A Note: Our family needs to eat a certain way to be healthy. We have to avoid gluten, most dairy, and limit carbs and sugars. We usually have something less healthy on Saturdays, but mostly, we have to watch what we eat. Many recipes can’t be used by our family. In that respect, I’ll be writing this review based on what I observe as opposed to what I’m able to use.
The Gabby Moms were asked to review the Cooking Extravaganza package from Eternal Encouragement Magazine. I have to be honest with you, I’m not a huge fan of cook books. First of all, I’d rather be cooking up crafty ideas instead of meals. Secondly, we all have food allergies, so recipes have to be made over. However, I am still able to use quite a bit from Lorrie’s collection.
The first book up is Bulk Cooking Tips & Tricks E-Book. Lorrie gives some simple tips on bulk cooking plus shares some ideas from other people. Bulk cooking, even in part, can save time and money. I think one benefit of having the main dish all ready to pop in the oven is more time to get creative with side dishes. I even found one of my questions about bulk cooking answered in this book.
At the moment, our freezer has gone kaput, and the little one over the fridge is not able to accommodate much food let alone bulk cooking. Once we get our freezer issue sorted out, I think I’ll teach my children the benefits of cooking ahead. We’ll start small, and then build our freezer meal supply.
Lorrie’s Favorite Recipes E-Book includes ten yummy looking recipes. One thing Lorrie mentioned in her book is finding new recipes to try. This is something we’ve been doing, and it’s a great way to build up your meal idea bank.
The Secrets of The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies Made Simple E-Book has some wonderful tips. Lorrie uses the recipe from the back of the Nestle Toll House Morsel bag which is the recipe we use modified with gluten free flour. However, our cookies always came out flat. Two of her tips worked to get fluffier cookies. I plan on trying some of her other tips in future batches of cookies.
Brianna’s Pizza Primer E-Book has some wonderful tips. Thanks to gluten and dairy issues, pizza is something we’ve had to give up. However, this book makes me want to try a gluten free version. I’m sure I can leave a slice free from cheese for me. This book delves into over temperatures, cooking tips, and offers recipes for the crusts and sauces. It also offers a couple of cheese blends, spices to add, and topping suggestions. You’ll even find recipes for Cheesy Garlic Bread and specific pizzas. I may have to surprise the kids with a pizza night. This ebook is packed full of wonderful information on pizza making.
Fill ‘Er Up – Ideas to Fill a Bottomless Pit E-Book has a couple of recipes, and several ideas for snacking. This book reminded me of some snack ideas, but again, our diet issues prohibit using a lot of these tips. If you don’t have to worry about that, you’ll probably glean some snack and meal ideas to add to your collection.
Sensational Salads E-Book reminded me to play with salads more. I don’t need to stick with just lettuce, carrots, and cucumber. I think I’ll take some of the ideas in Lorrie’s books, and brainstorm other ideas with the kids, and come up with some salad bar ideas. Salad is so good for you, helps fill you, and is just plain delicious.
Healthy Sanity Savings Breakfast E-Book has a recipe I need to try! The No Roll Pie Shell just might be the answer to some of our recipe woes. It looks simple to convert, and has only five ingredients. There are some other recipes I should be able to easily convert, too. It might be nice to add some of these to our Saturday breakfasts. Lorrie writes: “When it comes to breakfast planning it might be faster to first start with what you won’t want to include…” – I think this is great advice, and one I need to remember when I plan our breakfasts which, I have to admit, need some revisions.
The last book in the Cooking Extravaganza package is the printed book, What’s for Dinner Mom? which I reviewed earlier this year.
The ebooks and printed book all add up to lots of wonderful recipes and cooking tips and tricks to try. Even though my family has stricter dietary allowances, I was still able to find new ideas and recipes to try. I’m looking forward to sharing some of this information with my two teens – both of who like to cook. Where do they get that from?
Anyway, this bundle is currently on sale for $19.97 – which is a terrific deal! The normal price runs at $52.97 – so you are saving quite a bit. Once you order, the ebooks will be available as an instant download, and the print book will be mailed to you.
If this is something you want to give as a Christmas gift, you need to order it by December 12th to get the shipped book on time.
Enter to win a copy on Lorrie’s blog, Randy’s Rib.
I received this ebook bundle from Eternal Encouragement for the purpose of reviewing it here on my blog. The opinions I expressed are mine, and based on my personal experience. The apple corer/slicer/peeler image contains an affiliate link for Amazon. You can read my full disclosure policy here.