Goode Things: Our Favorite Cookbooks

We Goodes love to cook.  So naturally one of our favorite things would be good cookbooks :) Ain't nothing like a good cookbook.  And let's be honest--not all cookbooks are created equal.  It took me a while to figure this out.

I remember absolutely treasuring my mom's Betty Crocker cookbook growing up. (More on that in a minute.) That and church lady cookbooks...nothing like a stick to your ribs church potluck recipe.

So imagine my utter shock as a young blushing bride when my beautiful new Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook turned out to be complete crap.  Sorry--it is the truth. I HATED that cookbook. It didn't have any recipes on my favorite dishes like my mama's did.

I think that is why I LOVE Gooseberry Patch Cookbooks.  They are the perfect balance between Mom's home cookin' and church lady masterpieces!  Not to mention they feed my ever growing need for creativity and all things crafty! They are a delight to look at and I have YET to make a bad recipe out of one. Yum, yum, YUM!

Another favorite cookbook is Weber's Real Grilling. No, I don't have a Weber grill nor do I enjoy Weber's restaurant (Blech!--we ate there tons one summer to earn more free weber cookbooks and haven't been back since. Don't know how on earth they can have such awesome recipes and such an awful restaurant) but this cookbook is a must have!  My friend Deb got me this as a house warming gift and my cheapo walmart grill thanks her! It contains THE best grilled chicken recipe you will ever try!

But the best cookbook in the world will always be my Mama's Betty Crocker Cookbook sportin' the trendy burnt orange cover. 

It has my family's famous Deep Dish Pizza recipe and my famous Peanut Butter Cookie recipe.  It contains the sugar cookie recipe that I got in trouble over when I left my little sister baking in the house while I went to visit grandma. It just oozes my childhood.  I can remember mom pulling out that cookbook and placing it on the counter like it was yesterday. I can still smell the oregano.

So, imagine my absolute delight when I had been going on and on about this cookbook to my mom, aunt and grandma and suddenly they pull out a like-brand new copy of this cookbook and gave it to me a few years ago!  Turns out my grandma had gifted the women in my family this cookbook years (and years) ago and had a copy in the cabinet and gave it to me. 

It is to this day one of my most treasured possessions.