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Perfect recipes for any cook with little time and even less money.
Today's bad economy is forcing people out of restaurants and into the kitchen. 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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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Presentation: 5, Food: 2,
By
This review is from: The Busy People's Fast and Frugal Cookbook (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
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.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
For the target audience, this is an excellent cookbook,
This review is from: The Busy People's Fast and Frugal Cookbook (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
There are many things to like about this cookbook. I love the list of supplies and the shopping list included. Most recipes include a photo (albeit a pretty small one) and the recipes are for the most part pretty standard fare that most people would enjoy. If you have picky eaters, this would be a good book to try! Each recipe includes basic nutritional information as well, so you will have an idea of how many servings you will get along with the protein, carb, fiber, calorie, etc. content of each.
It definitely fits the requirement of being fast and frugal...fast as the recipes are all easy to do and have limited prep time. Since the ingredient lists are fairly short, that will certainly help in the frugal department. You also won't find a lot of difficult and/or fancy ingredients, which are often what adds a lot of expense with more traditional cookbooks. You will also find tips and hints with most recipes covering such things as how long you can save leftovers to additional garnishes or replacement ingredients. Many recipes have a neat "countdown" showing when to start each step, although it doesn't take into account prep time so be sure to figure that in if the recipe requires things like peeling or chopping veggies. The main downside of this recipe book is the type of ingredients used. You'll find most recipes include some kind of pre-processed or canned ingredient and many of them include Splenda as a sugar replacement to bring down the calorie count. In the case of Splenda, I'm glad to see the recipes use the version that can be swapped for sugar (or brown sugar) but it seems like a bit of a lazy approach to making "healthy" meals. But I think overall the book works well for the target audience. This is meant for people that just want simple and fast meals, but healthier than most of what you find in a frozen food department. It's not going to be a book serious home cooks would like that much, but it's ideal for those that just want to throw something tasty together quickly.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Cookbook!,
By
This review is from: The Busy People's Fast and Frugal Cookbook (Paperback)
Thanks to Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers, I was able to review the new cookbook The Busy People's Fast and Frugal Cookbook By Dawn Hall. It says that it has "perfect recipes for any cook with little time and even less money."
I selected this book because I want to learn how to cook better meals that don't take hours to prepare and cook. I'm too busy for that! Since this cookbook has meals that are all cooked in 30 minutes or less I thought it would be a great tool to help simplify mealtimes. As soon as the cookbook arrived, I browsed through it and was really quite surprised by how many great recipes were included. Here are some of my favorites: Breakfast: Italian Breakfast Pizza, Banana Crème Crepes, Southwestern Egg Bake Casserole Appetizers: Cheesy Cranberry Spread Salads: Chicken and Mandarin Orange Chopped Salad Soups: Egg Drop Soup Creamy Chicken and Noodle Soup Main Dishes: Little Italy Open-faced Sandwiches Penne in Creamy Italian Sauce Cheese is King Macaroni and Cheese - "guilt-free" Oriental Chicken Pot Pie Sides: European Asparagus Spiced Baked Oranges Breads and Biscuits: Garlic and Parmesean Rye Toast Cheddar Chive Bagel Crisps Desserts: Pineapple Cherry Delight Pumpkin Bread Pudding Beverages: Strawberry Smoothie Those were just some of my favorites; there are many more great and healthy recipes in this cookbook. If you're looking for a great cookbook that will help you cook healthy meals in under 30 minutes, this is the book to get!
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