As much as I've tried and forced myself to like it, I must admit...I do NOT like to cook.  At first, I thought that if I had the proper utensils and equipment, my love of cooking would sprout and flourish, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.  Since I don't want to serve my family any of the highly processed packaged foods for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and since I myself am quite a picky eater, what should I do?

Well, thankfully, two gals from across the pond have written my kind of cookbook.  It's called 4 Ingredients: More Than 400 Quick, Easy and Delicious Recipes Using 4 or Fewer Ingredients.  The great thing is that the longest part of this cookbook is the title.

These recipes are designed to get you in and out of the kitchen and grocery store in a hurry without sacrificing the taste or healthfulness of the food you serve.  Keep reading to learn more about the cooking concept which has taken Australia and the UK by storm!

Two busy Australian moms, Rachael Bermingham and Kim McCosker, found themselves continually stretched trying to find recipes that they could easily whip up after getting in late from after-school activities that didn't involve 40 ingredients AND were budget friendly.  With six little boys between them, they knew that a book that helped make their lives easier in the kitchen would be helpful to other busy people.

Kim and Rachael spent hours upon hours gathering the recipes for 4 Ingredients and then spent even more time preparing them.  The result is a cookbook that uses the following simple and highly effective guidelines:

• Reducing the number of ingredients required to make something taste delicious:
  • Every one of the recipes in 4 Ingredients is made with only 4 or less ingredients
• Reducing the number of utensils required to make meals:
  • The only measuring utensils required to make the recipes in 4 Ingredients are 1 teaspoon, 1 tablespoon and 1 cup
• Reducing the amount of money spent on food each week:
  • Food is one of the largest items in the weekly budget.  By reducing the ingredients used, you will not have to buy as much
• Creating more time to spend doing what you love to do:
  • By simplifying recipes, you often simplify the clean up which equates to saving time - something most of us could do with more of these days

In my opinion, this is a must-have cookbook for any busy family, even if you happen to love to cook.  Most days, it is very difficult to have the time to cook such a large, intricate meal and this recipe book is a great resource for quick and efficient go-to recipes when time is running short.

I feel great knowing that I can still prepare something yummy and delicious for my family, without the endless amount of grocery shopping, prep work and cleanup that most recipes require.  Just look at the picture of the Chicken Pie above.  The only items you'll need for this one are:

• 2 sheets puff pastry
• 400g can condensed cream of chicken soup
• ½ cooked chicken without skin, shredded
• 500g snap frozen mixed veggies, thawed

How simple is that?  I am so happy that the 4 Ingredients ladies have finally released this debut effort in the United States, for we have missed out on their time-saving tips and recipes for far too long!