Love America's Test Kitchen? Love speedy cooking? It's your lucky day!

ByKristen
673 Comments

This giveaway is now closed-congrats to Shana, the winner of the cookbook!

Because I have a brandy-spankin' new cookbook to give away to you!

Before we get to that, let me tell you a little bit about the book.

America's Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook

As you know, America's Test Kitchen (Cook's Illustrated's relative) is all about producing thoroughly tested recipes that normal people in normal home kitchens can use.

As part of that effort, they've recently put together a cookbook full of quick recipes. They can all be made in 45 minutes or less, and they range from appetizers to meats to vegetarian entrees to desserts.

The book is a 3-ring binder, and it's got lots of full-color photos (which I love, of course.)

Because of the 45-minutes-per-recipe time constraint, these recipes do use more convenience products that you'd typically see in an ATK cookbook. For instance, the pizza recipe calls for refrigerated dough, the pies use refrigerated pie crust, and so on. However, there are still way more unprocessed ingredients than you'd find in a typical quick cookbook. And unlike some quick cookbooks, this one doesn't have anything like those soup "recipes" that call for dumping several cans of soup together and adding a few spices.

Plus, when ATK calls for a prepared ingredient, they almost always tell you which one is the best choice (for instance, they share what the best prepared broth is, or what company makes the best puff pastry.)

And even if you don't like using some prepared ingredients, there's nothing to prevent you from subbing from-scratch ingredients in some of the recipes. If you've got extra time, you can always make your own pie dough, pizza dough, or polenta, for example.

In addition to recipes, there are pages devoted to cooking basics, like this one about grilling.

And sprinkled throughout are pages like this one, which show you multiple ways to use a convenient ingredient.

ATK has come up with some pretty interesting ways to speed up some common recipes. For instance, they have a recipe for pizza that calls for starting the crust in a skillet and then popping the whole thing into the oven to melt and brown the cheese.

That way you don't have to wait a whole hour for a pizza stone to heat up in the oven. And this worked pretty darn well, except for the fact that I let my skillet get a little too hot when I made the first pizza.

Oops.

I did much better with the second and third pizzas, fortunately.

I've also made mustard-glazed chicken, smoky chicken kabobs with a cilantro dipping sauce, a cajun corn chowder, a super-fast cornbread recipe, and there are many more recipes I'm anxious to try. In short, this cookbook isn't going to collect dust in my cabinet.

Since the recipes are all quick, you can use them on days when you might normally resort to takeout. And since ATK's Quick Cookbook retails for $21 at Amazon right now, if the book saves you from ordering takeout only a few times, it will totally have paid for itself.

Who should buy this cookbook?

  • If you're looking for quick recipes that are fairly unprocessed and that still taste great, you'll really enjoy this cookbook.
  • If recipes from Cook's Illustrated or ATK usually seem overwhelming to you, you'll find this book to be refreshingly easy.
  • If you mostly want to cut back on hands-on time, the other ATK/CI cookbooks might serve you better (the 45-minute limit in this book eliminates time-intensive but not labor-intensive things like marinades or slow simmering). Then again, I fall into this category, and I'm still really enjoying this book.

________________________________

I have a copy of this cookbook to give away to one of you (woo!)

To enter, just leave me a comment with a quick cooking tip. Or if you're fresh out of quick cooking tips, saying you want the book will also suffice. 😉

EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS!!! You cannot hit "reply" to enter this giveaway. You need to click on the blue post title (the one that starts with "Love America's Test Kitchen?", and that will take you to the blog, where you can leave a comment (or you can just click here to be taken to the blog). Emails sent to me cannot be tracked and counted in the giveaway.

  • This giveaway will end at midnight EST on Sunday, October 21st.
  • One entry per person, please.
  • Entries limited to those residing in the continental U.S. (apologies to international readers!)

disclosure: I was sent a complimentary cookbook but was not otherwise compensated for this review or giveaway. All opinions are my own. I've been a Cook's Illustrated/ATK fangirl for eons, so no one needs to talk me into writing glowing reviews. 😉

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673 Comments

    1. I would love this!! My time saver is chopping and freezing green/red peppers from my garden or when thru are on sale and freezing them. Great for quick stir fry or quesadilla or fried rice.

  3. Cooking Tip: make rice krispie treats in the microwave and use PAM for a no mess super fast treat for the kids!

  4. I am a so-so cook but a good planner. About 5 years ago I started making a menu. At least I know what I'll be facing each evening as I tackle a chore I don't enjoy. I'd love this book!

  5. My recent quick-meal discovery is fish - a dab of butter, seasoning and a squeeze of lemon, and about 2.5 minutes in the microwave - yum! Unfortunately my kids aren't as wowed by this as I am, so I could really use a copy of this cookbook!

  11. I found a recipe, I forgot the site, making steel cut oats in the crockpot overnight. The best part is they are in individual servings using canning jars. Put 1/4 c steel cut oats in a wide mouth two cup canning jar and add water to about an inch to inch and a half below the threads. I can fit five jars in my crockpot. The recipe called for elevating the jars off the bottom of the pot slightly by using a rack or crumpled up foil to prevent jar cracking. I forgot once with no provlems and have not bothered since. Once all your jars are in the crockpot add water around the jars to the level of the liquid in the jars. Creating a double boiler effect. Place lid on crockpot and cook on low 6-8hours. Eat immediatly or let cool then refridgerate with lid. I reheat in the microwave adding some more water because I like my oatmeal thin.

  13. I love Cook's Illustrated and wasn't aware of this new cookbook. I'd love a copy. I like this tip: instead of throwing away chicken broth, freeze the leftover broth in muffin tins (about 1/4 cup/hole). Once they freeze, pop them out of the tin and freeze in baggies. You'll always have measured frozen broth on hand.

  14. Keep chopped onions and green pepper in the freezer so it is all ready to go, just throw it in what you are cooking!

  15. I make Indian food 90% of the time, and almost every recipe calls for onion. We buy a few big red onions every 2 weeks or so. (We keep them in the fridge (this helps a LOT with the tears) in a plastic bag (to help keep the whatchacallit gas from over-ripening other produce).) (Promise I'm getting to my quick tip.) I use a chef's knife 8" or 10", not sure), and whack off the top and bottom, then score through the skin and pull it off (actually I usually peel off the top layer, too, to make it easier to cut), and then cut it in half. I usually need 1/4 of an onion for one recipe, sometimes a half, sometimes just 1/8th, so I whack off what I need, and throw the rest in a pickle jar (our curbside recycling doesn't take glass, so we use lots of pickle jars!), so the next time I get to skip the steps of whacking off the top & bottom, removing the skin, and getting rid of that little mess. For some reason, that makes me really happy. ( Now I feel really lazy 🙂 but I just really enjoy making one onions last several days). I used to go ahead and chop the whole thing and put what I wasn't using into a baggie, but that was stinky when I cooked it!

  16. I would love a copy of this book! I'm a huge ATK fan, and love every recipe I've tried of theirs.

    With two small children (2 1/2 and 2 months!), I need every quick recipe I can get my hands on.

    Thanks for hosting this giveaway!

  17. Yay! Lining the brownie/cake pan with foil before putting in the batter is such a hassle saver!

  19. Would love me a new cookbook! I make granola bars for kids lunch and freeze them individual for easy lunch prep!!

  20. Chopped onions in the freezer, eggs boiled in advance, and a whole chicken cooked on Sunday to put in recipes through the week!

  21. I have tried several ATK cookbooks and have found some great recipes there and on their website. I am always looking for new recipes ~ especially quick ones 🙂 Would love to win a copy of this cookbook!

  22. My best tip is to warm milk and butter in a saucepan BEFORE adding them to mashed potatoes - the potatoes get so much creamier if they don't have cold ingredients dumped into them! That looks like an awesome cookbook 🙂

  23. I'm a relative cooking newbie, and this looks great. Cooks Illustrated & ATK are always so reliable.

  24. I love to cook batches of seasoned ground beef in the oven and chicken in a slow cooker. I then package the meat for freezing in 1/2 pound quantities. These can be quickly thawed in the microwave and our main dish is halfway done! I use the broth leftover from slow cooking the chickens, too.

    1. How do you brown the meat in the oven? Ever since my second pregnancy, I CANNOT brown meat on the stovetop, and my youngest is 11. Is there a trick to this? My husband is SICK of browning meat for me!

  26. I am a big fan of America's Test Kitchen, books, magazines and show!
    Two quick tips, you can freeze a foot of ginger and chop off whatever you need for a recipe. It keeps for quite a while. Tomato paste, I scoop out 1 tablespoon portions and freeze them on a cookie sheet. When they are frozen i pop them all in a freezer bag...easy peasy !

  27. My quick cooking tip is for rice. When making the slow cook kind, double or triple the amount that you need. Freeze the extra for another time. The frozen rice can be quickly heated in the microwave.

  31. My tip is to do all of your prep work before you start cooking. The biggest benefit is that you are able to see if you are missing an ingredient before you start cooking/baking. Nothing like needing to run to the store in the middle of trying to cook.

    1. My tip:

      When cooking or baking, don't drop your last egg on the floor. Or your last 1/2 cup of milk, either.

      Ask me how I know.

      I would love this cookbook! I'm not a very good cook and I need all the help I can get.

  32. Hi - I would love love love this cookbook. I moved last year into a new rental with a bigger kitchen that has allowed me to experiment more... starting with your yogurt recipe and recently ending with canning! I think the only tip I have that I've been using recently has been to look in my fridge & freezer and google a few ingredients I see with the word recipe on the tail end. It's helped me find so many creative and yummy ideas to use what I have, what's in season, or what's coming in my CSA box =)

  33. Because my husband tends to do most of the cooking, and he has less time now to do so, I could really use this cookbook. Sorry, no quick tips from me.

  34. Thank you for the chance to win this book! I love America's Test Kitchen and the Frugal Girl!

  36. would love to win this.....

    when cooking a mean, double and freeze for a quick meal down the road....

  38. I like to brown ground beef when I bring it home from the store and divide it into 1-2 cup servings and put it in the freezer. When I need it later to throw in spaghetti sauce, make a quick taco salad, etc it's ready for me and thaws quickly in my skillet.

  39. I would love this cookbook. I am in this funk of feeling like I have cooked everything, the same ole things over and over again. A fresh set of ideas would be wonderful.

  40. Whenever I use only half an onion in a recipe, I always chop up the other half, stick it in the freezer. Then when I am in a hurry and need to cook onion for a recipe (as long as it doesn't have to be browned and carmelized) I can grab an already chopped half onion from the freezer and cook it fast.

    I would love the cookbook!

  41. I would love this book. Here's my quick cooking tip: smooth peanut butter + soy sauce + rice wine vinegar + a bit of shaved ginger (optional) + whisk in water to loosen = stir fry sauce, salad dressing, marinade, dipping sauce, etc.. For those nights when you can't figure what else to make.

  42. To shred cooked chicken breast - just put it in a kitchenaid with the paddle attachment let it do most of the work!

    1. I , too would love to receive this cookbook.
      The tip I can think of is browning a larger batch of ground beef at a time than needed, and freezing the extra. So handy to throw in soup, or make tacos or sloppy joes.

  43. I would really enjoy this cookbook! Thank you, Frugal Girl, for introducing me to Cook's Illustrated and ATK!

  44. Even though I don't live in the US, my cooking tip is to use tortillas as a quick pizza base, then you can get pizza on the table in around ten minutes 🙂

  46. I would love to win this cookbook. I am always looking for ways to prepare quicker, yet fresh, meals.

  50. I would love to own this cookbook! I have two other ATK books and I love them. My favorite quick tip is to store my salt in a small container (rather than just in the cardboard box it comes in). That way I can just scoop or pinch out what I need instead of trying to pour salt out to measure. It saves maybe a second, but it makes my life a little easier.

  51. When making bread, double the recipe and put half in the freezer. Put the frozen dough out to thaw the night before you want it for fresh bread some morning when you are crammed for time!

  52. My daughter is just learning to cook for her husband after a busy day at work, so this book would be an excellent gift for her.

  55. For baking, the fastest way to bring eggs to room temperature is to put them in your pockets (loose ones!). You just have to be careful how you're moving!

  56. I would love to win the cookbook! My only time saving tip is to pre dice onion, peppers, ect. And freeze for easy use.

  57. What a lovely book! My quick tip is mentioned already "” double-cook and freeze the second half for quick prep later. Works for ham, chicken, ground beef, complete-meal dishes, the whole works.

  59. I'm usually a little intimidated by Cook's Illustrated recipes, but this might be more my speed. Thanks for the chance to win!

  61. I would love this book! With a young baby and as caregiver to my 9 yo nephew, making dinner is usually crammed in between so many other activities. My favorite time-saving tip is to chop up fresh herbs and freeze into ice cube trays - then I can have an assortment to use in my cooking that thaw in no time and never go bad!

