Robin Miller - Another Inspiration

Quick Fix Meals Review

Robin Miller is another chef from whom I get inspiration from for my Thrown Together Meals concept. Her cookbook is called Quick Fix Meals.

Chef Miller also specializes in quick, healthy and delicious meals made from everyday ingredients. In that way, her approach is a lot like Rachael Ray's, which is what attracted me to this cookbook in the first place. Turns out she's a host on Food Network, but I've never seen her show.

Robin Miller has a few different cookbooks available for purchase; "rescue" appears to be a common theme. But the one I discovered was her "Quick Fix Meals", which I guess is based on her TV show of the same name...

Cookbook Description

One of the main reasons I bought this cookbook after I picked it up in the bookstore was Robin Miller's idea of "meal kits." I love this idea! In a nutshell, meal kits involve making up portions of meals ahead of time, so that when you go to cook them to serve, you've already got a jumpstart and can get the meal on the table in no time flat.

I like this idea because the sad truth is, I'm sl-o-o-o-w... It takes me at least an hour to get almost all of Rachael Ray's "30 Minute Meals" on the table! So, the idea of having stuff already started is very attractive to me.

Back to the description, though... There are 200 "simple delicious recipes to make mealtime easy" in this cookbook, and they fall into all kinds of categories. The way the book is set up though, is starting with the prepare ahead meal kits and other sauces and ingredients.

Then, she moves into "Morph It" where she shows you how to give creative new life to leftovers by creating totally new meals from your original main dish. For instance, she takes "herbed fish cakes" and reuses them in an artichoke salad, stuffed red peppers and fish and corn chowder.

The next section of the book, "Dinner Express" is for when you don't have time to plan. She shows you how to take staples from your pantry and create quick easy dinners. Kind of like my "Thrown Together" concept!

The cookbook also contains some quick, easy side dishes and even a few fast dessert recipes.

Pros About Quick Fix Meals

The concepts in this cookbook are great. As I said, I love the idea of the meal kits and some of the make ahead tips she offers. And reading through some of Morph It ideas is sure to spark your own creativity. Plus, the fact that she offers recipes for all aspects of a meal, rather than just the entree, is great.

Cons About Quick Fix Meals

However, now that I've had a few months to experiment with Robin Miller's recipes, I have to admit I find a lot of them to be lacking the creativity and flavor that I've found with 99% of the Rachael Ray recipes. They're mostly OK, but they're not spectacular, for the most part, even though they sound delicious on paper. And I don't know... some of the ingredients just don't intrigue me as much as Rachael Ray's did.

Rating: 7 stars

In Summary

Despite the fact that the recipes in this cookbook are not as rich in flavor and variety as those Rachael Ray makes, I really like Robin Miller's approach to quick, easy cooking, so I'll continue to use her cookbook as an inspiration in my thrown together meal creations! And if you're looking for some new ideas too, then I recommend you check it out.

You can shop for Robin Miller cookbooks at Amazon.com: