Not Your Mother’s Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook Book Review by ChristineMM

My Star Rating: 5 stars out of 5 = I Love It

My Summary Statement: Finally a Decent Make Ahead Cookbook – Tons of Freezing Tips

I ordered this with high hopes and was not disappointed. I had read two cookbooks of this type in the past which were filled with disgusting (mostly casserole) dishes that our family never ate. Fisher's cookbook is more in line with the way my family eats.

There are two main reasons you would want to cook in this manner. The first is to be frugal, by purchasing meats or main ingredients in bulk when they are on sale, or to purchase in large quantities from a warehouse club store. The second reason is to just have fast meals ready to go at dinner time.

For the buy in bulk shopper, Fisher has provided useful lists of multiple recipes to make with just beef, for example. The list includes the entire shopping list! Then she tells you what to do to prep all the dishes. This is brilliant and worth the price of the book.

As I alluded to, this is not a book of just casseroles. I love the chicken dishes that you make a marinade and add it to a zip top freezer bag and freeze it that way. Then you defrost 1-2 days in the fridge where it marinates, and then you grill it. This sounds simple but believe me it is easier to make up a bunch of these marinades on one day with chicken bought at sale prices then just take it out of the freezer a day ahead to have tomorrow's dinner ready to grill. Add a salad and a vegetable and starch and you are done. That is the way my family eats and I appreciate these recipes.

There are recipes for pasta sauces and soups. There are mix recipes such as to make mixes yourself from scratch. Other baked goods are baked then frozen. There is a chapter on desserts. There is a chapter on meatless dishes.

The book is filled with tips about proper wrapping so the foods are preserved well in the freezer and many cooking, grilling, and baking tips that apply to these recipes and in general.

I am so grateful for a book of make ahead and freeze recipes that our family will actually eat.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book for the purpose of reviewing it on the Amazon.com website. I was not paid to review or to blog this. For my blog's full disclosure statement see the link near the top of my blog's sidebar.