Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Any cookbook really has two things going on: the book itself, and the food it produces. This cookbook has so many advantages as a book that I'd like to be able to recommend it without hesitation. Recipes are sorted by prep time, so you can decide if you have 10 minutes to whip up some Hawaiian Sweet Potato soup, and the main dishes (including soups) are presented with a full menu. The book instructs you to set a timer before starting, and then gives you all the steps, and I found that by following the directions I was indeed able to get the meals on the table before the timer rang.
Each dish has a neatly sorted grocery list, and each main dish has a list for the entire suggested meal as well. Instructions are informal yet clear, nutrition information is clearly presented, and overall the book is so user-friendly that I think anyone will be able to succeed with it.
The recipes themselves are something else again. The author refers to these dishes as "down-home cooking" like your grandma used to make, and I guess it depends where you're from. Chipped beef on toast, candied vegetables, and eggs with sauerkraut are very exotic dishes to me. We're assured that these dishes are "delicious recipes that are healthy and easy on the budget," but it's hard to think of meals as healthy when they rely so heavily on things like pie filling and canned biscuits. In fact, cans feature very largely in these meals -- canned soup, canned fruit, canned vegetables, and even canned meat.
I cooked from this cookbook for a weekend, and I certainly could have cooked fresh food more cheaply than these meals. We tried out a dessert made from graham crackers, pudding, and whipped topping which totaled $4.00 -- more than a homemade cake, and neither more healthy nor more delicious.
Still, if you don't know how to cook, or are determined not to spend more than 15 minutes getting dinner on the table, this book could save you from continual drive-through. And if this is the style of cooking you prefer, then these might be faster, cheaper, and conceivably even healthier alternatives to the way your granny cooked.
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The Busy People's Fast and Frugal CookbookPerfect recipes for any cook with little time and even less money.Today's bad economy is forcing people out of restaurants and into thekitchen. But who has the time to cook? Dawn Hall shows home cooks how to prepare simple and fast food that's as healthy as it is easy on the budget.The Busy People's Fast and Frugal Cookbook is just the thing for today's economy minded meal makers.
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