Quick Recipes - Review by Hank Quense

5.0 out of 5 stars quick recipes, April 17, 2011

By 

Hank Quense (Bergenfield, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Stir, Laugh, Repeat (Kindle Edition)

Cheves cookbook

I do a lot of cooking and consequently, I read a lot of cookbooks. All of them have many complicated recipes calling for a lot for ingredients. I always assumed that was the way of the cook. Until I got a copy of Martha Cheves' cook book Stir, Laugh, Repeat.

This cookbook specializes in simple recipes that should find favor with working couples who haven't the time or energy to cook complicated recipes. Martha's recipes call for pre-packaged ingredients that could be stocked in advance and used as the need arises.

As an example, Martha has a chicken and rice recipe that has similarities to the Spanish classic Arroz con Pollo, one that I make a lot. I use chicken, rice, onions, peppers, tomatoes, broth, saffron and other spices. It takes twenty minutes of prep work and an hour of stovetop cooking; adding ingredients, stirring etc. Martha's recipes calls for chicken and a prepackaged box of saffron rice and a few other ingredients with almost no preparation time and less than a half-hour in the oven.

All in all, this cookbook should find favor with many busy families and others who aren't thrilled by cooking but like to eat.

Review for Stir, Laugh, Repeat

Review for Martha Cheves book, Stir, laugh, repeat.

Martha A. Cheves has a wonderful sense of family, and it shows through this compilation of her tasty selection of recipes and quotes. As you read and study the delicious recipes, you’ll love the way she adds a personal touch of family and friends to make it more inviting and fun.

I have not seen a recipe quite the likes of this. My mouth waters and I chuckle as I read through the quips and quotes of her fun and catchy stories. Indeed a collection of recipes worth tasting and sharing! I have already tasted two of her recipes and you must own this book. Its worth every chuckle and morsel it contains!! She has many great tips as well, which we cooks always love to know, so if you like to eat as well as cook, this lovely cook-book is a must have!

   Reviewed by author, writer, poet and cook! Sharon Hays   www.SharonHays.com  

Books: Mysteerie Manor, Mysteerie Manor II, The Tumbleweed Family, (children’s book) and soon a compilation of Poetry and Art Coffee Table book that any art and poet will enjoy!  www.MysteerieManor.com, and www.TumbleweedFamilyStories.com

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