Customer Reviews

Express Lane Cookbook: Fast, Healthful Meals with Mimimal Cleanup

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

 

 

Sarah Fritschner writes a regular food column in the Louisville paper and it was one of my favorite items to read when I lived there.

This book is ideal for anyone who wants to prepare great tasting food in a minimum amount of time with ingredients that one would usually have on hand. It is an ideal gift for a working person who loves to eat good, nutritious food without a lot of complications.

The book is divided into various sections: soups, vegetables,poultry, meat, fish and seafood, etc.. The recipes are written so it is easy to read the amount of ingredients and to follow the directions. At the end of a recipe, Fritschner usually suggests other foods that will complement the particular recipe one is working on.

I LOVE this book and I give it as a gift often. My copy is thoroughly stained and warped from countless uses.

This book is wonderful. I enjoy cooking, but most of the better recipes require a lot of time. Unfortunately, school and other commitments don't leave me much time to indulge in the kitchen. The Express Lane Cookbook, however, has brought pleasure into quick, hassle-free cooking. I always have the few required ingredients on hand, clean up is FAST and best of all, the food is delicious. Now I don't need to resort to tasteless, unhealthy meals when I only have 15 minutes to make dinner. Other cookbooks I own sit on a shelf gathering dust - this one I use at least once a week. I can't recommend this book strongly enough for cooks living in the fast lane.

I accidentially purchased this cookbook twice. It was published with a different cover I think in 1996 and then again with an updated tan striped cover in 1999. I purchased the second version thinking it was a different cookbook or an updated one but it's exactly the same.
There are no pictures and the pages feel like they're recycled, off white and discolored. Don't get them wet because they have no coating on them they'll very quickly absorb any moisture on the counter or splatters. So I don't think I would give this as a gift just because it's not a visually pretty cookbook. However, it is a really good cookbook when it comes to the recipes.
It's not like the Rachael Ray express lane cookbook in which she tells you what to purchase on the way home (meaning the express checkout at the grocery store) so you can then come home and cook a meal. This cookbook is about cooking quick meals with things you have in the fridge or pantry already. That was the fallacy with the Rachael Ray cookbook because if I'm going to stop at the grocery and take the time to get out of my car, run in, purchase some items and then go home to cook dinner I might as well buy a whole meal from the deli or just go through a drive-thru. To me it's not a very practical way to "plan" dinner.
This cookbook on the other hand is meant to use what you already have on hand, in the pantry, fridge, freezer, etc to make a satisfying meal for your family. The spaghetti soup is a very cute idea and excellent 20 minute meal.
There are home-made vinaigrette recipes that can also be used as marinades. All very tasty. Most of the recipes call for fresh ingredients not the standard can of soup poured over chicken. I liked the small meat loaves recipe as you could easily have meatloaf on a whim because they're individual size they cook in no time. There were variations for italian meatloaf and steak house meatloaf.
The garlic flank steak was delish and could have easily made a freezer recipe if you wanted. The mexican baked potatoes were meals in themselves.
I think most of the recipes could be modified for those who want a lo-cal version. Her recipes use full-fat cheese, milk, etc but you could easily use 2% without changing the quality of the recipe.
There is also a vegetarian section but unfortunately like most vegetarian recipes they feel more like "sides" rather than entrees.
Still overall a great cookbook that I often pull out over and over.
I wish it were re-published with glossy pages and pictures so it would be a cookbook to withstand the test of time. It's certainly useful just not pretty.

I originally checked this book out from the library and couldn't bear to return it, so I bought a copy. The recipes are almost all fast, easy, fairly healthy, and taste good. Many of our current weeknight staples came from this book.