Real Life Dinners by Rachel Hollis

Real Life Dinners was released on June 5, 2018. I received a copy through NetGalley.

Right off the bat, this cookbook gets deep. In the introduction, the author details her struggles with adoption as she awaits the birth of her soon-to-be adopted daughter. She goes on to detail how much dinner means to her, dinners consisting of real life meals and memories she has of eating them, not meals beautifully plated on china or produced by a perfectly-put-together mom.

Unlike most cookbooks I’ve reviewed lately, this one is purely dinners, including breakfast for dinner and ones that are kid-friendly. I really enjoy the concept as dinner is the most important meal in our house. My husband takes breakfast to go and I almost always have a bowl of oatmeal. Lunch is usually leftovers or whatever I can find in the fridge or cabinets. But I make dinner approximately 5 nights a week, so I really relate to this book. It’s a short simple little cookbook full of stuff real families would be happy to eat.

I’m always looking for side dish recipes to branch out of my mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, rice rut. These smashed potatoes really intrigued me and I have a feeling I’ll be making them again at some point.

Boil a few red potatoes, unpeeled. The most annoying part of mashed potatoes is the chopping (and peeling, if you do that) so this was nice.

Remove when tender and place on a baking sheet. I could have probably boiled them a bit longer.

Smash the potatoes carefully with a potato masher and season as well as add Parmesan cheese.

Bake until browned. A bit time consuming but mostly hands off, and so easy.

I served the smashed potatoes with Crock Pot Fried Chicken, a staple chicken recipe around here. Both my husband and I went back for a second potato, as they’re so small and delicious.

If you’re looking for a good source of easy dinner recipes, look no farther than this book. I’m also interested in trying her bacon-wrapped chicken tenders, yum!

The 5-Ingredient Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook

I was sent an advance copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are mine. This book was released today, June 5, 2018.

After gaining my confidence with pressure cookers during my last pressure cooker post, I was excited to try this book as well. I love recipes with a few simple ingredients. The author clarifies in the book that those 5 ingredients do not include things such as oil, butter, salt and pepper, vanilla, cooking stock, flour, garlic or onions.

Much like the last book, this one goes into the benefits of pressure cooking, how to choose a cooker, and information about cooking under pressure. The book is then divided into breakfasts, sides, soups, main meals, desserts and staples. It is almost identical to the last one in terms of layout, but the recipes are completely different.

I found quite a few recipes I would like to try like Macaroni and Cheese or Chicken Tikka Masala, but I decided on Edamame Fried Rice.

Apologies for the lack of pictures, I had a big prep cooking day and had many things going on at once while also trying to follow the steps.

The recipe called for jasmine rice, but as I had basmati from the last post, I just used that instead. Otherwise I followed the recipe.

I started off by sauteing some onion before adding stock and rice. I then pressure cooked it for approximately eight minutes and let the pressure release. (Partway through the eight minutes I realized that I had not sealed the pot. Oops. I also tilted the lid and burned myself again.) I added thawed frozen edamame and then made a well in the center to scramble eggs. I finished it off with a few tablespoons of soy sauce, and voila, edamame fried rice.

I was so happy with how easy this recipe was and will definitely repeat it in the future. It tasted very close to restaurant fried rice though a bit less greasy, and should be very simple to customize with ingredients you like.

I served the edamame fried rice with An’s Pork Chops from my Fix, Freeze, Feast review. What a great and easy dinner! I highly recommend this book along with the other one if you’re interested in learning to use a pressure cooker.

Thank you to Callisto Publishing Club for the review copy. If you’d like to purchase this book for yourself, click here (not an affiliate link).

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sold on using pressure cookers now. I can’t wait to keep trying new things.

 

A Literary Tea Party by Alison Walsh

This book was released on June 5, 2018. I received a copy through NetGalley.

Are you a fan of tea? Dessert? Books? All of the above? Then this book is for you. It takes classic literature and features foods either from the pages or inspired by the stories. As a fan of books and food, I couldn’t pass it up.

