Breakfast in bed is still the best way to honor your mom on Mother's Day.

I remember as a child showing up at my Mom's door with a cookie sheet full of breakfast foods on Mother's Day morning. I was proud that I could carry the tray so far without spilling, and that we had managed to make something for mom that she would like. As my siblings and I burst through Mom's door the look on Mom's face was a look of "I do not want breakfast, I just want to sleep in," but I knew if she tasted the breakfast we had made for her she would change her mind.

We waited for Mom to take her first bite of what we as children thought was the best Cream of Wheat that had ever been made. She looked worried and scared. Now that I am a mother I know what the look was. It was a look of, how do I choke down this cereal that looks like cement, without choking and feeling like I have a brick sitting in my stomach.

But, with our proud smiles showing, Mom knew she had no choice. She took her first bite, set it to the side and said, "This is delicious. I will finish it after I sleep a little longer."

We did not know it that day, but Mom just could not gag down our homemade breakfast. All in all the cereal that should have been smooth, warm and creamy was cold, lumpy and weighed as much as a large boulder. Mom handled the situation well, and I am sure that that Mother's Day morning was not the only one that played out the way it did. I bet Mom's feelings were those of, "Why can't we go out for breakfast?"

This week I am sure many children and significant others will be serving breakfast in bed to their mothers and those women whom they love. If I can give you one hint this week, it would be not to serve Cream of Wheat, unless you know how to make it just the way Mom likes it.

I have to give my own mother credit for making me the cook I am today. Mom allowed me to make mistakes; she taught me how to read a recipe and then make it my own. Mom taught me that not all recipes come out perfect, and just because the lady next door could make it, does not always mean that your recipe will taste like hers.

I have taken many classes in culinary arts; I have studied about food and what makes it delicious. But out of all the courses I have taken and all of the reading I have done, the things my Mom taught me through the years are the foundation for all that I know.

Thanks Mom for putting up with cereal that looked more like cement, and Kool-Aid made out of salt instead of sugar for so many years. You made me the cook I am today. I love you!

Mom cooks for you day in and day out and now it's time to return the favor! Show your Mom how much you love her and appreciate everything she has always done for you. Until next week's batter chatter, take over the kitchen and cook mom a meal she will remember the rest of the year! (And make it a good memory!)

This recipe is what I called semi-homemade. It is simple and uses some ingredients that need no preparation.

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