Old Yeller

My dad gave me a cookbook when I got married in June of 1980. This book has been one of my greatest treasures for 40 years. The binding is now worn and the front cover will probably fall off soon. The tabs are frayed and some are even missing. The pages have four decades of food stains on them. (I’m the messiest cook EVER.) And some recipes were adjusted with my handwritten notes. With six kids, I cooked a lot of meals and many recipes came from this book. Several years ago, my girls and I fondly named this family treasure “Old Yeller”.

So many wonderful recipes are found between the pages of this battered, old book. The Zesty BBQ Sauce is to die for. Especially on ribs.

And the Butter Frosting is yummy. We tried the Cheese Stuffed Trout once. It was pretty good. The kids enjoyed Beefy Bean and Biscuit Casserole along with many other great recipes.

A lot of fond memories are kept safe inside Old Yeller. I shared recipes with my best friend, Chelle. She loved this old book too. We enjoyed making the All-Time Favorite Lemon Bars and the Maraschino Cherry Bars for the holidays.

When my oldest daughter was getting ready to move away, she wanted to take Old Yeller with her. I’m not ready to part with Old Yeller yet so I searched for and found a copy and gave it to her. Now she can mess up the pages of her own cookbook. But truthfully, I don’t think any of my girls are as messy as I am. But….messy cooks are good cooks so they might want to work on that. The best compliments always came from my little ones when they would say, “Mom, you’re a good cooker!”

Hopefully, you have a treasured cookbook or two, and favorite family recipes to share with your future generations.

Be grateful for the simpler things in life…like an old cookbook named Old Yeller. ♥️

Andi

Photos: Old Yeller