My New Favorite Cookbook Full of Great Kitchen Tips

I don't buy a lot of cookbooks. I mostly enjoy cooking magazines and finding recipes on line. But when I discovered that my favorite Food Network cooking show host had a new cookbook, I couldn't resist. And I am here to tell you that it did not disappoint!

I am in love with this new cookbook! Melissa d'Arabian is a true home economist who understands the life of being a frugal mom. She grew up learning to be budget conscious from her mom which made it easy for her to set aside her career to stay home with her girls through the preschool years. She is a kindred spirit who desires to make delicious meals for her family on a budget. Reading her cookbook makes me feel like she is a friend sitting on my couch sharing amazing ideas. (We all need a friend like that, right?)

Ten Dollar Dinners means Ten dollars for the whole dinner for a family of four, not just the main course. Her cookbook is set up with a ranking system to make it easy for you to mix and match more costly dishes, medium priced dishes, and down right cheap dishes to make a complete meal for ten dollars or less.

Ten Dollar Dinners is way more than just a collection of recipes. Melissa shares her shopping and preparing strategies for making the meals inexpensive and convenient. Almost every page includes some sort of tip that will help you save time and money in the kitchen. She gives several ideas for how to substitute less expensive ingredients for costly ones and how to adjust a recipe to what you already have in your pantry. She even includes a list of staple items to help you slowly build a well stocked pantry as well as shopping tips so you don't break the bank doing it.

I love how Melissa desires to make special memories with her family on a budget. She shares a childhood memory of her mom inviting Melissa's friends and their moms over for a cocoa and cookie party at Christmas time. They had very little money, but her mom made this little party special and memorable for Melissa. In fact, it was such a fond memory that she has made it a tradition in her home to have a cocoa and cookie party with her girls' friends and their moms each Christmas.

If you are on a tight budget or just want to use your resources in the best way possible while still making delicious meals for your family, you will want to add this cookbook to your collection. To order Ten Dollar Dinners, you can click on the below link. If you order through my link I may get a small compensation from Amazon so thank you for supporting this blog. You will save money ordering it online with or without my link ($10!) as the cover price for book stores is $24.99. I just love Ten Dollar Dinners and know you will too!

Have any of you ordered and read this cookbook yet? Isn't it like the best cookbook you have ever owned?