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}