Customer Reviews

Quick Fix Meals: 200 Simple, Delicious Recipes to Make Mealtime Easy

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I preordered this book (placed my order on Feb 21), and it arrived Mar 13 (it didn't hit the stands until Mar 12, so I was impressed with the Amazon delivery service -- especially since I did the Super Saver shipping). But anyway, about the book...
I was looking forward to this book's release, since I enjoy the show. I compare Robin Miller to Rachel Ray's "30 minute Meals" series, so I'm also comparing their cookbooks. The recipes in this book are very similar to Rachel's recipes. If you're looking to spice up your dinner time, you'll find little difference between Robin's book and Rachel's series (they have the same types of recipes with interesting ingredients and flavors that "normal" folks like me would never think of trying). Most recipes don't have tons of ingredients, but they do have ingredients that require everyday folks to make a special trip to the grocery store. Don't expect to open this book and just start having dinner.
Both cooks claim to have the secret to great dinner in a flash. I sum up the difference between Robin and Rachel as this: Robin just takes you a few steps back and tells you HOW to make it quick, not just how to cook. She comes out the winner because she gives you the secret: pre-planning, prepping, and a well-stocked kitchen.
The first chapter in the book explains her strategies, such as "In the Bag" -- creating meal kits and storing them in fridge or freezer for later use, and "Morphing It" -- using one dish to create many others. Not exactly rocket science, but if you're a full-time working mom like me, you just never quite heard or saw it put this way.
She also includes a section on how to get your kitchen to be "quick fix" friendly. Prepping, storing, freezing, 5 basic sauces to prepare and store, her top 10 never-without pantry and fridge items.
The recipes include time-saver tips, ways to "quick fix it" your way. The Morph It section starts with a main recipe, and the "morph it" recipes follow (no searching through indexes to find the matching recipes -- a BIG PLUS). All the recipes include timing guides for prep and actual cooking time, so you can plan when you want to prep and when you want to cook. The index is complete, but is organized like the indexes in those coooking magazines at the grocery store.
The print in this book is small! It's in a green ink and a brown ink, which is sort of easy on the eyes, but it could be a bit bigger. Also, all the recipes that are on the left page have the ingredient list on the inside of the page, near the center fold. I don't know why they did this, because I found myself pulling the book apart to see the recipe list. This will definitely wear the book out quicker than normal.
I'm leaning more towards Robin's book, only because of her overall strategy included in the book (prepping ahead, morphing one dish into many). The authors did a good job of trying to make the book organized and not chaotic or daunting. The language is very friendly, not formal. It stays true to the whole concept of de-stressing the dinnertime dilemma. Rachel's great too -- this book just speaks more to women like me, who feel guilty about how many nights I put $5 pizza on the table when my family deserves better.
UPDATE: I've had the book for 2 months now. Still love it! But one downer: the dessert section could have been taken from a Sandra Lee "Semi-Homemade" recipe book. Cool Whip, jam, chocolate sauce, with a bit of fruit thrown in.
NEW UPDATE: This book has really changed the way I shop and cook. I have several very helpful habits now!! I ALWAYS have pre-cut onions, green peppers, celery, and potatoes in my freezer. When I make any gravy or sauce, I make a big batch and store it in a ziploc bag. And once or twice a month, I'll cook a whole bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts, slice them up, and toss then in ziploc bags in the freezer. Just these few tricks have TREMENDOUSLY changed how fast I get dinner on the table. Even if I didn't like the recipes (which I mostly do), these new habits made the book price worth it 20x over!!!!!

I pre-ordered the book and I figured there would be a few ideas I could use from it...and I would have been OK with that..This book pleasantly exceeded my expectations. I have almost all of Rachel Ray's cookbooks and I thought this would be similar to them....the imaginative use of flavors and ingredients in this book far surpass anything Rachel has come up with to date. I am excited by these recipes. I have loved the ones I have tried so far...Apricot and Jalapeno Chicken is amazing! The Banana Raspberry Bread was so easy and so flavorful...give this book a chance...try the recipes....this book isn't just a Quick Meal Cookbook, although her tips are easy to do and really do make a difference if you are short on time..even if you are not short on time, you need this book, the flavors are bright and new, its not just a book full of the same old casserole recipes that tell you to you change the meat or the sauce...this cookbook will let your imagination help you in the kitchen...you can travel the world with the recipes here... I am so happy I added this book to my collection and I am going to buy one for my best friend.

I rarely submit reviews of my own. Usually I wouldn't bother if somebody else already said what I wanted to say. But this time, I feel I need to make some effort to show my appreciation to Robin Miller because her book has become a big help to me.

