70 Meals, One Trip to the Store: Shop Smart. Cook Smart. Review

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(More customer reviews)This book has changed my life! I have four young children (who are picky eaters) and a husband who is never home for dinner so my motivation to make the effort to cook at dinner time is pretty low. Every night I would struggle with what to make for dinner in the five minutes I had to consider my options and 10 minutes I had to actually put something on the table. This usually meant that we had a weekly menu of chicken nuggets, spaghetti, pizza and hot dogs..... Not exactly what I envisioned feeding my family at dinner time when I first became a mom! This cook book has made the whole dinner planning and preparing "nightmare "so easy! The cook book gives you a list of things you need to keep on hand to make any one of the 70 delicious meals in the book. My kids and I went to the grocery store one day and just stocked up on whatever the cook book suggested and now I let my kids take turns choosing a recipe from the book on the nights we are home for dinner and I know that I will have whatever I need on hand to make the meal. Kelly Donlea has come up with an ingenious way to take the "stress" out of dinner planning and preparation. For someone like me who doesn't have the time, energy or know how to plan and cook healthy, delicious meals for my family every night this cook book has been a lifesaver! The recipes are very easy and fast so that I have been able to let each of my kids "help" me make dinner from this cook book and then imagine that... they will actually EAT something they've helped to prepare. This cook book has helped me in so many ways but one of the most important things it has done for my life is to know even if I haven't thought about what I am going to make for dinner, I KNOW that I can make something from this cook book or even a recipe that isn't even in THIS cookbook! One weekend my husband wanted to make something - a recipe not even in the cook book and he was on his way out the door to pick up the ingredients we needed - but much to both our surprise we had every ingredient we needed for his recipe simply because we had used the shopping list provided in this cook book... I have never felt so prepared in all my life! Cooking has never been easy for me and this cook book has really changed that for me. By purchasing all of the ingredients on the shopping list and just replacing them as I use them up, I have gained a new confidence in my ability to give my family a decent meal every evening instead of convenience foods all of the time. I highly recommend this cook book to anyone who has struggled with what to make for dinner and doesn't have the time to always plan a weekly menu. This is by far the most useful cook book I have ever owned!

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An ingenious, award-winning cookbook by Organizing Dinner. The first cookbook to streamline ingredients so you can make many more meals with many fewer trips to the store. Make any one of the 70 delicious dinners in this book with what you already have at home!

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Better Homes and Gardens Budget Meals: Save big $$$ with smart ways to shop and efficient ways to cook (Better Homes & Gardens Cooking) Review

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(More customer reviews)I use this recipe book often when I'm making out my menus for the month! I usually make 2 large grocery trips per month and I make many of the recipes in this book! They are easy, low-cost, and tasty!!! AND a special bonus, they even have fish recipes that are good!!! I am trying my best to introduce more fish into our diets as we are trying to eat healthier meals. I'm not a big fish person, but some of these are really good! And they have pictures too for some of the recipes! Great book, I hope they come out with another Budget cookbook soon!

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Save money and eat well with the healthful, delicious, and affordable recipes in Budget Meals

Everyone is pinching pennies these days. But it's hard to find the time (and the energy) to devise effective ways to slash your food bill. Now, Budget Meals comes to the rescue with more than 350 everyday and party-special recipes designed to save you money without scrimping on flavor.
With recipes including entrees, soups and stews, skillet meals, pastas, salads, side dishes, and even desserts, nobody will suspect that you saved big at the supermarket! There's also a chapter devoted to party food for entertaining on the cheap, and a bonus chapter, "Cook Once, Eat Twice," that gives you two recipes for the price (and effort!) of one.
In addition to recipes, you'll find
50 No-Recipe Recipes: Be creative even when you're convinced you have nothing in the kitchen to cook for dinner
100 Money-Saving Tips and Hints (10 in each chapter), which offer practical ideas for saving energy and money when shopping and when cooking the types of recipes featured in the chapter
"In a Pinch" solutions throughout, including simple, clever ways to improvise, such as making your own seasoned breadcrumbs using bread you have on hand
Nutrition information with every recipe
Lay-flat spiral binding, so recipes are easy to consult

With great-tasting recipes using inexpensive ingredients and a treasury of practical ideas, Budget Meals paves the way for countless meals that will save you money without sacrificing flavor.

