Comment by Author Mary Deal

Mary Deal bought my Cookbook Stir, Laugh, Repeat and decided to make my Carrot Muffins.  When I saw and read her comment, I knew I had to share.





Carrot Muffins from Martha Cheves's cookbook, "Stir, Laugh, Repeat." These muffins are so moist and light I had to eat them with a fork.

Stir, Laugh, Repeat Review by Mary Deal

“Stir, Laugh, Repeat” by Martha A. Cheves is not only a great cookbook, it is a fun read. The first day I received the book, I perused it to find a recipe to sample. In reading, I found these recipes, some for all meals and snacks, easy and quick. A recipe that takes only one paragraph to tell how to throw all the ingredients together for a scrumptious dish is my kind of book. Then Martha gives a little history for each recipe about how that food was used in her own cooking at home. But that’s not all. Following every recipe is a Tip for the cook. One of my favorites was:

“When my three kids were young, we would have a Mystery TV Dinner Night. Each night when I cooked dinner, before it went on the table, I would take a plastic sectioned plate and put a full serving of everything on the plate, wrap it in plastic wrap and then tightly wrap it in foil and put it into the freezer. On Mystery Night, everyone would go to the freezer and take out a dish. You couldn’t peek. Each plate would be microwaved and that was your meal for the night. You may have country fried steak, spaghetti, fish, even chili. It was fun watching the kids open their meals. They were never disappointed because I would make sure it was filled with food they liked.”

Martha Cheves knows how to feed her family and have fun too, and now shares her recipes with us. Oh yes, the recipe I chose to make first was the Strawberry Nut Crunch. I made it with Macadamia nuts. It was so delightful, I will make it again, and enough of it for about 50 people at a big celebratory potluck. I’ll also be taking this delightful book to share with others.

Cheers!
Mary
--

Mary Deal

Author, Painter, Photographer

2009 Eric Hoffer Book Award Winner

2009 Pushcart Prize Nominee

Writing site: http://www.WriteAnyGenre.com

Art Gallery: http://www.MaryDealFineArt.com

A Review for Stir, Laugh, Repeat all the way from Las Vegas!

This is a review that was just posted to Amazon for my book Stir, Laugh, Repeat

Stir, Laugh, Repeat (Perfect Paperback)
I highly enjoyed this book. The stories accompanying the recipes add a special flavor, making them even more delicious. It's a non-conventional cooking book, a little gem to be read and treasured.

By Liliana Badd (Las Vegas)

Review by Joyce White

Review by Joyce White
Stir, Laugh & Repeat

Like many noncooks, I have a distinct yearning for the taste of yester-year. Martha has compiled a cookery book of recipes that appeal to our palette as well as our memories. I hate recipes where I have to know what is what and where to find it and which wine to serve with it. All of Martha’s recipes are simple and the ingredients easy to find. I wish I had read this book when I was young. I got married at 18 and didn’t know how to boil eggs. Now I’m 63, I don’t boil eggs because I go to McDonald’s just to get out of the house. I do love deviled eggs but hate peeling them. I wasted so many eggs trying to get a pretty little container for my fillings. Thanks to Martha’s tips after each recipe, I now know, “While the egg is still hot, place a paper towel on the counter and with the palm of your hand roll the egg around until most of the shell is cracked. It peels in a snap.” Another fact I learned was “When a recipe calls for a baking dish, it’s referring to glass not metal. When it calls for a baking pan, it’s referring to metal.

Some of my favorite recipes brought back memories of my mom’s cooking. My favorites were:

Breakfast bars
Potato soup
No bake cookies
Monkey bread
Cracker bars

One recipe I am going to try soon is her Meatloaf Muffins. Many of us have cut down a lot on meat products but still crave the taste and energy we get from meat. I think the following recipe is a great way to sneak a little meat into our diet.

Meatloaf Muffins
1 lb. extra lean ground beef (90-905% lean)
1 6-oz. pkg. stuffing mix
1 C. water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix meat, stuffing mix, and water blending well. Press into 12 muffin cups lined with cupcake liners. With a spoon make an indentation in the center of each. Spoon in flavors of your choice. Bake 30 minutes or until meatloaves are cooked thoroughly. Top with cheese and bake until cheese melts (optional).

Suggested flavors:
Garlic
BBQ
Onions
Peppers
Worcestershire
A-1
Salsa

I’m going to leave you with one last tip I really liked. “Bury avocados in flour to hasten their ripening.” What a great tip! This is a five star book worth keeping handy in the kitchen. My thanks to Martha A. Cheves for sharing her wit, her knowledge, and her expertise in concocting recipes we can all enjoy for years to come.

This review was written by Joyce White, author and artist, at http://www.sculptingtheheart.com, where you can find her poetry, articles and meditation videos. Check out her books and ebooks, Sculpting the Heart: Surviving Depression with Art Therapy and Sculpting the Heart's Poetry while Conversing with the Masters (Picasso, Chagall, Van Gogh)

Short Note about Stir, Laugh, Repeat

This message was sent to me by a lady who has and says she loves my cookbook Stir, Laugh, Repeat.

All of us have shelves of cookbooks we never open--one really practical (and delicious) cookbook with no-fail recipes is what we need (and what you offer In Laugh, Stir, Repeat).
Mary Kennedy

Review by Rona Shively

Rona_Shively
Read Stir, Laugh, Repeat and then...Repeat!


Posted February 10, 2010, 6:26 PM EST: I pride myself in being a non-domestic type. Far be it from me to attempt cooking anything that requires the use of an actual stove. I was surprised at how inspired I was by Martha Cheves's cookbook, Stir, Laugh, Repeat. As I read through the recipes, so many of them jumped out at me as things I might actually be able to cook. I especially liked the one for Hash Brown Potatoes Au Gratin. Cheves has put together a reader-friendly cooking guide that gives you not only the information you need to attempt something new, but the inspiration. A wonderful read and a necessary addition to your cookbook collection. Nice work!

Review by Mary Kennedy

This is the cookbook you've been waiting for,
March 18, 2010
By Mary Kennedy (east coast)
Like many cookbook collectors, I'm always on the lookout for a new cookbook and I've found it in Stir, Laugh, Repeat. The range of recipes is enormous, and all of the selections are fun, easy and a joy to prepare. I can see that the Coconut Loaf Cake is going to be a family favorite, with Pina Colada cake also at the top of the list. This is a fun book and the recipes are terrific, I also love the comments that Martha includes. She offers little stories about her experiences making the recipes, the reactions of the taste testers,etc. Whether you're looking for something fabulous to take to a party (Coconut Ice Box Sheet Cake)or a quick recipe for Sunday breakfast (Monkey Bread) you are bound to find something here to delight you! I had tried several of Martha's recipes on her website and just had to have this book.