Customer Reviews

Betty Crocker One-Dish Meals: Casseroles, Skillet Meals, Stir-Fries and More for Easy, Everyday Dinners (Betty Crocker Books)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For me, this is a perfect cookbook. I don't have a lot of room in my kitchen. I want meals I can cook quickly. The recipes is food that you pretty much throw together in a hurry. Even the more intricate recipes are easy. These are the kind of meals that women cooked in the 50s, '60s and '70s before the Food Network got middle America women (and yes men too) wanting to be gourmet chefs. If I had the time and especially the room, it would be fun to try more elaborate dishes. But for people who want something more than frozen meals, this is a great cookbook.

I'm giving this a 4-star because the recipes looked good and easy. However, I returned this book because it didn't contain any photographs. I know it sounds silly, but I find that having a photo of each meal helps to inspire me when meal-planning.

Very easy to follow. All the recipes I have tried have been very tasty. Easy cleanup with one pan. Would recommend this book to anyone especially working women with little time to spare.

Recipies sound good. But no pixs. I like pixs so good you can almost smell the food.

As I wrote in my review of Better Homes & Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes, time in modern American life leaves those with families precious little of it. Between the job commute, kids, chores, and other pressures, there is little time to cook a decent meal. I do the majority of cooking in our household and it is something I enjoy, but it is increasingly hard to accomplish because of my demanding schedule.

So in addition to search for a of slow cooker recipes I also picked up a book on one-dish meals that is a good mix recipes from soups and stews, to salads, to meat dishes, to pizzas, to excellent side dishes. What I ended up with is "Betty Crocker's One-Dish Meals: Casseroles, Skillet Meals, Stir-Fries, and More Easy, Everyday Dinners," a 336 page book that contains a plethora of recipes that I can actually use.

The recipe book is divided into the following (main) chapters:

Hearty Soups, Stews and Chilies
Sizzling Skillet Dishes
Comforting Casseroles, Gratins and Stratas
Satisfying Slow Cooker Suppers
Pizzas and Pizzazz
Main-Meal Salads
One-Dish Grilling

The beginning of the book--the first 16 pages--deals with food and preparation tips, like Tools of the Trade, and Freezer-Friendly Food, while the end of the book deals with more useful information such as Helpful Nutrition and Cooking Information. "One-Dish Meals" is wonderfully balanced offering more than 125 satisfying recipes such as Beer and Cheese Soup, Mexican Steak Stir-Fry, Quick Lasagna, Turkey Divan, Macaroni & Cheese, Beef Steak Chili and Sloppy Joe Pizza, to name a few.

Every recipe includes detailed step-by-step instructions for completing the meal as well as a very detailed chart of nutritional information based on the number servings. The prep time, cook time, serving size is also detailed at the top of each recipe. The index is comprehensive, logically laid out and easy to read. Ditto for the book itself; the print is large, dark and easy to read, and the side panels are backed by a muted green coloring that sets it off from the rest of the page.

Tips are included at the bottom of ever recipe that include helpful thing to do ahead of preparation; healthy substitutions, serve-with ideas and storage advice. Readers will also find cooking and shopping how-to's designed to keep things running smooth and stress-free in your kitchen.

Like the Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes, "Betty Crocker's One-Dish Meals" is not an overly large book and it thankfully lies flat when I open it making it easy to use. The (blue) print is a little smaller than I would have liked, but with the proper lighting it's not an issue.

The recipes that I have prepared thus far include: Wild Rise and Chicken Casserole, Swiss Steak Supper, and Sweet & Sour Chicken. All have been great hits and as winter sets in I am sure I will find more and more recipes in the book to prepare. Chicken and hamburger are the staples of most of my dishes, since my wife does not care for pork, unless it is attached to a rib bone.

One criticism I have of the book is a lack of pictures accompanying the recipes. Despite the press releases that state that there are some 35 full color photos in the book, they were strangely absent in my printing. Superficial some might say, but I like seeing what the dish is suppose to look like when I'm done. And pictures make the dish more appealing.

"Betty Crocker's One-Dish Meals" is a cook book that has found a permanent place on my growing cookery shelve. Granted, I will probably use the book more in on the weekends and on those days when time and circumstance does not lend itself to the grill! Now, I have a source to turn to for new and exciting meals for my family. My crock-pots have found new life.

The recipes are delicious and a hit with my family. The cookbook is boring to look at because of no photographs, but I'm guessing this is to keep the price down as well as to squeeze in more recipes. Photos of the dishes would be nice, as other reviewers have suggested. I haven't tried it but these dishes probably freeze well and can make a quick "grab-n-go" meal for the busy household.

I love this cookbook so much that I'm ordering a new one. The cover of my original is partially melted and the pages are stained, dog-eared, and falling out from heavy use. The recipes in this cookbook are easy to follow, forgiving of errors, and interesting enough to provide variety to my family's diet without needing fancy ingredients. This is a great cookbook for the beginning cook with limited time to spend in the kitchen.

Gift was greatly apreciated. It has been used many times since it was received.

This book arrived in a very timely manner and was in excellent condition.