The recipes aren’t entirely desserts, there is a section for savory treats such as Poetical Egg Salad Sandwiches (from my favorite Anne of Green Gables), Haycorns for Piglet, or Sherlock’s Steak Sandwiches. Then there is a section for bread and muffins, sweets, and of course tea, with special tea blends that go with each recipe. Whether you like Shakespeare, classic children’s literature like Winnie the Pooh or Alice in Wonderland, or Lord of the Rings, there is a recipe for every kind of reader.

They all looked delicious but the recipe that stood out most was Beorn’s Honey Nut Banana Bread from The Hobbit. I’ve never read (or seen) The Hobbit personally, but we love banana bread around here. I have my go-to recipe but it was nice to try something different for a change.

The honey part of the banana bread was very prominent, and really added something special. I omitted the nuts as we’re not big fans, but I think they would have made a great addition. This banana bread is a little less dense than my usual recipe and would be delicious with a cup of tea, especially ‘Bilbo’s Breakfast Brew’ included in the book.

If you have a friend or family member who loves tea and books, this would make a very thoughtful gift if only for the tea recipes, which make this book unique.

The Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook for Two

I was sent an advance copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are mine. This book was released today, May 29, 2018.

I have never been a fan of pressure cookers. They just seemed overly complicated and possibly dangerous. However, I received one for Christmas from my well-meaning mother-in-law so I have been determined to make it work. So far I have only used it once, to make a whole chicken from a recipe in the included cookbook. I was not honestly very impressed but I’ll give it another shot. I requested this book so I could maybe find an easy recipe or two to get me started.

The book has a very simple layout, with an introduction section including terminology, how to buy a pressure cooker, and tips on cooking for two as well as shopping and what foods cook best in a cooker. After that, the recipes are divided into sections like the one you see above.

These are the only pictures in the book, before each chapter. You’re covered with every kind of meal you could want, from breakfasts, side dishes and desserts to different kinds of entrees. There’s even a section on making kitchen staples like chicken stock, applesauce and other things.

I chose a recipe that sounded like a good start, Easy Chicken and Rice. It doesn’t require a lot of steps but still seemed to use all of the functions of a pressure cooker, such as sauteing beforehand and cooking with pressure.

I put the book in my cookbook holder and got to work. I hardly ever cook from a book anymore, this usually holds my iPad. But I love the weights to hold it open and the picture got cut off but there’s a little bird on top.

Mise en place: I put together my own adobo seasoning (from this recipe) and seasoned two chicken leg quarters. I then measured out basmati rice and chicken stock and got my frozen onions ready. My husband hates onions so to keep my recipes light on the onions, I love pre-chopped frozen onions. They’re cheap and I don’t have to cut up an onion!

This is my pressure cooker, the Pressure Pro. No fancy Instant Pot here. To cook this dish, I put it on the meat/chicken setting and sautéed the onions without putting the lid on. Then I added the rice, chicken stock and chicken and set it for twenty minutes. After twenty minutes of cooking, it took about ten minutes to release pressure.

Voila, chicken and rice. If I make it in the future I’ll just leave it at this step and serve two chicken leg quarters or make it with breasts. The next step is to shred the chicken and mix it in with the rice, and shredding was the hardest part for me. Also pro tip, don’t tilt the lid of the pressure cooker when you open it or you’ll burn your hand. Ouch.

The finished dish. It was very good, though a bit greasy from the chicken skin possibly? The taste was delicious and husband approved. While the book specifies these recipes are for two people because sometimes you never get to the leftovers, it made enough for the both of us and a large serving for my husband to take to work.

I was really pleased with just how easy this recipe was, and I’m not scared of my pressure cooker anymore. I think I finally figured it out. I can’t wait to try more recipes from this book!

Thank you to Callisto Publishing Club for the review copy. If you’d like to purchase this book for yourself, click here (not an affiliate link).

Do you own a pressure cooker? What’s your favorite thing to make in it?

Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Ahrens

The new second edition of this book will be released on May 29, 2018. I received a copy through NetGalley.

Freezer meals are your friend. Everyone has been in the situation where you haven’t been to the store, or nothing in your kitchen appeals to you, or it’s been a long day and you just don’t feel like cooking. Instead of reaching for a premade frozen dinner or ordering takeout, simply grab a bag from your freezer that you prepared ahead of time, and your dinner is done with minimal effort. I wanted to make more freezer meals this year, and this book is a great resource for that.

One awesome thing about this book is that you don’t just have recipes for one freezer meal; they are specially designed to be made in bulk, so one recipe yields at least 3 future dinners.

The book begins with many pages of tips on cooking freezer meals, what foods freeze best, and a Q&A about many issues that can come up, such as small freezer space or how to ensure the sustained quality of the meals.

The recipes are divided by protein primarily, with sections for chicken, beef, pork, seafood and veggie dishes. There are also sections for sauces, marinades, easy breakfasts and desserts. I earmarked several delicious sounding recipes to try later, such as Berry-Roasted Chicken, Feta and Spinach Lasagna Rolls and Five Spice Cookies. There are a lot of familiar dishes, but many have a new twist that sounds amazing. I like that a lot of them have minimal steps for cooking ahead, simply combining and freezing.

An’s Pork Chops

I made An’s Pork Chops from the book. While I didn’t freeze them first, I followed all of the steps up until that point then cooked them.

First I whisked the marinade together then put pork chops in a freezer bag, pouring the marinade on top. I then added garlic, ginger and some cayenne pepper. While I didn’t freeze them, I did let them marinate in the fridge for about three hours.

The recipe calls for cooking on a grill, which sounds like it would be fantastic. I did not have access to a grill at the time, so I just cooked them on the stove in some sesame oil.

I served the pork chops with a side of White Wine and Cheese Risotto (box mix I found at Aldi, so good) and our typical salad.

The pork chops were absolutely delicious and I plan on making it again to freeze in the future. You can’t get much simpler than this recipe, and the pork chops were tender and so flavorful.

Everyone can benefit from this book, and as you can see, the recipes are approachable and good. It’s a great way to save time in the kitchen while also eating well.

The Dinner Salad Cookbook by Nicole Pavlovsky

This is a sponsored post, I received a copy of this book for my honest review.

Full disclaimer, I am not a salad person. Since meeting my husband, he got me eating salads more with the way he makes them: iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots, croutons, cheese, bacon/veggie bits and his favorite Light Italian dressing. Pretty typical salad for most people. We eat it maybe once a week, always the same one. And always only on the side of some meat and rice or meat and potatoes dish.

When I saw the opportunity to review this book, I was intrigued by the challenge. Could I make a salad that we would both like that would be filling enough to eat as a main course? I was skeptical.

What I like about this book is that ‘salad’ is a very broad term. While there are a lot of dishes sitting on a bed of greens, the author defines a salad base as greens or grains or even legumes. As I read through the recipes, I surprised myself by finding many I wanted to try to make.

The book is divided into different cuisines: Asian, European, Middle Eastern/Mediterranean, Latin American and American, with an entire section dedicated to different salad dressings. You won’t find your typical assortment of Ranch, Italian and Thousand Island here, as this section is filled with delectable-sounding homemade dressings such as Ginger-Miso Vinaigrette, Pesto Dressing, and Avocado-Yogurt Dressing.

The book begins by giving you your options in the different spheres of a salad such as bases, veggies and protein as well as numerous ways to customize each salad to your taste. It goes on to explain how to cook all of the various components and how to make a delicious balanced dressing. And this is all before we even touch the recipes themselves!

Each recipe, even if it’s not to my taste, presents an interesting blend of different flavors. I’ve always found the idea of fruit on salad repulsive, but many of the Asian salad recipes pair oranges with things like seafood and chicken in an intriguing way. Before I’d even finished reading the Asian salad section, I wrote down eight possibilities to try, and once I finished the book I had almost twenty to choose from. Some of them included:

• Curried Egg Salad Boats
• Blood Orange, Mango, Edamame and Chicken
• Deconstructed Avocado Toast
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts and Shrimp
• Strawberry Fields Chicken
• and many more

I finally decided on Jerk Chicken Salad. It seemed easy enough but was slightly out of my comfort zone at the same time. I assembled my mise en place while the wild rice base cooked:

I put together the dressing, Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette, as well as the spices. Instead of buying jerk seasoning, I put together my own blend based on this recipe as we don’t like very spicy food. I halved the cayenne pepper and added less red pepper flakes as well. I also cut up a red pepper, a mango, and opened a can of pineapple chunks before rubbing two chicken thighs with the spice blend and cutting them into bite size pieces.

