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Book Review: Don't Panic--Dinner's in the Freezer
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Stressing out over what to make your family for dinner tonight? Tempted to stop at one of the hundreds of fast food joints in the Denver area? Don’t Panic—Dinner’s in the Freezer: Great-Tasting Meals You Can Make Ahead by Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia is your answer. Once a Month Cooking (OAMC) is an emerging trend in the United States, with cookbooks, home party businesses, and retail shops popping up in several cities. But doing it yourself is made easy and cost-effective with the help of a great cookbook like Don’t Panic. Written by three Colorado women, Don’t Panic—Dinner’s in the Freezer is full of fantastic tips and recipes designed to reduce the stress of making a delicious and nutritious meal for your family.
With comprehensive and utterly helpful introductory chapters, you will be well on your way to creating culinary masterpieces that will taste like they took hours in the kitchen to prepare. The Don’t Panic Method of Cooking chapter clearly details the steps of OAMC. Perhaps the most helpful part of this method is Step Three, which advises readers how to save the most money when shopping. Let’s Go Shopping! is a chapter that helps readers shop effectively, and has great time-saving tips. The chapters entitled Now We’re Cookin’ and Cooking Day Suggestions have tips that emphasize food safety, time savers, and organization for cooking day.
Because of these helpful introductory chapters, shopping and cooking days have been a snap. The first time out does have a learning curve, but it could have been much worse if I hadn’t been so well prepared. Preparing the menu for the month ahead was easy, too, and it was easy to prepare a shopping list spreadsheet for quantities of each food or ingredient needed.
The recipes chapters are divided by type of food:
- Appetizers and Beverages
- Breads and Muffins
- Soup’s On
- Poultry
- Beef and Pork
- Pasta and More
- Now for Dessert
- Brunch Items
- Add a Side Dish
Recipe conversions for 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 batches (each batch makes 4-6 servings) come with each recipe page, which simplifies OAMC even further. Also included are cooking day instructions and serving day instructions. Everything is written succinctly.
After using this book for three months, my family has yet to find a recipe they haven’t thoroughly enjoyed. Some favorites include Orange Beef Lettuce Wraps, Sirloin Strips in Wine Sauce, White River Sour Cream Cornbread, Breakfast Burritos, Italian Sausage and Green Pepper Cannoli, and Chicken in Raspberry Sauce. Adjusting the recipes to fit our tastes wasn’t difficult, and using whole grains, sugar substitutes, Egg Beaters, and other healthier options sweetened the deal; there is much flexibility in these recipes!
If you are looking for a way to avoid the fast food trap this summer, this is the way to go. You can prepare meals for dinners, eat the leftovers for lunch the next day, or even pre-package smaller portions to take to work with you. With savvy shopping, you can save money, too!
Don’t Panic—Dinner’s in the Freezer: Great-Tasting Meals You Can Make Ahead delivers simple, healthy meals to your table every night, giving you more time to relax, and that is a good thing.Related Articles:
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