Everyday Homemaking - Everyday Cooking {TOS Review & Coupon Code!}

Goodness knows I have upwards of 20 cookbooks clogging my shelves at home, gathering dust, and otherwise just making me look more like a "cookbook collector" and less of an actual cook.  Thankfully I have found a cookbook that is working well for our busy family!  We are enjoying the newly revised, digital edition of Everyday Cooking by Vicki Bentley from Everyday Homemaking because she makes getting a delicious dinner on the table simple and fast!

Growing up, my mother was alway good about having dinner on the table every night.  When my Dad walked in from work it was common place to sit down at the dinner table and enjoy food, conversation and fun.  Sadly, in many homes family dinner seems to be a thing of the past...  Our busy schedules often keep us from meal planning and meal preparation.  But, what if you could have yummy home cooked meals on the table in no time flat?  Well you can with Everyday Cooking!
What is Everyday Cooking all about? Everyday Cooking began as a small chapter in Vicki Bentley's book Homeschooling 101.  The book Everyday Cooking was born as a result of readers asking for more tips, ideas, and recipes for budget-friendly family meals.  Everyday Cooking is more than a cookbook.  It offers everything from how-to's, time saving tips, kitchen equipment (including pressure cooker use), measurements, recipes and even a section that helps the homeschooling Mama build a curriculum around cooking!  I think this cookbook would be a great gift for newlyweds because it is user friendly to the novice cook.  For me, it answered several questions that I have always been too embarrassed to ask!  

What did we think of Everyday Cooking?

We had a great time experimenting with this cookbook!  First of all, it is just a really good read.  It has several different sections that shows you how you can cook large quantities once and then package them for freezing or refrigerating to make meal prep later in the week a snap.  Things like cooking a big pot of rice and dividing it into bags for freezing, pre-cubing your chicken into bags, salad toppings, and other chopped veggies.  I tried this with ground beef (I hate cooking ground beef from frozen).  I cooked up several pounds at once and then divided the cooked meat into several bags for freezing.  Worked like a charm!

We also tried several different recipes.  Sections divide the recipes into Appetizers & Dressings, Bread & Grains, Main Dishes, Soups & Sides, and Desserts & Snacks.  We were so pleased with the Zucchini Muffins (pictured above).  They were perfectly moist and even my kids insisted they could NOT taste the zucchini at all.  A win-win!  Sneaky veggies!  Happy kids!

We also gave the kabob marinade a try.  They turned out amazing.  The chicken had such a great flavor that we would definitely do this one again.  It was so easy to make that my girls, age 7 and 11, put it together with very little help...

Did I mention that our Kabobs turned out Ah-Mazing??  Yum!

Here is the part of this cookbook that I am most excited about...  My mother has a food allergy to capsaicin.  This is found in pretty much everything spicy.  Jalepenos, Cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, etc.  This means that there are many canned foods that she cannot eat.  And it's always risky when foods are listed as seasoned with "spices" because you just don't know which spices.  With her allergy there are several things that she just couldn't have...but this cookbook was an answer to that!  I have never been one to cook from "scratch."  The very idea just seems overwhelming, but I was so pleased to find very simple recipes for a couple of things that my Mom has been unable to eat all this time.  With each recipe broken down, I was completely aware of each ingredient...  I've never tried to make my own sauces before, but,  I thought "why not?"  

So, we tried the Sloppy Joe.  Yes, it was very different than what you get from your canned sloppy joe sauce in ground beef...and we ALL thought it was SO much better!  We made it with turkey and nobody could tell a difference...  I admit that the addition of corn threw me, but we all enjoyed it and even my kids liked it!  Do you hear another win-win?  Hidden veggies!  Happy kids!  

We also gave a go at the Barbecue Sauce.  It's simple ingredients made throwing this together quick and easy.  We served this homemade barbecue sauce over pulled pork and were delighted that it tasted great!  It had been years since my Mom enjoyed barbecue and my kids liked it because it was not spicy!  We can't wait to try this one again over chicken on the grill.

There is a great section in the back of the cookbook that walks you through basic menu planning including sample menus and charts!  Another really great addition that I am looking forward to working through is the list of basic cooking skills for youth.  You can build an entire home economics course around this book!  

Oh, and earlier I mentioned that it answered some questions that I would be too embarrassed to ask.   Vicki teaches you through this book how best use a grain mill, a Bosch mixer, non-stick pans, slow cookers, a pressure cooker and more!  She also includes sections on how to cook healthy with low-carb and gluten-free sugar substitutes...

There are so many more recipes that I am looking forward to adding into our menu plan and sitting back down and learning more about cooking with a pressure cooker (not something I've ever been brave enough to try!)  

I highly recommend taking a look at Everyday Cooking!  As a special Thank You to TOS Crew reviewers and our blog readers, Vicki Bentley is offering a special coupon code!   

Hurry!  It expires soon!

Enjoy 10% off The Everyday Family Chore System and/or Everyday Cooking (print or e-book) through Labor Day (9/4/17)! 

Use Coupon Code:  TOS10books 

You can keep up-to-date with the happenings at Everyday Homemaking on Facebook!

Many of my fellow crew mates enjoyed reviewing Everyday Cooking, but many also enjoyed reviewing the Everyday Family Chore System!  Check out their reviews by clicking the linky below!   Thank you so much for Swinging By!