Food from Our Family to Yours

The holidays are all about food and family; memories of sitting around the table, spending time with loved ones and eating special dishes together. In fact, food memories are some of the most powerful memories we have, because they involve all five senses.

We love hearing about one-of-a-kind food traditions, so we asked our team to share their favorite family recipes – the ones that brought smiles to their faces and reminded them of home. We're happy to be able to share these family recipes with you!

Tim: Traditional Norwegian Lefse

"Lefse, a potato-based Norwegian flatbread, is definitely a tradition that has been passed down in my family going way, way back. My parents got this lefse griddle as a wedding gift! I make lefse with my family every year around Christmas. I even made it for one of our company's Monday morning meetings and everyone loved it."

Ingredients

• 4 cups milk
• ¾ cup cream
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 cups potato flakes
• ½ cups flour

Directions

1. Heat milk, cream, butter, salt and sugar. Pour cream mixture over potato flakes. Stir until liquid is gone. Leave in bowl with a towel covering partially, cool overnight.
2. Add flour right before you roll into 2-inch lefse balls. Refrigerate as you keep rolling.
3. Using a rolling pin, roll balls on top of flour until the lefse is very thin. Move very carefully to lefse grill. Lefse may start bubbling. Once you see bubbles, flip the lefse. Coloring should only be slightly brown.

Stephanie: Polus Family Noodles & Tomatoes

"I know, it sounds weird. And being around our fancy food all the time, it feels like I should upgrade it. But this is how I ate it (no joke) WEEKLY growing up and so, I treasure it! It was our go-to meatless meal, usually on Wednesdays. It was super easy for either of my parents to make – it took just minutes to put together – so we could enjoy it as soon as my mom got home from work.

It’s served with cottage cheese. Salt and pepper required. We usually didn’t mix it up, but now, as an adult who works around food all the time, I might experiment with adding basil, or cooking the tomatoes in some other spices for added flavor."

Ingredients

• 1 package egg noodles
• 1 can whole tomatoes
• Salt and pepper
• Cottage cheese

Directions

• Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain.
• Add the tomatoes and juice from the can. Stir to combine.
• Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cottage cheese as desired.

Jenny: Chocolate Whities

"These are my favorite cookies that my mom makes! These chocolate cookies are soft, rich and cakey, topped with a simple white icing – loosely based off an old Pillsbury recipe. Unfortunately, my mom let me name them when I was younger – of course that's what a kid would name them! – and the name stuck. Tip: They're actually better the next day. That is, if there are any left…"

Ingredients

• ¼ cup butter
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 6 level tablespoons cocoa
• 2 tablespoons oil
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ cups flour

For the frosting:

• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• Powdered sugar
• Milk
• Almond extract (optional)

Directions

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Blend in egg, cocoa, oil, sour cream, almond extract, baking soda, salt, and flour.
3. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto greased cookie sheets.
4. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes. Let cool.
5. Combine the frosting ingredients until desired consistency. Spoon over cookies and let harden.