The Everything Meals on a Budget Cookbook: High-flavor, low-cost meals your family will love

by Linda Johnson Larsen

With the cost of milk and other food staples on the rise, it's important to save wherever you can.This thrifty cookbook offers 300 delicious recipes that are short on cost but long on taste, Batch Guacamole for pesos on the dollarCurried Chicken Pot Pie that elevates your leftovers to new heightsSicilian Meatballs made from pantry items you already ownSpicy Thai Peanut Noodles that are cheaper than take-outBeer Cheese Soup made with beer from last night's partyPeach Foster Crepes for only 56 cents per servingAlso included are tips for food shopping on a budget and how not to get stuck in grocery store price traps. With The Everything Meals on a Budget Cookbook, you'll feel like you're dining at a gourmet restaurant-at a price you can afford!

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction

826 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was published in 2008 as part of the popular Everything series by Adams Media. Larsen approaches low-cost meal preparation in a very practical way with an introductory chapter on the basics of cooking on a budget, the cost per serving of each recipe is clearly displayed, and the back contains many helpful guides, including a chart comparing the price of prepared versus home ingredients for many popular grocery items. The chapters were divided up in pretty commonsense ways, including a chapter on how to deal with leftovers. Throughout the recipes Larsen gives tips for how to make a recipe even cheaper, or how to dress it up if you've got a little extra to spend.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to try as many recipes as I wanted before I had to return this cookbook to the library, because everything I tried was good. I think the Crockpot Beef Stroganoff recipe may replace my old standby or at least share equal billing. The Uptown Tuna Casserole was a surprisingly rich twist on an old budget cooking standby. I also appreciated the Everything Stew recipe because I'm still a pretty novice soup maker and this one basically tells how anyone can make soup with whatever odds and ends you have on hand.

Overall this was a great cookbook and one I might even consider buying.

[Metro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few recipes

I found a few ideas that I want to try. Generally simple and easy recipes. Plenty of regular recipes. Decent.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for budget cooking and frugal living. A lot of good recipes, great tips for budgeting and overall single or family living. This book is an excellent resource!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really is cheaper to buy boneless skinless chicken breasts than bone-in, who knew?