Ree's 'Year of Holidays' Cookbook Is the Best Way to Get Ready for Easter

Ree Drummond has come a long way since publishing her first cookbook in 2009. By that point, she had been sharing recipes on her blog for years, but putting together a book was a whole different story.

"I had no idea what I was doing when I wrote that sucker, and I didn’t care," she says. "I embraced it and ran with it and I’ll always be so glad I did."

Since then, Ree has released five more cookbooks, a memoir all about her love story with Ladd, and her latest book—Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage and Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere. But you might be surprised to know that Ree has also put out several kids' books as well, including the Little Ree series and the Charlie the Ranch Dog collection, inspired by her beloved late Basset Hound. There are now 11 Charlie books for kids, and Ree says that writing the series was one of her most enjoyable projects of all time.

Her cookbooks will always be her first love, though. Each one offers something a little different (the latest, for instance, is chock-full of new Instant Pot recipes). But there's one thing they all have in common: They're not overly fussy or serious. Instead, Ree made sure each volume "is a little weird" and, of course, full of delicious recipes.

"As I cooked and photographed and wrote and edited…I kept you in my mind," she says. "I wanted to make a cookbook full of food that you’d absolutely love, because I love all of you."