This book contains great quick fix recipes that are very easy to follow. It's also smartly organized into different categories (In the bag, Morph it, Dinner express and Simple sides). The recipes belonging to "In the bag" category are truly the dishes that you can save in the refrig for two days and still taste good.

I've own quite a few popular cookbooks. But none of the other books
got so much use in such a short period. I'm glad that I've found this book and highly recommend it to all the busy working moms.

The book itself is pretty and very easy to follow.

The recipes are delicious (I've made a handful already in the last two days). The whole concept is amazing especially for busy people like me.

I had fun reading the book and checking out her tips.

If you have other cookbooks and want to add to your collection, do not hesitate to purchase this book. If you want to buy a present for a new bride or someone just learning to cook, this book is perfect.
However, I wouldn't buy this for a food snob because its not really geared towards being sophisticated (although many of the dishes are fancy yet very easy to make).

EDITED ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BELOW ON 4/16/07:
Okay, so I've had the book now for several weeks and I've used it every single weekend and impressed my husband and myself.. I have so many cookbooks that I don't use and are basically just sitting there as decoration in my kitchen. This one is my absolute favorite cookbook of all time! Its easy to use, very tasty menu selection, with few ingrediants yet very creative... I love this book!

I'll admit, I was raised to believe that anything not completely homemade "from scratch" was to be frowned upon but as a woman working 40 hours a week outside the home, holding myself to that standard has caused me more than a little stress! What a treat to discover Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals. Her recipes use a well balanced combination of pre-packaged and pre-prepared convenience foods--such as salad mixes and ready-made pie crust--and fresh ingredients. Her approach is to use convenience foods, not as a replacement for homemade fare, but as time saving tools that allow a person to quickly prepare complete, good tasting meals at home without having to fall back on fast food during the busy work week. So far, I've enjoyed each recipe I've made. I've also found it easy to alter the recipes to reduce fat and sodium. This one is definitely a keeper for me!

Most of us don't have all the time in the world these days to prepare really good, creative meals each and every time. Miller has aided us in this by the concept of quick fix. This recipe collection has two parts to this aid: single recipes which are good and fast, and a second section which has a main recipe followed by two or three "morph" recipes from the first.

For those of us who like to make good things in large quantity, such as casseroles, etc. which we can eat on for several days, this is fine new addition of the main and morph concept. I particularly was attracted to this cookbook for this, and find it a great concept. So far have tried several that were very good, with not hard at all ingredients or techniques but tasty results: e.g. Pork Tenderloin with Ancho-spiked mixed berry sauce with the morphs of Quick Cabbage Rolls with Pork and Hoisin Sauce, Pan-Seared Pork with Pineapple-Kiwi Salsa and Pork Tortilla Soup. Four meals for the effort of one.

Also tried some of quick fix offerings and found good results: Apricot-Jalapeno Chicken with Sesame Noodles, Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower, and Tuna Steaks with Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Thyme.

While likely I won't use any of these for special occasion menus, the regular over the weekend into the early week menus will find these offerings often on our plates.

In an effort to cut down on my grocery bill and save time spent in the grocery store and in front of the stove at night trying to figure out what's for dinner, I began to meal plan. I sit down for twenty minutes once a week, decide what we're eating for dinner each of the next seven days and then make my grocery list. This cookbook is an excellent accompaniment to my meal planning. It's loaded with simple, but tasty recipes. It even includes sides! Her Morphed Meals has been a great timesaver and makes good use of leftovers. No one would ever know they were eating leftovers... If making good meals quickly for your family is what you are looking for, this is it.

I love this book!!! I love how she uses one big meal and then uses the leftovers to create new meals that don't feel like leftovers. I love how she tells you how to better plan so that during the week you aren't stuck in the kitchen or eating out-a downfall of ours. I'm addicted to her book right now. Plus-the recipes are all turning out fantastic-my family is very pleased with this book and plan to buy her new one that just came out. Thanks Robin!!

I was so excited about this book coming out. I'm an avid fan of Robin Miller and have been printing out her menu plans at Food Network's site for quite some time.

I love the fact that I can take a little time on the weekend and make a head start on my weeknight meals. Most of the recipes are so easy and everything we've cooked so far has been a huge hit! We've loved everything and we're eating so much healthier now.

I know the basic concept of this book is easy and common sense, but as a busy mom it helps to have some of the thinking already done for me. I'm loving the increased nutrition and the decreased grocery bill!

I like how Robin Miller helps you plan meals ahead of time and get things ready the night before. You can get home from work and throw everything together but still have a home-cooked, healthy meal. There are a lot of great recipes but I must admit that some of them are a little bit too weird-sounding for me to try. I just don't think my husband would eat some things and some of the ingredients she tells you to have on hand are hard to find in the grocery store. All in all, I really do like this cookbook though.