My mom was an awesome cook.  I learned two things about cooking from her: 1) how to cook well and 2) her love of cooking.  Mom was a home economist.  My parents were divorced when I was 5; mom raised us 4 kids by herself.  She made delicious, low-cost meals for us. I'd hang around the kitchen while she was cooking dinner and ask questions about how she was preparing things.  I learned how to cook good food from her.  To this day, I don't cook bad dishes.  I can always tell when my fiancee doesn't care for a particular dish I've made - he doesn't go for a second helping. 
My mom left me her handwritten cookbook.  It's a red and white plaid 3 ring binder cookbook and it has all sorts of wonderful recipes in it.  Recipes that I'm now going to share with you.