By the Cookbooks

    I love reading, so when I was given The Book Lovers Cook Book it was a dream come true.     I have a deep love for The Lost Generation, so this recipe sneaked in between a quote from Gertrude Stein, and a passage from Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms" was a perfect start for me.     Ingredients     2 cups of uncooked macaroni     1/4 cup of butter     2 tbs of flour     2 cups of milk     8 oz of cream cheese, softened     2 tsp of Dijon mustard     1/2 tsp of salt     1/2 tsp of  pepper     8 oz of mild cheddar, grated     Chives Directions     Cook macaroni until tender, drain and set aside.     Melt butter in a sauce pan until it sizzles.     Stir in flour, and cook for at least 1 minute.     Continue cooking over medium heat and add milk, cream cheese, mustard, salt and peppe...

     For this recipe, I brought friends over because I was very unsure about it, but I knew if I could woo my friends with it, it'd stick.     The base of this is great, but know what herbs you like, because that can get you in some trouble when you show off a new dish, and they don't like one of the 5 herbs you are using.     I did get to learn the fun skill of removing a bone from a chicken breast from this recipe. Ingredients       1 ruby grapefruit      2 tbs golden balsamic vinegar      1 1/2 tsp salt, divided      1/2 tsp black pepper, divided      1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, divided      1 large head of butter lettuce      1/2 cup of chives, divided      1/2 cup of cilantro, divided      1/2 cup of parsley leaves, divided      1/2 cup of fresh mint, divided     ...

     It's springtime! Which means away with the soups for lunch, and hello to salads.      I'm always looking for ways to spice up a salad, and not do the usual: iceberg, cheese and croutons, so I'm pretty pumped about finding this salad in the Taste of Home Cooking School Cookbook.      It's pretty simple, and you can add just about whatever fruits you think will go well with the chicken marinate, but this is a great starter recipe, for someone who wants to up their salad game with some fruits and maybe venture into a new dressing realm. I normally dress my salads with Ranch or French dressing. I'm from the Midwest, that's how we roll. Ingredients     Ingredients you will need according to the cookbook.     3/4 pound of boneless chicken breast     1/4 cup of chicken broth     Poppy seed dressing, divided     2 cups Spinach     1 cup Romaine     Strawberries ...

Hello one and all,       Since living on my own, I've fostered a great love for cooking. It's how I show people I care, and I find great comfort in it.       Now, I have a friend who knows this about me and regularly buys me cookbooks as gifts, but I have never used them. I either ask family members for recipes or go online to for recipes. Pinterest has been my diet's best friend. Six cookbooks just sat there, waiting to have their creations made.       After a free weekend, I decided to dig into my 6 cookbooks and have found many new recipes I want to try.      The six cookbooks, all very different, but also represent a different part of my life.      I've picked recipes from:      1) The "I Don't Know How to Cook" Book, 2nd edition by Mary-Lane Kamberg.      2) The Book Lover's Cookbook by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger & Janet Kay Jensen.      3) 100 Perfect D...