Good Cheap Eats: Everyday Dinners and Fantastic Feasts for $10 or Less

by Jessica Fisher

In over 200 recipes, Jessica offers a delicious alternative to fast food, takeout pizza, or over-processed foods from the supermarket with nourishing, from-scratch meals that don’t break the bank or take hours to cook. Those recipes are organized into 70 multi-course dinners—main dishes, sides, and add-ons such as soup, bread, or dessert—including: Simple Bean Tostadas, Chunky Tomato Salsa, Lemon Pie with Honey-Ginger Ice Cream
Chicken Kabobs with Mint-Yogurt Sauce, Curried Couscous, Greek Spinach Salad
Asian Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles, Ginger-Orange Crisp
Beef Potpie with Flaky Cheddar Crust, Winter Greens and Citrus Salad
Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Rice, Buttery Dill Carrots, Banana-Walnut Mini Muffins Each dinner feeds a family of four for ten dollars—a little more for larger families, a little less for smaller ones and singles.  The menus are just suggestions, and readers can mix-and-match any of the tasty 200-plus recipes as they like.  In more than 100 tips scattered through the book, Jessica distills her hard-won wisdom into a wealth of ideas for how to be a penny-wise shopper, how to find good cuts of meat that are cheap, how to reduce waste and maximize leftovers, and more.  Never before has living so affordably meant living so well.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking, Food

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Jessica Fisher is the creator of two popular blogs, Life as Mom and Good Cheap Eats, which have established her as a go-to authority on cooking for a family cheaply, creatively, and nutritiously. She is the author of Good Cheap Eats: Everyday Dinners and Fantastic Feasts for $10 or Less as well as Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook.

NOTE: the ketogenic books tagged with my name are not mine!

Reviews

[reading is my hustle · Rating 4 out of 5]

*updated on 07/13/18 with thanks & apologies to author!

In the end, cooking is cheaper than buying convenience foods. Jessica Fisher was shocked by the amount of processed food Americans on a tight budget consumed. So she decided to write a cookbook full of recipes that were healthy, flavorful, nutritious, and affordable. She succeeded!

All your pantry needs are the cheap basics: garlic, dried beans, butter, some canned vegetables. She emphasizes flexibility and no hard rules. I liked most every recipe in this cookbook. And her tips throughout the book are good ones: strategies for avoiding take-out, what to do with leftovers, BOGO meals ("buy one get one") allow you to cook once but eat twice, getting your kitchen ready for vacation, tips for freezing, feeding a crowd on a budget.

Recommended.

[Sophia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have tried about 10 recipes from this cookbook and not a single one was seasoned enough. I have had to add more seasonings (usually doubling the stated amounts) to every single one of the recipes I've tried, and some of them (like the smoky corn salsa and the confetti rice) have so little flavor that they are bland and boring. The vegetarian chili was similarly bland, and a terrible disappointment. If you want flavor, this is not the cookbook for you.

[Erin Odom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was Jessica’s first Good Cheap Eats cookbook. I use both of her cookbooks every single week in my kitchen. The recipes in both are cheap and easy, but the are also very healthy, and both books have different recipes.

[CJ A-Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very helpful and quick recipes. I’ve made several and intend to try many more. So far two or t of three hits by my picky family, going into rotation.

Wish there were more vegan options in general, but it’s a great start!

[Cassandra Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A practical cookbook with budget-minded good meals.

[Ericka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, inexpensive recipes. Borrowed it from the library, but I'm tempted to buy a copy for myself.

[Alexandria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found a couple recipes. Not may for someone who is looking to cook quick.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the recipes was literally the dipping sauce for gyoza and tells you to buy frozen potstickers - yep could have figured that out on my own. None of the recipes looked great to me.

[Corban Ford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Take "Good" out of the title and I think you have yourself a book, as well as an accurate description of what I think this book is. No further comments.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love it

[Maryalene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this from the library and was very impressed. It's a beautiful cookbook with an easy-to-read font, something I find crucial for successful cooking!

What I like most is that the book is set up with menus rather than individual recipes. That's perfect for me since I love trying new recipes but struggle with creating the right pairings. While the menus are helpful, the book is broken down into sections that didn't always feel intuitive to me. I had a fairly good idea of what to expect in the "grilling" and "company dinners" sections, but "something meatier" and "stretching it" are a bit more vague.

I tried out the Ale-Braised Pork Roast, Fransconi Potatoes and Maple Fried Apples. The pork roast wasn't anything to write home about although it was a perfectly good roast. The potatoes and apples were a hit all around. Since prices can vary significantly from area to area, I didn't even bother pricing out the meal to see if it was actually only $10. But I am sure it was for me since I used almost all ingredients I had on hand.

Overall, the book was enjoyable to read, and the food wastasty to eat. Might be one to buy!

