Barbecue Macaroni

I have been married to my high school sweetheart for more than 42 years and still love being a wife, mother and grandmother. I am a self employed Interior Decorator and love helping my clients create beautiful surroundings. I have a real passion for my job and consider it a hobby as well as a career. I like cooking for family and friends, special occassions are always fun. My husband is a picky eater, so I try out new things on my friends. I don't cook everyday, we do eat out a lot, but when I do, I really enjoy it. Starting out 2010, I decided to put my family cookbook together so my siblings, children, cousins and extended family would enjoy them as I have for years to come. The Family Favorites Cookbook will be a collection of everyone's requested receipes from our mothers, grandmothers and siblings. I hope it will be shared for many years with our decendants so they will have an idea of the foods we grew up with. I have an extensive cookbook collection and read them like most people read novels. I love the ones that tell family history and stories. Local church cookbooks and area cookbooks by women's groups are always special to me. My first cookbook memory was when I saved my money and purchased a Better Homes and Garden cookbook for my mother as a gift for Mother's Day. I knew she wanted the book and I saved my money and rode my bicycle to the local drug store to purchase it. That cookbook was the gift I always gave at wedding showers and I now have a collection of the red checkered cookbooks. I like making desserts best as everyone in our family love sweets. Our family holiday dinners are usually full of some of the best desserts known to man. I am well known for preparing Shrimp Gumbo, Pot Roast and Seafood Delight. Friends and family want to come to our home when I make those dishes. My daughters are now learning how to cook them as well as I do so the tradition continues. When we eat out, we usually eat Mexican food as it is time consuming to prepare and inexpensive to eat at most restaurants. Everyone in our family likes Mexican food so it is always a crowd pleaser. When I eat out with friends or business associates, I typically like to eat at a Seafood restaurant or Chineese restaurant since my husband does not like either one.