Customer Reviews

The Busy People's Fast and Frugal Cookbook

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

I was searching for recipes to try and add a little variety to our otherwise typical meals. We have a very busy household. We're always on the move and don't have nearly enough time for traditional dinner dishes. We mostly cook processed quickly prepared foods. Nice, slow-cooked, healthy dinners are usually reserved for the weekends. Unfortunately, processed foods have a very unhealthy tradeoff for the speed and ease they offer, usually, high amounts of fat, sugar, and sodium and low amounts of vitamins and minerals. After experimenting with a few internet recipes for "busy families", I had the opportunity to try this book out. The moment I opened the book, I immediately realized it was exactly what I had been looking for. A lot of recipe books claim to be easy but don't use readily available ingredients or the dishes take longer to prepare than they claim. This book will turn a total kitchen klutz like me into a kitchen version of MacGyver. You'll grab a few ingredients, that you likely already have on-hand, and turn it into a delicious meal. There are no exotic ingredients here and none of the recipes seem intimidating or overwhelming. The sections are logically divided by meal type (breakfast, soups, appetizers, main course, dessert, even smoothies and protein drinks). I am about the furthest thing from a cook as you can get, so if I can make meals from this cookbook and receive compliments from my family afterwards, that is a smashing success. The meals are pretty diverse and interesting. These are not boring dishes. Not only are they quick and easy to make, they give the appearance of requiring more effort than they actually do. Like I said, I'm not a chef (or even normally a decent cook), so I won't embarrass myself by trying to be a food critic. I'll simply say most of the food tastes pretty good. You'll likely tweak it with seasonings to your liking (some of the meals can be a little bland, given the book's lean towards low-cal, low sodium, healthy dishes). However, the majority of the meals taste pretty good to a non-overly-discriminate palate such as mine. I just want some variety and to opportunity to eat real meals without the requirement of spending several hours in the kitchen or being a skilled chef. If you're in a busy household looking to move beyond the offerings of processed ready-made foods, this will be a very welcome addition to your library.

I'm not a big fan of cooking. In addition to a general dislike of the process, I don't really have the time to spend doing a lot of cooking. I figured this would be a great cookbook for me, as I'm someone who not only doesn't have a lot of free time, but also loves a deal. Given the choice, I will always pick a restaurant meal over one I have to prepare myself. So, for me, the cost has to be clearly cheaper if I'm going to opt for cooking at home.

They layout of this cookbook is great, it's organized by meal type, and then by the amount of preparation time. This makes things easy if you have 10 minutes to make breakfast or 20 minutes for your main meal. Each recipe also shows the serving size and the caloric breakdown, which is a nice addition.

The most useful section, for me, is breakfast/bunch. While some of the recipes are kind of obvious (Bacon, Egg & Cheese Sandwich - Duh?), there are some nice and simple casserole & bakes.

The Main Meal section has a few decent recipes, but is also filled with nonsense like "Maple-Glazed Ham Steaks", which is basically grilled ham covered in maple syrup. You'll find some easy and inexpensive meals, but you will have to wade through a lot of unappetizing options to get there.

The appetizer section leaves the most to be desired, as most of the recipes there don't seem in the least bit appealing to me. They are good for a party if you want your guests to think you put more time and effort into the finger foods than you have.

The other sections are also a mixed display of easy, obvious, interesting and just plain silly. I mean, melt a candy bar and cover marshmallows with the melted chocolate, kind of obvious. But, overall, if quick and easy is what you are looking for, you are sure to find a handful of recipes that with suite your needs. And, if you do manage to find a few new favorites, the cookbook is probably worth the money, time and effort.

I cook every day. It's not something I love doing, but since my family's gotta eat, I do it. Most of the time I don't mind it. That said, I'm always on the lookout for fairly easy recipes that aren't made up of 15 different ingredients I've never heard of before. This book has plenty of those. My problem with it is that none of them are very appealing to me.

Only half the recipes have photos, which drives me crazy. How hard is it to include a photo? I want to see what the finished product looks like! Maybe I've been spoiled by 'Taste of Home' and Kraftfoods, both of which have pictures of EVERY recipe.

The one recipe I did make out of this book (Sunshine in a Pond) was wrong on it's cooking time. It said to bake 7-10 minutes at 400. After 10 minutes, the egg was still slimy, and barley cooked, so I cooked it longer, however then the bread burns. No good...and I'm not one of these people who can't follow a recipe. As I said, I cook every night, and try new recipes at least once a week...plus I know how to read.

Overall, I say pass. The recipes are mediocre and bland, and not anything my family would be interested in. As for the healthy claim, I can't really comment on that since I don't care about it. I find that it's not WHAT you eat, it's HOW you eat. Don't eat in excess and you won't get fat...it's not rocket science.

I love this cookbook! Main reason? THE SHOPPING LIST. Each recipe has a shopping list along the left margin of the page. Items are not name-brand products, just stuff like "16 ounce mild chunky salsa" or "1 large white onion." That alone is worth the price of the book. Ingredient lists are fairly short. Ingredients are not hard to find. Recipes are varied and MANY are good enough for company.

