The Stocked Kitchen Recipe Book Review

I found a gem of a recipe book! It's called The Stocked Kitchen - and it's 300+ pages chock full of unbelievably delicious recipes based off of only 1 shopping list! When I was offered the chance to review this book, I had no idea what a surprise I was about to receive!

First of all, when you open it up, it starts reading like a regular book, with "The System"...

"Start With the List"

"We've all had that moment during the day when we ask, with a knot in our stomach, 'What am I going to make for dinner?'" (Oh, my goodness! That thought crosses my mind about 6 times a week!)

Then, the awesome authors (above, Sarah Kallio and Stacey Krastins) go on to tell you how to effectively use the recipe book, with "Using the System", still all the while writing in a down-to-earth, fun and, of course, informative fashion. What's even better is that they have come up with a basic list of about (I didn't exactly count) 200 ingredients. And, every recipe in the whole 300+ pages of the book, about 300 pages of which are all recipes, are derived from that one shopping list.

One Shopping List

That's the true beauty of this recipe book! Every other recipe book that I have ever owned required me to search through the recipes, find what I liked and then create my shopping list based off of the recipes that I wanted to make. This book does it all for you! They even include about (again, I didn't count) 15 pre-printed pages in the back of the book with the complete shopping list and boxes to check off while you are shopping. So, you can pull out a page and head to the store right away!

Okay, but that's not the best part! Well, maybe it is...no, I guess it's not. Okay, I'm torn! The recipes! The recipes are so expansive and delectable...it's difficult to believe that one grocery list covers all of the recipes in this book! Some are made from scratch and some are quick and simple. After looking through the recipe book for a while, I still haven't found a recipe that seemed really hard to make - they're all pretty simple, most with under 10 steps of directions and many with only 3-5 steps.

I don't even know where to start, but here are some of the recipes you will find:

pineapple upside down cake
meat loaf
cinnamon roll loaf (and the pic of this - yes, there are pics, too! - looks yummy!)
turtle pancakes (mmmhmmm...with the nuts on top)
veggie pizza
chocolate chip almond bars
cream cheese coffee cake
pancake batter fried shrimp
moo shoo shrimp stir-fry
italian burger
stovetop mac and cheese
hamburger buns
crab rangoon with sweet and sour sauce
bacon-wrapped pineapple
bacon-wrapped ranch chicken
cinnamon french toast bake...and if that's not enough, there's a raspberry french toast bake, too
margarita bars
lemon layer cake
marinades! honey-lime, italian, asian, greek, java, lemon-pepper, moroccan
egg salad
curry chicken salad
apricot chicken salad
asian lettuce wraps
deviled eggs
chicken pot pie
chicken florentine
cinnamon chip scones
pesto spinach pizza
chocolate truffles


I could go on and on and on...that's just the tip of the iceberg! There are over 300 recipes to choose from...if you can't find a ton of recipes for your family in this book, there's something seriously wrong with you. And, again, there is only one shopping list to work with. Forget about the hunt-for-the-recipe, check the pantry method of cooking. Shop with one list, make anything you want in the book.

As a busy mom of six and a new baby on the way, I love the concept and will be shopping with the grocery list next shopping trip! I'm excited about how much easier this recipe book will make my life! Don't forget to get your copy! They'll be on sale July 5, 2011!