  62. This cookbook looks great! For quick baking I peel, shred, and freeze my zucchini in double batch size then thaw the night before baking. It makes the whole process go so much quicker and then I am more likely to bake!

  64. I would love to have this cookbook. My cooking tip is to have a lot of partially cooked items or "building blocks" of meals in the freezer--taco meat, marinating meat, shredded chicken, and lots of soups and broths. I'm trying to reduce our family's spending and am currently on a "90 Day Challenge" to not eat out or buy takeout.

    If our family is at an event that occurs over a meal, we pack a cooler. It takes planning, but we are eating more nutritiously and spending less money.

  65. I want this book! We are in a complete dinner rut! With 3 little ones, I need new ideas. Between sports and school this sounds perfect! PLEASE!

  66. Add a teaspoon of pumpkin spice with your coffee grounds in your drip machine for some yummy fall spice coffee!!!

  67. My quick cooking tip is to Watch America's Test Kitchen on my favorite PBS station every Saturday and faithfully read The Frugal Girl Blog. They never fail me!

  68. I've been looking for new recipes as our meal planning has been getting a tad stale. This would be perfect!

  69. My wife is an awesome cook. She does virtually all of the cooking in our home - like 99% , at least! Well except for the bread and yogurt which I do make. I would like to give her a new cookbook - I like to give her things - but I'd also like to become a more proficient cook myself, so I guess you could say I have a selfish motive too!
    Anyway, PLEASE, send ME the book!
    David.

  71. My quick cooking tip is to have my husband start dinner while I commute home from work, so it's ready when I get there! Does that count? 😉

  72. My quick cooking tip is to have my husband start dinner while I commute home from work, so it's ready when I get there! Does that count? 😉

  73. My favorite quick cooking tip starts slow ... I cook a large batch of chicken breasts in the slow cooker or the dutch oven and freeze them individually to have on hand for quick meals. I use them in stir-fries, sauces, burritos, anything you can use cooked chicken in.

    Thank you for the chance to win the Quick Family Cookbook!

  77. My mom and I get together occasionally and spend the entire day cooking. We make huge batches of several different meals, and freeze them in meal sized portions, then split them up between us (we have also done this for someone who had major surgery). At the end of a busy day, or when I have forgotten to pull out something else to cook, I can grab a container from the freezer, toss it in the microwave, make a quick side and eat!

  78. I like the way this book looks and would love to have a copy. My quick cooking tip is when I freeze or can anything from our garden, I put some of it up whole, some sliced, and some diced. That way when I'm ready to cook with it, I don't have to spend time cutting up the veggies!

  79. When making homemade baked french fries. I cook the potatoes in the microwave for a few minutes to soften them up and speed up the baking time. Love Love Love homemade baked french fries.

  80. This is so simple, it hardly qualifies as a tip -- but it is a lifesaver for me. I always make homemade broth whenever there are bones to be had. So, if I don't have enough at one time, I keep the vegetables [leftover odds and ends] and bones in a container in the freezer. Whenever I am ready, I pop everything into my crockpot and cook on low overnight. Turn it off in the morning to cool down and you have fresh broth to strain and then use of freeze later that day. Effortless and results in a constant supply of homemade broth.

    And thank you for the giveaway. We love ATK, and could use the "quick" version for weeknights while indulging in our other ATKs for weekend cooking or rare quiet days.

    Thanks!

    1. I do this too, only the first time I did it was to wright like yourself. Only I woke up during the night to the smell of chicken broth, as did my husband, and we couldn't sleep soundly with the smell. The next morning our entire family agreed we didn't like to wake up to a "dinner" smell.

      Now I start my broth in the crock pot in the mornings and we all sleep better 🙂

  81. Tip: when making a meal, double the recipe so you have leftovers or extra to freeze for a quick meal another night.
    Of course, I would LOVE to win a copy of this cookbook!

  82. Have no ideas, I'm not a good cook even after all of these years (I'm 49). Would LOVE to have the cookbook because any recipe the simpler the better for me. Especially when I have all 4 grandchildren over most of the time to stay. Love those babies. Thank you!!!

  83. OOPS I forgot to add my cooking tip. Well it's not really a tip, more of a question, I have discovered that it doesn't matter how long you cook an egg it doesn't turn soft! Just how long do you need to cook it for it to beome soft? If someone asks you if you want your egg cooked soft or hard they can then then produce you a soft boiled egg but I have tried cooking one for an hour or more - and it is still hard! Can someone please help me?
    David.

    1. David, you would want to cook your want to cook your eggs for a shorter time, not a longer time, for soft boiled eggs. 3-6 minutes in boiling water should do it.

  85. Every other weekend or so, my husband will fry up about 10 onions so we can use those for cooking during the coming days. Every couple of months or so we also peel and chop up a bunch of garlic (about 10 heads) and store it in a jar in the fridge (with lemon juice) so that we always have chopped garlic ready on hand. We also do this with ginger but I freeze the ginger in ice cube trays and then use a cube of frozen ginger when needed. I find ginger goes bad too quickly if I just leave it in the fridge in lemon juice. By doing these three preps we always have fried onions, garlic and ginger ready for any cooking (lots of Indian food) that we want to do!

  86. I like to cook a big batch of chicken in the crockpot, shred it and freeze in 2-c bags for easy use in recipes!

  88. I am not a very good cook, so I think that my only quick cooking tip is to use the microwave to reheat the meals that my mom makes! I would love to get this cookbook so I can get some inspiration and direction to start cooking for myself!

  89. I would LOVE to have this cookbook!

    I can't come up with a quick cooking tip, but my favorite tip that relates to food is to use a dollop of Joy dish detergent to "pretreat" a food stain from a clothing item. This works on EVERYTHING washable, and I have yet to see a stain that hangs on following this pretreatment and a regular wash cycle . I have even used it for baby spit up!

  90. I cut up my beef so it's ready for stir frys so all I have to do is open the bag when it is time to make dinner.

  92. Well, my husband and I love to watch America's Test Kitchen so I know he would love this book (he's the cook, not me...I know, I'm a lucky girl!).

    We're big pizza fans, and I'm not sure it's a fast trick necessarily, but we've learned that if you roll your pizza dough out on parchment paper and bake for about 5 minutes before adding the toppings, you get a lovely thin, crisp crust.

    =]

  93. I've started making dinner during breakfast time to save time in the evenings when we need to feed our baby and get her to sleep on time. I'm a newbie at trying to cook AND be efficient and this cookbook would be the perfect tool to help me! Thank you!

  94. My mom's a cook, my dad's a cook, and my tip is LEARN to cook from your parents before moving out of the house! I have little time to cook when i get home, so my husband attempts to start, but he says my recipes are too complex, so he puts his own little bedazzle into it. Well, needless to say we eat at my parents house too much now. So this cookbook would be great to have to get us both back in our own kitchen and start cooking dinner for them!

  95. I would love this cookbook! My kids would love it, too, since they're at that age where they want to actually help me in the kitchen. The recipes appear easy enough for them to follow without me looking right over their shoulder. Yay for the extra help!

  96. we just recently adopted three boys (4,7,12) we plan our meal menu out weekly....and i need speedy meals this cookbook would be PERFECT!! 🙂

  97. I have all the other binders and I now NEED this one! My favorite quick cooking tip is to have a plan - it makes meal times so much easier to work through if I know what I'm making earlier in the day.

  98. Would love a copy of this book! Quick tip: double your recipe and freeze half for a no effort meal on a busy day.

  99. I have to be to work early, but sometimes I like a nice hearty breakfast to keep me going strong through the morning. To accomplish this, I put some egg beaters or a real egg or two in a microwave safe bowl with a little butter, a sprinkle of cheese, and some veggies and cook for about a minute on high. It snaps and pops a little, but the result is a nice fluffy and fully cooked egg in no time at all. I'd love to win the cookbook and get the chance to test out some new recipes.

  100. I love America's Test Kitchen and very excited they have a cookbook out! I have to own this book 🙂

  101. I do nearly all of my prep work on the weekends so weeknight cooking takes a LOT less time!

  103. Cut vegetables or prepare ingredients the night before while cleaning up kitchen. Then they are ready to prepare the meal in a hurry the next day.

  104. I do a lot of cook once, but get 2-3 meals out of it. For example, I brown meat, but then can use it for tacos or pasta throughout the week. It makes the week day evening rush that much easier!

  107. My favorite cooking tip is to leave meat partially frozen when it needs to be chopped up into pieces - much easier! AND if you're cooking chicken just to throw it into a casserole or something, I am all about just cooking it in the microwave. Talk about saving time!

  109. I would love the book! Quick cooking tip- risotto in a pressure cooker is quite good. I have just found that I need to add more broth once the risotto is done. But it is much less labor intensive than regular risotto.

  110. You've gotten me hooked on ATK. I just made the granola recipe you posted not too long ago. Based on the response from my family, my tip would be to double it! Thanks and I'd love to have a go at these recipes too.

    1. ATK is my favorite cooking show! I would love this book in my collection. My favorite cooking tip is to put beans, water, and some seasonings into my crock pot with a couple pieces of leftover frozen BBQ steak, chicken, ribs...what ever is leftover from grill night. No soaking of the beans is required. Comes out delish every time!

  111. My favourite fast dinner is a stir-fry. Toss any meat cut into small pieces with a little flour and seasonings of choice. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet and cook meat until no longer pink. Remove; add cut up vegetables, putting the ones that need to cook longer in first, like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots ... you can add a splash of lemon juice, seasonings, a little salad dressing or BBQ sauce ... be creative! When they have cooked for about 2 or 3 minutes, add any softer veggies like onions, peas, corn, beans, etc. and the meat. Continue to cook for another few minutes until the veggies and meat are fully cooked. Serve on a bed of rice. Dinner is on the table in less than 30 minutes. To keep things moving, I cut everything up before I start, so I'm just adding and stirring. Have the rice almost ready before you start as the whole cooking process only takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
    BTW I'd love a copy of this cookbook as fast meals are a necessity in my family.

  112. My favorite quick tip involves my ten-month-old, who LOVES black beans. I cook up a big pot of organic dried beans, then freeze them in muffin tins. When they're frozen solid, I run hot water over the bottoms to loosen each cup, then pop them out into a freezer bag. I can just grab one muffin tin's worth at a time, which is the perfect amount for her.

  113. This cookbook looks wonderful. I love finding new recipes to cook up with my girls. I would be thrilled to get a free copy 🙂

  114. My husband's all time favorite meal is a chicken dish with a marinade that calls for homemade salad dressing and a few other ingredients. Since he asks for it so often, I just make a quadruple batch of the marinade and stash it in a recycled glass jar in my freezer. It makes it super easy to whip up his favorite! (Just make sure there's enough room at the top so you don't break the jar)

  117. Yes,Please!!!! 2 cooking tips for you. 1) I boil an entire bag of Aldi chicken breasts and then freeze them for later use. Time is precious and it speeds up the dinner process. 2) I use slow cooker liners. The expense is well worth the saving in clean up time.

  118. When I have leftover rice, I freeze it in a zipper top bag. I can easily break it up to remove all or some for a quick side dish. I put it in a microwave-safe glass covered dish, sprinkle with a few drops of water and reheat.

    I love America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated and would love to win the new cookbook!

  120. I would LOVE a copy of this book. I don't get home from work until 6pm 4 nights a week so I'm always looking for ways to make dinner QUICK on these nights! I've found if I make one crockpot meal a week it helps. I start it before leaving in the morning and it's ready just in time. Then, we can usually eat the leftovers another night or my husband takes leftovers to work for lunch.

  125. Cutting up onions and peppers and freezing them to use in soups, stews, etc. saves me prep time.

  126. Kristen- My quick tip is if you are trying to measure a sticky substance such as honey or ketchup spray your measuring cup with a Pam type spray. Your ingredients will slip out of the measuring cup.

    PS- Just received my "The Science of Good Cooking" from ATK.

  127. I keep heels of bread or crusts I've cut off because children don't like them, and dry them on the back of the stove (the heat of the oven when I bake speeds up the drying). When I've accumulated enough, I put them in the food processor to make fine crumbs, and keep them in the freezer in a ziploc bag. I always have bread crumbs ready for recipes that call for them. Just add some italian seasoning if you want them seasoned.
    With a household of 9, I would love the ATK cookbook!

  128. My husband is a cook by trade, which you would think would be great for me, except that generally he wants a break from the kitchen when he's at home. I am happy to do the cooking at home, but tend to worry that it's not as good as if he had made it. I am always looking for new information, and trying to be a better cook, and Cooks Illustrated is fabulous for step-by-step instructions. I would love this book, for both the recipes and the instruction. Thanks for having this give away!

