Quick Start Homemade: Southern Living Recipe Book Review

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I was sent a copy of Southern Living’s Quick Start Homemade to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.

It is not very often that a recipe book comes along that contains so many easy and budget friendly recipes in it that I had a hard time choosing which to try out for the review. Quick Start Homemade by Southern Living was such a book.

Quick Start Homemade features recipes that are hearty and delicious. The book allows you to make all the recipes using commonly found ingredients and cooking techniques that are fitting for just about any level home cook. The book contains 101 recipes for commonly made home-style meals with an extra spin on them to break up the ordinary.

The Good:

The book included a ton of great photos. I was always told in college when I went to culinary school that the #1 rule of food presentation was “You eat with your eyes, first”. This book gets that. The pictures are bright, bold and you can practically smell the recipes through them.

I enjoyed how the book broke down meals into colored sections so you could easily find the section you were looking for. These were broken down into categories such as pasta, pizza, eggs and so on. There were not only dinners in it, but also great dishes for lunch and brunch.

Included in the sidebars of each recipe was some extra tips for altering or enhancing the recipe. This would be especially helpful for folks who may be new to home cooking or might desire a little extra help in understanding the way recipes come together. I also liked the serving suggestions for side dishes included with the recipes to bring the meal together.

This is the book to get if you have a growing family and a shrinking budget as it is packed full of recipes that are simple to put together and can be made from pantry essentials.

The Bad:

I wish the book would have included more beef or fish recipes. As this is a book for cooking on a budget, I can see why it mostly contained ground beef and chicken recipes, but every once in a while you get some steaks on sale that you just want to cook in a different way.

Really, my only real complaint is that it wasn’t longer! I absolutely am thrilled with this book and it will be my go-to for fresh and simple dinner ideas when I am limited on time and money.

What I made from the Book:

I made the Skillet Ziti. It was similar to a family favorite I make here from scratch only it used canned pasta sauce and jazzed it up. I couldn’t resist and when it was done in the skillet, I topped it with more cheese and slipped it quickly in the oven under my broiler for 5 minutes to brown the cheese. My family devoured it!