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Fix, Freeze, Feast: Prepare in Bulk and Enjoy by the Serving - More than 125 Recipes Review

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(More customer reviews)I just got this book a few weeks ago, and I LOVE it! I live in a household of two, and am not a Costco-type shopper when it comes to meats, so everything I have made from this book, I have just halved the recipes to fit my smaller-packages-of-meat shopping patterns. No biggie. I still have three plus meals out of each type of meat I buy for the two of us.
My husband absolutely raved about the Sticky Ribs recipe...and being a die-hard foodie, he is VERY difficult to impress. He has insisted I make them again for a potluck this weekend. I won't give the recipe away, but trust me, for just four ingredients, this one can't be beat. It was worth the price of the book for this one recipe alone.
Overall, this book was a great intro for me on the pleasures of make-ahead cooking. I think I am addicted now! And the fact the recipes in this book do not contain any horrible ingredients like Velveeta cheese, canned "cream of" soups, or refrigerated biscuit dough is great, too! You can feed your family easily, healthfully, and with fewer preservatives and if you purchase this book and make some of the recipes as they are written. I highly recommend it!

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Millions of shoppers save money buying groceries in bulk — trays of boneless chicken breasts, pairs of flank steaks, and flats of ripe tomatoes. But savings can quickly become losses if those bulk quantities spoil in the refrigerator or lie forgotten — unlabeled and unrecognizable under layers of ice crystals — in the back of the freezer.Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik have built businesses teaching home cooks how to take advantage of bulk savings by shopping wisely; converting food purchases into delicious, healthful family dinners; and labeling and storing the meals for easy access on busy days. They share all their best recipes and organizational wisdom in Fix, Freeze, Feast, a cookbook every price-conscious shopper will love, and warehouse club members shouldn't be without. With their help, home cooks will have freezers stocked with easy-to-prepare entrées, ready to be defrosted and cooked for weeknight family dinners. Imagine the comfort of knowing a homecooked meal is always available. Each recipe includes instructions for dividing, preparing, and storing the raw ingredients, and a second set of simple directions for thawing, cooking, and enjoying the food. Designed for the way people cook today, Fix, Freeze, Feast meals are lighter and fresher than traditional bulk-cooking recipes, with a focus on simple stews and stir-fries, quick grilled or broiled main courses, and popular ethnic meals such as Beef Fajitas and Cashew Chicken Stir-fry.Add to the entrées ready-to-bake cookie doughs, warming soups and side dishes, fruit smoothies, and portable kids' snacks, and those warehouse club shopping trips begin to look more valuable than ever. This is a system that saves time, saves money, and saves families from the empty calories of takeout food. Make room in the freezer for next week's dinner!Praise for Fix, Freeze, Feast —
"[Fix Freeze, Feast] delivers some yummy new recipes that are easily stored and don\'t look or taste like frozen meals when they\'re served days later . . . Fix Freeze, Feast promises to ease the stress of cooking and ensure that you\'re well fed, with hearty meals, throughout the week or month." — lhj.com (Ladies Home Journal)

"Fix Freeze, Feast is a smart book to keep on the shelf . . . There\'s nothing like a hot meal after a long, hard day at work, especially if all the work was done weeks ago!" — Scripps News Service

"If you resolved to cook more at home in 2008, Fix, Freeze and Feast can help . . . In addition to recipes they also have tips for organizing your shopping list, packaging meals and preventing freezer burn." — Spokane Spokesman-Review

"If one of your New Year\'s resolutions is to eat home-cooked meals as a family more often, Fix Freeze, Feast could be just the help you need to accomplish that . . . Fix Freeze, Feast won\'t guarantee getting a scattered family home for dinner more often, but it will definitely make it much easier to get the meal on the table." — The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)

"Not so much a cookbook as a bulk-saving survival guide for harried cooks everywhere." — Northern Virginia Magazine

"The authors do a great job offering clear instructions for the cooking, an important final step that is too often left to guesswork." — (Memphis) Commercial Appeal

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Cheap. Fast. Good Review

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(More customer reviews)Everyone seems to like this book more than I do so I took a second look at it. I opened up to the chapter "Everyday Entrees". The first recipe for Gayle's Country-Style Steak does sound good, but it has to simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Not exactly "Fast". Looked at the next recipe Texas Cowboy's Pie and it calls for "shredded already-cooked beef" for which there is a recipe on another page. I took a look at that recipe and it would take more than 3 hours to cook. The 3rd recipe in this chapter is Beefed-Up Chinese Burritos. It calls for "Flexible Mexican Filling" for which there is a recipe on another page. You get the idea. I notice that these recipes that are needed for some of the general recipes are in a chapter titled "Budget-Minded Batch Cooking" that's at the end of all the chapters with recipes for dinners. So if so you decide to try this book, I'd suggest starting with that chapter. Each of those recipes does tell you which recipes require them. The recipes must be good if so many people wrote positive reviews, so take that into consideration when making your final decision as to whether or not to buy this book.