[Jane Dugger · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A very well thought out cookbook. Love the divisions (chapters)!

*Going Meatless
*Stretching It
*Something Meatier
*Grilling & Eating Outdoors
*Company Dinners, Make-Ahead Meals
*Breakfast for Supper
*Meals on the Run

I especially like the layout. She gives you a menu then 3-4 recipes for the entire meal. I wish there were more photos of the recipes (I am super visual) in the book. Fortunately, there is a database of recipe photographs on her blog. (I found this out reading the introduction.)

I also like her 101 top tips found throughout the book. Always something interesting.

It was mostly the side dishes which interested me - a couple salad ideas and vegetables.

Overall this would be a fantastic book for a new cook - perhaps a recent grad or newlyweds.

[Catherine Gillespie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Cheap Eats: Everyday Dinners and Fantastic Feasts for 0 or Less is a solid cookbook from Jessica Fisher, combining fresh, real food ingredients with tips for saving money on your grocery budget. If you’ve done any delving into those topics not much of this will be new (although I did get some good tips!) but the recipes are good for getting ideas and branching out, which I needed. I did find that I had to double most of them to fit my family, and since we tend to be a protein + vegetables family rather than a carbohydrates + meat-as-condiment family not all of the ideas were a good fit. But I tried several things and got great results every time, so I’d recommend this cookbook as a versatile and helpful resource.

{Originally posted here}

[RHPL Adult Reference]

Good Cheap Eats: Everyday Dinners and Fantastic Feasts for $10 or less by Jessica Fisher

Fisher, the author of two popular blogs, Life as Mom and Good (Cheap) Eats, provides 200 recipes that are made from scratch, easy to prepare and inexpensive. The book also includes over 100 tips for saving money when shopping for food.

This cookbook is recommended for people looking to cook healthy and inexpensive meals.
Two similar titles that we own are Frugal Foodie by Lara Morris Star and Ten Dollar Dinners by Melissa d’Arabian. Not available in ebook.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid family foods cookbook that is easy. The recipes all use basic grocery store ingredients and can be made in under an hour.

I have made about 20 recipes from this cookbook over the last eight weeks. The hands down favorite in this house is the Cajun Meatloaf. Everyone ate at least three servings! The other recipes are good as well, but the meatloaf was amazing.

I grabbed it from the library, and while I've enjoyed it I found almost every recipe I liked on her blog. I don't plan to buy the cookbook at all. I did subscribe to her blog though.

[Lindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's kind of odd to read a cookbook, but I did because of the way it is written. I've only tried one recipe thus far, but plan to try more.

[C.G.Koens]

What you need to read this cookbook: a free afternoon, a highlighter, and a grocery list. Jessica (mom of 6) has written a great addition to any kitchen shelf, with recipes for those on a budget, those feeding an army, the ones who are looking for meatless options, and the frugal foodies who still want to entertain. She even offers ideas for those only feeding one or two - so there truly is something for everyone.

[Cyndi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess this would be a good cookbook for someone who feels like they need to eat meat at every meal. There is a meatless section, but most of those recipes seem to have a suggestion for how to add meat. Also -- I just didn't feel like the recipes were that unusual. Mostly things I've seen elsewhere.

Oh --- and a recipe with shrimp is not "meatless" Makes me wonder about other errors...

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not too often I can sit and read a cookbook, but this was one that was a good read! I have a lot of great ideas from her blog, in the past, and loved the recipes. I wished that some of them were a little larger in quantity as I know she cooks at least for 8 at home, but otherwise, very little complaints.

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this book had no pictures (which makes a cookbook much more fun to read), I still enjoyed and wanted to make many of these recipes. There is a lot of "whole" food cooking and simple recipes from scratch in here, which I like. Can't wait to try more.

[Charlie Easterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, could use more images of the dishes to appeal to all senses. Certainly oriented more towards suburban moms looking to stretch the dollar but stay classy and organic, rather than a cash strapped college kid in a shared kitchen.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the quick, easy, and wholesome recipes in this book. I don't like recipes with a lot of ingredients or lots of steps. This cookbook gave me many meals and was very happy to try new and different takes on cooking frugally. I borrowed it from the library and ended up buying it for myself!

[Bree · Rating 2 out of 5]

Notes:
too much Mexican food for my tastes
decent layout with some photos
organized by meal idea which is helpful

[H.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of these sound absolutely fantastic! I can't wait to try them!

[Phaedra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great tips for home cooks.

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice pictures but not very many new innovative recipes.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

TL;DR: Beans.

The tips are good, mostly common sense. Also, food is a heck of a lot of cheaper wherever this author lives than in CanadaLand.

[Minna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bookmarked about 20 recipes to try, so I'd call it a success.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cookbook full of tips for saving money. Good flavorful recipes laid out as meals. Well written -- I read it cover to cover.