off the hook with requests for her recipes.  Even now, years after Laurie has left us, her recipes are always included in every family gathering to keep her with us.  Her recipes seem to keep all of us together, gathered in Laurie's kitchen.                                                                   

                                                 For a list of Mixes Click on the Boxes