Cookbook

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Icebox Cupcakes

I swear, I’ve been obsessed with cakes and cookbooks. Well, the cookbook thing isn’t anything new. But this new, pretty, big, fancy cakes thing is new. I can’t tell you how many cookbooks I’ve at least picked up here recently if not put in my Amazon cart. No, I haven’t bought all of them… but a couple here and there. And the websites and the YouTube channels. Oh gosh, someone needs to break me of this habit. Although, right now I need to point out that so far this week I haven’t done ANY baking. I’m almost feeling at a bit of a loss.

Like I said, it’s become a new obsession I guess. The pretty cakes make me happy. One of the cookbooks I did pick up was the Simply Beautiful Homemade Cakes by Lindsay Conchar of Life, Love, & Sugar blog. Guys, no one asked me to say this, but the cakes that she put in this cookbook are just beautiful. I’ve made two of them actually. Although, these are cupcakes, not a cake… but aren’t they just beautiful? (more…)

Eat Like a Gilmore – Luke’s Meatloaf

When my husband and I got together, I was a Friends aficionado. It was sad really… I would quote lines and say things like crazy to the point he had to start watching it just so I didn’t have to explain myself all the time. Now we can call him a Friends aficionado also. He had a couple shows he was that way with too, one of which included Gilmore Girls. I had watched Gilmore Girls on and off, but never really paid a lot of attention. It was just usually on for background noise.

One day I was going through the Friend’s series again. He made me promise that once I was finished I had to watch Gilmore Girls start to finish. He owned all the seasons. I agreed. Man, that show is quite addicting! I really want to be Lorelai. She’s so spunky and the way she dresses. I really want her closet.

6 months to a year ago or so I found out someone wrote a cookbook. Hubby and I picked up the cookbook. I read through it but never really made anything from it. Sadly, that’s the way with most cookbooks I own and I own a lot.  Until now…

Eat Like a Gilmore: Luke's Meatloaf with a side of Mashed potatoes because who doesn't eat mashed potatoes with meatloaf! | Midwestern at Heart

Luke’s Meatloaf

If there is one thing I can tell you about the Gilmore Girls, if you’ve never watched the show… They love to eat. Bam. That’s really all you need to know. ha! Well that and with all they love to eat, Lorelai is skinny minnie. How in the heck. Oh wait, that’s right, it’s TV. Oh and she also lives on coffee. But let’s save that talk for another day, okay?

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Grandma’s Cookbook

Grandma J's Favorite Recipes Cookbook

If you know one thing about me, you probably know 100, but here’s another tidbit of information about yours truly… I love cookbooks. Yes, it is a fact that I absolutely LOVE cookbooks. I swear, I have a cookbook addiction. Some days I think it’s a bad thing and other days I absolutely love it. The funny thing is, you can probably find any and every recipe you want on line these days, yet I want those hard cover cookbooks. It’s just the thing that I need to have. I love the feel of the paper and the weight and having it right there all spelled out for you. I get frustrated when I get flour on my computer or my iPad goes to sleep before I’m done following a recipe.

Why do I bring this up? Well, for Christmas last year my grandma gave me a present I truly cherish. She compiled a bunch of her favorite recipes into a small three ring binder. All the recipes are in protective pages so I can pull them out if I need, but are easily cleanable should I get stuff on them. And best yet, a lot of them are in her handwriting.

Jump forward a couple months and she went into the Church to give pie crust making lessons. I don’t really know all the details, but I just know that a bunch of the ladies in her church wanted her pie crust recipe and wanted to learn the lessons from her. My Christmas present is a copy of one she made herself. When the ladies at the church saw this cookbook, they wanted one too. That’s when, Grandma’s Cookbook was created.

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Cookbooks: Eating in the Middle by Andie Mitchell

I’ve been an avid reader of blogs for years. In fact, I’ve been an avid writer of blogs for years (don’t be fooled by this one just starting!). One blog that I started following years ago was called Can You Stay for Dinner?

Earlier this spring while I was still finishing my Master’s Degree, I took a class called Writing the Memoir, where we did just that, we learned to write memoirs. What does that have to do with anything? Well, one morning I was reading through my blog list when I noticed that there was one talking about a memoir by Andie Mitchell, It Was Me All Along. I wasn’t sure who Andie Mitchell was and forgot that she was the writer of Can You Stay for Dinner.

Noting that I was in this memoir class I clicked on the link that now takes you to AndieMitchell.com as opposed to her original blog title. I read through the blog post where she was discussing her book, etc etc. She got to the point in her life she weighed 268lbs and said enough was enough. In a little over a year she lost 138lbs and changed her food life challenges.

Then it was either that blog post or another blog post where she discussed her cookbook that was to be released in March of this year. It was supposed to feature recipes that she ate to help her achieve her goal weight and keep the weight off for 10 years. My interest peaked.

I mentioned my birthday was Saturday and for my birthday I got both her Memoir and her Cookbook. I have to say, I’m excited to read a book that isn’t required and is “fun” reading! I did get my Master’s in English after all and had to read a lot of books I’d never even heard of by authors I was unfamiliar with….

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