I cooked the chicken until almost done then added the red pepper, mango and pineapple. The book recipe called for them to be raw, but I thought cooking them briefly would blend the flavors better. Instead of serving the mixture on top of the rice, I mixed it in at the end. Otherwise I followed the recipe as written.

Overall I really liked this recipe. I thought it tasted great without the vinaigrette but I also drizzled some on to try it, and it did add some extra flavor. I would make this again with a few small improvements. Not to the recipe, I followed it pretty closely, but I undercooked the rice and my mango was not quite ripe yet. I’m sure this would have been even better.

I think this book would be a great addition to anyone’s cookbook collection. I’m looking forward to trying more recipes from it, especially the more unique green salads. If you’re interested, you can buy the book here (not a referral link).

Throwback Book Review: Project Princess by Meg Cabot

Welcome to my throwback book review! I’ll be rereading and reviewing books from my childhood. I was a huge reader as a child and these books shaped my life. I couldn’t possibly get rid of them, so I still have a large collection that I am sharing with all of you in the form of reviews.

There were a couple of books like this in the Princess Diaries series, just little tiny books between the major ones. This one is 4 1/2, and takes place between Princess in Waiting and Princess in Pink. It’s only 50 pages and a quick read.

Mia is spending her spring break building houses in West Virginia for a Habitat for Humanity-type organization. Her Gifted and Talented class is going plus a couple of other kids, so Mia’s on the trip with her best friends Lilly and Tina, Lilly’s boyfriend Boris, oh and Michael, Mia’s boyfriend, who she is very excited to hopefully make out with. This is her main objective on the trip and in this book, and of course things have to get in her way. Mostly just the fact that they’re sleeping in tents without proper showers, oh and there are tons of people around all the time.

Not much happens in this book, mainly just Mia whining about not being in civilization and trying to be alone with Michael. Near the end of their trip, Grandmere shows up and offers the kids her suite of rooms at the local hotel to get showers.

The family they are building the house for has two kids with one on the way, and Mia notices that the woman might be in labor after complaining about persistent heartburn, based on her observation of what the woman ate, and her copious amounts of watching TV like A Baby Story. They named the baby after her: Princess.

Michael and Mia also eventually make out.

As a between-books story, it’s cute and all, but pretty forgettable.

Throwback Book Review: Princess in Waiting by Meg Cabot

Welcome to my throwback book review! I’ll be rereading and reviewing books from my childhood. I was a huge reader as a child and these books shaped my life. I couldn’t possibly get rid of them, so I still have a large collection that I am sharing with all of you in the form of reviews.

Book 4 of the Princess Diaries series.

Mia finally made it to Genovia as its princess. She’s spending winter break there, so far away from Michael, her new boyfriend, in Florida. They started dating the day before she left, so they haven’t been on a real date yet. She barely gets a chance to talk to him while she’s gone, and even forgot his birthday! Needless to say, she’s anxious to get back to New York to see him.

In her typical fashion, she obsesses over something for the entire book. She just knows Michael is going to change his mind and break up with her for being a terrible girlfriend, and having to cancel their first date to go to this ball she’s being forced to by her grandmother.

Things work out in the end of course. Mia manages to escape the ball, helped by her cousin Prince Rene (who her grandmother was totally not trying to fix her up with). She goes to Michael’s apartment, sure he’s upset that she missed their date, only to find out that he’s recreated their planned date there, eating dinner while watching Star Wars.

She gives him his belated birthday gift, a moon rock she stole from the Genovian museum, and he reassures her that he’s not breaking up with her and he’s really in love with her.

I always felt that this was one of the weaker books in the series. Nothing much happens. Her friend Lilly is on a crusade as usual, this time against the producers of the movie of Mia’s life. She doesn’t like how she is portrayed. I thought that was a nice touch to mention the movie. The Michael and Mia scenes in this book are very sweet as well.

This is also about the time that I started reading the series as it came out, as this one and the ones following I purchased in hardback as soon as they were released.

Throwback Book Review: Princess in Love by Meg Cabot

Welcome to my throwback book review! I’ll be rereading and reviewing books from my childhood. I was a huge reader as a child and these books shaped my life. I couldn’t possibly get rid of them, so I still have a large collection that I am sharing with all of you in the form of reviews.

