Customer Reviews

Cheap. Fast. Good!

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Everyone seems to like this book more than I do so I took a second look at it. I opened up to the chapter "Everyday Entrees". The first recipe for Gayle's Country-Style Steak does sound good, but it has to simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Not exactly "Fast". Looked at the next recipe Texas Cowboy's Pie and it calls for "shredded already-cooked beef" for which there is a recipe on another page. I took a look at that recipe and it would take more than 3 hours to cook. The 3rd recipe in this chapter is Beefed-Up Chinese Burritos. It calls for "Flexible Mexican Filling" for which there is a recipe on another page. You get the idea. I notice that these recipes that are needed for some of the general recipes are in a chapter titled "Budget-Minded Batch Cooking" that's at the end of all the chapters with recipes for dinners. So if so you decide to try this book, I'd suggest starting with that chapter. Each of those recipes does tell you which recipes require them. The recipes must be good if so many people wrote positive reviews, so take that into consideration when making your final decision as to whether or not to buy this book.

What's the one household budget variable that gives us the most grief? The mortgage is a set cost, so are the utilities (pretty much) but what really gets us is the food budget. We know we could do it better, but how do we do it? Do we sell the range and buy a wood stove, bake our own bread, and hoe our own rows? There are only so many hours in the day, and coming up with a good, fast home-cooked meal is a challenge, much less looking through the grocery fliers, and store-hopping for the best bargain. We've all heard that advice, and have asked ourselves, can't it be simpler?

It can. That's where Cheap. Fast. Good. comes in. Aside from the fact that it contains quick kid-friendly meals (with a couple of good adult favorites thrown in for good measure) it's contains a brilliant, impressively well-thought out stratagey about how to save money, where and how to shop, and even a section on coupon clipping for dummies. If you're even remotely frugal at heart, you know you have to get a cookbook that is so single-minded on saving you money that it even has a section entitled "How to Eat on $100 a Week".

Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross, authors of the equally useful Desperation Dinners have really outdone themselves in this selection, and it's a great place to start if you are really wanting--or having--to save money. I purchased this book a few weeks ago and find myself reading it even when I'm not needing a recipe, just to ratchet up my on my money saving techniques. The authors include a lot of text and asides to show you how to really save, including how to shop at a day-old bread store, how to store items to make them last longer, and just plain tips for making life a bit easier, such as their really good one for draining ground beef on page 128.

Don't hesitate to buy this book. It's 500 pages of easier, quicker, cheaper for $13.95, and well worth every doggone penny.

See my experiences with this book at moness.blogspot.com. I'm going to review individual recipes and keep at tally of how much they cost, including Shipwreck Skillet Dinner, Bayou Stew, and Camper's Chicken Pockets.

I just purchased the cookbook, Cheap.Fast.Good! and love it. I am a big fan of the Desperation Dinners authors and have read their newspaper column for years. I have made numerous of their recipes and many are now family favorites. I have a husband and 2 children and we eat at home most nights because it is cheaper and healthier. Not only does this book have great recipes but it also includes tips on menu planning and how to save money on food. I especially liked the section on a family of 4 eating on $100 a week. I can't wait to try that! I would definately recommend this new cookbook. I know it will be one of my favorites.

The title of this wonderful cookbook doesn't begin to tell the tale. It's packed with charming anecdotes, shopping and storage advice, cooking tips, hints for entertaining and feeding kids -- and that's all gravy on top of over 275 remarkably easy-to-make, nutritious and delicious recipes. This is big book in every way: full of information and insights about how to eat well for less, and how to plan, shop, and cook in the most efficient way possible. A bargain at $13.95 -- this is a budget bible of a cookbook that belongs up there on your shelf with Joy of Cooking and Fanny Farmer.

