Starving Students' Cookbook

College students; Moving out of the dorms and into an apartment can be wonderful: No sharing a bathroom and shower area with 50 of your closest friends, no more nosy RAs, no midnight false Fire Alarms. Unfortunately, it also means "no more meal plans". This may or may not be a deal breaker for some, depending on how bad the dorm cafeteria's food was but nevertheless, you're going to have to learn to cook SOMETHING on your own. Pizza, burgers, and Chinese delivery gets old after a while (trust me on this)... This book is the perfect tool for those who wish to move beyond being the King/Queen of the take-out scene, and want homemade food at times OTHER than when going home to visit your family. Not just for college students, The Starving Students' Cookbook is a wonderful how-to guide for quick, filling, budget-friendly meals for any brave, yet clueless soul cum budding chef. It contains inexpensive, easy-to-prepare dishes that are simple to customize for individual tastes, describe exactly what is needed to make each one, does not require you to buy a variety of miscellaneous ingredients that will never be used again, and best of all, are meant for only one-to-two servings. There are also recipes that give you some ideas on what to do with the leftover chicken/turkey/roast that Mom might send you back to school with, after a weekend Home visit! I, personally, have used both this book, and the original 1980s-era edition on a regular basis since I moved out of the dorms and into an apartment in 1991. I have also gifted it to numerous friends and kids-of-friends who have headed into the wonderful world that is College Apartment Living. This book's asking price of $10.24 is a bargain, particularly in relation to the bounty of knowledge and advice that it delivers. Try it, and you just might surprise yourself at how well you can "get cooking"!

I bought The Starving Student' Cookbook for my brother's birthday. He cannot cook to save his life without a recipe, and he is on a tight budget. This book has wonderful explanations (even in the ingredients) that make your shopping list better and you time is saved. For instance, under Curried Chicken, they explain that the curry for this recipe can be found on the spice aisle (which is obvious to those of us who cook, but my brother would walk around the store forever looking for it). This book teaches you how to use the microwave for more than just reheating leftovers, teaches how to cook veggies, casseroles, and anything else you can imagine for that hungry someone who is on a budget. You can even make your own sauces and dressings. The front of the book has the food pyramid for those who would like a quick glance at the outline of an "ideal" diet, basic utensils you should have in your kitchen, what basic foods/condiments you should have stocked up, and what is technically "1 serving" in each category. It has handy tips about cooking eggs, how to tell if they are boiled, or spoiled, and my favorite piece is the "at a glance" for the recipe which tells you where you will be cooking it and for how long for someone who may not have an oven or stovetop at the time. I am so happy with my purchase of this, and I cannot wait to taste some of his creations! Note: I divide cooks into 3 categories: naturally gifted, needs the list and directions, and hopeless. This book is great for "needs the list and directions". It is too basic for the "naturally gifted", but I guess you can always find new tips and recipes for your collection

Simple recipes and easy to follow directions. It is perfect for someone like me who has never cooked a day in her life.

I didn't realize it was so small. I wish it had nutritional values for each recipe. I've subbed some of the ingredients for more healthier versions. If the book could be updated to include nutrition values, that would be great. It's simple and easy to follow however.

This is without a doubt the most useful cookbook that we have ever owned. We used an earlier version till it was falling apart and we ordered a new one. The recipes are simple and easy to follow and one does not have to be a chef to understand what to do. The meals are so tasty and do not call for any expensive ingredients. The cookbook is very well organized with a table of contents and an index. It contains all kinds of soups,salads,desserts,drinks,meaty main courses and much more. Anyone who cooks on a budget should have one! It is a terrific book for both novice cooks as well as seasoned ones. I wrote this review about the paperback version.

I purchased this for my Godbrother who went of to the U of A (the first in his family to go to college)! His family are BIG into cooking and Food Network. I knew that he'd have limited space, so I thought this would help him fix quick meals with few supplies/ingredients. It wasn't until he actually arrived that we realized he wasn't allowed to have most of the supplies in the dorm room to cut down on fires. Understandable. Once he moved out of the dorm his Sophomore year, he was able to acquire an apartment nearby and utilize the book more. While it wasn't nearly as good as his food from home (what REALLY beats Mom's Home-cooking?!), it made it possible for him to cook food for himself and friends when they weren't looking to eat out. He enjoyed it and still uses it to this day.

Bought this for my daughter that just started college, she was excited with this gift as it was easy to read and use. The recipes were easy and instructions were not difficult for her to follow. The book also has nice little tips throughout the book which I thought was kind of nice for the kids. This also gives recipes that you are able to use as ideas and make changes to, to make them more of "your own".

I bought this as a gift for a brother in law in college. He is a true beginner cook. I did find some of the 150 recipes to be so beyond simple it was almost silly to have them in a cook book, like how to scramble an egg. But all in all it will likely be things he did not know and help him develop.

A great collection of some really simple recipes, sized for one or two persons. Fits right in a backpack, too.

Great for our granddaughter.