Book 3 of the Princess Diaries series.

We last left off with Mia finally getting a boyfriend: her Biology partner Kenny. She said yes to him even though she has feelings for someone else, her best friend’s brother Michael. Meanwhile she’s still dealing with her crazy grandmother, princess lessons and trying not to fail Algebra.

Mia spends most of this book avoiding kissing Kenny, avoiding telling him she loves him back, and avoiding breaking up with him, even though she knows she needs to. She also gets the idea to send Michael anonymous love notes, just like how Kenny got her attention.

She’s under so much stress due to the boyfriend situation, finals, and meeting her country’s citizens that she smashes a cheerleader’s cell phone and pulls the fire alarm at school rather than participate in her best friend’s walkout. Luckily she doesn’t get more than a short suspension for the cell phone thing, and no one knows she pulled the fire alarm.

All of a sudden she’s getting yellow roses in her locker. Could they be from Michael? Or Kenny? Or her Secret Snowflake, possibly the cutest guy in school?

Mia passes all of her finals and finds out her Secret Snowflake is her best friend Lilly’s boyfriend Boris. She attends the Winter Carnival where Michael shows her the Computer Club’s booth and the program he made. She’s expecting the dumb computer game everyone else is playing but instead she sees a castle and a banner that declares that he loves her too.

She freaks out and runs into Kenny on the way out, who dumps her because he thinks she’s cheating with Boris. Mia doesn’t want to show her face ever again at school because of the breakup and she thinks Michael was making fun of her love notes. Luckily, Grandmere of all people convinces her to go to the dance that night, where Michael declares his feelings for real.

Princess Diaries was one of my early ‘ships’, I was a hardcore Michael and Mia fan and rooted for them forever. This was probably my favorite book of the series for that reason. Reading it now, I’m a bit appalled at how these people who are basically kids are throwing around ‘love’. But I guess things are always more passionate and important when you’re 14.

Throwback Book Review: Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot

Welcome to my throwback book review! I’ll be rereading and reviewing books from my childhood. I was a huge reader as a child and these books shaped my life. I couldn’t possibly get rid of them, so I still have a large collection that I am sharing with all of you in the form of reviews.

Book 2 of the Princess Diaries series! Not to be confused with the sequel to the movie, which we’re not even going to go there.

Mia has come to terms with the news that she’s a princess (though she still doesn’t like it). However, she’s moved on to obsessing over the fact that her mom is pregnant with her Algebra teacher’s baby, she has to do an interview on national TV, she has a secret admirer, she’s in love with her best friend’s brother (and hoping that he’s her admirer), and her crazy Grandmere is now planning a wedding for her mother and Algebra teacher.

Her interview doesn’t go very well. Not only does she spill the news about the baby but she inadvertently badmouths her school and makes everyone mad at her.

Grandmere invites Mia’s maternal grandparents all the way from Indiana to attend the wedding that Mia’s mother does not want to happen. They bring along Mia’s hunky but country boy cousin, who has to follow her around school. It turns out he doesn’t want to return to Indiana; he secretly wants to be a male model, and Mia’s best friend Lilly helps him out (while making everyone think they’re hooking up).

The wedding day arrives, but the bride and groom do not. Mia’s mother elopes to Mexico without telling her so they can avoid the high society royal wedding.

Mia then gets to go to a showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show with her friends, including her secret admirer. After the movie is over, he reveals himself: it’s not Michael but instead it’s Kenny, Mia’s biology partner. Despite the fact that she doesn’t like him like that (and in fact likes someone else), she agrees to go out with him.

Sometimes sequels just can’t measure up to a successful first book, but this one wasn’t too bad. It stayed true to the first and gave us more from the colorful characters. It also gives us a reason to read on in the series without a really unnecessary cliffhanger.

Maybe that’s what makes this series so good, each book continues the story without just inventing new problems for the same old characters. In the first book it mentions that Mia has to be introduced to the Genovian public around Christmas, but we don’t reach Christmas until after book 3. At the same time, it doesn’t feel like we’re intentionally stalling with extra books before getting to a ‘finale’.

Can you think of any other series that go this way? This is something I’ve never noticed before.