favorite cookbooks

I love all your comments & likes on my Instagram photos of my recent dishes, here & here. I love to cook, minus the dirty dishes, and I enjoy those moments during the week when I can turn up the radio and dance around the kitchen as I prepare a dish. Wait, did I just admit that?!

As a 23 year old, it can be intimidating finding recipes to try. I don’t have fancy gadgets or a budget that can handle trips to specialty food stores. When I spy a new recipe, I make sure it fits all my criteria: a) easily found at Trader Joe’s or Safeway, b) ingredients I could use multiple times in other dishes and c) doesn’t involve serious chef machinery.

So where do I find these recipes? I get my inspiration from my cookbook crew 🙂

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

1: I purchased I Heart Trader Joe’s soon after I discovered the wonders of Trader Joe’s. While some ingredients mentioned are no longer available, you can easily find replacements if you ask a crew member. This book has everything from starters to full entrees!

2: Have I mentioned lately how much I adore Ina? Before becoming the Barefoot Contessa she was a DC Girl, too! Ina worked at 1600 Penn in energy policy. A woman after my own heart. I received this book for my birthday from my aunt, uncle and cousins and read it cover to cover. Questions about entertaining & planning a party menu? Ina helps you along every step. Foolproof  is a great supplement to her Food Network show & blog.

3: Hungry girl is a pretty accurate description of me so it wasn’t a surprise I received this cookbook from another aunt for Christmas. I love the guilt-free aspect of these recipes yet you feel like you are indulging. Worried about bikini season? Hungry Girl gives you the total calories in each recipe so it takes out the guesswork in meal planning.

4: Cooking with All Things Trader Joe’s is the latest addition to my cookbook crew. My mother found the book for me and when I went home the other weekend, it was waiting for me on my bedside. Naturally, I stayed up late poring through it and mentally noting which meals I’d like to try and in which order. Good bedtime story, no?

I grew up in a family of cooks but I didn’t really explore the area until after my sophomore year of college. Prior to, I was a baker and was much more likely to whip up peanut butter cookies than wade through an entree recipe. Not having a campus meal plan will change a girl.

Are you looking for BBQ recipes? Summer salads? Farmer’s market meals? Tweet or email me and I’ll get to work 🙂

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