Member Reviews

"Fix-It and Forget-It Budget Meals" didn't quite meet my expectations. As someone who needs visuals to inspire my cooking, I was disappointed that not every recipe had accompanying photos. Additionally, as a UK reader, I found it inconvenient that there were no conversions from cups to grams, which would make following the recipes more challenging. While the book offers a wide range of straightforward recipes with clear instructions, it just didn't suit my needs. Unfortunately, it's not the right fit for me.

Was this review helpful?

Fix-It and Forget-It Budget Meals by Hope Comerford is a valuable cookbook for anyone looking to make tasty meals without breaking the bank. It’s packed with easy slow cooker and Instant Pot recipes that won’t take up much of your time or money. The recipes are straightforward and budget-friendly, making it a great choice for busy weeknights. If you’re into hassle-free cooking that fits a tight budget, this book is a real winner.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book! The pictures and graphics are very attention grabbing and make it easy to picture what you are making. All of the ideas in here looks great and I will definitely have fun trying my hand at making a few! I'm so happy I discovered this book and will be buying a physical copy.

Was this review helpful?

Sticking with the trusted "Fix it and Forget it" brand, this is a great cookbook for the busy family wanting to enjoy healthy meals. I love the combination of both slow cooker and instant pot meals. Plenty of breakfast and egg casserole options for the weekend, and several chicken, beef, and veggie-friendly supper options for during the week. My favorites are the Butter Chicken and Chicken Casablanca recipes. Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Was this review helpful?

While I do have the pleasure of working from home, I still have a busy lifestyle. With my husband's work schedule, the idea of making meals with instant pots and slow cookers makes life simpler. I have already had a blast cooking with our Quick Cookers.

Several amazing recipes are included in the Fix-It and Forget-It Budget Meals: Quick, Easy, and Inexpensive Slow Cooker & Instant Pot Recipes. But Hope took the time to give us lessons on slow cooker and instant pot recipes and share other tips and tricks to help her readers.

This well-organized cookbook is worth investing in for anyone considering owning an instant pot or quick cooker. It will be available on October 1, 2024, but you can preorder it now and save some money. I feel this cookbook will appeal to both experienced and beginner cooks.

Was this review helpful?

this cookbook was really easy to read the recipes but the only downside is that there aren’t to many pictures in there. I would still buy this book for any lazy chef though.

Was this review helpful?

Fix-It and Forget-It is my go-to cooking style—it's time-saving, cost-effective, and delicious, which is a fantastic combination. This book is a collection of recipes sourced from all over the USA, offering a diverse array of flavours and dishes.

What I particularly loved about this book is the author's dedication to helping readers choose the right slow cooker. The detailed explanations of the advantages and disadvantages make this an excellent resource for beginner cooks and a perfect gateway into the world of slow cooking.

The book is filled with a myriad of tips and tricks, and I found the section on Instant Pots especially useful, as I've been considering purchasing one. Thanks to Hope Comerford's guidance, I now feel confident about incorporating the Instant Pot into my daily routine. I'm excited to try out the variety of tasty recipes included.

The book's layout is easy to navigate, and each recipe is clearly labelled for either a slow cooker or Instant Pot preparation, making it perfect for novices. With 127 recipes, the selection is impressive, though there are relatively few pictures of the dishes. However, the images that are included are beautifully presented.

Additionally, the book is peppered with practical tips, tricks, and serving suggestions, making it a valuable addition to any kitchen library. This will become a cherished resource in any home cook's kitchen.

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing | Good Books for gifting me an e-book copy of Fix-It and Forget-It Budget Meals.

Was this review helpful?

With grocery prices through the roof, this cookbook had me at the word 'budget'. All recipes are made using either an insta pot or a slow cooker, something I love as I'm tired after work and often don't have the time it energy to make something involved. Included is a very useful section on how to best use your slow comer or insta pot, and most recipes include suggestions of possible substitutions for ingredients. One thing I really appreciated was the note stating that the called-for chicken or beef broth could easily be replaced with bouillon, which further lowers the cost of the meal.

I followed the instructions faithfully and made several of the recipes this week. All were budget-friendly and easy to make. The chicken and rice casserole was tasty and even better when reheated the next day. Pork chops with gravy was easy and excellent, and I served it with the author's baked corn. These recipes are good, filling and relatively inexpensive. Are they gourmet quality? No, they're basic. And for me, basic is just fine!

Was this review helpful?

This cookbook contains recipes for both instant pots and slow cookers. There is a lot of helpful information, such as how to pick the size of slow cooker that will best suit your family, advantages and disadvantages to slow cookers, what temps meat needs to be cooked to and so on. The recipes are clearly marked indicating if they're for instant pot or slow cooker. Recipes also show number of servings, prep and cook time and shows what size slower cooker/instant pot is ideal for each recipe. There are colorful pictures for some recipes. I wish they had a picture for each recipe. The recipes sound good, and I can't wait to make some!

There are 8 categories of recipes-
breakfast
soups
main dishes
chicken and turkey,
pork
beef
meatless and seafood
side dishes

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I have had so much fun looking through these recipes to find stuff to make! They all seem very easy to follow and quick to implement. Unfortunately I don’t have an instapot so I’m limited to the slow cooker recipes but there were plenty to choose from!

Plus, if you don’t want to do these in a slow cooker, with some minor adjustments you could still do these over the stove as a normal nightly dinner!

