Customer Reviews

Faster! I'm Starving!

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Kevin Mills and his mother, Nancy Mills, who wrote "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!" have now come up with another winner, "Faster! I'm Starving!" It's a fun and funny cookbook, well worth reading even if you never use a recipe from it. But you will - use the recipes, that is.

Limited preparation time is required for meals that Mills (the son) says can be finished within the timeframe of a sitcom. They advocate using bags of prewashed lettuce, precut fresh broccoli, cauliflower and other salad bar ingredients, frozen chopped onions, bottles of crushed fresh garlic and the "smaller and thinner" method of cooking (the more surface of a food that is exposed to heat, the faster it cooks).

Stir-frying, high-temperature roasting and gas grilling are some of their favorite methods of cooking, thus there are no stews or roast turkeys in their book. Although this is not a 3-5 ingredient cookbook, the following recipe give you an idea of the humor and simplicity of the recipes.

Black Bean Wraps

Serves: 4 (2 wraps per person)

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 4 minutes

Time-saving tip: Use cilantro-flavored olive oil and skip the cilantro.

Black Bean Wraps may sound like a new-age facial treatment (and if it removed blemishes, I'm sure people would use it, even if it left them smelling like a burrito.) But they're actually quick, homemade soft tacos. The ingredients are flexible, depending on what you have available. But if you serve them without the black beans, the name will be hard to justify.

3 scallions

1 large red bell pepper

½ cup fresh cilantro

2 15-ounce cans black beans

1 15-ounce can whole-kernel corn

1 4-ounce can diced green chiles

3 tablespoons olive or corn oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon black pepper

8 8-inch flour tortillas

Grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Hot pepper sauce or Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce (optional)

Rinse and trim the scallions and cut them into ¼-inch pieces. Rinse the bell pepper, cut it in half, remove and discard the stem and seeds and then cut it into ¼-inch pieces. Rinse and pat dry the cilantro. Cut off and discard the stems and cut the leafy parts into ½-inch pieces. Drain the beans and rinse them under cold running water. Drain the corn and green chiles.

Put the scallions, bell pepper, cilantro, beans, corn and green chiles into a large bowl. Add the oil, vinegar, salt, garlic powder and black pepper and mix well and then set aside.

Remove the tortillas from their package, wrap them in a tea towel or paper towel and microwave on high for 1 minute. Transfer the tortillas to a serving plate. Spoon ½ to 2/3 cup of the bean mixture into the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and hot pepper sauce, if using. Wrap each tortilla, folding it at the bottom so the filling doesn't fall out when it's held upright. Serve immediately.

This is the book to have for more of the tried-and-true simple basics. I am a fan of the first two books, because instructions were always easy to follow and I loved the humor and illustrations. This book has the humor and the recipes are perfect for beginners, but the design has changed. There are no quirky illustrations and the fonts have been updated. Please note that none of the books have photos of the final dish, but many of these recipes are well-known in American cuisine.

Here's a great book of recipes for people in a hurry. The recipes are not only easy, fast and healthy, but the results taste the way you want a well-prepared meal to taste. It's perfect for busy people who like to enjoy meals at home and don't have the time to spend hours in the kitchen.

I was very surprised that the recipes listed were so quick, so easy AND had so much flavor! I was expecting fairly bland food from a quick and basic recipe. This is not bland! The longest prep time for the recipes is in the cutting of the food to be cooked. I hesitated to buy the book until I had made the recipes from the library version of the book. After using it, I knew I needed to own it. I have many other cookbooks, this one willg et a lot of use for every day meals!!

We work 6 days a week full time and have a toddler so we are always looking for easy but delicious & healthy meals. The book was recommended to me and it has saved me time.

Moreover many of the meals we have made are delicous.

My favorite is the Spicy Skirt Steak!!!

"Faster! I'm Starving!" is too good! It has enabled me to cook fabulous meals quickly after work each day. The salmon patties are a huge hit with my partner! I couldn't recommend this book more . . .

i bought this bought so I could get creative for my kids meals. But the meals in here are gross, I wouldnt even eat them!! This may as well be listed under adult cookbooks, No way would kids eat this stuff. Look elsewhere, I am returning this asap!