Cookbook review.......

I have made enough recipes now from this cookbook to review it.  It is my current "go to" book to refer to when I am in a hurry.  Robin Takes 5  by Robin Miller - 500 recipes, 5 ingredients or less, 500 calories or less 5 nights a week at 5:00 pm......that's what it says on the cover, and in my house it delivers everything but the 5:00 pm part....

According to the introduction of the book, "The average American eats out an astonishing three to four times each week."  That is a lot of processed food which you have very little control of it's content or calories.  We eat out maybe 3 times a month, I just couldn't imagine eating out that often each week.

You already know how I love a recipe with 5 ingredients or less.  That total does not include salt, pepper, olive oil, cooking spray or water.  Those are things you have on hand already.

The book is divided into 8 chapters:

1. Soups, Stews & Chowders

2. Pizzas, Flatbreads, Calzones & Strudels

3. Pasta, Risotto & Rice

4. Chicken & Turkey

5. Beef & Pork

6. Seafood & Shellfish

7. Side Dishes

8. Desserts

Some of my favorite recipes so far have been:

Orange-Dijon Chicken

Chicken Arrabbiata

Tuscan Chicken wit White Beans, Tomatoes and Oregano

Chicken Oreganata

Roasted Chicken with Hearts of Palm and Parmesan

Baked Chicken with Cherry Barbecue Sauce

Flank Steak with Cucumber-Scallion Relish

Pork Chops with Strawberry Mustard Sauce

Cranberry Barbecued Pork Tenderloin

just to name a few, LOL!  As you can see, I love trying chicken recipes!

Give this cookbook a try.  I think it would make an awesome gift for a new single person living on their own, a new bride, that friend that says cooking takes up too many ingredients and time.  There are enough entree ideas alone to not repeat a recipe for a year, although once you see have easy some of these are, they'll become weeknight favorites that you will make over and over again.

Have a wonderful day!

Nancy :)

Cookbook review.......

The cookbook I am reviewing today is much more than a book of recipes.  It has menus and shopping lists too!  It is also divided by the seasons:  fall, winter, spring and summer helping you to know and plan with produce that is in season.  The cookbook I am talking about today is called Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely.

Each season has 8 weeks of menus with 6 weeknight main courses each.  First you have the menu, the shopping list, then the recipes.  There are all kinds of neat sidebar notes and tips.  There are side dish serving suggestions as well.  Nutritional information per serving is given too, which is totally understandable and appreciated, especially since the author is also a certified nutritionist.  To me that means a lot of thought and planning went into this book.  Just when you thought I have raved enough about Saving Dinner, the last part of the book there is a freezer section.  If you are up to the challenge, the author will walk you through doing your own 5 meal assembly (all chicken, or all beef, etc.).  It starts with the recipes, the dinner kit shopping list, preassembly prep list,  and then assembly guidelines for the recipes, one at a time.  She gives you freezing and thawing recommendations, then cooking instructions for the day you actually are ready to prepare that meal.  Imagine having a crazy busy week, but knowing you have dinner all ready to go in the oven from a thawed freezer bag in the refrigerator.  I think this would also be a nice gift for a new mom, a senior citizen, or a dad taking care of the kid's while mom is in the hospital.  Taking them a few ready to make healthy meals with your handwritten instructions would make their day, or possibly even their week.

I have made at least 12 recipes from this book so far, and I have liked everything!   I think this would be a great addition to your cookbook library if you have problems planning meals, and especially if you think grocery shopping is a necessary pain.  This book takes some of that pain away.....

Have a wonderful weekend, and see you next week!

Nancy

I wish cooking came naturally for me......

but like many of us, I need to follow a recipe.  Then, after I have made that same recipe a time or two, that is when I put my own spin on things.  Don't get me wrong, I love to invent my own marinades, dressings and salads, but more than likely the inspiration for it came from somewhere else.

I have decided to review and tell you about some of my cookbooks I keep on my shelf, and refer to the most for meal ideas and inspiration.  I am only going to tell you about one book at a time.  That way, I can have a weekly or every other week post topic in a series.  I hope you like the idea.

This week's book is Robin to the Rescue described as "Quick & Simple Recipes for Delicious Home Cooking" by Robin Miller.

I have all four of Robin Miller's cookbooks, and I refer to all of them.  For me, she keeps it real.  By that I mean, she is not afraid to open a jar of this, a can of that and to grab a dry spice occasionally.  There are not 600 ingredients to search around for, everything can be found at your local supermarket.  Each recipe tells you total time including: prep time, and either active cooking time or walk-away time. How cool is that?  I remember many years ago, when my daughter was a little girl, "Working Mother" magazine had a monthly recipe called, "Relax While it Cooks."  I think I tried almost all of them, because after working on your feet all day, the last thing you want to do is be a slave to your kitchen.  The idea that you can spend 5-10 prepping, then relax for 25 or more minutes while the stove top or oven does the work is an idea situation.

Other features along with total time include:  make it a meal kit, have it your way, bank a batch and morph it.  Make it a meal kit - basically things you can do in advance to get that meal on the table even faster.  Have it your way - let's say you don't have zucchini but have broccoli, that would work, or if you want to make the meal meatless, there are ideas for that too.  Bank a batch - tells you to double the recipe and lets you know how long to store it in the freezer, along with defrost and cooking instructions.  Morph it - (my personal favorite) make extra of one or more of the main ingredients to put aside for another meal, with suggestions given.  For example, I almost always make extra chicken breasts with chicken recipes.

The book is broken down into 8 chapters:

Soups and Starters

Pasta and Risotto

Chicken and Turkey

Pork and Ham

Beef

Fish and Shellfish

Side Dishes and Salads

Desserts

I have tried many, many recipes from this book, and have never been disappointed in any of them.  There are just too many to list.  I think this would be an excellent addition to your own cookbook collection and a wonderful gift for the newbie and experience cook alike, who want to get quick tasty meals to the table.

Please let me know some of your "go to" cookbooks.

Happy Cooking!

Nancy