Most of the recipes are simple ingredients that won’t cause you to break the bank to feed your family! I always find it frustrating when I have to go broke to buy food to cook, so it was nice to see that most of the ingredients are pantry staples.

My only complaint about some of the slow cooker recipes is that the aren’t really “fix it and forget it”. There are multiple recipes that have extra steps/ cooking directions outside of just tossing everything into the slow cooker and moving on with your day. Most of these are mild and you could technically ignore those steps, but it feels like it goes against the idea of the book when I have to stop in the middle of the cook time to do extra steps.

Was this review helpful?

Yum on a budget, what's not to love! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

I’m always on the lookout for more recipes to try with my family and slow cooker ones especially! This book gave a nice selection of 127 recipes - the ones that had pictures looked lovely and can’t wait to try them out. I do wish every recipe had a picture to go with it - as they say we eat with our eyes.

I liked the information at the start that explains all about slow cooking. Even having used one for 15 years there were some good tips I didn’t know about.

Was this review helpful?

Fix It and Forget It Budget Meals is comprised of 127 recipes that are budget friendly. The cookbook starts with a description of the book and notes that are relevant to the recipes in the book. It was comprehensive and gave som good information, but what I really care about are the recipes. There is a good combination of recipes for the slow cooker and Instant Pot and so many that I want to try. I am really interested in the dinner recipes and will definitely be trying some of these. There are no dessert recipes in the cookbook, but I typically wouldn’t use the slow cooker or Instant Pot for baking so to me that makes sense. I do wish there were more pictures in the book, but this cookbook is full of what appear to be simple and easy to follow recipes that sound yummy! I can’t wait to try some of these out on my family.

Was this review helpful?

Fix and Forget It was a fast read offering information about buying both Slow Cookers and Instapot, what to look for when purchasing, and the basics of using both. The recipes clearly indicated whether they were intended for a slow cooker or instapot and the book is divided into meals of the day. The layout of the cookbook is pretty basic, and I wouldn’t describe it as a beautiful cookbook, but rather a straightforward recipe book/ guide.

It’s simple and straightforward, and it read more like an encyclopedia style with minimal pictures and kind of repetitive directions / information. It was neat to see all the different recipes collected by people around the US. I’ve earmarked a few recipes I plan to try out and would recommend it to people looking for straight no nonsense recipes! I personally would have liked a few more photos thrown in.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc!

Was this review helpful?

I am still trying out the recipes but this book gave me the opportunity to dust off my insta pot and try out some new cuisines. My only wish is that the recipes were more health-conscious. I tweaked a few ingredients and the results weren't so great, for example the polenta I used flax meal (don't do that). However, the recipes I stuck to were very delicious. The pork chops for the pork chops and gravy were so tender. I tried the Tasty Drumsticks but forgot the water. Don't do this either the water was so essential for this recipet. I was hoping that it would come off more savory, but it was okay. I would say overall the recipes are helpful if you have a family of 4, you're not a cook, and you just need to throw things together really quickly. It's not helpful if you have health restrictions like low salt and reduced sugar. You really have to stick to the recipe as presented to get a flavorful meal.

Was this review helpful?

Fix-It and Forget-It Budget Meals is a user-friendly and budget conscious collection of recipes for the slow cooker and instant pot collected and curated by Hope Comerford. Due out 1st Oct 2024 from Skyhorse Publishing on their Good Books imprint, it's 216 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is an easy to use cookbook with everyday practical tasty family friendly recipes. The author has included a step-by-step general tutorial introduction for both slow cookers and instant pots. They're general and not brand specific and both include some good tips for getting the most use out of your machines.

The recipes are arranged by category: breakfasts, soups stews chilis & chowders, main dishes, and side dishes. Each recipe includes an introduction/description, ingredients in a bullet list, followed by step by step prep and cooking directions. Ingredient measurements are provided in imperial (American) units. The author/editors have included a metric conversion chart in the back of the book.Nutritional info is not included.

The ingredients will be readily available at any well stocked grocery store in North America. The recipes do use some premix/premade ingredients such as salsa, seasoning powders, pasta sauce, and other convenience items.

About 20% of the recipes are accompanied by color photos. The food photographed in the book is attractively styled and appetizing.The recipes are basic, simple, regular family type dishes and the collection will be very useful for everyday-after-work type meals.

Four stars. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, home use for busy family dinners, or possibly as a housewarming gift for a newly fledged young adult living on their own for the first time.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

Was this review helpful?

Now this is the kind of cookbook that everyone needs in their collection! So many quick, tasty, and easy recipes for all levels of us "chefs."

I like the variety, vegetarian or meat, that this book has. It has tips and suggestions to go along with each recipe, too! That is a good way to kick up your skills quite a bit. Learning the different ways to alter the recipes to your taste buds.

Thank you for sharing this excellent cookbook with me!

#NetGalley #FitItandForgetItBudgetMeals

Was this review helpful?

I appreciate that this book delivers what it promises: simple budget friendly meals. So many people promise simple and then it’s an hour of prep, this is not that. I wish there were more photos with the recipes, I’ve been spoiled by social media recipes and having a photo of the finished product everytime. As someone who didn’t recognize some of the dishes I’d like to have a photo to know what it should look like in the end.

Was this review helpful?

Great cookbook full of simple easy recipes followed by lots of colorful pictures. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

If you enjoy the other Fix it and Forget it cookbooks, you’ll like this one as well! I was raised on meals from these cookbooks, so I had to request to review this one. It’s full of recipes that look great, although I haven’t gotten the chance to try any of them yet

Was this review helpful?