Staples + 5

Lemon Spaghetti with Garlicky Roasted Shrimp! MAKE IT!!! Okay, besides that, there many easy and tasty recipes in this book. Most have a Southern flair to them and are very family-friendly. I had never heard of this chef, but will definitely be looking her up! Would have liked a few more pics, but not a deal breaker. Can absolutely recommend this collection!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Tanorria Askew and Alpha Books for this ARC!

This was a great cookbook and I really enjoyed reading through the recipes. I definitely found some that I will be making.

This is a Southern cookbook that tries to use up what you have in the pantry. I'm someone who likes to empty their pantry before going out and buying more. There are simple recipes like Deviled Eggs and Fried Okra in here that I believe will be delish! People have to learn to walk before they can run, so I think a cookbook should be have delicious simple recipes before having delicious complex recipes.

Almost everyone keeps ingredients they use on hand in their pantry. Tanorria Askew takes advantage of these staples and shows readers how to do it at home in her cookbook, Staples + 5: 100 Simple Recipes to Make the Most of Your Pantry. The recipes in this cookbook make good use of the staples most of us keep on hand – she lists 35 ingredients that should be on your pantry shelves and some others that are nice to have (I was pleasantly surprised to find that I have everything in my kitchen from both lists). The ingredients are ordinary things such as flour, sugar, spices, potatoes, onions, etc., so it isn’t difficult to find them in any mainstream grocery store. Then Askew presents recipes using those staples as well as up to five other ingredients to create delicious dishes that almost everyone will love. The recipes have mostly southern roots with a bit of the Midwest thrown in, and there are some unique ideas for those who are tired of same old-same old boring meals.

Askew’s cute personality comes through in the chapters and in her notes prefacing each recipe, making this a fun cookbook to peruse as well as a fun cookbook to cook from. There are beautiful photographs of some of the dishes; the only negative to this book is that there aren’t enough. There are several recipes that should have been photographed so that cooks can see what the finished product should look like. Nevertheless, this is a good cookbook; it is well organized and the recipes are written in the traditional form so they are easy to follow. The ingredients are easy to find and it’s nice to know that most of them are already in the pantry waiting to be used.

If you are a cookbook collector or just like unique cookbooks, you’ll want to pick up this book.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I loved this one! Such a great concept - I am always looking for ways to leverage a well-stocked pantry, and this was just the thing. All the recipes we tried were winners. The apple pie dip was especially delicious and easy!