Melissa's favorite cookbooks:

• Paleo is a diet that we don't follow strictly (after all, you know I love sourdough bread!), but much of our food is paleo. I borrowed this book from Michelle Tam so many times that my mom ended up buying it for me as a Christmas gift one year. Our favorite recipes? Mayo, Tex Mex Casserole, Devils on Horseback.
• I'm not against all grain, but we have family members who are gluten-free so I first learned about Danielle Walker back in 2015 because, at the time, we had a kid with an anaphylaxis dairy allergy and those family members who were gluten-sensitive, so I knew any recipe in her books would be safe. We still love her pumpkin spice latte and gingerbread latte (but use real, raw milk and much less sweetener), plus so many of her desserts!
• If you work outside the home and can't even imagine being able to cook dinner on weeknights, I hear you! This lady has you covered! Even though I don't do all the prep steps (like chopping cilantro in advance), I follow much of her advice and lean on these recipes more than any others. This book offers a strategy that is just so wise! She picks a main protein, starch, and vegetable for each week plan to make three completely different dinners (that don't feel like boring leftovers!).
  
  Would you like to see videos of me preparing my favorite week plans from this book? Leave a comment!

Melissa's favorite food preservation books:

• Don't be afraid to pressure can meat, beans, and meals-in-jars! I haven't found a perfect book yet but this is the closest I have found as a great source for pressure canning. After hearing this YouTuber rave about her family's favorite pressure-canned soup (cajun cowpeas!) I just had to order this because it wasn't available at my library. That recipe is a winner, but my favorite is the Mexican-inspired Pork & Black Beans. She offers solid advice for canning in general plus so many great recipes.
• Freezing produce is a great way to save the harvest for winter, but you'll want to avoid learning things the hard way, and just push the easy button and follow this lady's advice! She offers tested advice for the best way to preserve fruits, vegetables, and herbs PLUS recipes to use them! Our favorites? Strawberry white chocolate baked oatmeal, Tikka Masala Simmer Sauce for chicken, and Confetti corn. Some cookbooks I just borrow on repeat from the library, but this well-priced resource is used so often in my kitchen that I chose to buy it and keep it on a shelf right in the kitchen.

Melissa's favorite books about farming, gardening, and homesteading:

• Anything by this author, who is also our mentor, is a winner. Choose this book first, and I recommend the audio version. Your kids might be like mine and say "Folks, this ain't normal" all.... the.... time after you listen to it!