This has got to be one of the best cook books I have bought recently. Initially I expected to get a couple of good ideas as I do out of most food and recipe cookbooks to pass along to our GroceryGuide readers. I found myself however, totally absorbed in this book, I actually reading it as I would a novel. It's fun, innovative, helpful and original.

There are 919 delicious, quick, easy, inexpensive and frugal recipes with a unique secret ingredient for each recipe, a secret ingredient that will deliver a fresh twist to your favorite meals. And all this using everyday food and pantry items. The book was just released this month by Readers Digest.

A section in the book on "pantry items" actually states, "Be warned: Once you start reading this next section, you'll never stop!"  Well, you'll stop when you run out of pages (384 pages) but, you'll wish for more! The purpose of the pantry section is to show you how with a little creativity from the pantry you can effect big changes in your recipes and cooking. Take "Orange Juice" for example, this section gives you 15 new and creative ways to use this grocery and pantry staple.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, tried many of tips and will review it again and again to glean new, extraordinary ideas for improving my recipes and meals. Buy this book, your family and friends will be glad you did!

"I think cooking is a lot of fun and I hate to see people not having fun doing it just because they don't have the right tools--which is not to say they need the prettiest, best, most expensive tools. They just need the tools that are right for them." - Alton Brown, writer, director, and host of the Food Network show Good Eats.

There is nothing that is more frustrating for me than not having the right tools when I am cooking. It is also interesting to me just how many cooks, and not just the in-experienced ones, lack a good understanding of what you need in a kitchen. Alton has done a great job here in this book of helping the cook acquire the right tools without breaking the bank.

Alton Brown's Gear For Your Kitchen offers honest, practical advice on what’s needed and what isn’t, what works and what doesn’t. For instance: You only need three knives, but they are a lifetime investment. And don’t bother with that famous countertop grill—it doesn’t get hot enough to properly sear. In his signature science-guy style, Brown begins with advice on kitchen layout and organization, then gets to the lowdown on these cooking elements: Big Things with Plugs; Pots and Pans; Sharp Things; The Tool Box; Small Things with Plugs; Storage and Containment; and Safety and Sanitation.

Alton Brown's personality permeates the book and it is filled with wonderful tidbits that make this book helpful and good reading.

Robin Miller the host of a popular Food Network TV program provides the reader with 200 recipes which cook up in as little time as 15 minutes from start to finish.  The perfect answer to today's busy cooks. Most of us don't have all the time in the world these days to prepare really good, creative meals each and every time.

This is an easy cookbook to use and the reader will appreciate how she uses the main meal to create recipes for other meals. Her recipes are pantry-friendly in that she uses products that most of us already have in our pantry.

For those of you that choose a cookbook based upon lavish photos this is not the one for you. If you appreciate new ideas for meal solutions and time is a scare commodity, Robin Miller's QUICK FIX MEALS cookbook is well worth getting.