We start with Newlyweds, which features simple and easy dishes including entrees, soups, vegetables and a super simple bread recipe. Christmas is next and offers turkey made two different ways, gravy, a stuffing AND a dressing recipe, beverage and desserts, followed by "Aspen - Second Home" where the family spends many months during the summer and winter (including Christmas) with seasonal dishes like chili, guacamole, croquettes, soups and stews. Home Cooking at It's Best are mostly entrees (like a Chicken in Beer casserole), vegetables, more soups/stews and biscuits, while Recipes from the Road are meals that were made on the Mandrell Family tour bus and consist mainly of one-pot meals and even a pressure cooker chicken dish.
Cooking with Kids are little people friendly creations of mostly desserts (brownies, cakes, muffins) and only one entree. Everyday Entertaining steps in with appetizers, entrees, veggies, breakfast and even gazpacho! The next two chapters deal with outdoor cookery and have a few sandwich fillings (pimento cheese, tuna, chicken & crab),a recipe for making beef jerky and of course wild game with recipes for quail, duck, venison and goose. Apparently Irlene is a big hunter!
The author is also a chef and supplies his recipes for a few Italian and Japanese dishes as well as basic sauces, lamb chops, fancy (compound) butters and a delish lobster club sandwich.
Cooking with Love & Butter, published in 1993. All recipes were supplied by Home Interiors hostesses, the author, Mary Crawley (sister-in-law to THE Mary Kay) and several are updated versions from a prior cookbook.Seldom does a cookbook annoy me, but somehow this one took the cake. Besides all the "inspirational" quotes attributed to Mary Crawley (cited from a book she wrote AND self-published), there are numerous religious overtones, which if I had looked more closely before purchasing the book, I would have left it behind. It's not surprising since Mrs. Crawley was famous for holding business meetings with a bible on her lap and she saw the company as her divine mission and a way to aid other women. Anyways, lets get on with the recipes!
The first chapter is titled Dinner at Mary's and showcases meals the author has served at various company meetings held at her home in Texas including a roast and the accompanying sides. Then the real recipes begin, starting with appetizers & salads, many of the salads are of the congealed variety (a Five Cup Salad for example consists of one cup each of sour cream, pineapple tidbits, orange tidbits, coconut and mini marshmallows), entrees are next and most are made from beef with a few chicken and seafood dishes thrown in for good measure.
There are also chapters on vegetables, breads and desserts. The Dessert section is the largest in the book coming in at 114 pages - more than ALL the other chapters combined! There are lots of brownie recipes, a yummy Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry cake, a Watergate cake and a Watergate salad (which may have also made an appearance in the salad section). The next subject is Mary's Mountain recipes, based on dishes served at company retreats held in Colorado for new managers and lists entrees, beverages and desserts. Most of the recipes are super easy to make and require few ingredients.
I did get one big laugh, listed under Very Special Goodies (recipes submitted by managers) is a dish titled BEAVER Cake made with a German Chocolate cake mix, butter, evaporated milk, chocolate chips and caramels.
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