Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Tasty Tuesday - 12/6/11...PLUS 2 cooking book reviews

Welcome back for another week of Tasty Tuesday - my compilation of tasty things found on the web!!
This week I'm also including 2 book reviews ~ see them listed at the end of the post!


Click on pics below to go to the blog/web post:


Caramel Filled Sandies ~ from Betty Crocker:





Ham and Cheese Sliders ~ from The Girl who Ate Everything:





Cheesy Ham and Potato Hash ~ from The Traveling Spoon:





Easy Pizza Dough ~ from Budget Saving Mom:





Yummy Cake Balls ~ from Talking Dollars and Cents:





Snowday Cookie Shovels ~ from Nestle Family:





Triple-Chocolate Whoopie Pies ~ from Kraft Foods:





Inside-Out Peanut Butter Cookies ~ from Betty Crocker:





Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie ~ from Cooking With K:





Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ from Mom on Timeout:





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

{Book Reviews}


First up..."Treasured Amish and Mennonite Recipes: 600 Delicious, Down-to-Earth Recipes from Authentic Country Kitchens" by the Mennonite Central Committee



Book description from amazon.com:
The Pennsylvania Dutch are known for their unique traditional foods—recipes that reflect their German heritage and agricultural roots. Experience PA Dutch cooking with the authentic Amish and Mennonite recipes found in the pages of this cookbook. Inside, are recipes for everything from apple butter to chicken pot-pie, ham loaf to classic mashed potatoes. The book is also filled with interesting facts and fun stories about many of the recipes, sure to surprise and delight any cook. Bringing these delicious recipes into the kitchen will please any family!

My personal review:
This is a GREAT cookbook! Coming from Pennsylvania Dutch region in PA...there's lots of good "down-home" recipes that I would love to try (and some very familiar ones for my favorites, too!)
Along with having LOTS of GREAT recipes...the book also has little helpful tidbits as well as really cute one-line sayings mixed in. I loved that aspect of the cookbook!!
But...you're probably wondering what some of the oh-so-yummy recipes are...so here's a sampling of some of my favorites:
Deviled eggs
Ham balls
Cinnamon rolls
Funnel cakes
Soft pretzels
Cheesy scalloped potatoes
Baked corn
Fastnachts (doughnuts)
Macaroni salad
Lebanon bologna
Shoofly pie
...and many more!
I would highly recommend this cookbook!!


And for the second book...
The "What's for Dinner?" Solution: Quick, Easy, and Affordable Meals Your Family Will Love by Kathi Lipp



Book description from amazon.com:
For many women, dread turns to panic around 4:00 in the afternoon. That’s when they have to answer that age-old question, “What’s for dinner?” Many resort to another supermarket rotisserie chicken or—worse yet—ordering dinner through a drive-thru intercom.

In The “What’s for Dinner” Solution, popular author and speaker Kathi Lipp provides a full-kitchen approach for getting dinner on the table every night. After putting her 21-day plan into action, women will

save time—with bulk shopping and cooking
save money—no more last-minute phone calls to the delivery pizza place
save their sanity—forget the last-minute scramble every night and know what they’re having for dinner
The book includes real recipes from real women, a quick guide to planning meals for a month, the best shopping strategies for saving time and money, and tips on the best ways to use a slow cooker, freezer, and pantry.

With Kathi’s book in hand, there’s no more need to hit the panic button.


My personal review:
This book is a different type of book. It's more a "how-to" than a typical cookbook filled with recipes. This book gives you some practical advice on the four following aread: planning, organizing, getting your food, and cooking - with a few recipes mixed in.
In this book, Kathi teaches you that you don't have to be a professional chef to make good meals, and you don't have to spend a lot of money to make good meals. She shows you some simple "rules" to abide by when it comes to planning and preparing meals.
I personally already have been doing most of the things in this book, but I still found it interesting to read through the book and see the reasons behind the tips and advice she is teaching.
I really think this would be a great book to give to a young person starting out on their own (would make a good bridal shower gift), because it does teach some simple, down-to-earth principles on planning and preparing in advance. My only thing I didn't like about the book was that I was hoping for a few more recipes included in it (and a lot of the ones that are in I wouldn't make anyway.)
However, overall, I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. It is a very unique book, with lots of practical advice that some people might not think of on their own (or would've had taught to them by someone in their life). If you need a "fresh start" in organizing your kitchen/pantry areas, or a lesson in planning meals and buying food in advance, then you may want to read this book!


***I was given an e-book edition of these books for free from the publisher. The reviews given are my opinion, and I was not required to give a positive review.

**Links are Amazon affiliate links**

2 comments:

Rachel said...

Thanks for sharing a link to my Cheesy Ham and Potato Hash! Everything else you chose looks awesome, too :) Especially the desserts!!!

Alexandra @ Talking Dollars and Cents said...

Thanks so much for featuring our Yummy Cake Balls. You selected some really great recipes, thanks for sharing them.

LinkWithin



Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...