What a simple but genius idea! A cookbook containing recipes adjusted to the time you have available: 20-minute recipes when you’re extraordinarily pressed for time, 40-minute ones for a lazy evening, and 60-minute recipes for the weekends or days off. What could be better?

Alas, unless you are the most inexperienced of cooks, most of the recipes are ones you already have: pancakes, vegetables and dip, bagels with cream cheese and lox, club sandwiches. When pasta carbonara, a slow-cooker strata and Thai noodles are your most adventurous offerings, well….

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

This is a good book from someone who is new to the kitchen. Easy to follow recipes broken into the time to produce is great for a novice or in a hurry, but wants a delicious finished product. There are very simple quick recipes to more substantial meals. Some include not actual recipes, but more of a buy a few pre-made items from the store and serve as a meal, but for a beginner looking to create a menu these could be helpful. The recipes that require actual cooking are good, but again for more of a novice. If you’ve got any experience in or creativity in the kitchen this is probably not for you, but a good book for someone looking for ideas and help to become more comfortable creating delicious and healthy meals.

20-40-60 Minute Dinners by Kate Otterstrom is a cookbook organized by time constraints. The photos in the book are average, and in my opinion, could be improved on. Most of the recipes use process foods, but there are a few healthier choices like the Roasted Cauliflower with Thyme I made for this review. Over all, this cookbook was not for me. There were only a handful of recipes I’d even try. I do feel it would be a good cookbook for a young person whose just learning to cook or a college student.

Each recipe includes a blurb, prep time, cook time, servings, ingredients, and instructions. Recipes are divided into the following sections:

1. College Style Dinners
Example: Corn Chips and Chili with Vegetables and Dip.

2. Quick Prep Dinners
Example: Toothpick Dinner (This was one of my favorite recipes from the book).

3. Slow Cooker Dinners
Example: Seven Layer Dip and Tortilla Chips and Crudités.

4. Frozen Dinners
Example: Chicken and Corn Casserole with Sautéed Cabbage.

5. Time Consuming Dinners
Example: Focaccia Style Pizza with Greek Salad (Another favorite of mine).

6. Accompaniments
Example: Roasted Cauliflower with Thyme. (I made this dish for this review, and it was quick and easy and flavorful. One of the few healthier dishes.)

7. Breakfast
Example: Granola

8. Baking and Candy
1. Breads - Example: Flat Bread
2. Baked Treats - Example: Chocolate Angel Food Cake (I’m excited to try this one.)
3. Candy - Example: English Toffee

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions expressed are
my own.

20-40-60 Minute Dinners is a cookbook full of recipes made to fit the time you have available. Overall this seems to be a good cookbook with a variety of different recipes. I liked the variety of recipes available, but none struck me as ‘oh I have to try this!’ If you are looking for new unique and more advanced recipes, this isn’t the cookbook for you, but if you need something with simple recipes this might appeal to you. Not the cookbook for me, but it does have some good looking recipes for those wanting a quick easy meal.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this cookbook!

I received an ARC from Shadow Mountain Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you! All thoughts are my own.

This is a great cook book for those who are on a time crunch who also want tasty food. I thought there was a lot of attention to detail. The author has recipes for anything from main meals to appetizers to sides to even candy! There are certain parts that are designed for those who are not as familiar with cooking. It gives detailed information about the different equipment you will need to be able to make these meals. There is a wide variety of meals that you could make. Which I thought was important since the book is to help everyone to be able to make meals that fit everyone's schedule. The author also said that all the recipes can be modified to fit how many people you are feeding and if they have any food sensitivities, allergies, or intolerances. Each recipes has a little story or information about the recipe which is fun. My only dislikes was that the stories sometimes did not add a bunch to the recipe that it was supposed to be with. I also thought there was a little bit of a moment of stereotyping where she mentions that her "Japanese's friend" recommended a rice cooker for her husband to purchase for her. I thought that it was just kind of an unnecessary comment. Overall, I am still excited to try some of these recipes to help me fit meals into my busy schedule.

Purchase if you like these in a recipe book...
Personal stories
budget friendly meals
modifiable meals
variety of meals

I was hoping for some fresh new ideas for easy cooking with this book. Unfortunately, after scrolling through page after page of exposition, wishing there was a "Jump to recipe" button the whole way, I finally reached the first recipe only to find, not a recipe, but instructions for cooking canned chili and adding a few extras. The second "recipe" was for boxed mac and cheese, with a few extras thrown in.
Each recipe has even more exposition before it, and honestly, I couldn't bring myself to go past the first four recipes. Recipes 3 and 4 at least didn't have any canned or boxed items, unless you count the crackers and chips. But a picnic with crackers, cheese, and veggies, and a basic sandwich aren't things you'd generally need a recipe for.

I wanted to like this. I wanted to find useful recipes that would help with meal planning. But for me, this one is a hard pass.

I really liked how this cookbook was organized. What I liked was that it had the levels of difficulty easily seen and the table of contents was over a few pages so I could easily go to one page and find what I was looking for. I don't like when cookbooks don't have this, and you have to flip through it so often. The ingredients were easily laid out and had a entire list of what you should have on hand to create the recipes, including the basics.

