Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally! A frugal cooking book that is realistic! , February 22, 2006
I'm as eager as anyone to save money on the ONE area of our budget where we spend plenty - groceries, food, meals. But I don't always have the time to clip coupons, comparison shop or make everything from scratch. Happily, this book is still VERY, very useful to me and the author had made it accessable to all sorts of cooks.
Even better, the recipes are ones my family will eat. I'd had some "frugal" cookbooks where the recipes were indeed quite inexpensive...unfortunately, EVERY bit ended up feeding only our garbage disposal. No thanks. Cheap is only a part of the "frugal" equation. Taste is equally important, with recipes that are special, yummy, something a family can savor. If a meal isn't a pleasant occasion (or, at least, the food itself isn't tasty even on the most stressful days), then I say...what's the point?
Luckily, these recipes ARE tasty...and there are plenty of money-saving tips which don't focus only on WHAT you eat but remind readers that saving money includes minimizing trips to the grocery store (less gas money) and making the most of sales that might pop up unexpectedly (you know, like the time the meat department accidentally has an oversupply of some item and drastically cuts the price). Now you can take advantage of these times and know WHAT to do with the items you've bought.
Finally, there is plenty of humor in this volume and humor is always a plus! The author neither takes her subject too seriously (cooking can and should be fun) or lightly. I learned plenty and had fun along the way.
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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
wow!, May 18, 2006
This book is so worth the money! It has lots of tips and fun ideas in the beginning, and then lots of great recipies for the bulk of the book. For each section of recipies, she adds more detailed and informative tips for cooking and money saving. I am so thrilled with this book.
I think that is works beautifully with another book, Miserly Moms, which has less recipes and is mostly how-to-save-money in chapter form. Read the Miserly Moms for the info, read Dining for tips and recipies.
I'm so grateful that I provide warm, homecooked meals from scratch and healthy, fresh snacks and lunches for my family on such a tight budget!
Anyway, 5 stars and here's hoping other people get inspired to save their money as I have.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Frugal Recipes Without Feeling Deprived, October 3, 2007
Dining On a Dime is absolutely one of the best thrifty cookbooks available. I love to cook, collect cookbooks, but I was tired of finding recipes that required processed foods, expensive ingredients, etc. Dining On a Dime uses few processed foods to prepare recipes, as most everything is prepared from scratch. This morning I prepared a Slow Cooked Pot Roast (I cook my version on the stove top) and the only ingredients needed were a beef roast, can of cream of mushroom soup and a sliced onion. I also fixed Mom's Beef Stew which used round steak, various spices, Worcestershire sauce, potatoes and carrots. I also prepared dumplings using the baking mix recipe included in the cookbook. The dumplings were mighty tasty when cooked in the beef stew. Very simple and very tasty. Overall, this cook book is a good, basic cookbook which allows the cook to use every day ingredients to prepare tasty meals.
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