  129. My family loves ATK and all they do. We saw this cookbook at Costco, and really wanted to grab it! It would be well-used and loved at our house!

  130. I buy cooked roaster chickens at Costco and pick then apart. Freeze some and leave some in the frig for quick chicken tacos. They are inexpensive and yummy.

  131. My favorite cooking tip is that I'll prep veggies (usually peppers and onions) and cook them with my favorite seasonings. I store this either in the freezer or fridge, and whenever I'm cooking a frozen pizza, I add my veggies for an extra kick, and it's a delicious way to get an extra serving of veggies with your maybe-not-so-healthy frozen pizza. 🙂

  132. I have no quick-cooking tips, but would LOVE to learn some. ATK is my favorite show on PBS!

  133. My tip is that you can cook pasta in a lot less water and add the pasta right away, before the water is boiling. It cooks a lot faster!

  134. I have no tips, just a funny story! When I first got married, I learned to crack eggs with one hand. I was so proud! I was baking brownies and trying to show off for my husband so I nonchalantly moved over "to be nearer the trash can" and one-hand-cracked all three eggs right in front of him. He didn't even notice, and I was so disappointed. Later that night, I was reading my twitter feed and saw he tweeted "My wife can crack eggs with one hand. I married up!" Yay! I totally impressed him lol. Anyway, story over. He now buys me cookbooks for my birthday and christmas gifts. I love to cook! I want this book!

  135. A quick cooking tip: brown larger amounts of ground beef at one time (like 5 lbs on the weekend) and freeze in 0.5-1 lb portions. We use less beef per meal and it thaws really fast and makes for even quicker spaghetti, tacos, or soups.

  137. I would love to try this cookbook! Our family has been slowly cutting out processed foods from our diet and I could definitely use some new recipes! 🙂

  138. Tip for gluten free folks: I pre-mix my flours so I always have a GF version of all-purpose flour, pancake mix, and soup starter ready to go. It is so much more motivating to not have to mix 4-5 extra things, or wonder if you even have them on hand, when making a simple cookie recipe or whatever! 😉

  139. I wish I had a more creative tip other than using a crockpot for a quick meal. I could really use this cookbook!

  140. As a working mother, I would LOVE a copy of this book!!! The main 'tip' that I use is just to PLAN AHEAD. Preparing a menu during the weekend and being flexible depending on the time you have on a given evening.

  141. Oh Wow! I would LOVE this cookbook! My favorite quick cooking tip is to double a recipe that can be frozen (like pasta sauce, or soups - things like that) Then on busy days I have something good to feed my family!

  142. My husband makes pizza once a week and he uses a covered skillet, but then he uses a cooking torch to finish the top. So yummy!
    I'd love this book. Quick is my middle name in the kitchen, or at least I'd like it to be!

  144. Love that show! When I cook brown rice I always make extra - that way I have it on hand for an easy side or ingredient in other recipes later in the week.

  145. Pre-chopping celery and onions and freezing them is a quick cooking tip I utilize, it makes me feel like I have a head start on cooking!

  147. I would love to win this giveaway! My best cooking tip is to clean up as you go to avoid having a huge mess at the end.

  149. This cookbook seems right up my alley! I love Cook's Illustrated but always feel like the recipes are too time consuming!

    For a cooking tip, the whole world probably knows this already, but I just learned it - to easily peel garlic cloves, smash them with the widest part of your chef's knife - makes it so much easier! I use fresh garlic in almost everything I cook, so this has been a big time saver for me!

  151. Being disabled with a handicapped child is a challenge, preparing creative and quick meals also a challenge. A copy of this book would simplify my life tremendously. Thank you.

  152. I work full time outside the home and have 12 and 17 year old sons who are very active in sports and school activities AND my husband is only home every other weekend. Anything I cook must be quick so this book would be perfect for me!

  156. Keep onions chopped in a bag in the freezer. That way, if you need a few, they're super easy to just grab, no chopping necessary!

  158. My best quik cooking tip is using frozen chopped onions. No mess, or crying! And I want this cookbook! thanks Kristen!

  159. I'm in a family with two very picky eaters. A new cookbook would be awesome to produce some smiles at the dinner table!

  160. I have been planning weekly meals ahead of time to cut down on wasteful spending and send yummy leftovers with my husband every day to work. This would be so helpful!

  162. My quick cooking tip is to have a plan, save time rummaging through the cupboards wondering what's for supper.

  163. At our house, my husband does all the prep before he leaves for work (dicing vegetables, cubing chicken, etc) so that I walk into a Food Network set when I get home and only have to do the actual cooking. Does that count as a quick cooking tip? 🙂

  164. My biggest kitchen timesaver is to cook double (or more!). When I make spaghetti sauce, I make a huge batch and freeze most of it. When I make pizza dough, I make several and freeze the others for another day. That way we can enjoy it multiple times, but only have to clean up once.

  166. In the last few months I've gotten into doing more "real" cooking & baking. It's been great & I've used many of FG's recipes! I'd love to add this book to this mix. Thanks!

  167. When a recipe calls for nutmeg, I always use whole nutmeg and grate it. Freshly grated nutmeg always tastes better.

  168. pre-cut & pre-cook everything you can. I tend to have more free time after the kids go to bed so this is when I will prep food for the next day. I usually make all of our breakfasts the night before & then package them individually to put in the fridge. They just need warmed up in the morning - the kids get a good meal to start their day and it doesn't include a pop-tart or junk food. I also makes sure I kept cleaned & cut-up veggies in the fridge. That helps me add extra flavor & nutrition to every meal....even if it's just a sprinkle of some green onion or throwing in a handful of real mushrooms to canned sauce!

  169. Cooking tip. I like to cut up veggies ahead of time for recipes I also will cut any leftovers into serving size pieces so its easy to serve them and they don't go to waste.

  170. My quick tip is - buy pizza dough from the grocery store and make it on the grill - I make small size pizza and grill it and then add the toppings each person wants.

  172. I feel like I'm making the same 'ol recipes every.single.week!! This cookbook would be a welcome change for my family : )

  173. I always freeze extra coffee in ice cube trays so I can add the ice cubes to my iced coffee in the summer or to smoothies anytime. As a single working mom I would love to win the ATK cookbook with its shortcut ingredients.

  174. I'd love this book!
    To have quicker stove top oats in the morning, soak them overnight before cooking--saves valuable minutes when you are hungry in the morning 🙂

  175. That book looks really wonderful. I would love to have it. After all, who can't use some quick recipe ideas? My tip is to cook beans without soaking. My pintos, white beans, black beans, etc. are done usually before an hour is up.

  177. I would love to win a copy of this cookbook. I seem to make the same five meals over and over, it's time for some new recipes for my family!

  178. if you want to make quick pizza, but don't want to spend the time making the dough--call your favorite local pizzeria and buy their dough, take it home and make your own pizza with it! voila--a quick way to make gourmet pizza! i LOVE ATK!

  180. I dont have a quick cooking tip (sorry),which is why this cookbook would be great for me. 😉 Thanks!

    I look forward to your emails every morning, you always present great ideas and information in such a positive way. Thank You!

  181. While working FT and going to school, my time is limited although I love to cook. I plan my weekly meals on the weekends, and prep everything that I can, in order to throw things together in a timely manner when needed. I love Cook's Illustrated, their recipes always turn out so well.

  182. ATK+Quick= the perfect match. I would love a chance to win this cookbook. Thanks for hosting the giveaway.

  183. I like to cook extra chicken whenever I prepare it. I add a little salt and pepper and saute. Then I use that chicken for two or three meals rather than one. When I go to make dinner on the following night I just have to prepare the sauces, but I don't have to take the extra step of cutting up and cooking raw chicken. Ewwww. Did I mention I hate cutting raw chicken?

  184. I would LOVE to have this book! Because you love ATK so much, I bought a 30 minutes cookbook of theirs and I absolutely love it! I am growing to appreciate Cook's and ATK more and more every day!

  185. I would love this cookbook to try and add something to our after work menu. The 45 minute limit sounds great! I am seriously lacking in tips - hence the cookbook is desperately needed. 🙂

  186. I want want want to win this cookbook!!!!...I am a newbie to your site as well as cooking for my family( myself, husband, and 2 under 2 years boys)

  188. I'm a big fan of recipe pics and I don't have a lot of time to cook right now since I work full time...so I could sure use a cookbook where the recipes take only 45 minutes!!!! 😉 Thanks for this awesome give-away.

    Thanks,
    Jen

  189. I live by myself, so the most useful quick-cooking tip I have is to cook BIG meals, and then package them in individual-size tupperware containers in the freezer. Then, on most nights, all I need to do is pick a meal from the freezer and pop it in the microwave-- and I get a good home-cooked meal without all the effort.

  191. Gimme! Gimme!! I would so love to have this book, it sounds perfect. My best tip for cooking - have someone else do it. And the cleanup.

  192. I always keep frozen veggies in the freezer. They really cut down on the prep time, and there's not much difference between frozen and fresh, nutritionally.

  193. I'd love to have a cop! The color picutures and detail would make it so much easier than trying to stand my Kindle up and pause go pause go....not to mention to flour and sugar in the crevices. Ahem.

    My quick tip is thus:

    Save all your bones and veggie scrap in plastic zip top bags. Throw them together in a pot with your favorite seasoning and boil or roast them in the oven then boil. I use the crock pot. Strain. Pour into ice cube trays and cover with a recycled bread or cereal bag. Pop out and use at will.

      1. Jeanine, put your kindle in a ziploc bag. You can still us it and the set it in one of those 3 t-stand picture frame holders.

  195. I love both America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated!
    (or maybe not quick, but easy)
    To easily remove the seeds from a Pomegranate -
    cut the pomegranate in half and then use a spoon to gently 'tap' on the sheet of the fruit to pop the seeds out into a bowl.
    🙂

  197. I buy organic free range chicken in bulk, pound them out and freeze 4 each in ziplocs so I can easily have chicken ready for dinner. Bonus, when they are pounded thin, they defrost and cook much quicker and more evenly

  199. To keep 1/2 an avocado from turning brown: smear a good amount of olive oil on it, then place it face down onto a plate. This has worked better than any other trick I have tried for avocados!

  200. Hi! I would love this cookbook- Lord knows I need it! My tip is to warm a large pot before I cook a huge pancake breakfast for my family. Turn the burner off so the pot is warm, not hot. Place stacks of pancakes in the pot as you cook them, making sure to keep the lid on. It keeps the pancakes warm and moist until everyone is at the table. This way, I actually get to sit with my family for a wonderful Sunday breakfast!

  201. I have a cleaning tip after cooking. If you have lots of burnt on specks from browning/searing/frying and they are too black to use, just pour water in the pan after taking the food out. it will steam up, but then you can scrape (or gently scrub if its nonstick) to get most of the caked on residue before you wash the pan making a scrubber virtually unneccessary. And I would love this book because I feel I am fresh out of new ideas!

  203. I peel my potatoes in the morning and leave them in water so when I'm ready to start dinner I have a head start. I LOVE ATK.

  204. My tip for cooking is invest in a heat resistant spacula. It's great whenever your mixing anything in a bowl or in pan. It cleans the sides away not missing any ingredients.

  205. I spray my cookie sheets on the dishwasher door so I don't have to clean up the mess. For when you bake!

  206. I love, love, love Cook's Illustrated and ATK. My tip: use a lid when possible when heating something on the stove. It will heat up much faster.

  208. Whenever I am cooking a meal with lots of vegetables, which creates a lot of veggie scraps...I throw them in a pot of water to make an easy stock. Even if there are only a handful of veggies in the pot or it doesn't cook very long...I strain it, freeze it and use it when making rice instead of water. Sometimes it adds flavor, but if nothing else it adds nutrition and my kids have no clue!

  212. I love Cook's Illustrated! My best tip is to PLAN MEALS. It saves many hours of "what are we having/cooking for supper".

  213. My cooking tip is to take some time on a Sunday (I like to do this while I am watching football!) and get out my food processor to chop, chop, chop! I chop up tons of onion, celery, peppers -- whatever veggies I have gotten deals on that week. I put the chopped veggies in freezer containers to use for recipes. While the chopping takes some time, it's SO worth it when you need chopped veggies for recipes in a hurry.

  214. If I want to make pizza (deep dish or thin crust or even pepperonni bread) for dinner but won't be home in time to make the dough, I make the dough in the morning and pop it in the fridge to slow rise while I'm gone. I pull it and turn on the oven while the stone and the dough warm up. Then make dinner and pop it in the oven. It takes about an hour from coming home to dinner on the table but most of that time isn't spent in front of the stove so it's not really a problem.

  215. I never seemed to have lemon zest when I needed it. Finally, I figured out to use a vegetable peeler to get just the yellow part of a lemon rind when I had a lemon. I store the strips in the freezer for lemon peel on demand. It really adds a lot to both sweet and savory dishes.

