A busy working mother raising four boys, Patricia Heaton couldn’t be more comfortable playing "America’s mom" on hit television shows such as Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle. Though she may be a Hollywood star today, this down to earth, practical Midwesterner likes to have fun entertaining her loved ones and has never forgotten her roots.

Growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland in the 1960s, Patricia’s hard-working parents—like the characters she plays on TV—didn’t have a lot of extra money. With five kids to raise, extras like movies and restaurant meals were special treats. Home cooked dinners were rib-filling basics: meatloaf, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken, pork chops, burgers, fish sticks, and pot roast. Yet her mother didn’t let a tight budget stop her from dreaming big, inspired by Julia Child.

On her Food Network show Patricia Heaton Parties, Patricia celebrates her culinary beginnings, transforming familiar American fare into delicious, sophisticated, lightened versions for entertaining family and friends. In this fabulous cookbook, Patricia shares her budget-friendly, simple, and deeply satisfying recipes. Some will be on the healthier side, and all will be inspired by the dishes she loved growing up, the favorites she’s relied on to feed her hungry boys, and the scrumptious showstoppers she serves at her fun-filled, casual parties and get-togethers.