Product Description

With food and gas prices growing more expensive each day, families are always looking for new ways to save. This cookbook offers delicious recipes that are great for a shoestring budget, including: Big Batch Guacamole for next to nothing; Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles that are cheaper than takeout; Sicilian Meatballs made from pantry items you already have; peach Foster Crepes for only 56 cents per serving; and more tasty and affordable options! In this comprehensive, all-purpose cookbook, families will find simple instructions, nutritional information, and the amount of money needed for each recipe. They’ll feel like their dining at a five-star restaurant - at a price they can afford!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #83632 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781605501093
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Linda Larsen (Northfield, MN) is a professional home economist and the author of several Everything® cookbooks, including The Everything® No Trans Fat Cookbook, The Everything® Meals for a Month Cookbook, and The Everything® Quick and Easy 30-Minute, 5-Ingredient Cookbook. She has a degree in food science and nutrition from the University of Minnesota. Ms. Larsen has been the About.com Guide for Busy Cooks since January 2002.

Customer Reviews

Simple, elegant recipes on the cheap
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!

And people say that convenience cooking is crap...
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.

Not $7 a Meal / Not Great Recipes
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!)