Three years ago I was thinking about buying yet another cook book. I had been buying cook books for years and only ever making one or two recipes. It was the large Betty Crocker cook book which is more like a food encyclopedia than a cook book. And it was on sale for about $15 bucks. Part of me said get it. But another part of me said don’t. Part of me was saying, “this book is just going to sit there collecting dust.”

That was when I decided that if I was going to buy yet another cook book I was going to USE it. That was the deal I made with myself. I had to make way more than one recipe if I was going to buy yet another cook book. It beame a challenge I set for myself. Not only to make recipes that I thought were easy but recipes I had never dreamed that I could make.

I started off with something easy, chili. But I had never made chili before. Luckily it was a slow cooker recipe so beyond browing the ground beef and chopping up a few things, the chili cooked itself. It turned out pretty good.

Next up was Chicken Marsala, then cornbread, and garlic mashed potatoes, Korean BBQ beef. The list went on and on until I had made 35 different recipes from that Betty Crocker cook book. I was so proud of myself. Not only that I had met and exceeded my challenge. But, also for pushing myself and making some really great tasting dishes. Oh, and that one really ugly lasagna that was still kinda tasty.

My favorite dish was the apricot stuffed French toast. It was and is one of the best things I have ever eaten and definitely one of the best dishes I have ever made. Full disclaimer, I switched the apricot preserves for peach preserves.