Book Review: Cheap, Fast, Good by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross

For one week I will be testing out recipes from this book,  Cheap, Fast, Good  and sharing my cooking journey along the way with you all and see what recipes are delicious and maybe discover which ones might not be...There's a lot of short cuts like packaged gravy and other stuff that I'm a little stuffy about.

I was drawn to this book because as a stay at home mom, budget is always the topic between husband and I. Romantic isn't it.
Thomas Allen & Sons has just sent me this to review so I look forward to seeing how cooking can be done on a budget, come out fast (I have a soon to be 3yr old so I love fast) and good!  Who doesn't love good food?

Here are some of our favorites from the book.

Onion Chopped Steak with Easy Gravy, pg.77

Ham and Cheese Turnovers with Dipping Sauce, pg 245

Oven Baked Chicken Thighs, pg 103

and with the cold weather coming and since Fall is all about comfort food I'd like to share with you, my camera is missing so I apologize for not posting pictures:

 Budget Beef Stew

1 1/2 pds of small beef cubes for stew
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 large onions
4 medium size carrots
5 medium sized potatoes
1 can(14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes
3 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup cold water

1.Place rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 300F
2. Place beef in a 4 1/2 quart Dutch oven or flameproof casserole that has a tight fitting lid. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, basil and Worcestershire sauce evenly over beef.  Sprinkle the garlic over the beef.
3. Peel and quarter the onions and scatter pieces evenly over the mixture.  Peel the carrots & cut them into 1-inch pieces.  Add them to the pot.  Peel and quarter the potatoes and scatter evenly over the mixture.  Add tomatoes with their juice , scattering the tomatoes evenly over the mixture.  Add 1/2 cup of water.
4. Bake the stew covered for 2 hours . Remove from pot from the oven and stir gently so as not to break up the vegetables.  Continue to bake, covered until the vegetables  and meat are very tender about 1 hour.
5. Remove the pot from the oven and place it on the stove top over low heat. Mix the cornstarch with cold water in a jar that has a lid.  Cover the jar and shake well to remove any lumps.  Pour the mixture little at a time evenly over the stew.  Stir gently, adding the cornstarch mixture as necessary until the liquid reaches the desired thickness, about 3-5 minutes. Ladle the stew into large shallow bowls to serve.

What are some of your favorite comfort foods?
This is a fabulous book with so many ideas for cooking on a budget.  Who doesn't want to eat cheaper? And who doesn't want to eat better? And who wouldn't like to sit down to a dinner of Salmon Pasta with Tomatoes and Dill, or Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Pepper Medley, or Enchanting Enchiladas, or Moroccan Meatballs over Couscous and know that any one of these meals (for four) costs less than $2 a serving?

You can get your copy {here}

Mousse Au Chocolate, pg 275: French Cooking Made Easy

Cookbook of the Week, French Cooking Made Easy by Richard Grausman. 

Chocolate Mousse. One of my favorites yet I never made it because I thought it was something hard to do.
I recently visited with a friend of mine at her house. The kids played, dinner was preparing and Charlie made himself at home and opened her fridge.  He saw pudding. Charlie will be 3 years old next month and he's never had pudding.
No I'm not anal about junk food but I am about freshness, baking and cooking from scratch.
That's the reason why I've never got it for him. I never really buy prepared food.
However, I did let him have it. He and I had a few spoonfuls and that was it.  I thought to myself, I have to learn how to make pudding.

So as I was flipping through this fabulous cook book and I came across a recipe for Chocolate Mousse. It's sort of similar I thought. I read the directions and was amazed at how easy this was.

What you need:

4ounces of semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate
4 tbsp of unsalted butter
4 eggs separated
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Haha, um....wow! Melt chocolate and butter over a low heat until smooth
Remove from heat, whisk in egg yolks until blended. Pour into a large bowl.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.

Fold chocolate mixture into the egg whites

Voila, once all mixed put into a crystal bowl and chill for 2hrs. Since I don't have one I used wine glasses

So easy and so delicious!! 

Buy this book, here
Find a local book store here

Coming up next,  Poularde Pochee a L'Estragon......

French Cooking Made Easy by Richard Grausman

Cookbook of the Week, French Cooking Made Easy by Richard Grausman.

I am in love with this book.  IN LOVE!

This book has brought a passion to French cooking I knew was inside of me and it was just dying to come out.  I was always intimidated because French cooking is grand and difficult.  Well it's not difficult thanks to this book.  If you love cooking you have to get this book.

As I was creating savory puff pastry I was picturing myself in France and how Julia Child must have had a ball there.  It's easy to fall in love with French cuisine and you can too.
Feed your family delicious easy to prepare fresh, delicious, food from scratch.

I just started this book.  I might even try every recipe in this book.  However today I made Pomme de Terre Dauphine, pg,203.  Potato Puffs. There is a beautiful section in this book with a few pages   about one of my most loved vegetables.  The potato.

What makes Potato Puffs special? They are light, fluffy and a delicious way to make potatoes. It's mashed potato with Savory Cream Puff pastry.  Oh my as my heart flutters with delight.

I added spinach so my toddler could get some extra greens. Because you know...I made these just for him. Hahaha.


Don't use a food processor when you want to mash the potatoes.  It will make it pasty.
Get your masher out and with lovingly thoughts mash that potato.  I never cook angry, the food always turns out awful and everyone is miserable after it too! It's all about "energy" when cooking.


What you need:

1 1/2 pds of yukon gold potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed(no cream, just add salt, pepper and mash)
Savory Cream Puff Pastry (pg 221, get the book, LOL!)
1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp pf pepper
2 quarts of vegetable or peanut oil for deep frying

This is really easy to make and takes no time. This would be a delicious as a h'or dourve as well. A little Aioli on top with fresh Lox? The Potato Puffs are best served warm.

So while my potatoes and spinach were cooking I made my savory cream puff pastry. Yes, you have to get the book for the recipe.

Savory Cream Puff Pastry consists of water, butter, salt, pepper, flour and eggs.


Mix all that in with the mashed potatoes.  Get your oil nice and hot to 375F and drop teaspoon 's of this heavenly mixture.

I made them into little pancake shapes because my tot will devour these and it's easier for him to hold, dip and enjoy.

Now I do apologize.  I have no idea how people take those fantastic food photo's.  I will research it so I can offer beautiful photo's that go with the recipes. 

These are crispy on the outside and inside they are soft and delicious. Easy to make and awesome.
Ideally these are best served with roasted meats like beef, lamb, chicken and turkey.

Find a local seller for this must have book, here
Buy it here

Next up, Chocolate Mousse....