The Ultimate Cooking with 4 Ingredients [Plastic Comb]

Jean Coates (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002

No time to cook? Fast and easy 4-ingredient recipes make family meals and entertaining a breeze. More than 800 easy recipes help you serve up delicious food every time - with just 4 ingredients in each recipe. Includes simple appetizers, main dishes, salads, unique desserts and much more. Great for tight budgets, too! Don't miss the Lemonade Chicken, Tropical Mango Salad, Chocolate Amaretto Pie, Sweet and Savory Pork Chops, Butterscotch Crunchies and more.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Today's busy lifestyles leave little time for home cooking. Our 3, 4 and 5-ingredient cookbooks help you enjoy "sit-down" meals again. Quick and easy, with simple ingredients, these recipes are super timesavers that are also easy on the budget.

Product Details

• Plastic Comb: 320 pages
• Publisher: Cookbook Resources(TX) (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931294364
• ISBN-13: 978-1931294362
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,264,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great cookbook, October 2, 2003

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ultimate Cooking with 4 Ingredients (Plastic Comb)

In "The Ultimate Cooking with 4 Ingredients" author Jean Coates treats the reader to a plethora of simple, yet tasty, recipes. This is a particularly great cookbook for those with little cooking experience or for someone who wants to put together a balanced, healthy, home cooked meal without a lot of fuss. The instructions for preparation of each dish could not be easier. If you are used to the books with three or four paragraphs of preparation instructions you will be pleasantly surprised to find that these recipes can all be completed with only three to four simple steps.

I tried a few recipes and found that among my favorites were Potatoes Supreme, Hawaiian Pork, and Cola Chicken. Based on the ingredients list the Cola Chicken sounded so unlikely to taste good that I just had to try it and it turned out great. I also liked the way that Coates broke down the main dishes into the categories of chicken, beef, pork, and seafood instead of lumping them all together under the "Main Dishes" category like most cookbooks do.

The recipes often take advantage of mixes like a box cake mix or stuffing mix in order to keep the ingredients list down to four. But for the new cook or one who does not have a lot of time or want a lot of fuss making dinner it meets all the important requirements - quick and easy to prepare, goof-proof, minimal cleanup, and tasty. This is a highly recommended read and especially so for the novice cook or the hurried family cook or the college bound student.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Simple for the Cooking-Impaired, November 27, 2008

By 

Holl's Mom (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Cooking With 4 Ingredients (Paperback)

Nearly foolproof, very accessible to any reader. A great blessing for the following cooking-challenged people: busy parents, students, can't boil water types, no-time, no-patience, no-talent, no well-stocked kitchen, low-budget cooks. Very simple cooking methods and instructions. No snooty cooking jargon. A really great gift, a cookbook that will actually get lots of use.

The low number of ingredients saves money - no long shopping list for obscure spices you'll never use again. The ingredients are very common, easy to find in any grocery store, many canned items that do some of the work for you.

A nice big section on tasty appetizers provides plenty of easy ideas for Super Bowl munchies, study-session snacks, or contributions at those potlucks/family suppers where no one can tell you what to bring - "we've got it all covered" - but you can't show up empty-handed. Many interesting dips, served cold with crackers or chips, travel and keep well.

Also, plenty of main dishes, great fruit and vegetable salads, breakfast bakes and muffins, easy cookies, and much more.

To be fair, these dishes are aimed toward diners with simple tastes as well. Much flavor comes from cheeses, various salad dressing, canned soups, Jello, cool whip, etc. It's delicious food, but without "subtle nuances." You are not going to get Iron Chef judgments about the "clever layered flavors of the abalone immersed in camembert with a saffron bouquet garni." Just forget about that stuff, and indulge in great, fast, crowd- and family-pleasing finished dishes.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Collage student, November 6, 2006

By 

Charlotte Matthews - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ultimate Cooking with 4 Ingredients (Plastic Comb)

This has been a great help for my grandson, a student with little time and money.