  218. I tape frequently used recipes to the inside of my cupboards so they are always handy and I'd love to have a Cooks Illistrated.

  219. Love this book....how easy and helpful. Work full time and don't have much time...many of you can understand. Thank you for the blog and for the wonderful giveaway

  220. My new favorite "quick" fix is using my pampered chef stone baker to fry bacon in the microwave. I've always used a bacon cooker in the microwave but it was a pill to clean. Using the stone baker is super simple. It cooks ur bacon crispy and is a breeze to clean up!! Love it!!!!!

  221. I do as much prep as I can on the weekend. This includes planning the meals, grocery shopping and prepping the food. I'll brown the ground beef in the microwave and freeze it in zipper bags. I'll also try to do double-duty, whenever possible. I'll bake chicken with just seasoning in the oven while also baking a dish of chicken and rice. The baked chicken I'll save for a totally different meal, with potatoes or on top of a salad or for sweet and sour chicken. I'll also bag snacks on the weekend for lunches. The more I can accomplish on the weekend, the easier and more delicious my week will be.

  222. Oh Please! Love the Cooks Illustrated books and would love to give this to my daughter, who is at the "not much time" period of her life.

  223. This is one of the best cooking tips I ever learned...
    To peel garlic easily: Cut off ends of clove. Place the flat side of a large (wide) knife over the garlic clove and push down (carefully) with the base of your palm to slightly crush the clove. Peel will now come off easily!

  225. I am new to ATK after a friend's suggestion. I have just started purchasing some of the recommended kitchen items. I plan to try some of their recipes soon.

  226. One of the best tricks I learned is that you can use a rice cooker for more than just plain rice. I've used mine to make Mexican/Spanish rice, polenta, and quinoa, and one of these days I'm going to try risotto.

  227. Hi Kristen! Love Frugal Girl, but just started following. My quick tip is for those of us who just recently started canning. I had my first real garden this year and made my own tomato sauce, but I'm not the most patient person in the world. So instead of scalding my tomatoes in hot water, then peeling them, then squishing out the seeds, I core my tomatoes and roast them slowly in the oven at the lowest setting (mine's 170 degrees) overnight with whole heads of garlic, olive oil, and kosher salt. In the morning, I let them cool and squeeze out the garlic cloves, then use my blender to pulverize everything down, including the skins on the tomatoes--there's a lot of pectin in there to thicken the sauce. Once the sauce is at the consistence I like, I process it. Maybe not so quick, but definitely frugal, and absolutely the best sauce I've ever had!

  228. We are big fans of ATK and Cook's Illustrated....and would really like to win this cookbook, too.

    Thank you for entering us. 🙂

  231. Make meatloaf in muffin tins, instead of a loaf pan. It cuts down on the cooking time, and you can customize toppings/sauce for everyone!

  232. This sounds like a great cookbook!! I do about an hour of food prep after grocery shopping (washing and chopping produce, portioning out snacks, cooking a batch of quinoa or rice, etc.) which saves me a lot of time during the week.

  235. I really like the organization of this new cookbook! Plus, I heard the an interview with these authors earlier this week. The science behind good recipes is an entirely new angle for me!

  237. I learned how to make a variety of no-cook or minimal cooking required sauces. Add some rice, veggies and protein and dinner (or a ready to pack lunch) is done. Most of them are peanut sauces of different variety but curry sauces based on curry paste easy and the veggies cook in the sauce.

  239. Hmmm cooking tip? I can't come up with one off the top of my head but I CAN share that I fell in love with ATK/CI through you/your blog. I got their revamped CI cookbook for Christmas last year and it was probably my favorite gift. I still have a lot of recipes to try (and will probably die with a lot of recipes left to try, there are so many,) but there are two I've been going back to time an again.

    Their sandwich bread recipe, and their sauteed green beans recipe. DELICIOUS. My husband has always hated/tolerated green beans (and I love them), and after I tried that recipe for the first time, he REQUESTED them. Yay!

    So I would LOVE a copy of their quick family cookbook. It sound fabulous.

  240. We use instant yeast to quicken rising time in our bread baking - makes preparing homemade breads a breeze, and Sam's Club offers a bulk package at a great price.

  243. What a fun, fun giveaway! I love ATK. 🙂 I'm not sure that I have any great kitchen tips, but I've been using a microplane to grate garlic instead of using a garlic press lately. It works fabulously!

  244. I'd love to win this cookbook, I'm all about easy, delicious meals!
    Cooking Tip: Freeze any extra/leftover wine in an ice cube tray, pop them out and store in a freezer bag until a recipe calls for wine. Thanks 🙂

    1. I would love this cookbook. Love the show & the mag but have never picked up one of their cookbooks.

  246. I would love a copy of this cookbook! I have a long commute, so always on the lookout for quick & easy recipes!

  247. Start planning dinner and any prep that you can do right after breakfast. No matter what happens during the day, at least you know what you're having for dinner and even have a jump-start on it.

  248. I know this will sound like a weird cooking tip, but here lately it seems to come as such a shock when I say I'm making it. My cooking tip is DON'T BE AFRAID OF DRIED BEANS! Dried beans are so easy and can be so healthy and filling and it seems too often that folks don't even think of them. And let's face it, they can be a CHEAP way to feed a large family! They are not only good on their own as more of a soup, but they can make a great side as either just a little scoop with some seasonings, mashed up, refried, used as a dip, or any other way you can think to use them. We love them and use them quite a bit and they are just a great, easy, and cheap way to make and fill out meals. 😀

  249. If you have trouble using up fresh cilantro (or basil, parsley, etc) grind it up in the food processor or blender with a little olive oil. Spread the paste on a plate or tray and freeze. Break the frozen slab into smaller pieces and store sealed in the freezer. Add a piece or two to your recipes and it will thaw as the food cooks. Not quite as good as fresh, but no waste!

  250. This looks so cool! I love ATK. <3 Um, a tip... hmm...When possible, cook big and then portion things out. Last night I made a leftovers casserole from some vegetarian chili, rice, nacho fixings (beans, a little meat, fresh salsa, cheese) that were all prepared for different purposes. Freezer cooking to the rescue!

  251. I'm not the world's best cook, particularly since I got pregnant and discovered the realm of "food as a necessary evil", but my cousin who is my frugal and domestic guru, makes up these apple pie packs so that she'll spend one afternoon in the fall peeling, chopping, spicing apples, mixing up the crumble topping and then freezing it all so she has like 12 apple pies ready to go. All she has to do is whip up a pie dough recipe (or in my case, buy pie crust) and dump it all in.

  253. My quick cooking tip is to turn off the oven a few minutes before the timer goes off. It saves a little energy and the oven is still hot enough to cook the food:)

  255. Quick Cooking Tip: Prep all of your ingredients in advance. I do mine on the weekend. Then all of the work and mess is cleaned up and makes week night meals much easier!

  256. My favorite cooking tip to get vegetables into food and remain mostly hidden, is to finely grate carrots, then squeeze all the juice out (I drink the juice) and then mix up the carrots in your casserole or meatloaf.

    Plus, I would love the cookbook 🙂

  257. Cooking Tip - Menu Plan to use loss leaders at the grocery store to ensure good prices per meal and utilizing leftovers into rollover meals!

  260. Thanks for the chance to win this awesome book!!! My tip: make a beef roast with carrots, onions, potatoes in the crock pot. Save the leftovers in the refrigerator including the leftover gravy. Then, make beef stew using water and a few bullion cubes a few nights later.

  261. Instead of frying corn tortillas for enchiladas, arrange them on a plate and cover with a few very moist papertowels and microwave for 1-1 1/2 minutes. (depending on how many you put on your plate) Saves time and calories.

  263. I would love this cookbook. I've never made many ATK recipes because they tend to be labor intensive, s o this cookbook looks right up my alley!
    For a time saving tip- With any casserole I make two and freeze one for another day. It barely takes any extra work, and makes an easy dinner for another busy night.

  264. We often have veggies chopped and then freeze on a tray, before putting in a large bag so we can take out just what we need for a certain recipe.

    I love cookbooks and this one sounds like a good one!!

  267. I like to make risotto for my family and instead of using white wine I use chicken broth and water 1:1 ratio or pasta sauce and water 1:1 ratio. I find its less expensive (especially if I have already boiled the bones to make my own broth and put it in the freezer).

    I'm definitely interested in the cookbook.

    Thanks for such a great blog!

  268. I work full time so any weekday meal I can prepare quickly at home (not carry out!) is a must to eat healthier and stay on a budget! I need this cook book!

  269. I love cookbooks...they are something that I collect that I actually get to use!!! I would love to add a new one to my collection

  270. Your post about ATK's Healthy Cookbook inspired me to purchase it and I absolutely LOVE it! So I'm super excited to see this quick version too! 🙂

  271. This cookbook looks great! I'd love this book!

    My quick cooking tip would probably be saving money by cooking dry beans instead of canned, but using a pressure cooker to cut the cooking time considerably.

  273. Hmmm...quick cooking. I know what saves me time is to make extra rice or polenta once a week and have it in the fridge for a second quick meal of roasted veg over polenta, stir fry over rice or fried rice. And I always throw potatoes or sweet potatoes in the oven to bake along with whatever else is in there. Then they're ready for later side dishes, a potato bar dinner or a quick meal of sausages sauteed with potatoes and kale.

  274. I would love the book!

    For my cooking tip..... Um, how about a recipe?

    Get a pork shoulder. Put it in your crockpot. Marinade it overnight in root beer. Cook on high for 1-2 hours, then cook on low for 6-7 hours. Strain pork and remove any bones. Add your favorite BBQ sauce and allow to cook for 1 more hour (I really like Bullseye). Enjoy!

  276. I would love this cookbook because I am still learning how to cook for our young family and want to do more of this rather than "quick/processed/instant" type of foods. 🙂

  277. Well, truthfully, I probably don't need another cookbook--but we have the ATK Family Cookbook and everything I've made from that has turned out well ... I think I have a cookbook fetish so winning this would be fun.

    Hmm, a non-repetitive tip ... I keep my pantry stocked (potatoes, pasta, taco shells, kidney beans, ridiculous amounts of canned pumpkin ... ). Avoiding extra trips to the store saves me time and money.

  278. We always have rice and beans in the house for a quick meal when the meal we planned falls through.

  279. I would love this cookbook! I have 2 small kids, and I work full time. Quick dinners are a necessity in our house. Quick tip: .....mmmm.....can't think of one right now.

  280. When I buy ground meat at the butcher for recipes, I try to buy several pounds at once and then brown them when I get home. That way, for recipes during the month likes soups and tacos, I just grab a 1# bag of already cooked hamburger meat :).
    Kari 🙂

  281. I want this cookbook!
    Also, my favorite quick cooking tip for steel-cut oats: Boil 1 1/2 cups lightly salted water, add 1/2 cup oats and let cook for one minute. Pop on a lid and remove from heat. I do this right before bedtime and when I wake up I have perfect oats to take to work and heat up for breakfast! This makes two servings for me.

  282. I would love a copy of this cookbook!

    My kitchen tip: When you grow or buy fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro and you can't use everything you've picked/bought, stem and chop the herbs and stuff tablespoons into ice cube trays. Submerge the herbs in water and freeze. When they've frozen, just remove the herb cubes from the trays and store in the freezer until you're ready to use them. I live in Wisconsin and when it's the dead of Winter, my frozen herbs are the solution when dried seasoning won't do. I especially love this practice for parsley and cilantro, but many leafy herbs can be preserved this way.

  283. My cooking tip: if you have a lot of garlic cloves to peel, instead of peeling them one at a time, put them in a metal bowl and put a second metal bowl upside down on top of the first one. Holding the edges of the two bowls together, shake the cloves for about a minute. This is pretty noisy, but you will be amazed when you open the bowls and see how the garlic cloves are now peeled.

  285. I LOVE American Test Kitchen. Hmmmm quick tips.... When boiling eggs, they are so easy to peel if you boil them correctly. Put them in cold water and on the stove. Boil for only 3 minutes then take off heat and cover for 8 minutes. As soon as the timer goes off get some cold water in the pan and they are perfect ready to peel. 🙂

  286. I've been trying to think of a kitchen tip, but I don't really have anything. Well, maybe one. When I do my canning, I use my two dish tubs to hold large quantities of whatever I'm canning. That way I make use of what I already have instead of having to go buy huge bowls that I use only a few times a year and then have to find a place to store. But really, I'd just love to have the cookbook!

  287. Wow, I would love this book! As for a cooking tip, I have to say the silpat style mats I bought at Aldi last winter have been very awesome!

  288. I would really like this cookbook as I'm not very skilled in the cooking area and I believe that I would be more excited to learn if the meals are cook and easy! Thanks!!

