Everything Meals on a Budget Cookbook: High-flavor, low-cost meals your family will love Book

This book was published in 2008 as part of the popular Everything series by Adams Media. Larsen approaches low-cost meal preparation in a very practical way with an introductory chapter on the basics of cooking on a budget, the cost per serving of each recipe is clearly displayed, and the back contains many helpful guides, including a chart comparing the price of prepared versus home ingredients for many popular grocery items. The chapters were divided up in pretty commonsense ways, including a chapter on how to deal with leftovers. Throughout the recipes Larsen gives tips for how to make a recipe even cheaper, or how to dress it up if you've got a little extra to spend.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to try as many recipes as I wanted before I had to return this cookbook to the library, because everything I tried was good. I think the Crockpot Beef Stroganoff recipe may replace my old standby or at least share equal billing. The Uptown Tuna Casserole was a surprisingly rich twist on an old budget cooking standby. I also appreciated the Everything Stew recipe because I'm still a pretty novice soup maker and this one basically tells how anyone can make soup with whatever odds and ends you have on hand.

Overall this was a great cookbook and one I might even consider buying.