This book was truly not what I thought it would be. I assumed that there would be different lengths of cooking times within each category. For example: "20-40-60 Minute sides". Then you could choose a side based on the time you have. This was not the case. Instead, it had generalized times for each category. For example: "30-60 Minutes Prep" for the "Frozen Dinner" category.

Most of the meals are not quick meals and some are really simple like a variation of nachos or salmon on a bagel. Most of these meals when you combine cook and prep time actually take a significant amount of time and effort. So if you're like me, and were looking forward to those quick 20 minute meals, this probably isn't the cookbook for you. Your section is small and pretty limited.

I also wasn't a fan of how the ingredients are listed side by side with the steps. I do see how this might be helpful for some, but I also see some issues. It makes checking to see if you have enough of everything for a recipe more difficult. You may find yourself reaching multiple times for the ingredient you just put back. It does also make it easier to miss something when creating a list for shopping since you have to look in multiple spots for ingredients.

I did try out the granola bar recipe and the ingredient ratios worked well and it turned out delicious.

I do genuinely like the granola recipe and some other recipes really do look good. I love the idea of me making a chocolate angel food cake. However, the title appealed to me more because I thought it would have a large selection of each 10-20-60 minute dinners. This was really just a mix of recipes.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

I have dietary restrictions, as well as strong likes and dislikes for food so I knew when I picked up this cookbook that it was more than likely not going to be a good fit for me personally. But I can often adapt recipes so I thought that might work for some things. I really picked up the book because of the gluten-free element. My daughter-in-law is GF and I'm always terrified that I'm going to poison her with thoughtlessness. I know how easy it is to overlook a basic principle when you aren't used to cooking a particular way. So I'm glad to have a cookbook to use when my dil comes to visit. There are some recipe ideas that can work for my low-fat, dairy-free diet as well so I can give them a try.

*I received a complimentary ARC through NetGalley and voluntarily chose to review it.

No - don't bother.

After FINALLY getting into the meat & potatoes section (so to speak) the 2nd recipe in is Mac N Cheese. Right honestly, if you need to purchase a cookbook to make Mac N Cheese that your family enjoys - you've got bigger problems then this cookbook can render assistance to your culinary repertoire.

Rather uninspired collection of recipes despite the authors writing quite a bit about some recipes. There was no recipe that made me go - "oh, I'll have try that one!"

I received an ARC from Netgalley to help me prepare my honest review.

Delicious! All of it. Every picture is mouthwatering. Every recipe is doable and convincing (anyone else need to be convinced of a recipe before trying it?) It was broken into helpful sections and had amazing tips and tricks! I will be going back to this cookbook for years to come!

This is a great little cookbook with recipes designed around the amount of time you have. I love how the author adds a personal story to each recipe. I can’t wait to try some.

Thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing and Netgalley for a ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A wonderful cookbook featuring so many recipes I want to try! A lovely addition to any cook's kitchen.

I found the format of this cookbook interesting and that is what made me pick it up! I think this would be a great book for beginners to learn basics of preparing a meal and time management. The photography is really great and makes you want to set a place at the table and dive into these dishes. Some of the flavors seems a little adventurous for my taste, but I’m going to try the crunchy granola bars this week because they sound delicious!

I was really hoping for a good amount of dinner ideas but unfortunately, most of these recipes I would consider an appetizer or a snack, which are quick and easy but not very filling. A little disappointed. I thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this cookbook.

I think this cookbook would have been a great addition to a collection of busy day cookbooks that are out there...if it was arranged differently and had a way to separate itself out of a very saturated market.

I felt that this cookbook is not arranged very well for rapid recipe location. Yes, the recipes are arranged by time in the beginning, but not types of food so you have dinner that is right next to a breakfast dish and then back to another dinner dish. Then it switches to arrangement by food type. It's hard to follow as written in this form.

In addition, I was shocked to learn that the author was gluten-free! Why wasn't this more of a focus in her meals? I would definitely buy a book about gluten-free recipes that had the same promises of 20-40-60 minute dinners because that would be something unique and marketable. As it stands, I worry this work will get lost on the shelf.

Another wonderful recipe book I will refer to over and over. Where I work full time and by the time dinner comes around, I am on the hunt for quick meals that are delicious. This book had those options and many more!

I LOVE THIS COOKBOOK.
This book is filled with various recipes for all situations and time constraints. I especially love that it includes ideas for whole dinners instead of just one main dish. One drawback I have about many recipes and cookbooks is that I have no clue what to pair that recipe with to create a balanced meal. This book also includes many gluten-free variations.
This book includes a helpful introduction section that lays out all the equipment to successfully make every recipe in the book.

If you are looking for a way to put together quick and yummy meals look no further! Hubby and I were in a hello fresh slump where none of the recipes were appealing and this cookbook has added some spice into our menu planning and has us excited to actually make dinner again!

Highly recommend!

It is a great cookbook, especially for people on a gluten-free diet, and the author advises how to make each recipe gluten-free. There are some yummy recipes shared in this book. I definitely have my eye on trying out a few of them. I am giving the book 3 stars, however, because there are several recipes that are just buy and heat according to store directions which I don't feel belong in a cookbook. Yes, they are good ideas for a quick snack or meal, but can it really be considered cooking, and does it belong in your cookbook. I would say this is best for recently graduated high school kids or college students who don't have much experience with cooking but want to learn some good tips.