A friend gave me this book right after I was married, It has very basic information and basic recipes. It has been a great go to cookbook.

The vegetable section of this one is like, "Eh, I don't know, boil it."

I was given this book as a gift over 30 ahem years ago. I still use it every year. Has great easy recipes for hot fudge sauce and butter cream frosting that work every time!

All kinds of great basics in here, ranging from super simple for fairly complicated. The easy ones are clearly marked for non-cooks. All easy to understand and follow. Most of the recipes are pretty simple, and there is nothing intimidating in here. Avoids the worst excesses of can-opener gourmandism and foodie craziness.

in my early teen years, i loved loved loved betty crocker's ground beef spaghetti recipe.

then i turned vegetarian. additionally, these days i like food to arrive in my kitchen closer to its original form than, say, shortening or garlic salt. so betty crocker and i have gone our separate ways, but i'm still fond of the dear old gal.

A good reference, but I trust the Better Homes and Gardens for a more modern taste. Betty likes to overcook vegetables, but the baking is reliable.

Actually I could not find my edition of Betty Crocker's Cookbook on the book list, so I chose this one, which is similar. Mine is the 1972 edition, given to me by my late mother-in-law. I treasure it. It is held together with duct tape, but I will not part with it! You can tell my favorite recipes by all the drips on the pages!

I've had this cookbook since I was 9. I am now 58. It's my go to book!

This is a must have cookbook for every kitchen. I collect cookbooks, but this is the only one I actually use semi-regularly. (I like cooking, but I just don't do it all that much, with my schedule.)

It has the basic recipes that will get a novice started. I use the Scones recipe on page 40, but I add dried cherries or blueberries. I also use this to make gumbo with a few modifications. I also learned to make Chicken Pot Pie using this cookbook.

I can't give this five stars because the food tends to come out somewhat under-seasoned for my and my family's tastebooks, and it's not very ethnically diverse. Mainly Traditional American standards. It won't do you much good if you are looking for Mexican/Asian/Indian, etc recipies. I always advise to season to taste when using recipes in this book. But it's a great starting point, and it will come in handy for the basics. My copy is getting a little frayed (around page 40--hehe).

If you have kids that you are about to send out into the world, send them out with a copy of this one!


Here's a Danielle Seasoning to Taste Tip!

Always have these seasoning mixes handy:

1.Seasoning Salt
2.Old Bay Seasoning
3.Taco Seasoning
4.Chili Powder
5.Garlic Powder
6.Italian Seasoning
7.Ginger
8.Parsley
9.Black Pepper
10.Salt/Kosher Salt
11.Cumin

You can modify or jazz up just about any recipe to taste, if you have these seasonings handy. Of course, they would depend on the ethnic flavor you're going for. But I put some of these in about every dish. I don't cook with a lot of salt, and I don't have to, if I use Seasoning Salt or Old Bay Seasoning.

Good to have around for basics.

This was my go to book when I was first learning to cook. It has all the basics: how to bake an apple pie and other basic recipes, how to boil corn on the cob - bake a potato - steam vegetables, how to cook certain cuts of meat and how to use measuring cups. Although it might not contain gourmet recipes - it is a good first cookbook that will be used often. And now after years of cooking I still go to it.

A classic.