Betty Crocker Cookbooks

When I moved out for the first time at age 19, my mom gave me this wonderful Betty Crocker Cookbook:

This one was published in 1983. As you can tell from the cover it is well used and well loved. This thing was GOOGLE before Google as far as finding a recipe, converting measurements, substituting one thing for another, how to do anything whether it was cutting meat or measuring flour, and how to bake, broil, saute, poach, and lots of other words that I don't use while cooking despite Betty Crocker's attempts to enlighten me. Anyway, this book always had my answer! (but I usually called Mom for her opinion too).

Here's a couple more pages:

I mean, I never really used the fish garnishes, but they were there should I need them. Haha.

I inherited my Grandma Lou's Betty Crocker Cookbook from 1961. This is one of the few items that survived their house fire in the early 70's as you can see from the cover and pages:

In this one, Betty gives you handy tips on how to do a table service. I also like that it has my grandma's writing with some of her favorites noted (on the cover Thermidore, and inside Chicken Fried Steak). And how 'bout that table of desserts? There are far too few gold scale centerpieces these days!

My mom also had this 1961 book and I spent many a bored afternoon as a teenager baking from these awesome recipes. In fact, this is where my famous Bear Turds came from:

Finally, again, my Grandma Lou's Betty Crocker Cookbook from 1950:

This one had a surprising number of color pictures. Makes me wonder how pricey this was back in the day? One thing about these books, they always had the cutest little clip art throughout their pages.

It's just entertaining to flip through and read the handy tips for the presumed audience of housewives in their little cotton dresses waiting for their men to return from bringing home the bacon.

These cookbooks are definitely a part of our family legacy. My mom made a point of giving one to my sister and I to get us started as independent women (in the kitchen).

It looks like there is still a recent incarnation:


Look at her, all woke and whatnot with Pho!

(This has been a non paid advertisement for Betty Crocker Cookbooks.)