  289. Hi. I am a 911 dispatche EMT for for a large urban city and my husband also an EMT who works the ambulance and we both work 2nd shift and some overnights for extra cash.. I would love any help in making wholesome and quick meals both for home and to bring to work for mealbreaks. Too often we end up eating the same quick sandwich dinners or fast food due to scheduling issues and lack of time. This cook book sounds like an answer to a prayer for better food with less time

  292. I am just starting to try my hand at cooking lately, and this book would be lovely! One tip I have found really helpful is to wash, chop and portion out fresh fruits and vegetables for use in dishes throughout the week.

  294. ATK is the best and so are their shows on PBS. This cookbook sounds great and I can't wait to try making recipes from it.

  295. Oooh, I just started watching America's Test Kitchen on tv and love it! I would love to get my hands on the book 🙂

    1. I'd looove this book! My quick cooking tip is to chop veggies for several meals for the week all at once. Also, if there is a sauce or dressing to make, I combine all those ingredients the day before as well.

  296. Awesome cook book. I love America's Test Kitchen. I like to make extras and freeze to save time.

  298. I freeze fresh spinach on cookie sheets and then transfer them to ziplocs to use for smoothies, omelets and sauces later. It has sure reduced my spinach waste.

  299. Kristen, I LOVE your Frugal Girl Blog! You always offer such great tips, suggestions, & recipes! I would also LOVE to have a chance at the ATK cookbook!
    Quick Cooking Tip:
    Next time when you bake a batch of cookies, double the recipe. Make one batch of cookies for now and then freeze the second batch (or other half) dropping by cookie scoopfuls placed on a cookie sheet. When frozen place in a freezer ziplock bag and keep in freezer ready to be baked the next time a cookie craving comes your way OR when unexpected company shows up. Who wouldn't love fresh baked cookies that are right out of the oven?!
    Thanks!

  300. I love to cook but have to be faster now since I have kiddos. Tip 1 I buy minced garlic in a jar. Lasts forever and I don't have to smash peel cut for every meal. Tip 2 about every 2 months I spend a couple hours and cook up some meals to keep in the freezer. This way we can pull something healthly out on really crazy days instead of takeout or pizza.

  301. To keep your cooked vegetables firm season them when they are almost finished cooking. If they are seasoned too early during cooking they become soft and don't have as much flavor.

  304. I would love the book, my tip is just to keep at it. Things don't usually turn out perfect the first time you do them so why should cooking be any different?

  305. I would really like this cookbook! It looks like it's full of great recipes and ideas. Honestly, I never thought you could check the propane tank level. Just from what I saw in the picture you posted, now I know you can. I would love to be able to see what other little cooling related tidbits I'm missing. Pick me, pick me. Thanks! 🙂

    1. This is me, Virginia. my email got deactivated because I didn't access it enough. 🙁 If you pick me, can you notify me some other way?

  308. Instead of adding salt to your favorite recipes, why don't you try herbs and spices as an alternative? You will get better tasting food with less sodium.

  311. Cooks Illustrated rocks and I'd expect nothing less from this one! Would love a copy. Thanks. 🙂

  312. My quick cooking tip is: remember to take tomorrow night's dinner items (meat) out of the freezer the night before. This is my most important step to getting dinner on the table in a timely manner the following day.

    This cookbook sounds awesome. I would love a copy. I'm in a rut and need to get out.

  313. My favorite tip for Thanksgiving--make gravy and serve it out of a (small) crockpot. That way, the gravy stays warm and you don't have to fuss with it with everything else going on.
    I love ATK and America's Test Kitchen and I want this book!

  316. To check if you have the right amount of seasoning/sauce in your meatloaf, take a small portion of the mixed meat, microwave on a small plate it until it is cooked and taste. Takes out the guessing!

  317. I am not sure if it would qualify as a quick tip, but when i make rice, i always make double what i really need for a meal (especially since it's usually brown rice in the oven, which takes longer to cook). This way i have an easy start for a fried rice for dinner a day or two later (very fast meal if rice is already done) or an easy breakfast for my girls, warmed up with a little butter, milk, touch of sugar and cinnamon.

  318. Lately I've been saving time by chooping up extra veggies to use in cooking in the next few days. That way I save on prep time when I need to get dinner out faster.

  319. I live near Palisade, CO, where we have amazing peaches. I freeze them whole, no prewashing. A quick 30 seconds in the microwave to defrost, the whole skin slips off, it is easy to pull the pit out and the peach is ready for smoothies!

  320. Here's a tip I learned from my husband one night when he had forgotten to take the ground beef out of the freezer. I happened to mention it to him on the phone (two hours before dinner) "Oh! I forgot to take it out" he said, "but I'll take it out now." "But it will never thaw in time!" I protested. "Sure it will" he said and - sure enough - when he showed up only about an hour and a half later, it was completely thawed , but still nice and cool.

    Now I know that he does not have a microwave - or even running water - in his shop, which is where we keep our freezer. HOW DID HE DO THIS???

    "You just put it on something steel" he said. "The heat tranfer capabilities make it thaw fast." In this case, he put it on the cold woodstove.

    We live in Maine, and it is not unusual to have a woodstove - or two or three. I have since used this trick many times and it amazes me. If you do not have a woodstove, I suppose you could try putting it on the flat surface of a cast iron frying pan or dutch oven. I haven't tried that yet because we have two woodstoves in the house and it's rare that they are both burning.

    I think that this will only work with something that has a flat enough surface that there is a lot of area in contact with the steel.

    I had thawed things in cold water before (same heat transfer principle - the heat transfers to the water faster than to air) but this method is much faster.

  321. I have been away from home for almost a year now while my husband is deployed and I haven't been able to cook much in the situation where I am currently living. We are headed back to our home in December and I am so excited to have my own kitchen back! This cookbook looks amazing and would be a great tool for some new recipes!

  322. Cook's Illustrated is such a favorite of mine and with our first baby on the way, I know I'll need an arsenal of fast meals!

  326. Ok, I couldn't read through ALL of the comments, so I hope my tip hasn't been used - for boiled eggs with no green yolk, cover cold eggs with water, place them over medium high (or whatever heat) and when they come to a boil, turn off the heat, cover the eggs with a lid, and wait 18 minutes. No green yolk - has NEVER failed to give me a perfectly hard-boiled egg.

  328. Oh how I would skip around for days to receive a copy of this cookbook. My husband and I absolutely love America's Test Kitchen! Cooking tip: For recipes calling for buttermilk, it is quite easy to sour your own milk using 1 cup milk to 1 Tbls Lemon juice. Do it all the time and no one ever knows!

  329. I am in need of a new cookbook, Betty Crocker is getting kinda boring :/
    I am not familiar with ATK or cooks illustrated, I would love to win the book!

  330. Cooking tip: if you want to put some more fiber into any recipe that requires all purpose flour, you can only substitute a fourth of the amount of the flour with whole wheat flour (any more than that and it will be too dense) or up to half of the flour can be substituted with whole wheat pastry flour. I do this with pizza dough and it is delicious!

  331. I would love a copy of this book! I need quick and easy meals for me, my husband and two young boys.

  332. Oh, I would love this cookbook! I'd like to think that I'm averse to shortcut ingredients, but also a realist 🙂

  335. I think that would be helpful. I'd love to try it out. Cooks Illustrated always has the best recipes, but they usually seem to come with a trade-off: You want the best blueberry muffins? These are them. But they'll take twice as long.

    Sounds like this is the best of both worlds. 🙂

  336. Quick & healthy tip? I use homemade applesauce and applebutter to make oatmeal in the morning for breakfast!
    1/4 c quick or rolled oats
    1/4 c homemade applesauce
    2 T homemade applebutter
    2 T milk
    Stir all together and microwave for 1 minute. Add 1T peanut butter, some craisins and a splash of milk, & you're good to go!

  337. My best tip is to double recipes and freeze half to use on another day in the future. Thanks for the give-away!

  338. Cooking tip:
    It's easy to make a white sauce and add stuff to it (mushrooms, wine, etc.) and use it instead of canned soup in recipes that call for canned soup. Takes about five minutes and has no scary ingredients in it, except for what you add yourself!

  339. I would love to win this cookbook! I checked out one of their others from my library once, and every recipe I've ever tried by them has been wonderful! Especially their recipe for Chicken Fried Steak...my husband's favorite!

  342. I love ATK and Cook's Ill. cookbooks. They are pretty pricey though, so I typically check them out from the library to browse through them first. My tip is probably not earth shattering, but I use my kitchen shears to quickly chop up cooked chicken breasts for my casseroles. It is super fast and you don't have to get out a cutting board and another knife.

  343. I like cutting vegetables on Sunday so I can have chopped veggies ready for cooking during the week.

  344. I'd love a copy of that book! (My brain is not working well enough right now to think of a quick tip.)

  345. I've been sitting here trying to think of a quick cooking tip.....I don't have any! That's why we ate dinner at 7:30 last night, and that's why I need a quick recipe cookbook. My husband would be forever grateful. ^_^

  347. Lots of my recipes call for pre-cooked cube chicken (chicken pot pie, chicken squares, etc) - instead of spending money on cubed chicken in the deli I buy chicken tenders in bulk and cook a bunch at a time, cut them up and freeze saving time and money!

  348. Tip: I like to cut up lots veggies on Sunday for quick omelette making during the week and for work snacks.

    And I would love this cookbook!!

  352. My kitchen tip is that when I make casseroles, I am one of those that makes extra and sticks it in the freezer. I try to never have more than 2 or 3 at a time in the freezer so that I can keep straight in my mind what is in there. I would love to have a ATK recipe book. I have seen one library book from them but that is all.

  353. I am out of cooking idea period. I would really like this cookbook just to start coming up with new ideas.

  354. Cut home-baked bread upside-down to help keep the top crust intact. And I'd LOVE the book! 🙂

  355. Quick Cooking Tip - Make food ahead of time and freeze. I like to make big batches of beans and freeze them in bags for future use. Thanks for the giveaway!

  356. I would love this book! I'm always looking for new recipes. My favorite cooking tip is adding applesauce instead of oil to baked goods. Tastes wonderful, and is healthier too!

  358. I like to prep ahead the night before or in the morning while my girls get ready for school...if all else fails boxed/refrigerated ingredients can be jazzed up too.....would love to win this cookbook 🙂

  359. I love ATK, but you are right, a lot of their recipes can get quite involved... Love to see the quick recipes they offer!

  360. Would love to win the cookbook.
    My tip is to use your kitchen shears more. They are great for chopping herbs, cutting up bacon into small pieces when needed, and lots of other things that would take much longer with a knife.

  362. My one quick cooking tip is Meal Planning! I meal plan before I go to the grocery store, so maybe 3-4 times per month. It takes the guess work out of "what's for dinner"? Just THINKING of what to cook is super time consuming for me. This book would be a fabulous addition to my cookbook shelf.

  363. Cooking tip: line your cake pans with wax paper before pouring in the cake batter. This makes removing the baked cakes much easier. 🙂

    Hope I win!

  364. I would love to have this book, and my cooking tip is to keep your brown sugar in the freezer to keep it soft.

  367. Wish I had a cooking tip to share, but I'm usually the one who needs help so I would really like to get this cookbook. My family thinks so too! ;->

    Becky

  368. Believe me - I really wish I had a tip for everyone - but I'm not that good of a cook. I struggle just about every single day to get something on the table for my family. But I love food and ATK, hopefully someday I figure it all out! Thanks for the chance to win!

  369. My quick cooking tip is to brown a bunch of ground beef & portion it up in sandwich bags to keep in the freezer. It makes recipes so much quicker than when you have to cook the meat first (and a crockpot or turkey roaster works great for browning a large batch).

  370. My biggest timesaver is pre-cooking ingredients like ground beef. I chop onion and pepper once and brown 5 lbs. Each pound fits in a sandwich bag. It only takes a second to make chili/taco/sloppy joe.

  371. I just started doing more freezer cooking. Doesn't save time in the beginning, but it is so nice just to take a meal out in the morning to defrost and cook in the evening!!

  372. A tip... I (try to) plan all means a week at a time, making shopping trips fewer and more precise = less waste.

  374. I *love* ATK and would jump up and down for joy if I won their new cookbook! 🙂
    Quick cooking tip: On weeks I make homemade pizza, I use the leftover pizza sauce (I always make a huge batch and freeze in portions) later in the week and make spaghetti.

  375. The best quick cooking tip I have to offer is to keep your pantry well stocked with the basics-pasta, canned tomato stuff, rice, canned beans, etc. If you have a full pantry of staples then you can make anything at a moments notice. Don't forget to keep the freezer full of things too. I always have frozen fruits and vegetables and assorted meats in there.

  376. I like to peel an entire knob of ginger, cut it into smaller pieces then freeze in a ziploc bag. When I need it for cooking, I can just take out what I need. It takes prep work beforehand, but it's a timesaver come cooking time.