I bought this book at a kid's book fair from the 'Parents Table' because when I flipped through it every recipe caught my eye. I went home and feeling overwhelmed at life and meal planning sat down and checked it out. In 30 minute I had my meals for the next week planned straight from this cookbook. I've cooked ten of the recipes and each one was excellent--and my picky kids ate them! Nothing can recommend a cookbook more to me than my fussy kids eating the meals. The food is a little bland, but in the introduction it explains why and anyone can throw in a few more herbs and spices to dress-up these recipes---and I have to say the meals are fast, simple and easy---and my dinner budget for the first week was $100 and I didn't have to go over it (my family has three kids), and even entertained friends on that budget for two meals that week! I'm buying all their books as a result of the fabulousness of this book.

We ran into some financial rough patches and we had to scale down the household budget. I looked over the bank statement for the past month and we have spent almost $1000 going out for lunches and dinner! I was shocked. I told my husband he was brown bagging it and I was going to buckle down and cook more. I saw this book at the school book fair and I took a shot. It was wonderful. I've been using their recipes about 4 nights a week for the past 4 months. The food is fun and easy to change a bit to suit your families taste. We LOVE the Hawaiian Metals and the Orange Chicken. The kids love the Wagon Wheel West pasta.

Our food budget including our bi-weekly visit to a restaurant is $600 a month for a family of 5. It's well worth the $13.

I have never enjoyed cooking, to the point that I am 25 years old and just made my first grilled cheese sandwich!!! With this said, I decided it was time to start saving money and cooking healthy (compared to fast food) for my Husband and myself. I bought this book and loved it so much that I have purchased three more copies for relatives who are in similar situations!!!

There are some recipes that take a little more time- but when they are done they taste fantastic! It is very impressive to my family to place a roasted chicken on the table compared to Mac and Choose for sure.

I love how the book is organized and shows you the inexpensive recipes- for those low paycheck weeks, and then time efficient recipes for days you work overtime. Also, it has some great kitchen tips and simple to read instructions for the kitchen illiterate such as myself!

I have also purchased two other books, Desperation Dinners and Desperate Entertaining by the same authors and cannot wait to receive them in the mail. This is definitely a great book for those starting out, or simply trying to make a change.

I have to agree with all of the positive reviews already posted. My family is trying to cut down on our food budget which is difficult because we like to eat delicious, gourmet meals. After purchasing this book from my child's Scholastic book fair on a whim, I have found this book to be invaluable for healthy, inexpensive, and easy meals. This book uses real food and fresh basics to cook up healthy meals without a lot of prepared ingredients.
A suggestion to the new reader: do not prepare the ingredients before cooking, unless instructed to do so. I have found that the way these authors have written this cookbook takes you through each perfectly-timed step so that you truly have a meal completed, start to finish, in the time allotted. Extra prep only makes it take longer!
We have enjoyed so many delicious recipes from Mu-Shu-Pork to Curried Chicken With Spinach and Tomatoes (you HAVE to try that one. It's delicious!), and siple twists on traditional menu items like Tuna With Shells and Dijon Cream, or, gosh! anything! We, as a family, have decided to rate the recipes in the book and have found that the majority get 4 1/2 to 5 stars. My kids eat the food, my mother-in-law even likes it, and I can easily find a recipe for a church social event. we have developed a great menu-plan for our family that has never happened before, and other recipes seem unneccesarily pricey and complicated. I am now getting them for family and friends as gifts and continuing this phenomenon.
BUy it and enjoy it! Cheers!

I was in a cooking funk myself, doing the same thing over & over and this book has been a muse, rejuvenating my cooking ideas and menus. I've cooked 10 meals so far from it and each one is a home run, in terms of time, cost and quality!

I checked this book out from the library, and now I can't get along without it so I had to buy it! The recipes are easy, don't include strange ingrediants that I have never heard of or can't locate in the grocery store, and even use leftovers. There are also recipes for sauces and dips. My children are 5 and 7 and they love to dip everything so this was especially helpful for me. Simple tips are included such as "add spices to your mayonaise, and a plain sandwich becomes special". They then included fancy mayonaise recipes, and what type of sandwich meat and fixings are good paired with them. If you like to make recipes with what you have on hand, this book is for you!