I love find cookbooks I can actually use. A lot of cookbooks have recipes that I'll never make, so it's great to find one that has some useful, tasty recipes I can actually tackle.
The About.com Guide To Shortcut Cooking is such a book. It's a good first book for someone who wants something on the basics, and it covers everything from soups, salads, and desserts to pasta, side dishes, and appetizers (they have other guides as well, including Home Cooking and Southern Cooking). The author is Linda Larsen, and the recipe for Bacon Mac and Cheese Soup sounds great, just oozing with smoky cheesiness.
Bacon Mac and Cheese Soup
4 slices bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 six oz. pkg shells and white cheddar mac and cheese mix
3 cups milk
1 cup frozen baby peas
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
In large pot, cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels. Drain all but one tablespoon bacon drippings from pot. Cook and stir onions in drippings until crisp-tender, 4 or 5 mins.
Add macaroni, cheese sauce mix and milk to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 8 mins, stirring frequently. Then add peas and Parmesan cheese, cook, stirring until peas are hot and cheese is melted, about 4 mins longer. Garnish with bacon and serve. Serves 4.
I'm going to try this, only with more bacon!
10 More Dirty Restaurant Tricks
5 Things You Didn't Know About Turducken
10 Catchiest Food Jingles We Love to Hate
