For kitchen idiots like me (The Classic 1000 Quick and Easy Recipes - Carolyn Humphries)

Member Name: Tracy_1127

Product:	The Classic 1000 Quick and Easy Recipes - Carolyn Humphries
Date:	22/11/08 (133 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap, easy to follow, lots of recipes

Disadvantages: lack of pictures

When it comes to cooking "Quick and Easy" is essential to me. I'm not much of a cook and I also get bored if a recipe is too complicated or takes too long so recently while searching for a recipe book that might be of use to me I came across this.

The Classic 1000 Quick and Easy Recipes is one of a series that also has Chinese, Indian, Italian, Pasta & Rice, Vegetarian, Cake & Bake, Calorie Counted, Microwave, Dessert, Low Fat, Seafood and Beginners titles too. All have 1000 recipes so even if you don't like them all there's bound to be a few that appeal.

I bought this on Amazon for £5.99 so free delivery too. It is A5 size so doesn't require much room to store it and has over 300 pages of recipes. It looks exactly as the picture above with a stir fry on it and the title in the silver box at the top.

I have to admit there are sections I will not use, such as the lamb section as I don't eat lamb but there are also soups, starters, beef, pork, poultry, seafood, vegetarian main meals, vegetarian side dishes, salads and dressings, snacks, sauces, dips and savoury butters, hot desserts, cold desserts, quick breads and similar bakes, cakes, biscuits and sweets and drinks to go at so there's plenty for everyone.

Upon first flicking through the book I found a complete lack of pictures, this was a touch disappointing as I like to see how the recipe is supposed to turn out before I attempt it but most are so simple you probably don't need the pictures anyway.

Another aspect I didn't expect was the use of so many canned goods, for example in the beef section many of the recipes involve cans of minced beef and onion or cans of stewing steak and I don't use cans of these kind of items but it's simple enough to replace the canned ingredient with fresh if you prefer to, it's not as quick and easy but whatever you prefer. I must point out though not all recipes involve lots of canned items.

Most of the recipes seem to take about 15 - 30 minutes maximum, I've already found lots that I want to try, one in particular I read and liked the sound of was Mushroom Stroganoff which sounds very simple to make and takes about half an hour.

With Xmas approaching I checked out the dips and sauces and have made a mental note of some of those to make nearer the time and some of the vegetarian side dishes provide interesting ways to serve vegetables which may feature for some meals soon too!

A good example of how this book combines the convenience of modern living with food is a recipe that involves coating Babybel cheeses in breadcrumbs and cooking them as a finger food. Who knew something as simple as Babybel cheeses could be transformed in a few minutes? Not me that's for sure!

Overall there are many recipes in here that use items you would regularly have in stock and turn them into something quick and easy but tasty too! For any kitchen idiots like me this book is a godsend and I intend to buy some of the other titles from the same series. Thoroughly recommended.

Summary: Recommended