There is something in here to please every appetite. It really does what it says on the tin - the book is split into time categories, depending on how long want to spend preparing / cooking. There’s a photograph of every single dish mentioned in the book - I think that is SO important in a recipe book. It really helps you know what you’re aiming for! Each recipe has clear step by step instructions, with the accompanying photograph, and has a broad range of easy to replicate recipes. Would definitely recommend.


Thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing and Netgalley for an eARC of this book to read and review.

Thank you NetGalley, Kate Otterstrom and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the ARC 20-40-60-Minute Dinners. This is my personal review.
I am a huge cookbook fan but for me this one is not one I would use in my kitchen.
The recipes were described as dinners but so many of them would not work for a dinner but more for appetizers.
I am sure there are some cooks who will love this one but for me it is not a keeper.

This book was a miss for me. The idea is that there are dishes you can make in any amount of time but I didn’t like the quick dinners and thought the longer ones were a miss too. These use a lot of processed foods and they’re very uninspired recipes. One “recipe” involves buying fried chicken and sides. Another uses boxed macaroni and cheese with frozen peas on the side and goldfish crackers sprinkled on top. The more elaborate dishes lacked spice and seasoning.

On the plus side, there are photos of every recipe. On the negative, there is no nutritional information. Most of the recipes are high in sugar and starch. Gluten free directions are often given, but they involve just substituting a GF flour. There were often strange pairings like pancakes with smoky carrots. Nutritionally, they’re pretty sad too.

I can’t think of anyone in my life that I’d recommend this to but I suspect it will be a hit with people who are very new to cooking and think that means they need to buy precooked and processed foods to make quick and easy dishes.

I read a temporary digital arc of this book for review.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The 20-40-60 Minute Dinners Cookbook is not a bad book for those who are new to cooking or like really simple easy dishes. I, personally, have no use for this book since I know how to make these items. I do like the idea of helping cooks with some dishes to cook in a certain amount of time to help save time. For the few simple easy ones in the beginning, some were just buying items - like fried chicken and already made sides - and calling that done. Not a fan of that for people looking for meals to actually cook in short time. But it does save time, again the idea here.

I really liked how easy this was to read and use, because I'm a novice cook and things like that are just so essential for me. I did find that as a novice a lot of the recipes on the easier side I already had a handle on, so it was a bit limited for me. However I do have a few more challenging ones to give a go to so that's great!

20-40-60 Minute Dinners by Kate Ottersrom is a delightfully and fun to read cookbook. Otterstrom's writing is divine making her cookbook fun to read while her recipes look absolutely delicious. For people who have celiac disease, or eating gluten-free you'll find plenty of recipes that are gluten-free. In fact the author includes a recipe to make-your-own gluten-free flour.

Some of the recipes you'll find include:

Gluten-Free Flour Blend
Mac and Cheese with Candied Sausage and Green Peas
Pancakes with Homemade Syrup and Smoky Carrots
Homemade Noodle Soup with Mashed Potatoes and Green Peas
Chocolate Angel Food Cake

The recipes are designed to be prepared within a specific time frame such as 20 to 35 minutes for a quick meal or approximately 60 minutes for a bit more labor intensive meal.

There are plenty of color photos illustrating the recipes too.

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.