Anyone who has access to their mom’s recipe box is lucky. And if Mom had lots of friends or relatives who cooked, you’re even luckier.

I’m among the latter. Not only did my mom keep good track of her recipes — even recopying many of them on new cards because they were tattered or hard to read — she also had a lot that were shared by her friends and our relatives.

When looking through Mom’s recipes for a chow mein hotdish the other day, I came across a recipe that belonged to my Aunt Harriet Hendrickson for just that dish.

Aunt Harriet was Mom’s older sister. Like my mom, she was a pretty good cook. I guess that they both inherited that skill from my grandma, who could bake and cook up a storm.

Mom’s and Aunt Harriet’s recipes for chow mein hotdish were similar, but there were a few subtle changes.

But regardless of their slight differences, both would be well worth a try.

Mom’s Chow Mein Hotdish
1½ pounds ground beef
¾ cup uncooked rice
2 cups water
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups celery, chopped
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 bag chow mein noodles
Cook ground beef until brown.
Add onion and celery, cook until almost tender.
Add remaining ingredients except chow mein noodles.
Put into a 2-quart casserole dish.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour and 15 minutes.
Uncover and layer with chow mein noodles.
Return to oven, uncovered and bake until noodles are brown, about 15 minutes.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6.

Aunt Harriet’s Chow Mein Hotdish
2 pounds ground beef
2 onions, diced
1 10½-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1 10½-ounce can cream of celery soup
1 10½-ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 10½-ounce can chicken and rice soup
1 10½-ounce can beef broth
7-ounce package chow mein noodles
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground beef and onions in large frying pan. Do not add salt. Add the soups and 2/3 of the noodles and mix. Place in greased 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Top with remaining 1/3 of noodles.
Place in oven and bake for 1 hour.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6.