Mmmmmm … just like Mama used to make. Sometimes all it takes is the aroma of a dish that Mom made while you were growing up to bring back sweet memories of childhood.

If you've ever felt the love in your mother's home-baked chocolate chip cookies or her savory meatloaf, you know what I'm talking about. In honor of Mother's Day, we asked our readers to share some of their mothers' favorite recipes, along with the memories that they bring to mind. Here's what they had to say.

Green beans with heart

The green bean casserole has been a staple of the American diet for years. Frances Sorensen's version, however, was more than just a tasty dish, says her daughter, Mary Nelson. It served as a way for Sorensen's family to connect with and comfort a wide range of people, from students far away from home to missionaries traveling around the world. A heartier take on the traditional cream of mushroom soup and onion strings variety, this green bean casserole was made with meat, beans and tomato sauce, topped with whipped potatoes.

And it was even served to the Bishop of India, who visited the Sorensen home while Nelson was growing up. "Through the years that casserole has been the mainstay for all sorts of people that were welcomed into our home," she said. "One time a woman who was in an abusive marriage - along with her five children - moved in with our family to escape her life-threatening situation. They stayed with us for several months and that green bean casserole made its way to the supper table many times." Nelson has made the casserole many times since, yet somehow it never comes out quite like Mom's, she said. "It's what that casserole represents that makes it special - opening your heart and home to anyone, all walks of life, any creed or color. Going beyond your means, no matter what you have, to welcome people into your life."

Four generations of dumplings

About the size of a snowball, Angie Knehr's potato dumplings are a family favorite that have been served with roast pork and sauerkraut for four generations. Knehr's mother, Rose Sarauer, taught her how to make the dumplings while growing up on a farm in Bloomer and Knehr has since passed the skill on to her grown son Allen Zwiefelhofer. Last summer, when Zwiefelhofer's daughter, Sara, graduated from college, she wanted potato dumplings for her party. So, the three generations got together and made a batch of the tasty potato treats. Like so many family recipes, the process for making Knehr's dumplings is not easy to put down on paper, the cook says. They key is to work the dough lightly, she says. "You just have to get a feel for how much flour to add. Too much flour will make it hard to form it into a ball." The effort to learn how to make them, though, is worth it, Knehr said.

"We just can't live without them."

Simply delicious

Fancy, gourmet cooking was not Doris Hintz's mother's style, What she did bake or cook, however, was "always the best," Hintz said. One of her family's favorite recipes was affectionately called "Grandma's Spaghetti" by Hintz's three daughters. "I remember them saying when they would go for a visit to Grandma's house 'I hope she is making Grandma's spaghetti' and, of course, she never let them down because she knew it was their favorite." Hintz has carried on the tradition by making the simple, yet tasty, dish in her home - and her daughters went on to make it for their children as well. "I hope everyone enjoys it as much as our family has," Hintz says. "It's not fancy, but it has lots of good memories connected to it."

Year 'round goodnessPlum dumplings, Persian torte, poppy seed kuchen and cottage cheese blintzes. So many delicious foods were made by Betty Hartman's mother, Elizabeth Schilke, that it is difficult to choose one that's best. "My mother loved to bake and entertain," Hartman said. "Every Easter she'd make pecan rolls and early fall was the time for plum dumplings because you have to have Italian plums and they are only available at that time of year." It is her mother's Hungarian poppy seed kuchen, however, that seems to bring back the fondest food memories for Hartman. "The kuchen was always made on Christmas Eve," she said. "After church that night the kuchen was delivered to friends' houses while Santa filled our home with many presents." More than 20 different kinds of Christmas cookies were another of her mother's annual specialties, Hartman said. "My mother and her mother were fabulous cooks. I took great lessons from them and enjoy baking and cooking for all my wonderful friends."

Taking the cake

Homemade birthday cakes are what Dawn Lambert remembers most about her mother's cooking. "When my brothers, sisters and I were young, my mother always baked our birthday cakes. There were four of us and she had four favorite cakes she liked to bake." Lambert's mother is gone now, but she carries on the tradition by baking two of the four cakes (her favorites) for family birthday parties. "They always bring back good memories," she said. "I still remember all the times we baked together." Of the four cakes, Lambert said her mother's chocolate chip chiffon cake stands out most. "It takes some time to make, but it's worth it."

Pan full of memories

Every time Gregory Mason bites into a piece of lasagna, he thinks of his mother. Cooking is something that Mason and his mother, Betty Mason-Rahn, enjoyed doing together through the years. And of all his mother's special dishes, her lasagna is the one that Mason loves most. The recipe actually came from his aunt, Audrey Seitz, who got it from her husband's niece more than 40 years ago, Mason said. "When hunting season was going on, my aunt would come and stay with us and she'd bring a pan of lasagna." Later, when Mason would come home from college for a weekend, his mother would ask what he'd like her to cook for him, and lasagna was always at the top of the list. They would often make it together.

