Bites & Nibbles-- [A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches] & [Instant Happy Journal]

A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches

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Well. I can't say as I've ever had a cookbook curse at me...until now. lol A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches was pretty hilarious and gave me some sandwich ideas. I could totally nom on a couple in the cookbook for sure.

1 star--Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook by Pearl Barrett & Serene Allison

In their debut cookbook, the Trim Healthy Mama’s share hundreds of delicious, healthy recipes to help readers successfully slim down while eating well.  This companion cookbook to the bestselling Trim Healthy Mama Plan is just what readers have been waiting for. It features simple, mouthwatering, recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner—including slow cooker and one-pot meals, hearty soups and salads, omelets and waffles, pizzas, breads and more.  No Trim Healthy Mama should be deprived, so there are also favorite snacks, delectable desserts, and the smoothies, sippers and teas fans love. With  pantry-stocking advice, time-saving tips, and information on how to cook for the entire family, the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook offers a delicious and nutritious way to make trim and healthy meals with less stress—so you have more time with your loved ones.

Type: Cookbook
Difficulty of Recipe: Easy to Moderate (mainly because of ingredients)
Rating: 1 star

Amazon | Goodreads

So. This is a first for me.  I saw Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook and thought it looked great. Healthy recipes and a focus on slimming down without losing awesome recipes and taste. And it's HUGE with over 350 recipes. But, for me, that's where the good bits ended. This is the first time I'm giving a cookbook a 1 star rating. There ended up being very little about this cookbook that worked for me. It was a huge disappointment especially after seeing hundreds of 5 star reviews it has received. From expensive and difficult to find ingredients to weird inclusions and lack of veggie friendliness it was a bust. It made me think of an ex friend who would fall into the category of hippy dippy earth mama who would say things and you'd just have that look on your face like say what now?

4 stars--The Art of American Whiskey by Noah Rothbaum

So a different type of book today but an interesting one! The Art of American Whiskey. I saw this and couldn't resist. I love history. I love design. And a book exploring both as it looked into American Whiskey and it's labeling over the decades sounded so interesting to me.

#AtoZChallenge--Tasty Delights--Baked Zucchini Crisps

It's the A to Z Challenge!

We're blogging the alphabet along with 1000s of other bloggers.

There's a specific letter for each day and then you pick your own theme.

Our Theme: herder of cats, burner of soup
Basically...a day in the life of and all the things I love

One of my favorite things to do when I need to relax is cook. Or bake. I love trying new recipes out or doing some little twist to an old favorite. I saw this cookbook over on Blogging for Books and wanted to try it right away. Just had to try the baked zucchini crisps too :)

Type: Cookbook            Difficulty: Easy           Rating: 3-3.5 out of 5

Amazon | Goodreads

Southern Girl. Southern recipes. Comfort foods. Um. Yes, please! Lighten Up, Y'all was a very nice cookbook that had me ready to bust out my pots and pans and whip up a few of the dishes. Everything was simple and familiar comforting while having little twists to make the dishes a little lighter and healthier.

Tasty Delights--Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies + Review (Homemade Decadence)

Joy Wilson believes that everything is better with pie. And caramel. And definitely ice cream. Her world is pretty sweet: she dabbles daily in butter and sugar as her blogging alter ego, Joy the Baker. Her new book, Joy the Baker Homemade Decadence, is packed with 125 of Joy’s favorite, supereasy, most over-the-top, totally delicious treats, such as Dark Chocolate, Pistachio, and Smoked Sea Salt Cookies; Butterscotch Cream Pie with Thyme-Marshmallow Meringue; Mint Chocolate Chip Cake; and Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream. After all, every day is an opportunity for sweets.

Type: Cookbook
Difficulty of Recipe: Easy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Amazon | Goodreads

Homemade Decadence was an absolutely mouth-watering cookbook. From cover to cover it was beautifully done with gorgeous photos, luscious recipes and a comforting voice from the author as she talked about each of the dishes. It was just beautifully done set of recipes and will definitely be one I use again and again.