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Not a penny-pinching cookbook—a "get smart!" cookbook. No more staring helplessly at rising grocery bills or, too harried for time, shelling out twenty-five bucks for mediocre take-out. The work of two brilliant problem-solvers, Cheap. Fast. Good! cuts through both the budget dilemma and the time dilemma with 275 recipes for great, family-pleasing dishes, most of which take under 25 minutes to prepare and average out to cost less—and usually far less—than $2 a serving. Home Ec simplified Saving money in the kitchen is as simple as one four-letter word: Cook. But cooking to save means cooking food you and your family are going to love—and cooking (and shopping) smart. In dozens of time-and-money-saving tips, techniques, strategies, and solutions, the authors show how to make the right choices again and again. They'll never know you're thrifty Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Pepper Medley Stuffed Peppers with Kielbasa Rice Zesty Chicken Sauté Bayou Stew Catfish with Pecan Crust Cinco de Mayo Skillet Quickie Cacciatore Perfect Spinach Pesto Pizza Moroccan Meatballs Over Couscous Salmon Pasta with Tomatoes and Dill...Even when it's time to s-t-r-e-t-c-h Onion Chopped Steak with Easy Gravy Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs Fall Sausage and Cabbage Sauté Ultra-Easy Veggie Quesadillas Pasta e Fagioli My Beef and Barley Soup Ziti Mexi-Cali

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$3 Meals: Feed Your Family Delicious, Healthy Meals for Less than the Cost of a Gallon of Milk Review

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(More customer reviews)This book does a brief overview of how to save money at the grocery store (nothing really new). It goes on to present a major money saving strategy -- making every sauce, stock, dressing, and marinade from scratch. From there, the author presents recipes for main dishes. She finishes with recipes for baking breads and muffins from scratch.
The recipes are sound, and I have no doubt that they will produce reasonably healthy and tasty results. But...
#1 -- there is no reason to make every sauce from scratch. With sound couponing and savy shopping, I can get a bottle of bbq sauce for free (same for salad dressing, bottles of marinade, etc). If I make those things from scratch (and I frequently do), it is a question of quality, not cost.
#2 -- the main dishes presented are not complete meals. Most of them require additional side dishes (vegetable, fruit, and/or starch) to complete the meal. Beyond a passing mention of a crispy salad and fresh bread, the author does not provide any assistance in how to complete the meal and stay under budget. No ideas for inexpensive sides are provided.
#3 -- many of the recipes are not make-able for the advertised $3 pricetag. Unless I were to catch the fish myself, I simply do not see how I could make a dish calling for a pound and a half of bass or cod for a total cost of under $3. Nor could I make a dish that calls for 2 bulbs of fennel along with a pound of chicken and come in at that price.
#4 -- the serving sizes are a bit unrealistic. Most recipes call for 1 to 1.5 pounds of protein (beef, fish, chicken, or pork) and will serve 4 to 6 people. For six people, that's a 4 ounce portion of protein. Admittedly that is the recommended serving for many, but it is not enough for some men-folk and growing boys.
#5 -- virtually none of the sauces/marinades/dressings presented in the beginning of the book are used in the remaining recipes. so what are they for?
I think this book does have some good points, and a lot of good basic recipes. It presents some of the information and tools needed to control grocery budgets, but not all of them. If the author intended to present meals that were under $3 per serving, she succeeds. However, her book implies that it is $3 for SIX people... an unrealistic and unrealized promise. If I caught all of the ingredients on sale at their lowest price of the year, I could conceivably make most of them for under $6 each. If I were shopping on an average day, many of them would come closer to $10.

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$3 Meals is a new kind of low-cost-cooking book, comprising more than 250 simple recipes-none requiring more than twenty minutes of “hands-on” time-that cost less than a gallon of milk-and yet look and taste darn good . . . and are good for you, too.

