I don’t know about you but sometimes it feels like I am cooking the same dinners every week around our house. I think I have been in a cooking rut. The family doesn’t complain about having repeat meals but I sure was looking to mix it up a little with new recipes. When I went to look at some new cookbooks I wasn’t all that impressed with them. The recipes seemed like too much work and I didn’t want to buy a cookbook for just a handful of recipes that my family would eat.
I was given the opportunity to review a NEW cookbook from Gooseberry Patch and it has definitely helped me get out of the cooking rut I was in. Gooseberry Patch is a national best selling publisher and consists of duo JoAnn and Vickie who were next door neighbors in Delaware, Ohio that loved sharing homestyle, family friendly recipes. The newest addition to the Gooseberry Patch Rush Hour Recipes is a wonderful cookbook that every kitchen shelf should hold. I love it! Not only are the recipes good but on every page there are cooking and baking shortcuts!

There are over 230 quick-to-fix dinner recipes that are not only yummy but easy on the clock and wallet. Having to go out to buy 15-20 ingredients for a meal is not gonna work for me, I mean can you imagine what my two year old would get into while I tried to prepare dinner that takes hours to prep? yikes. Most recipes in the Rush Hour Recipes cookbook are ready in 30 minutes or less!
Rush Hour Recipes has a nice variety of recipes and their contents page is as follows:
- 5- Ingredient Favorites (so nice for those times you need a fast and easy meal)
- One-Dish Dinners (less mess!)
- Slow Cookers to the Rescue (great for moms who work out of the home)
- Soups On! (Soups are one of my favorite meals to make and the recipe I share with you is delicious!!)
- Make-A-Meal Sides (these sides are so good you will want to make them your meal)
- Speedy Potluck & Party Foods (great for entertaining or a family fun night at home)
While I have been enjoying trying new recipes the past few weeks I wanted to share with you our favorite so far, Cheesy Black Bean Soup. When hubby and I were dating we went to this pub and had the most delicious creamy black bean soup and we always say that we need to find a recipe that could come close to what we had. Well, I found it in my Rush Hour Recipes cookbook so I have been dying to try it.


This recipe is so quick and easy I was almost worried that it couldn’t taste good with just a few cans of veggies and a couple spices but I was pleasantly surprised and even my hubby was amazed at how delicious the soup was (he had 2 bowls!). The end result came pretty darn close to the Black Bean soup we had so many years ago! 🙂 The only thing I would change about the Cheesy Black Bean soup is I would use less chili powder next time since it was too spicy for my liking.

If you are looking for a new cookbook I would say that Gooseberry Patch’s Rush Hour Recipe would be a great addition to any kitchen!
To learn more about Gooseberry Patch and purchase their books:
To purchase a Rush Hour Recipes ($16.95 suggested retail) cookbook please visit their website to see what local retailers carry them. On their website you can also view new free recipes, share recipes, get the tip of the week and also get weekly menu planning ideas! You can also follow them on Twitter, Facebook and visit their daily updated blog with recipes and news of upcoming book releases.
To WIN a copy of Rush Hour Recipes: (Cl0sed)
Gooseberry Patch is offering one lucky reader a chance to win a copy of Rush Hour Recipes ($16.95 suggested retail)
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. In order to comply with the latest Facebook Promotion Guidelines (revised 5/11/11), the following statements are true:
* Giveaway participants release Facebook from any responsibility whatsoever.
* Giveaways on this blog are in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
* Giveaway participants are providing information to this blog and giveaway sponsors only; not to Facebook.
30 Day Winning Rule does not apply – you can win this and additional prizes this month. For complete contest rules, please see our Contest Statement and Blog Disclosure.
Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on February 23, 2012 when a winner will be drawn at random. I will notify the winners and they will have 36 hours to respond or another winner will be selected!
This was not a paid post. Thank you to Gooseberry Patch for letting me review their Rush Hour Recipes cookbook and also participating in a giveaway.