ROBIN TAKES 5: 500 Recipes, 5 Ingredients or Less, 500 Calories or Less, for 5 Nights/Week at 5:00 PM
By: Robin Miller
To Be Published November 1, 2011
Cookbook Description:
It’s 5:00 PM. Everyone’s hungry. It’s takeout or fakeout, meaning nuking a processed meal from the freezer. But there’s a third option that doesn’t include processed food or an unhealthy heap of calories and fat–ROBIN TAKES 5.
Imagine quickly preparing delicious meals for yourself, your friends, and your family with just 5 fabulous ingredients. Does it get any better? Absolutely, with ROBIN TAKES 5. The book features 500 recipes and each dish is a mouthwatering 500 calories or less. Two-color recipe text complements full-color photography inserts. In addition, helpful icons note ideal recipes for holidays and entertaining as well as recipes with less than 500 mg of sodium. That’s not all–nutritional information is given for each recipe.
In ROBIN TAKES 5, 500 recipes highlight at least 10 different ethnic cuisines, and dishes range from soups, pizzas, and pastas, to chicken, beef, pork, seafood, side dishes, and desserts. Consider 70 recipes just for chicken, such as Cashew Crusted Chicken with Roasted Jalapeno-Mango Chutney, and 50 dessert recipes, such as Orange Marmalade Tart with Chocolate Covered Almonds. Consider yourself armed for mealtime. The next time the clock strikes 5:00 PM and you want both noshing and nourishment, check out ROBIN TAKES 5.
I have been a huge fan of Robin Miller’s ever since her debut on THE FOOD NETWORK. I have her best-selling QUICK FIX MEALS Cookbook and have made several things from there. So, when I had the chance to review her newest cookbook, I was super excited. There were so many delicious recipes to choose from. I also wanted recipes that mainly had ingredients already in my home. So, with that, I chose the following 2 recipes to try.
PHILADELPHIA STYLE PORK CHOPS WITH ONIONS AND PROVOLONE
Serves 4 – Prep Time: 10-15 Minutes – Cook Time: 10 Minutes
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Yellow Onion, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
4, 5oz Boneless Pork Loin Chops
1 Tbs Onion and Herb Seasoning (I used Mrs. Dash)
1/2 Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
4, 1oz Slices of Provolone Cheese
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, until soft and golden brown. Remove onions from pan.
Season both sides of the pork chops with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and the onion-herb seasoning. Add the chops to the same pan over medium high heat and cook for 1-2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 3 minutes, until the chops are tender. Arrange the cheese slices on top of the chops and cook for 30 seconds, until the cheese melts. Transfer the chops to a serving platter and top with the onions.
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| Philadelphia Style Pork Chops with Onions and Provolone |
These chops were super simple and quick to make. They were really delicious with the cheese and onions over the top. I have made chops several times and have never thought to cook them this way. These chops got a big thumbs up from Pat and the kids! We will be making these again!
NO BAKE CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER OAT COOKIES
Makes 24 Cookies – Prep Time:10-15 Minutes
3 Cups Milk Chocolate Chips or Chunks (I used 2 11.5 oz bags of Nestle Milk Chocolate Chips)
1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Cups Rolled or Old-Fashioned Oats
Line two baking sheets with waxed paper. Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until creamy. Fold in the oats and mix well. Drop the mixture by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Let the cookies cool until set. You can also place them in the fridge or freezer to speed up cooling.
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| No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Cookies |
Again, this was another super-simple recipe. They were very much like my mom’s chocolate oaties but just a little simpler version. They were very tasty and it was nice to have some in the fridge for whenever you wanted a little chocolate. They are also nice because you can make them as big or small as you want. Also a big thumbs up from our family!
If you are new to Robin Miller and her cooking, you should check her out on Food Network. Robin has been a food writer and a nutritionist since 1990. Her popular show Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller currently airs on the Food Network. Her primetime show Robin to the Rescue premiered on the Food Network in March 2007.
I really found a lot of excellent recipes to try in this cookbook. I have no doubt this will be another successful cookbook for her. To pre-order this cookbook for $18.99, check out Amazon. Thanks to NetGalley for providing this cookbook for my review.
I was provided with a e-book copy of this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way for this review. This review is my honest opinion. I wouldn’t review anything that wouldn’t benefit myself or my family.