My son stole this book and took it back to college. 'Nuff said.

Okay, the cuisine in this book isn't going to win any culinary awards. But the recipes are easy to whip up, it's likely you have a lot of the ingredients on hand if you have a well stocked pantry, and the stuff isn't expensive.

It's the kind of book you pull off the shelf if you want a hearty, tasty meal fast, you're tired of your own go-to staple recipes, and you don't want to do take out.

As an example, I tried the German Brautwurst with Honey Mustard Potatoes. I switched regular brats for the turkey brats the author recommended (she's got a real thing for turkey substitutes.) The other ingredients were a bag of diced frozen potatoes, canned sauerkraut, and honey mustard dressing, all of which I had. The one ingredient that was missing were jarred pimentos, and to be honest, the recipe came out fine.

Not that there was much to the recipe. It was a quick, easy fix, almost like a suggestion - trying frozen diced potatoes with brauts, something I hadn't thought of to do.

The recipe was fine; the entire family was happy and full, which when I'm in a rush and I have no time to cook or go to the store, is a godsend.

Some of the criticism of the book is a little harsh. Sure, this isn't going to satisfy you if you're a vegan, or if you're on a fat-free diet (or really, any kind of diet!), or if you don't think that pimentos are the ingredients of a well-stocked larder. Oh well, i guess the author got me on that last one!

But if you've run through your own last minute culinary bag of tricks, and you don't want to pull out of the takeout menus again, this book is a quick fix for you to think of new ways to put together easy-to-reach for ingredients.

The author does have a strange fixation on turkey substitute ingredients - my POV is that if I'm cooking stuff like this to put a fast meal on the table, without having to run to the store for stuff I don't have in the house, what I make is going to be fine. Whatever it is, it'll beat anything I'm going to pick up at a drive-thru!

The book makes it easy to see what you can make; there's a quick vertical list of ingredients you can scan (and quickly think up whatever substitutes you have on hand, cause inevitably you'll be missing something!)

Granted, a steady diet of canned soup creations and frozen potato treats isn't going to make you a beacon of health. But I wouldn't say that this book promotes unhealthy eating. In fact, it's easy enough to change a few things around to lower fat content (think turkey substitutes!) and up the nutrition quotient.

I find it to be a handy guide to getting my own creative cooking juices flowing for a good, last minute dinner fix. If you've ever done any amount of cooking that involved more than boiling water or nuking a pizza, you already have the skills you need to make this book a valuable contribution to dinner at home that tastes fresher than frozen junk or fast food crud.

I recommend it.

I like taking the time to cook faily complex meals from scratch, so was initially a bit skeptical of the "Fast & Frugal Cookbook." However, after reviewing the recipies and trying a few, I find this book a useful addition to the cookbook self, particularly if you're interested in cooking for prepare ahead lunches that are more complex than a sandwich or for weeknight meals. The recipies are straightforward and simple, but still tasty. I've tried "Turkey Asparagus Casserole in Dill Cream Sauce," "Chicken Florentine Soup" and "Sweet and Creamy Shrip Spread." All turned out really well.

Each recipie includes a "supplies list," which helps when you're running to the supermarket. The recipies also leaves room for creativity for more advanced cooks. For example, you can easily substitude a home made dressing for a store-bought basalmic vinigret or boiled and chopped potatoes for canned ones. But if you're pressed for time, the recipies are good as they stand. Overall, a useful cookbook with simple instructions, helpful features and room for creativity.

I wanted to love this book, but I can't even like it much. The book is titled "Fast and Frugal Cookbook...delicious recipes that are healthy and easy on the budget". Ok, sounds perfect. There are 9 chapters; Breakfast, to Appetizers, Salads, Soups, Main Meals, Side Dishes, Breads, Desserts and Beverages. Each chapter contains the main recipe coupled with a picture of recipe, meal suggestions for complete meal and some helpful hints. All great ideas to have in the book, but here come the problems. First, the pictures are terrible. I am sorry to say, but if the picture doesn't look appealing, then the recipe isn't going to look appealing. Photographer's are very careful how they take pictures of food because if the angle or colors aren't perfect, then the meal looks like it belongs in the toilet....Second, the recipes are NOT healthy! Yes, most meats are turkey...turkey bacon, turkey sausage, ground turkey, etc..but when you add canned soup, canned vegetables and instant rice, the health is thrown out the window. The majority of the recipes call for canned fruit, canned vegetables, canned potatoes, canned pie fillings, bacon bits, Splenda, flavored coffee creamer, flavored drink mixes, cool whip, etc...I totally understand that this is fast cooking and frugal cooking, but it is NOT healthy. It's all processed foods. Fast, cheap, not good for you. There is a recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup. You would think chicken noodle soup is quick and easy and healthy...NO, not this way...
Creamy Chicken Noodle soup:
13 Cups Chicken broth make from Bouillon (excessive salt)
6 stalks celery (Great!)
2 Tbs. minced garlic from a jar
fettucine
1/2 C cornstarch (?? Seriously??)
1 CAN sliced carrots (??WHY??)
2 CANS chunk chicken breast in water (?WHY??)
This is fast, cheap and nutritionless.