Everyday Homemaking Cookbook Review

I’m generally a bit apprehensive to get new cookbooks for fear the recipes wouldn’t fit our way of eating. With the Everday Cooking cookbook from Everyday Homemaking, by Vicki Bentley, I quickly discovered I wouldn’t have to worry about many recipe ingredients. She does say she is not a “purist” but tries to make most things as healthy as possible. That being said, I was happy with the bulk of the recipes I came across.

Not Just a Cookbook

One of the really great things about this book is that it is not just a cookbook… Which, I guess is why “cookbook” isn’t in the name. When I think of a cookbook I think of a book full of recipes. This book has a bit more included.

When I first got the book, I skimmed it over to see what all was in it. One of the first things I saw was an explanation on how to prepare your foods when you get home from the store so that they are ready for multiple meals.

She explained how to most successfully cook up 15 pounds of ground beef and then store them in the freezer to save you time when it came to cooking dinner. I desperately need help with getting more organized in my kitchen and prepping ahead of time, so I was happy she laid out how she does it. I cook all my meals from scratch, but they aren’t quick because I do very little if any, prep ahead of time.

She also gives tips as to things you can add to an independent living class at a homeschool co-op. I love this! I taught a class like this in the past, and will likely teach it again so I’m happy to have some fresh ideas. And, even if you don’t teach a class like that, you can teach your own children (or yourself).

A few other things included were how to make a meal plan and shopping list, kitchen measurements, sample menu, kitchen equipment, and she had a section on the difference between slow cookers and pressure cookers. I loved that because I was just going to be looking that up anyway!

A few things I tried…

One of the first things I made was barbeque sauce. That may seem silly, but when you eat like we do, it is really difficult to find good barbeque sauce that also doesn’t have a bunch of horrible ingredients. I have made barbeque sauce in the past, but I have no idea what recipe I used or where I found it. I’m happy to report with this cookbook, I now have a recipe for barbeque sauce that everyone loved!

I also love it when my kiddos can help out. So, I asked my 9-year-old aspiring chef to help me out with this sauce (and all of the other recipes I’ll tell you about, actually).

Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the final product… but surely you’ve seen barbeque sauce before, right? ;)

I just love taking pictures of little hands in the kitchen!

The other two recipes I tried that I want to share with you were made in one meal. I treated my family to a big breakfast one Saturday. We do that sometimes, but it’s not a regular thing.

I made an Apple Stuffed Puff Pancake and a Farmer’s Frittata. They both were fantastic!! I got help from little hands for this one too. Here she is putting the apple slices in the pan to cook with the butter and cinnamon.

And we needed potato slices on the bottom of the frittata! :)

I let the farmer’s frittata cook too long on the stove, so I had to change up the way I was making it. Therefore, it did not look as “pretty” as I would have liked… but it sure tasted good! I’m pretty sure something called a farmer’s frittata doesn’t have to be pretty, so that’s okay. ;)

The apple stuffed puff pancake wasn’t very pretty either, but that’s because my oven hates me. I always have to decrease the amount of time to cook anything in the oven from what the recipe says or it will burn. I decreased the cooking time on it, but apparently not enough, because part of the top got a little more crispy than it should have. Here are pictures of both recipes for your viewing pleasure. :)

There are five of us and having both of these for breakfast was perfect.

I’m in my happy place…

Not just breakfast and condiments

Okay… just in case I wasn’t clear. There are a TON of recipes in this book… Appetizers, main dishes, breakfasts, snacks, breads, soups, desserts, and the list goes on.

One of the main things I am excited about with this cookbook, although I didn’t make it yet, is the homemade “cream of somethings”. I don’t buy cream of anything soups because they are chock full of junk. I’m happy to see I might be able to start making meals with those ingredients by making my own!!

This book really has a bit of everything and I truly am thankful I have it. It will be a wonderful resource in my home that I can see myself using often.