Need to eat healthily and cheaply... BASIC how to cookbook?

[Rosebud1]

I am really trying to cut our food bill. It is so high! We eat pretty healthy, but I am not that innovative of a cook. In fact I am not much of a cook at all really. I need to learn how to cook properly and stretch my budget -- crockpot cooking, making stocks, stretching meats, using dried beans and rice in bulk...

I learn well from reading. Can anyone recommend a cookbook that really teaches you to cook frugal yet healthy foods from scratch? Something a bit dumbed down for a beginner cook?

Thank you for your help!

[woodchick]

I'd take a look at "More with Less"

The recipes are great and the author's commentary about eating habits are even better.

[newbymom05]

I like to cook and am good at it, and the cookbook I use the most is The Joy of Cooking. It covers every thing a cook needs to know IMO--measurements, temperatures for meat, frying and baking, tools needed, menu suggestions, and a ton of recipes covering appetizers, salads, soups, sandwiches, different desserts, quick breads, meat--everything, really. I used to have a lot of more niche focused cookbooks, but really, nowadays I think all anyone needs is a basic cookbook like JoC and the internet. I wouldn't say JoC is geared towards frugality, but just stay away from the lobster recipes.

Re: crockpot, here's a great website http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/. I just print out recipes and stick them in my binder if they're keepers. Hillbilly Housewife also has a lot of frugal recipes and meal plans, although I don't know if they're the healthiest. http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/

HTH and G/L, I think cooking is like anything else, you just have to jump in and do it to get good at it.

[Rosebud1]

Thanks for the tips!

I was thinking of looking into the book "Cook Food" by the editor of Bit%# (sorry!) magazine. Anyone found that useful?

[JTA Mom]

Are your issues with cooking techniques (steam, mince, etc) or more like you can't really come up with recipes?

If you want a super detailed how to cook cookbook, with pics, the book 'how to cook' the 'Anyone can cook' book is pretty good. It shows, step by step with pictures how to do things from searing a piece of meat to mincing an onion.

If it's recipes that you can throw together with whatever you have, I find allrecipes is good, just click on the ingredient tab, list what you have/want and click search. It will find what you are looking for.

Ami

[Chamomile Girl]

I really liked Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food.

[2cutiekitties]

What about a subscription to Everyday Food? Very helpful, imo.

[zebra15]

http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Dummie.../dp/0764552503

Cooking for dummies... the 'dummies' series has a whole cooking set out...

[nwmomof2]

I highly recommend "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman, who has had a weekly NY Times Column for years and is known as a "home cook" rather than a chef. One reviewer calls it a "more hip Joy of Cooking." I've had my copy for about 10 years, and I still use it several times a week. It is well-loved, with pages falling out. It is my go to cookbook for everything. You can learn to cook with this book alone, and it has clear and well-written instructions, recipes from pancakes (from scratch) to homemade stocks, soups to breads, main dishes, etc. Most are fairly simple with no fancy or long ingredient list.

[mbm]

I was going to recommend How to Cook Everything too. Mine is in tatters!

The recipes are simple, with simple ingredients. Many of the recipes have several variations and I can usually find one that will use up what I have.

There is a How to Cook Everything Vegetarian cookbook as well, which is a great complement to the original, even for non-vegetarians.

[amyamanda]

Cheap. Fast. Good.

It does have a good amount of basics in it, but it also has a lot of cheap and easy recipes. Sometimes the "basics" books have complicated or expensive recipes, YK?

[ewp11100]

better home and gardens!
My is in tatters and my mom's is almost unreadable

[artemis33]

Originally Posted by Chamomile Girl

I really liked Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food.

I really like this one as well.


I've heard great things about the Mark Bittman book as well but still don't have a copy!

[BetsyS]

I love my subscription to Everyday Food. Their emphasis on short ingredient lists means that almost every recipe is affordable, and I like the focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients.

I have a go-to book that I love, The Southern Living Ultimate Cookbook. It's a good basic cookbook, and it's where I turn to make chocolate meringue pie (actually one of my cheapest desserts), potato salad, or marinated grilled chicken. It's a great, basic cookbook.

I also like Cheap! Fast! Good! For good, homey meals that most kids (and adults) will like on an average Tuesday night, it's great. Think Rachael Ray on the cheap. I don't own it, but I check it out of the library regularly, and I always find a new favorite when I do.

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by mbm

I was going to recommend How to Cook Everything too. Mine is in tatters!

The recipes are simple, with simple ingredients. Many of the recipes have several variations and I can usually find one that will use up what I have.

There is a How to Cook Everything Vegetarian cookbook as well, which is a great complement to the original, even for non-vegetarians.

My whole family is omni and I really love the How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Other than an occassional goat cheese most of the ingredents are pretty cheap. The recipes vary in complexity from very easy to pretty elaborate. It was also fun to learn about how to make tofu even if you never attempt it

I also think another great cookbook is Simply in Season. It is from the same publisher as More with Less but seems less stuck in the 1970's o me and I find myself looking through it for ideas about eating seasonally. I sometimes get inspirations form it without actually making any of the recipes.

[Knittin' in the Shade]

I love the Mark Bittman books (just got the vegetarian one from thelibrary, and so far all the recipes have been great!)

When I got married, DH's grandma gave me Fannie Farmer, and that's the book I pretty much learned how to cook from. It's super detailed and gives lots of info on *what* the food is, and best ways to prepare it (so,it's more than just recipes, but an education on food really) The other most loved and well-worn cookbooks inmy (admittedly large) cookbook library are The Joy of Cooking, the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (got this for $5 at ACMoore, it's a breast cancer one with a pink cover) and then the King Arthur 200th Anniversary Cookbook is the go-to for virtually everything baking-related. More with Less is okay, but a bit too "let's eat dirt and mix it with some barley" for my DH's tastes

For crockpot cookbook, I'm really enjoying the Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook. I got it for $2.92 at the local thrift shoppe (I swear, I don't know where they get their books from, but they always have AWESOME cookbooks!!!!)

[limette]

Originally Posted by nwmomof2

I highly recommend "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman, who has had a weekly NY Times Column for years and is known as a "home cook" rather than a chef. One reviewer calls it a "more hip Joy of Cooking." I've had my copy for about 10 years, and I still use it several times a week. It is well-loved, with pages falling out. It is my go to cookbook for everything. You can learn to cook with this book alone, and it has clear and well-written instructions, recipes from pancakes (from scratch) to homemade stocks, soups to breads, main dishes, etc. Most are fairly simple with no fancy or long ingredient list.

This a thousand times over. It was the first cookbook I purchased. It's long gone now as most used recipes are in my head and the book was in tatters. It's great for starting out.

[Magelet]

Originally Posted by Chamomile Girl

I really liked Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food.

I love the format. she has different catagories and three recipes in each, with a page of info, how to, etc, and then a recipe which usually has a couple of seasonal variations, then at the back, she has more recipes. It's brilliant, and so simple.

I also love the joy of cooking, but for learning to cook/starting to cook from scratch when you haven't before, it would be overwhelming, it's... maybe 1000 pages?. What it is, though, is a resource that belongs on EVERYONE's shelf. Need to sub for canned cream of mushroom soup in a recipe? look up cream of mushroom soup. Need a pie crust recipe? look it up. need to know how to make just about anything, ever? look it up.

[zinemama]

Another vote for How to Cook Everything.

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by zinemama

Another vote for How to Cook Everything.

Now I have to get this book, and I am a pretty great cook, lol! I just like cookbooks.

I have the Joy of Cooking and love it alot. My kids use it, too.