"What's for dinner, Mom?" Ever hear that question in your house? Sometimes the cupboard's bare and time is severely limited. It's hard to answer that dinnertime question. Ever been there? I know I have. Even one of these situations-hungry kids, empty shelves, or no time-can add up to another quick call to the pizza delivery guy. And if you add tight finances into the equation, it's pretty much impossible to order fast food, or even run out to the store for last-minute ingredients to prepare some new recipe from your favorite magazine or website.
On those "Old Mother Hubbard days" when the troops are clamoring for something more nourishing than dry ramen noodles straight from the package, wouldn't it be great to transform that lonely can of stewed tomatoes, a stray packet of chicken soup mix, a few partially emptied pasta boxes, and some frozen mixed vegetables into something tasty for the family?
Well, welcome to the world of "Mix-n-Match Recipes." Making a real meal out of assorted odds and ends from the pantry and refrigerator? Is it possible? Is it even edible? You bet it is
No more last minute trips to the store. No more panic about what to eat when you run out of money before you run out of month. As long as you can unearth a few dusty cans on a shelf somewhere, there's a good chance a Mix-n-Match meal awaits. These recipe ideas cover the entire gamut of eating ... soups, appetizers, desserts, main meals, snacks. If you can name it, you can probably Mix-n-Match it
Do you remember that old children's story, Stone Soup? Everyone came along and threw a little of this and a little of that into the pot with the stone, and before their eyes, the first unofficial Mix and Match soup was born And remember how much they all loved it? Contributing something to the finished product goes a long way toward increasing a child's enjoyment of their meal.
Just think of Mix-n-Match cooking as an art form all its own. This book will give you the general guidelines and starting points-you take it from there and see what tasty concoctions your kitchen has hiding in the dark recesses of its shelves and drawers. To get started using this book, you won't need to run out to the store to stock up on hard to find ingredients. Just pick from what you already have on hand.
Save time, save money, and save your sanity
Here's what readers had to say about the previous edition:
"Your kitchen recipe solution to the mealtime dilemma This cookbook maybe thin but it is jam packed with recipe solutions. One of our favorite meals is the mix and match skillet recipe. A definite buy "
"Mix and Match is a tiny treasure of a cookbook that will get you in and out of the kitchen in a hurry. The recipe for the Mix and Match Fruit Crisp is worth the price of the book. I love this recipe, especially served with ice cream."
"A 'must-have' for all home cooks, especially new ones I'm adding this book to my list of gifts to give at Bridal Showers. If you're like me, you have days when you stare into the pantry wondering what to make for dinner. There's food in there but does it make a meal? With this helpful little book, I've been able to go to the cupboard and pull together a complete meal for my family without running to the store for missing ingredients. My two favorite ideas in this book are the Master Skillet Meal and Master Soup recipes. I'll never buy those convenient pre-packaged boxed dinners for tuna or hamburger again "
"This is a very small book. But it is full of very useful methods for putting together easy meals from stuff you already have on hand. What you end up with depends on what you put into the recipe, but because you are given pretty good guides on how much of which type of ingredient, you not only end up with tasty meals, the consistency and texture turn out amazingly good."