Some of my favorites.

I love cookbooks! I may not follow every recipe in them, but I love reading through them and learning about what flavors go with what. Or a lot of the time I take parts of recipes and make them my own. Mostly on accident, because half the time I don't have all the ingredients they call for. So I do a lot of adapting. Lucky for me Ryan is NOT a picky eater, and he doesn't mind eating leftovers (some men refuse to eat leftovers...weird). I love how I use so many of the same meals my mom cooked growing up. It amazes me how much I learned by being in the kitchen with her. I didn't realize back then that I would be using the exact same techniques and recipes that she used. It really makes me excited to be able to teach my girls how to cook and hope so much they enjoy it as much as I do!

Just a few of my favorites:
OK, this is like the mother of all cookbooks! I'm pretty sure every household has this one, and probably everyone got it as a wedding gift too! Wait, I think I bought mine...crazy! Well, anyway, great cookbook!

The Lion House Cookbooks. If you are Mormon then chances are you have a Lion House Cookbook! There are several out there. I happen to have the "Lite Recipes" version. Now this one I know I got as a wedding gift...I'm pretty sure it was from my mom...or my grandma. Anyway, it has the BEST turkey chili recipe!

Barefoot Contessa at Home I just got for Christmas. I love all the Food Network chefs! OK, maybe not all...there are a few that really bug me! Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) is a bit hoity-toity when you see her show, but she has great recipes!

I'm not the biggest fan of Martha Stewart. I think she leaves a few things out of her recipes so you are sure to fail! I've tried several of her desserts, and they've all been utter disasters! So anyway, these are not necessarily her recipes, they are all from the magazine, Everyday Food. One thing I like in cookbooks are photos...lots and lots of photos. And this cookbook has a picture for every single recipe! Also, each recipe doesn't call for tons and tons of ingredients, and most of them you have on hand (perfect for me).