"My mother loved to cook for other people," Mason said. "She always made her lasagna in a particular pan and now I make it in that same pan." Since his mother's death a couple years ago, Mason has continued to make the lasagna - the only difference is that he adds the garlic that his mother used to leave out. "It has always been the family favorite," he said. "I have to admit, it is even good cold."

Saucy memories

It's all in the sauce, for Candace Sanchez and her mother, Adela Sanchez. "The memory I have of my mother making enchiladas is the time she spent making her sauce," said Candace. "She wanted it to taste just right. I remember doing my homework in the kitchen and loving the aroma while she was cooking. She included me in her sauce making process by allowing me to taste test it, which I looked forward to every time." Later, Candace learned to make the sauce from her mother via a phone call and has since "pretty much perfected it to be just like hers." She has also passed her mother's "famous" sauce recipe on to family and friends and has even hosted a few enchilada parties, at which she taught those closest to her how to make the sauce. She has two daughters of her own who have yet to learn to make the sauce, but meanwhile they are carrying on the tradition as taste testers.

The right amount

With paper and pen in hand, Sherry and Germaine Ricchio (their maiden name) prepared to write down their mother's recipe for spaghetti sauce as she demonstrated. What the two women learned, however, was that their mother, Delores Ricchio, didn't measure any of the ingredients for their family's favorite sauce - she made it more by instinct than instruction. "She'd mix together tomato sauce, tomato puree and water and when it came to the seasonings, she told us to just cover the whole top of the mixture with oregano, salt, pepper, sweet basil, garlic and sugar and stir it all together," said Sherry (Ricchio) Nielsen of Franksville. "Bring it to a boil, turn it down to a simmer and just cook until supper time." Delores told her daughters to just keep tasting the sauce - preferably by dunking a piece of Italian bread into it - and adjusting the amount of seasoning. "There were seven of us kids, so she made a big pot full of sauce. It was always delicious. To this day, I make it the same way and then give some to my daughter and son, and my mom, who is 86 now. I like to think that mine is almost as good as hers."

Holiday tradition

Every Christmas, Barb Welch makes Spritz cookies just as her mother, Hedvig Ruff, did for many years before her. The secret to the cookie becoming such a family favorite, Welch says, is the old spritz cookie maker which she inherited from her mom and does not let leave her house. "It is over 80 years old and makes the cookies real thin and delicious," said the Raymond resident. Since Ruff died at age 89, Welch has been carrying on the spritz tradition - even through back surgery, which she had just before the holidays a few years ago. Her grandson Eric came and helped her make the cookies which the family "had to have for Christmas." "I can still remember coming home from school and finding the dining room table in our farm house full of spritz cookies. She would make different shapes and put red or green sprinkles on each."

Kitchen togetherness

Jean Mueller of Union Grove was just 17 years old when her mother passed away. With her brothers away at college, Mueller learned to cook for herself and her father by trial and error. "My mom was the quintessential stay-at-home mom in the '50s," Mueller said. "I wasn't expected to cook or clean or do normal chores like some kids did, and I loved it. Mom taught me just a very few basics but, luckily, I spent enough time in the kitchen watching her to absorb and retain her methods. She also had detailed recipes, which was a godsend." Mueller has come a long way since then and she believes her mother would be proud. "The pecan dreams and sour cream cutout cookies that I make and share with my family and my brother's are, I'm told, just as yummy as Mom made. She's with me in the kitchen when I'm baking them every year."

No more tears

Cheri Esch has figured out a way to pass on her mother's talents in the kitchen as gifts that keep on giving. "One day, many years ago, I was in a teacher's lounge listening as a young bride talked about making her husband's favorite meal that evening," said Esch, a retired RUSD principal and librarian. "The next day she was in tears because she didn't make it like his mother did. At that minute, I decided to help my new sisters-in-law not to have to face that problem." Esch collected her mother's recipes for her brothers' favorite foods, put them in a photo album and gave them to her sisters-in-law. "To this day, I do the same for my children and nieces and nephews for bridal showers. It is my chance to share old family recipes, since I am the only girl in the family."

Comfort food

He knows it's not really good for him, but David Maack still loves his mother's Tater Tot casserole. A rather casual mix of cooked ground beef, mixed frozen vegetables, a can of "cream of anything" soup and the frozen potato nuggets (both mixed in and on top), the casserole is a comfort food that Maack makes for his family on occasion. "It is just one of those meals that always tastes good," said Racine's director of Emergency Management. It is also a quick dinner fix that only requires you to brown the meat, mix the ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for an hour. "My wife and kids enjoy it too," Maack said.