Customer Reviews

The $7 Meals Cookbook: 301 Delicious Dishes You Can Make for Seven Dollars or Less

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

 

 

I was really surprised by the quality of the recipes in this book. For $10, getting 300 recipes is quite a deal already. The use of fresh ingredients is a real bonus. I've been able to make quite a few of the recipes for under $7, which is a huge deal in these tough economic times. My family loved the Salmon Stuffed Potatoes and Greek Pasta. And there's even nutrition information!

I use this cookbook all the time because I generally have the items in a particular recipe on hand. Maybe I have a better-stocked pantry than some readers. I haven't let the "$7 Meals" title distract me. Grocery prices have been on the rise for some time, so it would be hard to make some of the entrees for that amount of money. I rely on being able to serve my family good home-cooked meals and I think this cookbook has recipes that put a new spin on average ingredients. We especially have enjoyed the Peanut Butter Pancakes, Sausage and Greens with Pasta, Kung Pao Pork (which I added mushrooms, onion and garlic to and garnished with peanuts as most Kung Paos are), Ham and Potato Casserole, and Mexican Rice. The thing I don't like is that many recipes call for frozen green peas, which I personally don't like, but I can omit or sub canned green peas to suit my tastes. It's just nice to pick up a cookbook that has every course from appetizers to sides to various meats to soups/chowders and even vegetarian. I hate that a printing error kept me from getting the last two recipes in the dessert chapter, but if I make all the others, I will be busy, and probably very satisfied, for some time.

We really have enjoyed using this cookbook. We have had it for several months and refer to it frequently. Many of the recipes have become our favorites. What I like most about the recipes is that they encourage the use of whole foods (IE: brown rice) and rarely use shortening or cream soups in the recipes. Also the recipes are not complicated and they don't require a lot of ingredients. They include price breakdown and the nutritional information with each recipe so you can easily decide how well and for what price each recipe will feed your family. That all being said -everything we have tried taste great!

You know, when you compare this to crap like Sandra Lee's work or "A Man, A Can, A Plan", this book comes off as downright classy. It's not pure convenience cooking, just budget-conscious, but it seems to meet its objectives in a quick, easy, and most importantly cheap style.

The author figured out one thing about convenience food: overreliance on premades is bad news, and often unnecessarily expensive. As a result, a surprisingly large number of the recipes in here are from scratch, and while wouldn't take her cost estimates as gospel, the author does a pretty good job of taking both hip and traditional cooking and making them as cheap and tasty as possible. (And the book itself -- well, I haven't seen a non-bargain pile cookbook for less than $10 for a long time now, so hitting that price is quite admirable.)

So here's the deal: it's certainly worth looking into, and even if it's not what you want, you're still only out ten bucks. Give it a shot; can't hurt.

This is the second cookbook I own by her and I love them. I have three cookbooks I use on a daily basis and this is one of them. The meals are great and simple to put together. There are a number of times I've had very little in the kitchen to work with and I've always been able to find something in this cookbook that I can put together for dinner avoiding take out. I can't say about the $7 a meal because I buy a lot of organics and am picky on certain brands. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone looking to cook at home and avoid eating out all the time. You don't need any real skill in the kitchen to use the recipes and they are quick to put together and really tasty.

This is a very good book. I already use some of the tips inside. But having it in print is an added bonus.

I was, overall, disappointed in this cookbook. The recipes that I've tried so far are not stunning and several are downright odd. Others are just fine. So, in terms of quality, this book is not your best choice. However, it has its upsides. The ingredients are simple and the directions are written in such a way that they are very easy to follow. The intent of the cookbook is to teach people how to be thrifty with their shopping and cooking. In this regard, the author succeeded. Plan ahead by making a weekly menu, create a grocery list, and stick to the list. The author also suggests buying frozen veggies rather than fresh to save on money. Great suggestions! When you use the cookbook, however, realize that these recipes are for entrees, not for an entire meal. Thus, the title would be more appropriately named "Entrees for $7". Yes, this is clarified under the title that these are "Dishes", but the title is, after all, the prominent feature. I'd recommend this book for new cooks on a tight budget, single parents, or for children/teens who are ready to help with meal planning and preparation. If you already have a general understanding of cooking basics, you might want to keep looking. (If I could figure out how to change the 3 stars to 2 stars, I would. Sorry!)

They said it was $7.00 meals but they didn't factor in the price of some of the ingredients needed...possibly assuming people have things like Peanut oil on hand??? Also buying special spices adds up especially if you only use them for that meal then the rest of the bottle will be wasted...so that just is not cost effective in my mind. But there was some good recipes and I will continue to use the book.

I have not cooked anything from the recipes in this book, probably because they are not very original. I could have found the recipes in the other cookbooks I have in the house. I wish I had looked at the book in a bookstore before ordering.