When I was growing up, our family used to sit down to eat a home-cooked meal together every night. It's not like that anymore. I don't know if it's because of premade microwave dinners and fast food or because modern life is so hectic that it's hard even to get the entire family in the same room at the same time. But I still try to make sure my family eats well, even when we're all busy. And there's nothing like a good, old-fashioned cookbook to help you when you're low on ingredients or out of ideas.

Betty Crocker's Cookbook shaped the dinner tables of generations of families. My mom gave me her copy when I moved into my own apartment and I think I might have starved without it. It had been well-used then, but now it's really falling apart. The pages are yellowed and stained with decades of spills and smudges. Though I eventually had to get a new one, I'll never get rid of the copy my Mom passed down to me.

All this talk of food is making me hungry. I think I'll go whip up a nice big batch of my famous macaroni & cheese for dinner. With real cheese. It's the one thing that's sure to bring the whole family running to the table — all at once.