Growing up, my favorite times were family dinners and celebrations. I loved listening to the stories about my parents and their families as they grew up. Of course, there would be so much food that everyone went home complaining that we had eaten too much.

In the early '80s, I started typing my recipes on a regular old typewriter that we had bought at a garage sale in 1967 when Chuck went back to college. Years later, he sneaked the pages to one of the customer service ladies he worked with who typed it, and another designed a cover. We had the customer service department to our home that Christmas, and they presented my cookbook to me. I frequently would make copies and give the small book to people that asked. Years later, thanks to technology, I was able to reprint on our own equipment and once again passed out to friends and family. The little book became Volume I, when, after many years, I finished my second cookbook becoming Volume II, which I have included in this book.

In the early '80s, I started typing my recipes on a regular old typewriter that we had bought at a garage sale in 1967 when Chuck went back to college. Years later, he sneaked the pages to one of the customer service ladies he worked with who typed it, and another designed a cover. We had the customer service department to our home that Christmas, and they presented my cookbook to me. I frequently would make copies and give the small book to people that asked. Years later, thanks to technology, I was able to reprint on our own equipment and once again passed out to friends and family. The little book became Volume I, when, after many years, I finished my second cookbook becoming Volume II, which I have included in this book. I dedicate the entire book to my late husband.

The good food and family gatherings were definitely a big factor in my husband's attraction to me. He gained twenty pounds on our first year of marriage. Chuck was in the Air Force and they had strict rules about weight to stay on the flight crew, and he was frequently on the fat list.

I started to write down our family favorites to pass on to our daughters, and it became this little book. However, I still have recipes to organize, but some I have jotted on various cards and paper, and not all of them have weathered time so well. Maybe there will be another little book in the future. Enjoy!