  377. I would love this cookbook in my kitchen! Yesterday, I planted cilantro and parsely in a cute pot in my kitchen. Hopefully, I will have fresh spices all winter long!

  378. I would love to have this cook book! I don't know if this is really a cooking tip, but to save time I always cut up my veggies and freeze them. Then when I want to make something quick I can just throw them in the pan.

    1. Quick cooking is something I really need help with! I've just returned to work after a couple of years home with my son, and I could use all the good, wholesome and quick recipes I can get!

  379. I cook my meat on the slow cooker and then freeze for later use. I would love to win this book.

  380. I would love this. I save time by assembling things that will be cooked in the crockpot for lunch the next day at the same time I'm fixing dinner the day before. This creates one round of kitchen cleanup and then I can just turn the Crockpot on first thing in the morning which gives it enough time to be done by lunch.

  382. Quick cooking is something I really need help with! I've just returned to work after a couple of years home with my son, and I could use all the good, wholesome and quick recipes I can get!

  384. My husband is a huge fan of America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country/Cook's Illustrated, and I would love to be able to get this book for him.

  385. A cookbook with pictures is my favorite kind. I'm a huge fan of ATK, they have made me look like a brilliant cook on many occasions.

  386. On Sunday or Monday, I chop up all the veggies and stuff I will need for the week. That way when I'm ready to rock and roll, everything is prepped and ready to go!

  387. I would love this cookbook! When making potato salad add chopped onion and celery to your potatoes cooking. Also add washed eggs to boil in the potatoes. Take them out, peel and chop before you add your other potato salad ingredients to the drained potato mixture (mayo, mustard etc.) A time saver when you are in a hurry.

  388. Oh my gosh, I totally added this to my Amazon wish list right after your post the other day so I wouldn't forget about it... I've been wanting to dip my toe into the America's Test Kitchen waters for as long as I've been reading about it on your blog! Honestly, I don't have any quick cooking tips and am always wondering why recipes take me so long so this book would be great 🙂

  390. Quick Cooking Tip:
    Stir fry is one of the fastest quick cooking dinners I make. I have a simple stir fry sauce that combines soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and brown sugar,and corn starch (you can add red pepper flakes for heat). Then I use any combination of meat and veggies I have on hand. I serve it with rice. I can definitely make this in 30- 45 minutes. I would be interested to see some of the recipes in this book, because I do love cook's illustrated, but many of their recipes seem time consuming.

  392. My tip: if the recipe is written with EXACT directions or measurement, it will surely be worth your while to take the time to follow the recipe EXACTLY (for example if a recipe states it should take 90 seconds to pour the syrup into the bowl, I make sure it takes 90 seconds. If a recipe calls for 1/8 tsp, it's probably worth my time to locate a 1/8 teaspoon!).

    I've tried a few ATK recipes and they always turn out awesome (when I follow their directions)!

  393. With little kids running around, I like to get all the ingredients out and have them all ready before I start, that way I can try to get it all done at once, instead of stopping and coming back after interruptions. (this come in during the gathering of supplies!)

    I'd love to try ATK!

  396. Chop aromatics ahead of time. If I'm already chopping a cup of onion for something, I'll chop up two or three, and separate them in 1/2-cup or 1-cup portions for the freezer.
    I would *so* love to receive this cookbook!

  397. I LOVE COOKBOOKS AND TRYING NEW RECIPES. I WOULD REALLLLY REALLLLLY LOVE TO ADD THIS BOOK TO MY COLLECTION. PLEASE CONSIDER ME FOR A FREE ONE.

  398. I love America's Test Kitchen and I'd LOVE this book!

    Quick tip that I actually got from an episode of ATK (I think) is to make a big batch of cookie dough and then freeze them in individual balls (I use my cookie scoop). Then, you can always take some out and bake when you want fresh cookies!

  399. If you typically shop on your day off, wash and prep as much food as possible when you get home from the grocery store to shorten the time you spend trying to get dinner on the table during the week.

  400. Oooh, ooh! I'll take one (I'm battling a cold, and hence brain-dead at the moment, so no cooking tip.)

  401. I used to watch America's Test Kitchen on PBS all the time. I loved it! My kitchen tip is to pre wash Romaine lettuce as soon as you get home from the store in cold water and a little vinegar. Then rinse and spin dry. Store all your lettuce ready to eat in zip lock bags. It will keep for weeks and it's ready to use for fresh salads at anytime.

  402. My favorite tip is to have items precooked that can be easily thawed and use. An example of this is beans that I cook from dried and freeze flat in ziplock bags (2 cups each). Since they are flat, I can put them in water and they thaw in around 30 minutes. Easy and quick to use!

  403. My quick tip is to cook several boneless chicken breasts with seasoning in the crock pot. When fully cooked, turn off the crock pot and use your handheld mixer (on low) to quickly and easily shred the chicken without mushing it. Delightfully easy!

    And I'd love to win the cookbook!

  405. My quick cooking tip is using red onions. Soak in a quick ice bath when putting them in a recipe in the raw form. Takes out some of the bite.

  406. Love America's Test Kitchen! For the life of me, I can't think of a single quick-cooking thing that I do! I know I do 'em though b/c you have to when you work full-time and your family expects dinner to be ready at a decent time! 🙂 So I will just say that I would love to have this cookbook!!

  407. Cooking an entire bag of frozen chicken breasts in the oven, dicing/shredding, the refreezing or refrigerating for future meals is a great timesaver. I love ATK and would be thrilled to win this cookbook!

  410. I splurged and bought myself a bread maker a few years ago on a mega online clearance sale! It has a dough feature, which I often use to make pizza dough. It goes through the first rise cycle in the machine. I wrap it into individual pizza sizes and freeze for later. As it's defrosting it rises again, add toppings and then you bake! Takes the added time out of making the dough each time you wanna eat pizza!

  411. I would love to win this cookbook so that I would know some cooking tips:) I am just learning how to cook and my husband says I can use all of the help that I can get.

  413. For me, the key to quick cooking is preparation. Meal planning so I know what I'm going to make, shopping to make sure I have everything on hand and then working around our schedules to make sure I don't have something that takes a lot of work planned when I know we have a lot going on. And I LOVE Cooks Illustrated!

  414. When making pudding, I heat my milk and put the other ingredients along with a little more milk in a blender. I slowly pour the hot milk into the blender and then heat the whole mixture. This completely prevents lumps.

  415. I learned to cook from Cook's Illustrated! I've got two small children at home and I would love, love, love this cookbook!

    My only tip isn't a great one, but it's saved my sanity a few times. Instead of roasting whole potatoes in the oven for an hour, you can cook them in the microwave for a few minutes. (Maybe 3-4 min per potato? I stop and check them often so I'm not sure.) They don't come out QUITE as good, but if you've got hungry kids with no patience to wait for dinner... It's the single easiest side dish I've ever come up with.

  416. Although it's time intensive initially, I find home canned beef to be a huge time saver in the kitchen. French dip, Hot Beef Sandwiches, Beef and Noodles.... Yum! Oh, and I'd love a cookbook!

  417. No tips for me either, I'd just really like it! I've gotten a new job, work longer hour, so I need a cook book that'll show me how to cook something fast! Thanks!

  419. I don't have any quick cooking tips (other than take out or trader joes premade food - not helpful!) so I'd love to have a new cookbook!

  421. I love ATK! They have always been my favorite.

    My quick cooking tip is stop wasting oil when you cook pasta. It doesn't help to keep the pasta from being separated it's a total myth!

  422. Instead of frying it in a pan I boil it in a big pot of water and use a potato masher to separate the meat while it cooks. With no splattered grease to wipe up, cleanup is a breeze. I then freeze the cooked meat in meal size portions.

  423. Ooh! Pick me! Pick me! here is my tip: another easy way to make no-stir granola is to use a dehydrator. Not a frugal thing if you don't have one already, but it is also nice to usea dehydrator if you make jerky a lot. Which we do. And homemade fruit roll ups. And granola 🙂

  424. When I harvest my kale at the end of the season, there is always too much to use up right away. I chop it and boil it in stock. I divide the stock into containers and freeze it. When I want a quick meal, I thaw a container, add to it whatever meat and veggie leftovers I have around, and have soup in no time.

    Thanks for the chance to win.

  425. I LOVE cookbooks! I cook in quantities & use my freezer; that way you always have something you can pull out & even nuke to defrost if necessary.

  428. My favorite quick cooking tip is roasting garlic! It only takes about 30 minutes in a 450 degree oven, and is SO delicious and flavorful to add to meals!

  430. I wish I had a cooking tip but I am a terrible cook....would love to win this so I can gain some tips.

  432. Make extra soup or stew and freeze the extras in small glass containers for lunch.

    Clean your produce (except berries) as soon as you get home from the grocery, it makes cooking after a long day seem like less work.

    Throw cooked, hot chicken breasts in the kitchen aid mixer and use the paddle blade to shred. Life changing.

  433. My quick cooking tip is to start ahead of time, prep a meal early so that at dinner time it just needs to be heated up. Much less stressful in that crazy evening time.

  434. My mum can make a delicious three course meal out of a shoelace and 2 zucchinis..Opens the pantry and makes deliciouness out of air. None of that talent rubbed off on me however. I constantly burn food and turn out plates apon plates of not so yummy yet some may call food (My husband mostly, gosh I love that man). Since getting married and having kids I have learnt to read and follow the recipe to the T. I do not try and create my own 'magic' in the pot! My tip is to follow the recipe, especially if you lack the cooking gene like me 😉

  436. I cut up my basil and dry it in the microwave. It doesn't turn black. I's like to win the new cookbook.

  437. I have celiac disease so cook everything from scratch. I try to prep once for multiple meals. I brown ground meat and freeze it in meal sized portions. I chop onions and freeze them. I make huge amounts of soup and freeze some. And I love cookbooks as well at your blog.

  439. I don't really have a cooking tip, other than teaching your children the skills to either cook or clean up. But I do want the cookbook! 🙂

  440. I love ATK and Country cooking (and would love to win the cookbook!!!)

    My quick cooking tip.. when cooking/defrosting frozen veggies just poke the bag, or slash it with a knife, and then microwave. 🙂

  441. These folks always get it right! Love to read the science & the many trials they do to come up with almost perfect recipes....saves me making duds. 🙂

  445. I have found that throwing a whole chicken in the crockpot before going to work is a great way to prepare a quick and easy meal as it is so versatile.

  446. To separate an egg yolk from the egg white, crack an egg into a flat bowl.
    Take an empty water bottle, hold it upside-down over the yolk.
    Squeeze the bottle, touch the yolk and release the "squeeze."
    The yolk will go into the bottle. Squeeze again to release the yolk.
    I would love to get this cookbook.

  447. My Cooking Tip: To make 'Steamed Eggs in the Shell' (aka easy 'hard-boiled' eggs), I keep my eggs 2-3 weeks in the frig before placing them, at room temperature, in my food steamer for 20-25 minutes. I remove them when cool and they all slip beautifully out of their shells - even with one hand. Incidently, I also steam my Red Heart Super Saver yarn in the same steamer, letting it dry out before using it. That durable but very rough yarn is now nice and soft. Works great!
    One more tip: I cook ground beef in twice the amount of water, separating it as it cooks. When you drain off the water (save it), the meat is nice and crumbly and almost fat-free. You can cook a bit longer to brown it, and the reserved broth is great for other uses once you've refrigerated it and removed the fat from the top.

    I would love to be the recipient of The America's Test Kitchen Cook Book! I am retired myself, but my single-parent-working-full-time-daughter would truly appreciate such a great cook book! She and my 6-year-old grandson would both enjoy using it together! She's training him to be quite a helpful 'sous-chef'! Thank you so very much for all you do!

  448. I don't think I have any quick tips that don't involve frozen food! I could certainly use some good tips about quick cooking though and would love the cookbook!

  449. Great book! The only tip I would have is to clean up as you go along. Soak things quickly. It'll save on elbow grease later.

  450. Time saving tip: cook big batches, have dinner and freeze the rest in portions big enough for your family.
    Slice chicken breast in half, pound them until 1cm thick, they cook fast and you can freeze them in between layers of parchment paper, they can go straight from the freezer to the pan.
    And I REALLY want this book 🙂 It's always good to have good, fast recipes at hand.

  451. Hi Frugal Girl-
    I would love to have this cookbook to add to my collection. Your last day to reply is October 21, which so happens to be my birthday! I will be 48 years old it would bring me great joy to receive it from the "Frugal Girl" and her family. With signatures of course.

  454. I would love love love this book! My quick cooking tip is to make extra of whatever meal I'm making so we can eat it again as leftovers later in the week.

