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While the beautifully color-illustrated, coffee table-style cookbooks that catch our eye at the bookstore might be fun to cook from when we have a free weekend afternoon, it is the basic family-style cookbooks and our own personal recipe collection that we turn to time and again when we want an uncomplicated and comforting meal.
Do you have a treasure trove of community cookbooks at home that were collected from a variety of sources such as church, the PTA, local fundraisers and your own personal files? These homegrown cookbooks often offer the most simple and satisfying recipes.
A lot of times community cookbooks will have a regional flair based on the area where the recipes are collected. For example, in a Louisiana based cookbook, you might find recipes for gumbo, jambalaya and po’ boys. Sometimes the recipes can be kind of quirky. Church cookbooks I have seen sometimes have recipes for dishes like “how to make a happy family” along with the scalloped potatoes, slow cooker sloppy joes, jello mold salads, and bundt cakes. The names often give credit to the originator of the recipe, such as “Aunt Sally’s Chicken Chili Casserole.” Naturally, many of the recipes in these community cookbooks are very slow cooker friendly.
I recently helped host a wedding shower for my best friend. Her sister came up with the brilliant idea to compile a cookbook featuring recipes collected from friends and family of the bride and groom. On the invitation, we requested that each shower attendee e-mail a couple of their favorite family recipes, and then my friend’s sister worked to create a lovely cookbook based on that group of recipes. The results were put into a beautiful album that we presented to the bride as a gift. It was full of familiar family recipes from her side of the family, along with new and intriguing ones from her friends and soon-to-be husband’s relatives. The quote on the inside cover really fit the occasion: “May the love of your family and friends add spice to the love and life that comes from your kitchen.”
We also bound the recipes into a book that each shower guest could take home as a favor. Everyone appreciated being able to share in the fun, and it really got the guests talking to each other about their favorite things to cook. Since the groom's family is all from the south, many of the dishes from his side had a southern flair, such as a recipe for shrimp and grits, while the bride’s family offered more of an Italian influence. It was the perfect way to tie together traditions from both sides (after all, what better way to create common ground than food?). Her fiancé John, who is an avid cook, really liked the cookbook as well, and will no doubt surprise her one day with one of her grandmother’s favorite recipes.
So next time you are trying to come up with something to make for dinner, why not dig out one of those well thumbed cookbooks to find a down home recipe that will make everyone happy!
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/562-family-recipes/
Ye Olde Family Recipes
While the beautifully color-illustrated, coffee table-style cookbooks that catch our eye at the bookstore might be fun to cook from when we have a free weekend afternoon, it is the basic family-style cookbooks and our own personal recipe collection that we turn to time and again when we want an uncomplicated and comforting meal.
Do you have a treasure trove of community cookbooks at home that were collected from a variety of sources such as church, the PTA, local fundraisers and your own personal files? These homegrown cookbooks often offer the most simple and satisfying recipes.
A lot of times community cookbooks will have a regional flair based on the area where the recipes are collected. For example, in a Louisiana based cookbook, you might find recipes for gumbo, jambalaya and po’ boys. Sometimes the recipes can be kind of quirky. Church cookbooks I have seen sometimes have recipes for dishes like “how to make a happy family” along with the scalloped potatoes, slow cooker sloppy joes, jello mold salads, and bundt cakes. The names often give credit to the originator of the recipe, such as “Aunt Sally’s Chicken Chili Casserole.” Naturally, many of the recipes in these community cookbooks are very slow cooker friendly.
I recently helped host a wedding shower for my best friend. Her sister came up with the brilliant idea to compile a cookbook featuring recipes collected from friends and family of the bride and groom. On the invitation, we requested that each shower attendee e-mail a couple of their favorite family recipes, and then my friend’s sister worked to create a lovely cookbook based on that group of recipes. The results were put into a beautiful album that we presented to the bride as a gift. It was full of familiar family recipes from her side of the family, along with new and intriguing ones from her friends and soon-to-be husband’s relatives. The quote on the inside cover really fit the occasion: “May the love of your family and friends add spice to the love and life that comes from your kitchen.”
We also bound the recipes into a book that each shower guest could take home as a favor. Everyone appreciated being able to share in the fun, and it really got the guests talking to each other about their favorite things to cook. Since the groom's family is all from the south, many of the dishes from his side had a southern flair, such as a recipe for shrimp and grits, while the bride’s family offered more of an Italian influence. It was the perfect way to tie together traditions from both sides (after all, what better way to create common ground than food?). Her fiancé John, who is an avid cook, really liked the cookbook as well, and will no doubt surprise her one day with one of her grandmother’s favorite recipes.
So next time you are trying to come up with something to make for dinner, why not dig out one of those well thumbed cookbooks to find a down home recipe that will make everyone happy!
Slow Cooker Turkey Sloppy Joes
Made with hamburger buns, black pepper, ground turkey, onion, celery, chili sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, sweet relish, salt
Made with hamburger buns, black pepper, ground turkey, onion, celery, chili sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, sweet relish, salt
Serves/Makes: 8
- 1 1/2 pound ground turkey
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 sticks celery, diced
- 1 jar (12 ounce size) chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 1/2 tablespoons sweet relish
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 hamburger buns
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey, onion, and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until the turkey is browned and the vegetables begin to soften. Drain off any fat or excess liquid then transfer the mixture to the crock pot.
Add the chili sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, relish, salt, and pepper to the crock pot and mix well. Cover the crock pot and cook on low heat for 2-3 hours or until heated through.
Serve the turkey sloppy joes on buns with any additional toppings as desired.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/562-family-recipes/