Cookbooks

Since it is your first cookbook I would suggest a basic cookbook like Betty Crocker. It will give you all the basics from breakfast, baking, roasting, entrees, veggies, etc. It will also have cooking charts, advice about storing foods and so on.

Then from there I would get a regional like a community or church cookbook. It will have tried and true recipes from your neighbors, city, town or state.

For healthy recipes I would look at Cooking Light. They publish all kinds of cookbooks so you can pick what interest you.

I have a few celebration cookbooks that give you a menu for different holidays and occasions. I have really enjoyed cooking from them too.

Now days I use a lot of recipes from pinterest and web searches too. It is great to have so many options. I hope you find one you enjoy.

I'm vegetarian. For me, Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and 1,000 Vegan Recipes are my go-tos. I've also found great recipes at www.vegetariantimes.com. VT has put out a number of good cookbooks, too.

I cook meat for my husband and he loves the Spice and Spirit (kosher) cookbook.

I have shelves packed with many different cook books, binders and books full of recipes, subscriptions and back issues to several magazines, and I have to agree with the Betty Crocker recommendations above. It is an absolute classic, so simple and easy to use, and includes nutritional breakdowns. I learned to cook from my mom's 1960s Betty Crocker, and I am constantly referencing the edition I received as a wedding gift. I have given many as gifts myself.

For more advanced cookbooks, I really like Julia Child, Ina Garten, and Martha Stewart, but for your first basic book, Betty Crocker all the way.

Agree on all those basics, but would also recommend the Smitten Kitchen cookbook. She's wonderful, and her recipes are really innovative.

The Betty Crocker Cook Book was my first...it has a lot of valuable information about cooking in general, not just recipes. It was a gift from my mom for my 21st birthday.

I have an entire book shelf fool of cook books now...honestly, I hardly ever use them as I primarily use Pinterest to find new ideas...but you really can't beat Betty Crocker for learning the basics and going from there.

susanp57 wrote: »

Mark Bittman, writer for the NY Times, has one called "How to Cook Everything."

This is the one I always recommend as a first cookbook for someone who is just starting to learn to cook. It's great. His Fish book is good too.

I like Greene on Greens as a classic book on cooking vegetables too.

I use my Trim Healthy Mama book a ton. Lots of really yummy easy recipes. And the Whole 30 book is full of simple recipes using basic ingredients.

If you don't have any cookbooks, I'd agree with the recommendations for a basic cookbook. The ones I use the most for basics are Joy of Cooking and New Better Homes and Gardens (I think that's the name of the red plaid one). I've also heard good things about Betty Crocker and Fannie Farmer cookbooks.

The cookbook I've been using the most lately is Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook. I don't follow their diet plan, but the book is full of good everyday recipes. You can tell it's written by women who have a bunch of kids, busy lives, and a need to get meals on the table every day. Most (all?) of the recipes are easy, tasty, and relatively quick. I've made more recipes out of this book than probably any other cookbook I've owned. And more of these recipes have become daily go-to's than from any other book or website.

I also would suggest Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. It has so many basic recipes that I have used over and over again. It also provides good directions and most of the recipes do not have a lot of ingredients. I just made Easy Mexicali Casserole this morning before I left for work. It is a favorite. I also love the baking sections, too.

My second suggestion would be Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook. I love the pictures of every recipe! Again there are a lot of basic recipes. I use the pizza recipe often, And I am well known among our family for making the Lemon Loaf Bread from that book. It is SO good!

Happy cooking!

acpgee wrote: »

The Joy of Cooking was my first cookbook.

Mine too. I still use it today., but I do get a lot of recipes online now. When I google an ingredient for a recipe, it often comes up with All Recipes site. It happens to be a recipe site I’ve been using since the early 2000’s. I like the reviews.

If you're looking for keto recipes, or thinking about going keto, The Complete Ketogenic Diet for Beginners by Amy Ramos is wonderful. It answers a lot of basic questions about how keto works and it has a 2-week meal plan that makes it easy to start. The book was my bible the first month or so that I was on keto. I use and recommend many of these recipes today.