  455. I enjoy cooking for my family and trying new recipes. I try to keep it simple and have found that preparing some things ahead of time helps. I cook chicken breasts in the crockpot with an Italian dressing packet sprinkled on them. They cook for about 4 hours and are nice and juicy. I shred some, dice some and put them in the freezer, then pull them out to add to enchilidas, soups, casseroles etc. Oh and my family LOVES the Aussie Chicken recipe I saw on this blog awhile ago.

  457. Use kitchen scissors to cut up things like chicken breasts, bacon, etc. It's faster than a knife!

  458. I would LOVE to win a copy of this cookbook. Evenings are such a struggle in our house with dinner, homework, etc.........some good, healthy dinner ideas that don't take a ton of planning would be fabulous 🙂

  459. When cutting cinnamon roll dough, I use a long thread or piece of plain dental floss to cut with. Slide the thread under the dough roll, pulling the ends up and past each other over the top until the dough is cut through. Voila, no rolls smooshed with the knife.

  461. I would love this cookbook.

    My quick tip is more about strategy. I usually get home after work between 7:30 and 8:00 pm, usually starving. I eat leftovers for dinner and afterwards cook "dinner" for tomorrow to repeat the cycle. 45 mins is really all I want to spead cooking a meal at that hour of night!

  462. I love to cook, and I enjoy reading cookbooks. My cooking tip is never ever buy those grocery store cupcakes. A cake mix, plus some powdered sugar is much cheaper and tastes so much better. My girls love helping me come up with simple decorations, too!

  463. My tip: I throw a family pack I'd chicken breasts into the crockpot with minimal seasonings and it feeds my family of four for three days. You can serve with sides, make enchiladas, put it on salads, in wraps, anything you want!

  465. Put glue dots on the Bottom of my cutting boards so they don't slip! I love the idea of a cookbook in a binder! Thanks for the opportunity 🙂

  469. For myself, the best "quick" cooking tip is to do any prep work the day or night before so that when you get home from work you just have to quick make up what you are cooking. I once had a turkey prepped in fridge, with a note on counter for the first one home with cooking directions.
    Organization is also a good quick cooking tip, the more organized you are in the kitchen, the easier it is to cook.

  470. Don't forget to take the butter out of the fridge when you need to make cookies tomorrow! I always foul up on that one. 😛

    1. Breakfast for dinnner. We eat quick breakfasts so, fix a breakfast type meal for dinner once in a while. 🙂

  471. I wish I had a good quick cooking tip to submit--unfortunately quick meals for me usually mean eating out. That's why I want and so need this book! Thanks for the giveaway.

  473. Love your posts from ATK- I started subscribing to Cook's Illustrated on your recommendations and would love this book 🙂

  474. One of my favorite tips is one I recently learned for reheating pizza. If you heat it in a cast iron skillet, the crust isn't soggy! It's great!!!

  476. Cook ground beef and chicken and freeze it for later! Not very original, but that's all I can think of right now!

  478. If you put too much milk and butter in mashed potatoes, crumbled Ritz crackers work wonders in rescuing them. 🙂

  479. This would be lovely. I have pretty hectic work weeks due to my work schedule. A good cooking related tip is fill the sink w hot water so you can wash as you go. Also you can make things like homemade pie crusts ahead of time and freeze 'til ready to use. 🙂

  481. I cook sweet potatoes, butternut squash, acorn and spaghetti squash on the "potato" sensor function of my microwave. Now no need to wait 45 minutes for them to roast in the oven!!

  482. I don't just want this book I NEED it! I think my husband is getting sick of taco-mac and chili. 🙂

  483. I LOVE America's Test Kitchen & Cooks Country on PBS - their other show. This book would be great to addition to my kitchen !
    Thanks for giving us a chance to win!

  484. save your vegetable scraps in the freezer. once you have a couple large ziploc bags full, cook them in water in the crockpot. strain off the scraps and you have vegetable stock.

  485. The best prevention of food waste is making great meals...this book would really help our family!

  486. I'd love to win. My tip is to pre cook large quantities of meat (chicken breasts, ground turkey, etc.) then freeze it in meal size portions.

  490. I'm all about spending less time in the kitchen so this cookbook would be right up my alley. I'd love a copy.

  491. Hello Kristin!! I would love this cookbook for some great new and easy ideas for my family of 8!!!

    Cooking tip: I make a lot of cornbread for my family. I like to use a cast iron skillet to bake my cornbread. It makes it taste better - and I love the way it easily comes out of the skillet! I found a great smaller cast iron skillet at goodwill. I just use some olive oil and a kitchen rag (clean) and wipe little olive oil all around the skillet and the edges! Put the cornbread mix in...and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes! Also - Aldi sells a very yummy cornbread mix for 38 cents!
    Good luck everyone!

    Thanks,

    Jolene

  492. I'm a busy mom who likes to cook as much unprocessed food as I can, so I would love to have a free copy of this book!

  493. I love America's Test Kitchen but I don't have any of there cookbooks. It would be awesome to win one!! 🙂

  494. Would love the book! My advise is to make double batches of freeze-able stuff (chili, soups, BBQ pork...), freeze them & then you have a stash of easy meals.

  495. Hi, I would LOVE a copy of this book. My quick tip is making brownies in muffin pans using the paper liners. Makes cleanup a breeze!

  496. I can't think of any good tips, but I'd love to have the cookbook! We both work so quick cooking is the goal!

  498. When making mashed potatoes, I put the potatoes back in the pot after they are drained and scorch them a bit (I do not burn them) before adding the milk and butter so the potatoes better absorb the milk; making them creamier.

    I would love a copy of this cookbook!

  499. I love America's Test Kitchen...great show!

    My quick cooking tip is more of a frugal cooking tip. I try to make soup out anything, and most of the time I am successful! The quick cooking part would be I eat the soup all week and just have to warm it up.

  500. Would love to have this to give to my daughter......I am so proud of her and her interest in cooking and good nutrition !!!

  501. Quick cooking lately for me has been skillet meals, which translate to onion-garlic-meat-vegetables-rice-broth cooked until done with the later addition of cheese or sour cream. Fast and only one dish to clean. Win.

  502. While I'm cooking, I love to clean up as I go along - it's a little more work but means that I don't end up with a huge pile of messy dishes when I'm already tired from cooking!

  503. Being a busy soccer mom, it's sometimes hard to find healthy, quick recipes for my family. I LOVE America's Test Kitchen and this book sounds like one I need. 🙂

  505. Cooking tip: The first time you follow a recipe, do it to the letter. That way if the food ends up less than ideal you'll know it was the recipe and not your shortcuts or substitutions or omissions.

    🙂

    Katy

  506. Pop cooled hard-boiled eggs into the freezer for 5-10 minutes before peeling; the shell will come off much easier without damaging the egg.

  507. One of my quick cooking tips is to prepare all the ingredients for a crockpot in the evening then put it all in the crockpot's pot, cover it and put it in the refrigerator. I usually don't want to do any type of cooking or prep in the morning so it's nice to just pull the pot out of the fridge, put it back in the crockpot, set it and then go off to work.

  509. Quick cooking tip: "Smoothie bags" --freeze bananas, blueberries, spinach(whatever you like in your smoothie) in indivdual baggies. When you want a smoothie, just add contents of baggie to blender with milk, juice or yogurt and whirl away! Makes a quick on-the-go breakfast.

  512. Thanks for the giveaway! Quick Cooking Tip - Using a strawberry huller when coring cupcakes for filling!

  515. I wish I had a good cooking tip, but I sure would love the cookbook. I am always so busy and quick meals sure are needed.

  516. Tip: The Bagel World drive-thru is located across the street from the McDonald's drive-thru. (If that's my cooking tip, I clearly need this cookbook.)

  517. I would love this book! One practical bit of cooking advice I give to everyone is to have a digital thermometer with a long cord always in your oven as it is preheating. This way you know if your oven is off on a few degrees, or if it is able to stay at the temperature during cooking. The extra timer also frees up the other timers available in your kitchen (the one on the stove if you have one or the one on your microwave). These extra timers help so much when planning out meals!

  519. Ironically, my kitchen tip was just tweeted by America's Test Kitchen today! Rinse fresh berries in white vinegar/diluted white vinegar and rinse again with water. The vinegar kills bacteria and your berries last MUCH longer in the fridge.
    I want the cookbook! I'm a Test Kitchen junkie, love it all!

  520. Entry for free cookbook

    Tip: roll out pie dough on waxed paper - then just throw away the paper with flour & bits of dough! No mess

  521. I love cookbooks! A quick cooking tip - breakfast for dinner is a great idea. Frittatas are quick and easier than you would think!

  522. Cooking tip: for a more flavorful breading on chicken cutlets or veal scallopine, chop fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme and mix into the breadcrumbs before you dip.

  525. Crack eggs into a cupcake pan add cheese and bake. You'll have breakfast ready for everyone at the same time.

  526. Cooking or "baking" tip: Need a warm place for your bread dough to rise? Turn your oven on low for a minute or two then turn off. Works great! Love ATK! We are a busy family of 6 with 3 boys and 1 adorable princess. This cookbook would definitely make dinner planning & cooking easier!

  527. If you cooking salmon on the grill and the skin is still on here's a trick for removing the skin after cooking.
    Using a paper sack cut a piece to match the size of your salmon, put the salmon on the cut paper sack and cook in your smoker or with indirect heat in your grill.
    When the salmon is done and you have removed the paper with the salmon on top of it, slide the salmon off the paper and the skin stays on the paper sack. Don't know the scientific reason behind it but I have done this a dozen times and it ALWAYS works.

  529. I've been eyeing this cookbook for a while. CI fan, 4 kids, employed part-time; it's right up my alley!

  530. I definitely would love to add this cookbook to my shelf. Thanks so much for holding this contest.

  533. This book would make a great companion to my other ATK books. Love their books and their shows! Been a big fan for years!

  534. I love ATK, quick tip, put slice of bread in brown sugar to keep it from getting hard. Bread removes moisture....

  535. I LOVE ATK!!! I would love to have this book!

    Quick tip: Use kitchen scissors for cutting up veggies, raw/cooked chicken, even pizza!

  537. I love chocolate and I recommend using Hershey products at all times when baking and/or cooking. I also like Guittard chocolate chips only for I don't care for their semi-sweet chocolate chips or their white chocolate products.

  538. I would love this book. My quick go to meal is quesadillas. We usually have leftover chicken and peppers in the freezer to use!

  539. Bake more potatoes than you need and refrigerate. Then next day slice and brown in a hot skillet. Scrumptious.

  540. Wear swim goggles when cutting onions! Gets rid of the burning eyes and makes you look snazzy, too. 😉

  541. Something as simple as replacing beef meatballs with basque chorizo in spaghetti can completely liven up a routine dish.

  543. Not sure it qualifies as a cooking tip, but I try to keep a couple of bags of precooked chicken, ground beef or such in the freezer. You can do a lot with them in short time, allowing for meals to be pulled together in often twenty minutes or less.

  545. My quick tip is to keep little baggies of cooked sausage and diced veggies in the freezer. This makes breakfast scrambles or omelets really quick, easy, and delicious.

    1. Cooking tip: I cook a whole chicken in my crockpot and then shred the meat and freeze it in 1 or 2 Cup portions. Then it is much easier to whip up a batch of chicken noodle soup, chicken enchiladas, or chicken and rice casserole on a busy night. I would love this new ATK cookbook to discover even more quick cooking tips and recipes! Thanks for the offering it.

  546. I have the first version of their binder/cookbook which has served me well. My quick cooking tip: do dishes as you go, so they don't pile up at the end!

  548. Thanks for a chance at the cookbook! My cooking tip: to please my husband who grew up with an Italian grandmother, we make our own spaghetti sauce in a crock pot. Fresh garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, salt, a few bay leaves, pinch of dried chili peppers, squirt of lemon juice, and dried basil and oregano. Takes about 10 minutes to throw together and then a few hours to simmer in the crock pot. Then we package it in meal-sized portions and freeze it for later. Way yummier than canned sauce and really not that much harder to make.

  549. Looks like a great book! I buy spinach for salads and then if I don't eat the whole bag before I know it's about to go bad, I toss the extra in the freezer. Then I just pull out the frozen spinach for making pasta dishes.

  550. This is more of a general tip than cooking tip, but I just got a digital kitchen scale and love it! I use it all the time, more than I even thought I would. It helps to evenly halve recipes, and also helps when freezing things (ie, what's left in a can of crushed tomatoes) to cut down on my food waste, among many other uses.

  552. I would love a copy of the cookbook, especially because I'm getting married soon and trying to become more proficient in the kitchen. Plus, that mustard chicken sounds awesome!

