Book Review: Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead & Freeze Cookbook by Jessica Fisher; Harvard Common Press

In today's fast-paced society, TV dinners and fast food can easily take the place of good home cooking. But with the help of one of the most underused appliances in most people's kitchen -- the freezer -- anyone can make and preserve about two weeks' worth of delicious home-cooked meals in a matter of hours. Jessica Fisher' s Not Your Mother provides the key to doing so. Fisher outlines 200 recipes for delectable breakfasts, lunches, and dinners through the method of batch cooking that saves both time and money.

This cookbook puts a modern spin on the age-old idea of freezing meals for later, and appeals to today's diverse tastes, providing recipes for not only chicken, beef, and pork, but also fish, shellfish, and vegetarian main courses. Fisher also details how to go about using the freezer to its full potential, giving information on the best freezer bags and, most importantly, how to thaw food safely after it has been frozen.

 

Supper time! The sound of those two words can conjure up memories of your family sitting down to dinner together and enjoying themselves. Lively conversations that make your heart squeeze, and everybody loving your handmade meal!

BUT at the same time those same two words can also bring to mind being so tired that you feel dead on your feet. While you are trying to conjure up something actually edible that doesn’t take forever to cook; the kids are fighting, the dog is running rampant, and your phone just won’t SHUT UP!

So, take out food clearly runs through your mind. Maybe a can of soup or something microwavable? This is clearly the easy way out but definitely not the healthy way! All those extra calories and added sodium is a big no-no!

When I asked to review the book Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead & Freeze Cookbook by Jessica Fisher , I thought it was going to be a book of nothing but recipes. I was pretty sure there would be some recipes that I couldn’t ever possibly make because of the extensive and expensive list of ingredients. NOT so! There are no weird ingredients and nothing in this book is expensive or hard to find!

This book definitely exceeded my expectations because it has how-to and tips for freezing the recipes! What can and can’t be frozen, freezing techniques, packaging to freeze, and so much more! The recipes aren’t just a bunch of weird high priced ingredients thrown together, they all look very delicious! The instructions are very detailed and easy to understand as well!

There are cooking plans that consist of breakfasts, beef, meatless.. etc. then gives the grocery lists to go with the plans, which makes it easier for a busy mom! Then she goes even further into detail with packaging guidelines for freezing, prep lists, appliances/gadgets needed, and the complete detailed cooking plan.

There is so much information on the first 64 pages that truly helped me out and came in handy. It’s like Jessica (the author) is holding your hand throughout the process and explaining. She does all the hard work for us, all we have to do is shop for the ingredients, cook the food, and then freeze it.

She even explains how to successfully organize and plan  a few hours a week or every other week into making and freezing! These recipes are definitely healthier than take our or high calorie, high sodium microwave dinners! Something you can just come home and pop in the oven!

This book has definitely changed my outlook on life (no kidding). I’ve never owned a recipe book that influenced my life in such a manner that makes those long days bearable! No more tired, dragging, standing over a hot stove cooking! I can now just come home and take something from the freezer if I have had a long day and don’t feel like cooking!

The expectations and advice about buying and freezing by the bulk is amazing. Not only will your sanity be saved but it definitely helps save money in the long run! Buying the ingredients in bulk when they are on sale and then making a ton of recipes that include those ingredients. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be buying a deep freezer here soon.

There are a variety of recipes too, which is another plus for the book. Usually make ahead and freeze books contain a TON of casserole recipes, but this one has plenty of everything. It has stews, casseroles, soups, and even pizza kits and taco kits.. etc.

Calzones, burritos, meatballs are ready for you to make and freeze. Your family will definitely thank you if you get this book! They will love that they can take the burritos and calzones and pop them in the microwave if you have a late day or early meeting. You’ll definitely love that a couple dedicated hours a week will save you so much time throughout the week, and you’ll actually be able to enjoy dinner with your family!

This is definitely a book to buy in bulk and give as Christmas gifts to all your family and friends. They won’t EVER forget what you got them by next Christmas. They won’t lose it and it definitely won’t go unused! This is definitely something for anybody no matter how old, what gender, or how many kids they have!

Get yours: Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook (NYM Series) $12.14

 

About the Author

Jessica Fisher is a busy mom of six young children, aged toddler to teen. Homeschool mom by day, freelance writer and blogger by night, she writes two popular blogs, LifeasMom.com and GoodCheapEats.com and contributes to both SimpleHomeschool.net and Food.YourWay.net. She also writes for various parenting publications in the U.S. and Canada. She lives with her husband and children in San Diego, California and is an avid home cook. Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze is her first book.

 

Jessica Renee