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Frozen Assets, 2E: Cook for a Day, Eat for a Month Review

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(More customer reviews)I just wanted to say that this is a great book! I have read a couple other "once-a-month" cookbooks, and have found them to be too complex for the stage of life I am in. This book was simple to understand and the ideas were easy to do! The recipes are very family-friendly. They were very easy for me to adjust for my youngest son's food allergies, and both of my children love the food I've made from this book. So far it has been cost-effective, and doing one big shopping trip this month has allowed me to keep my kids out of the grocery store during flu season, which I'm very thankful for. I worked very hard the first two days of cooking, and spent a large portion of my "grocery money" in one shopping trip, but it has been so worth it. No more running to the store every few days (and tracking all those receipts!), no more spending a couple hours each day on top of my other work preparing dinner and cleaning up, no more wondering what to make for dinner tonight...that time is now being spent on more important things. Having enough food in the house and meals prepared in my freezer for a whole month has taken a huge amount of stress off my shoulders. Thanks Deborah!!

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The best-selling freezer-based cookbook, with more than 22,000 copies sold.

This breakthrough cookbook delivers a program for readers to cook a week or month's worth of meals in just one day by using easy and affordable recipes to create a customized meal plan. Deborah Taylor-Hough, who saved $24,000 on her family's total grocery bill during a five-year period, offers up kid-tested and family-approved recipes in Frozen Assets, plus bulk-cooking tips for singles, shopping lists, recipes for two-week and 30-day meal plans, and a ten-day plan to eliminate cooking over the holidays.

Cooking for the freezer allows you to plan ahead, purchase items in bulk, cut down on waste, and stop those all-too-frequent trips to the drive-thru. The hands-down authority on once-a-month cooking, Frozen Assets gives you a step-by-step plan to simplify and revolutionize the way you cook.

"Finally, a realistic way to combine the cost-effectiveness of cooking from scratch with the convenience of quick and easy meals!" -Mary Hunt, author of The Financially Confident Woman

"Belongs in every family's kitchen! One of the best time - and money - savers a busy family can have." -The Dollar Stretcher

"Offers relief to those tired of eating restaurant fare or expensive, over-packaged convenience foods at the end of a hard day." -Library Journal
(20090909)

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Desperation Entertaining Review

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(More customer reviews)I pull this book out every time I face an entertaining challenge, and I always find at least one recipe that's perfect for the occasion. The guacamole-with-peas and black bean "hummus" dips wowed my New Year's Day guests and they were really tickled when I revealed the secret ingredients. (They said, "You must really trust the "Deperation" ladies!" I do!)
Witty commentary and helpful shopping, presentation, and decorating tips make this a fun book to browse through.
Some warnings and comments: Unlike the original "Desperation Dinners," this book focuses on multi-stage do-it-ahead recipes. Those wanting lots of menus that can be on the table in an hour or less will be disappointed.One long chapter is devoted only to grilled main dishes; another to slow cooker meats and soups. If you don't grill or slow cook, half of the main dishes won't work for you.
Certain food themes are repeated ad naseum - there are 9 creamy dips, 6 chicken salads, 5 chilis, 4 kinds of slaw, and 8 breakfast casseroles. The beverage and side dish chapters are slim, but the dessert chapter is much larger here than in "Desperation Dinners." Both authors are North Carolinans, and the book is heavy on Southern favorites. Although they make some concessions to low-fat dairy ingredients, this is not the book to turn to for low-fat, low-carb, or low-calorie ideas.

Because these dishes rely on partially-prepared ingredients such as "already-cooked" bacon, and because the authors favor shrimp and fine cuts of meat, most recipes are expensive. If your grocery store is rural or small, you'll struggle to locate some ingredients.
Check this out if you're looking for easy entertainment-specific recipes, throw-together dips, do-it-ahead plans, and lots of interesting advice for the host or hostess. Most dishes serve 8-12.

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The Good-to-Go Cookbook: Take-along Food, Quick Suppers, and Satisfying Snacks for On-The-Go Families Review

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(More customer reviews)You don't have to be Martha Stewart to prepare healthy meals at home, so says Kathleen Hanna in her introduction and after just a quick flip though this book's pages, you'll see that's true.
Mrs. Hanna advocates getting organized by making a plan for your weekly meals and to plan your meals around your families activities. This is, after all, a cookbook for families on the go. She also advocates having your teens cook some of the meals with you. That seems like a good idea. Also, she gives plenty of hints on how to shop, so that you save money and that's always good. There is also a chapter on fast breakfasts and another on snacks, both aimed at the family with teenagers in the house. It's good to get some food in them before they rush out the door.
But the essence of any cookbook is the recipes themselves. Many of these can be made in under thirty minutes and that's important for busy families. We've done the Texas Ranch Steak and the Cheesy Linguine and they did come in under a half hour and they both came out just fine, I'll be making them again.
And there is a chapter on 15-minutes dishes, half the time of the 30-minute recipes I mentioned above and I tried the Barbecued Salmon Fillets and it did take me a little longer than 15 minutes, 19 to be exact as I had to light the grill and wait for it to heat up. There's a whole gang of these 15 and 30 minutes recipes, so if you are in a family that's always on the go, this just might be the book for you. It's way better than KFC or Mickey D's any day of the week.