  554. My quick tip is when I don't have time to boil potatoes for mashed potatoes, I throw them in the microwave and cook them, then scrape out the inside and make my potatoes as usual. Works great for our family! Would love this cookbook as well. 🙂

  556. For a quick (properly sized) egg for a breakfast sandwich, butter a ceramic cereal bowl and microwave a slightly whipped egg in it. Season before or after, but fits nicely on bread/bagel/etc. Plus, easy cleanup!!

  559. I prep some ingredients that take longer on the weekend and have them ready to add to recipes.

    1. When making bacon for breakfast, I will slice and cook it in smaller batches so grease does not pop everywhere. This is really good to do when you're having eggs, so you can sprinkle the bacon over them.

  560. It isn't profound, but my cooking tip to is plan ahead!! Soak beans the night before, defrost frozen whatever in the fridge, plan to use up leftovers... plan ahead.

  561. keep fresh lemons and limes on hand, they add a nice zing to most dishes!
    thanks for the giveaway!

  563. America's Test Kitchen = <3 Honestly, what would we all possibly do without you?

    Awesome Cooking Tip:

    Those gallon freezer bags in your kitchen drawer? They're not just for freezing anymore.

    Use them to keep fresh herbs fresh longer -- just stick your herbs in a small mug with water, grab a gallon freezer bag, and tent the whole shebang with one. Stick the whole thing in the fridge and you'll have fresh herbs for weeks (no joke!).

    Just switch out the water when it gets icky and you're golden!

  565. Read the recipe all the way through before you even pull out a pan. I could save myself a lot of time and energy if I followed my own advice more often. 🙂

  566. I have just started cooking at home in the last few years since I had my first child. I did not grow up in a house that cooked much at home. I would love a cook book like this. Since I am not naturally a cook, I just will not put in the time some cook books require. This looks like it has some things in it I could really use and it would teach me more about cooking too!

  567. My quick cooking tip is to use pre-washed salad greens. I know it's ridiculous, but I never get around to washing lettuce when I buy it by the head and it ends up going bad. On the other hand, the bags of pre-washed stuff usually get eaten up right away!

  568. To get rid of that onion-y smell on your hands after chopping onions, rub the back of a spoon agains the palms of your hand, while your hands are under running water. Bye Bye onion smell!

  569. I love America's Test Kitchen! I adore America's Test Kitchen! So here's my tip. I've no idea where I picked this up, which is a pity because I sure do wish I could thank them. I made a lot of muffins - they're standard breakfast fare at my house - so the over-spray issue was serious.

    If you use cooking sprays, before you spray, open your dishwasher. Lay your muffin tin, cookie sheet, whatever it is you are going to spray, on the open door. Spray away. Whatever gets over-sprayed is going to get cleaned on the next wash cycle so you don't have to worry about it. That has saved me so much grief!

  570. I think my best cooking tip is to marry someone who cooks 😉 I'm more of a baker so my best tip is to always line your cake pans with parchment paper or pan liners. You don't want to bake the cake all over again and you won't have to worry about sticking with a liner!

  571. Ginger, chopped onions and peppers, and browned ground beef in the freezer. Nothing too earth-shattering! But I would love this cookbook. Thanks!

  572. For quick and easy yet really awesome pizza crust for grilled pizza I use Pillsbury whole wheat pizza crust. Spread it out on an oiled pan and spray the top with Pam. Flip it onto the grill grate and when browned flip to the other side. Remove from grill, top with your fav pizza toppings and return to the grill!

  573. I make batches of pizza dough, pre-portion them, wrap and freeze. I put one out on the counter to defrost before I go to work. Then come home and press it into a cast iron skillet, add some toppings, and the pizza is done before I'm in my pajamas.

  574. Want all your angel hair pasta to fit in your pot? Wrap it in a towel and snap the pasta in half on the edge of a counter or table. It's quick with no mess!

    Would LOVE to have this cookbook! ATK is a fave!!

  577. This was an epiphany to me...Not only do I use my garlic press as a time saver over mincing with a knife, I don't need to peel garlic before putting it through the garlic press (at least my Pampered Chef one). The peel and ends stay in the press and this also makes it easier to clean out.

  582. My tip: Add a carrot to tomato sauce when cooking to draw out some of the acid (and remove the carrot when you're done cooking)!

  583. kristen-
    I always enjoy your blog and hear you say that you like Cooks' Products. My quick trick is to melt butter before I add it to brownies, cookies, or anything I bake.

  586. I keep couscous as a pantry staple and use it instead of rice when I can't wait for rice to cook -- couscous cooks in minutes! By the way, I love the original ATK Family Cookbook -- it's one of my favorites.

  590. When I am working outside the home, I always cook a double batch of a reheatable meal on both weekend days: one to serve that day, and one for Mon., one for Tues. Wed. we eat a quick and simple meal, and Fri. we go out for another simple one.
    I would love a cookbook.

  595. My cooking tip: win a Cook's Illustrated cookbook off a blog & learn how to cook. (Sorry for the lack of an actual tip, but you can see that I could really use the book!)

  596. Make sure your eggs are always fresh!

    I'd LOVE this cookbook for my sister-in-law! She just had her first baby and I think she could definitely use this, especially when she goes back to work in 6 weeks!

  598. I have enjoyed every cooks illustrated recipe I have ever eaten. I am guessing I would be a good fit for this cookbook because of my hubbie's hours.
    Fav time saving tip would either be freezing or dehydrating fruits and veggies (already chopped) so they can just be thrown into oatmeal, smoothies, soups, stir fries, quesadillas, etc.

  600. I would love to own this book please. I don't have a quick tip but I can make a suggestion about bananas (any fruit really). You can freeze them at their prime and use them in a smoothie later.

  601. As a working Mom with three, I think this cookbook will be fabulous! (And my cooking tip?Don't forget those frozen vegetables, fresh, no preservatives and fast. So over looked.)

  602. Cook in batches using available ingredients. We have saved tons of money by cooking around what we need to use up!

  603. My favorite quick tip is to make mini-meatloaves. I usually portion out small ones and make 2 or 3 at one time, shaped and cooked on a broiler pan so the grease drips down. That gives me 2 or 3 nights worth of dinners (plus the occasional meatloaf sandwich for lunch!) with only one night of cooking.

  604. To quickly peel a carrot, take your peeler and run it in both directions, forwards and backwards against the carrot and you will have peeled the carrot in half the time!

    Thanks for a chance to win this cookbook!

  606. I am a big fan of Cook's Illustrated and ATK. My 20 year old is in her first apartment and has asked me to help her find tasty, easy to prepare dinner ideas. I think this cookbook would be a great tool for me to help her transition to scratch cooking.

    New subscriber to your website - I am loving it and look forward to each post.

  607. Whenever I make hamburgers I often buy extra meat, make the burgers and then fry up the rest of the meat to put in the freezer for future use.

  608. One thing I do is cook up a big batch of chicken in my crockpot, shred it up, and freeze it in two cups portions. Then, whenever I need shredded chichen, it is ready to go!

    Would love this coookbook to have some new quick dinner recipes!

  611. My best quick cooking tip is to make sure you have pantry items so that you have the ingredients you need to cook a quick meal!

  612. My best cooking tip is to think ahead about your days when meal planning / prepping for cooking. I find that the days on which I get most frustrated (or am most tempted just to order take-out!) are the days on which I haven't planned well and I still need to do 45 minutes of dinner prep when we're all hungry. If I plan ahead and either have a crock pot meal I prep that morning or chop vegetables earlier in the day, etc., everything goes much better!

  613. I would reeeeaaaalllly like this book! My tip is to love dried beans - they are dirt cheap, super easy (just pour into a crockpot with lots of water and forget it), and a great source of protein.

  615. My best tip is to have someone help you in the kitchen. I always love to cook with my husband, and it makes everything easier. Although, we both have ideas of how we want a meal to be, soooo.... We take turns being head chef and sous chef! 😉

  616. My cooking tip, do prep while kids are reading/napping then when you need to start supper, you are ready to go.

  617. I like to prep more than I need and save the rest. This can be as simple as cutting the onion for tomorrow's dinner along with the one I'm cutting for tonight, or as big as preparing double the quantity needed of the entire dinner and freezing the extra. I love to get dinner ready quickly and I'm not a fan of the convenience options available.

  619. I would love to give this to my daughter who is recently married and NOW has decided to learn to cook.

  620. my best top is to make your own stock . can't believe they sell that stuff in the store for so expensive when it's literally the "trash" of your veggies.

  621. my best tip is to make your own stock . can't believe they sell that stuff in the store for so expensive when it's literally the "trash" of your veggies.

  624. When I chop onions or bell peppers for a recipe, I chop an extra one to throw in the freezer for nights when I don't have a lot of time.

  628. I really enjoy America's Test Kitchen on PBS, and I would like to have this cookbook. I think it would be a great gift for my sister, who's getting married soon and whose cooking skill is. . .um. . .limited.

  630. I would love to have this cookbook! I have intended to try the Cooks Illustrated you blog about also, sounds awesome!

    I love your blog, as well as Lisey's illustrations. My 3 daughters look forward to seeing what she has prepared. (Keeps me on my toes to let them help in the kitchen - also makes them want to eat what we have prepared.)

  631. Hi Kristen,
    I don't have any tips because I'm not a great cook, but I do like to learn and try new things. I'm in favor of anything that makes meal time easier in my home and a good cookbook would certainly be welcome.

    I am a Kindergarten teacher and a mom who is trying desperately to find ways to save money so that I can stay home and home school my children next year! Thanks for all of your clever ideas and support! I love your blog.

    Warmly,
    Shannon

  633. My quick cooking tip is to always keep a tray of veggies handy so if dinner is running a little late the kids can munch on veggies while I prepare dinner and I don't feel bad if they ruin their appetites eating too many veggies.

  634. My favorite quick cooking tip came from my youngest daughter's love of black beans. I add a can of black beans to our taco meat to stretch the meat for at least three or more extra servings. I also add a can of beans to sloppy joe meat (but I mash those up). Just this week, I added a can of black beans to a kale and sausage soup with great review from my children! It is a quick, easy and healthy way to stretch your main dish a little further. 🙂

  635. I like to "cook ahead" to save time. I cook a roast in the crockpot, and have cooked meat for another meal or two. When I make mashed potatoes or rice, I cook enough for 2 meals, and later in the week it is all ready for me to warm it up and serve. I bake extra baked potatoes and slice and fry the leftovers. Or cube them and pair with that leftover roast beef for hash.

  637. Here's my weird kitchen tip: when chopping onions, burn a scented candle right in front of you while you're doing it. It'll help take the burn out of your eyes. Weird, yes, but if works for me!

  638. Kitchen Tip, Do not us oil in the water when boiling pasta. It will keep the sauce from sticking to the cooked pasta. I would love a copy of the cookbook!

  639. My quick cooking tip is really all about preparing ingredients in advance. Whenever I'm chopping onion, I chop extra and keep it in the freezer. Whenever I make rice, I make extra for the freezer (in half-cup mounds). Whenever I make chili, I make extra for the freezer. You get the idea. It doesn't take much extra time to make extra food, and then -- voila! -- you have what you need in the freezer!

  642. planning out your meals at the beginning of the week is helpful! would love to win the book!

  644. I always have frozen fish in the freezer from Costco for a quick meal. Just preheat the oven add the fish frozen to a baking sheet, then, add a dab of butter and sprinkle on a seasoning like Chipoltle Lime seasoning (I buy from wildtree) and bake according to the directions. It is very yummy.

  645. Best and fasted pumpkin spice muffins: (1) boxed spice cake mix added to (1) can of pureed pumpkin. Mix it up, scoop it into muffin tins, and bake!
    Awesome and fast!

  646. I love to steam my veggies and freeze for later use. That way I can brown some ground meat in one pan with a sauce and them thaw the veggies in another. A healthy and quick "one-handed" dish. I have a newborn so if I can't cook it with one hand (besides hitting the start button on the microwave), I don't cook it during the day (and I need to eat!).

  647. I love,love,love watching ATK on my local PBS channel! I so appreciate their specific, fair, comprehensive analysis of recipes and techniques. I'd love,love a recipe book from them, too. 🙂

  648. I would love to have this cookbook! My "cooking tip" is meal planning. I am a much better cook, when I plan ahead 🙂

  649. I plan one big 'type' of meat for the week and plan all my meals from it. Makes sure leftovers get eaten and there is no temptation to stop at the store or fast food for a quick meal

  650. My best cooking tip is to try new things and not be afraid of failure. I had very limited cooking abilities as a newlywed and no one to show me how, so I showed myself. Several years and one well-worn Joy of Cooking book later, I make almost everything from scratch and have mastered most basic cooking techniques. Yes, we've had to throw out a few dinners, but the confidence I've gained in the kitchen was well worth it. Now, with two little ones underfoot, I'm not as adventurous as I used to be, but I still try to make something new at least once a month. There is so much to learn, and I don't ever want to stop.

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