Um...yum?! SO many yummy looking recipes and easy to find ingredients. There were also some daring combinations for flavors that while not for me--I'm rather unadventurous when it comes to food--would delight those that like interesting combos of flavors, textures and scents. Ex-- Roasted Strawberry & Balsamic Grits or Apple Pie with a Cheddar-Bacon Crust.

Tasty Delights--Killer Chocolate Chip Cookies + Review (Sugar Rush)

Sugar Rush is a complete baking course in a book with everything a home baker needs to confidently turn out 150+ sweets with sophisticated flavors.

James Beard–award-winning pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini returns to basics, sharing his expert tips on fundamentals such as making caramel and mixing butter cakes, with accompanying step-by-step photographs, before moving on to recipes for Salted Caramels and Sticky Caramel Date Cake. After mastering the simple method for making light-as-air meringues, anyone can make ethereal espresso marshmallows, mile-high soufflés, and chewy French macaron sandwich cookies. Readers can finally expand their cake and ice cream horizons to embrace flavors as thrilling as those in Brown Sugar-Molasses Layer Cake and Bitter Orange Ice Cream. The 250 photographs include both instructive technique shots to reassure bakers at every turn as well as stunning photographs of the ready-to-eat treats. With Sugar Rush, baking at home has never been easier—or more inviting.

Type: Cookbook
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Rating: 4.5

Amazon | Goodreads

Now this is a beautiful cookbook. Everything about Sugar RUSH was lovely. The photos, the layout, the feel and the recipes. It's full of tips and techniques to help bakers of all experience levels and done in an easy going way that just makes you want to dig in a little more and keep looking, learning and trying things.

It's broken up into different baking categories like--Custards/Creamy Desserts, Eggs/Meringue, Cakes/Cupcakes/Brownies/Muffins, Tarts/Cobblers/Crisps, Yeast Doughs. Each is a mixture of recipes, tips, tutorials and explanations. So dang handy for someone new to the baking game and was really interesting as well.

Tasty Delights--Cheesy Baked Pasta w/ Eggplant + review (The Skinnytaste)

Gina Homolka is America’s most trusted home cook when it comes to easy, flavorful recipes that are miraculously low-calorie and made from all-natural, easy-to-find ingredients. Her blog, Skinnytaste is the number one go-to site for slimmed down recipes that you’d swear are anything but. It only takes one look to see why people go crazy for Gina’s food: cheesy, creamy Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli with only 420 calories per serving, breakfast dishes like Make-Ahead Western Omelet "Muffins" that truly fill you up until lunchtime, and sweets such as Double Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies that are low in sugar and butter-free but still totally indulgent.

The Skinnytaste Cookbook features 150 amazing recipes: 125 all-new dishes and 25 must-have favorites. As a busy mother of two, Gina started Skinnytaste when she wanted to lose a few pounds herself. She turned to Weight Watchers for help and liked the program but struggled to find enough tempting recipes to help her stay on track. Instead, she started “skinny-fying” her favorite meals so that she could eat happily while losing weight.

With 100 stunning photographs and detailed nutritional information for every recipe, The Skinnytaste Cookbook is an incredible resource of fulfilling, joy-inducing meals that every home cook will love.

Type: Cookbook
Difficulty: easy
Rating: 5 out of 5
Value: Excellent. Well worth the price.

Amazon | Goodreads

If you're going to buy a cookbook...make it this one! The SkinnyTaste is one of the best cookbooks I've seen and it's focus is on healthier lower-cal meals/dishes that don't skimp on the taste. I really loved everything about this one. From the authors voice--she's matter of fact but I liked her attitude towards eating healthier and her approach to tasty meals--to the recipes themselves and the photography. There's a nice opening with the author's experiences and why this is important to her which was nice plus one thing that stuck out...even if you mess up on a recipe sometimes the best dishes are discovered that way. Recipes were easy to understand and simple enough for most to jump right in and try and ingredients easy to find at the local grocery.