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As busy schedules cut into the food preparation time of families with active teenagers, takeout pizzas and Pop-Tart breakfasts become the norm. But Pop-Tarts fall pretty short in the nutrition category. Fresh fruit smoothies, yogurt parfaits, homemade granola, and breakfast sandwiches all provide a better start to the day, but how to fit more nutritious choices into hectic daily routines? Author Kathleen Cannata Hanna responds to the challenge of keeping teenagers healthy, fit, and full with 300 economical recipes that are both easy to make and fun to eat. She offers 15-minute dinners and satisfying pastas for the busiest evenings and 30-minute dinners and family suppers for slightly more relaxed weeknights and weekends. Hanna knows that feeding teenagers involves more than serving dinnertime meals. There are grab-and-go breakfasts to be eaten on the bus, brown-bag lunches, after-school snacks, soccer game pick-me-ups, and after-dinner treats for the kids and any friends that might be in the house too. The appealing recipes in The Good-to-Go Cookbook steer teens away from junk food and toward good-for-you alternatives. Quick Quesadillas, Easy Pizza Squares, Stuffed Chicken Crescents, and Ham Pockets satisfy between-meal hunger pangs. There are soups, sandwiches, and hearty salads for lunch and Baked Pasta with Peas and Cheese, BLT Pie, Tortilla Casserole, and Barbecued Turkey Burgers for simple suppers. When their friends are sleeping over, treat your teens to Sweet Treat Cookie Sandwiches or a Peanut Butter Pie. With The Good-to-Go Cookbook in the kitchen it's possible to feed the entire family quickly and well and still arrive at every track meet and ballet recital on time.

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The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner: Easy Family Meals for Every Day of the Week Review

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(More customer reviews)I feed 6-7 people every day for dinner, sometimes more if one or two of my kids' friends are over. I think about food all day even when it's not meal time because I'm thinking about what to put together to make a cohesive meal, if I laid it out to thaw, if I have enough of it, if I have any leftovers that I can incorporate so as not to waste food. It is exhausting. I purchase absolutely any cookbook there is that will help me make meal planning, prep and cooking easier. So when I saw this book I had to have it.
The very first page was planning the weekly menu like I've been trying to do for years. This book is having Comfort Food on Monday, Italian on Tuesday, Fish & Meatless on Wednesday, Mexican Night on Thursday, Pizza Friday's, Grill Night on Saturday and Family Traditions on Sunday. I've been doing something similar but trying to make mine Meatless Monday's, [...]. But regardless of what you pick this is excellent meal planning advice. It gives yourself (and the kids and spouse) an idea of what to look forward to rather than coming home with pots and pans banging around with no idea of what to prepare.
That is what I liked about the Sandi Richard book too, The Family Dinner Fix: Cooking for the Rushed. She has similar ideas to Ms. Edmunds. I would use a calendar that you get free in the mail and write your "theme" across the top. Your themes might be different than the suggested themes in this book but either way come up with 7 themes and write them across the top of the calendar.
Now go to each chapter in this cookbook (or any other cookbook) and list a recipe that corresponds to that theme. List the page it is on and briefly write any side dishes that you would be serving with the main entree. Ms. Edmunds suggests making your menu first and then your grocery list second. I believe in making the grocery list first and then making meals from that. I try to buy what's on sale and then make meals from the sale foods rather than the other way around.
I made the white chicken chili that was listed under the Comfort Food section. It's intended to be a Monday meal but I think we had it on a Wednesday (oops!). LOL. It was very good. Also under each recipe is a conversation starter. It's a question you're to pose to the family around the dinner table to stimulate conversation. I actually purchased these from www.savingdinner.com and here they are free.
There are also bread recipes, side dishes, desserts, after school snacks, cooking tips, and other great ideas to get the family back to the dinner table. It's an awesome book. One of my better purchases. This is certainly a fantastic gift, wedding or otherwise. It would be a great gift for someone just starting to cook who needs ideas and instruction for getting a complete meal on the table.
Another good cookbook I like is Saving Dinner: The Menus, Recipes, and Shopping Lists to Bring Your Family Back to the Table by Leann Ely. It has shopping lists, menus, and great recipes to get started. It's not laid out with "theme" nights like the Food Nanny but it's good nevertheless.


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