A Man, a Can, a Plan: 50 Great Guy Meals Even You Can Make!: A Cookbook

All right, I'll admit it, when I first got this book I wasn't too impressed. It's a board book, not very different than the kind my two-year-old nephew reads. It's full of pictures, again, kind of like what I might find in the board books my nephew reads. Only these are nice color photos of fixings (the ingredients - usually a couple cans of something), plus the finished product. You know, like a can of Bush's BBQ baked beans + a can of Del Monte Mexican-style tomatoes + a can of Del Monte whole kernel corn, then a photo of the finished dish, Fried Bean Tomatoes. So, who would ever use this book? Bachelors certainly, but not me. Wanna bet! I live half the year on a sailboat and we have lot of cans in our storage lockers. We've tried just about every recipe in this book. Some several times. And that's quite an admission from a girl who used to write a monthly column on how to cook gourmet meals while living aboard a boat. Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

I think that this book serves it's purpose beautifully. It was bought for me by my girlfriend, who was growing tired of my "I can't cook" mantra. I'd been given The Joy of Cooking in the past, but the realistic chance of me suddenly making a pot roast out of the blue were pretty much nil.This book is great because it assumes you know _nothing_ about cooking and walks you along in baby steps, using mostly cans and easily bought foods with basic cooking skills. After having made several of the recipes (all of which were easy, quick, low cost, tasty, and reasonably healthy), I'm starting to experiment with other ingredients and may look into other "real" cookbooks in the future.I would highly recommend this book to anyone with _very_ little or no cooking experience. I think it fills a niche nicely. It's put me in the kitchen cooking, which no other cook book has been able to do. Highly recommended.

This is not only a great book for single men,but for busy people who don't have time to cook. Nutritional dishes can be prepared with a minimum of fuss. There is a good variety, and also little hints on easier procedures to follow. I think this book is good to give to the senior citizens in your family who do not like to go to a great deal of trouble to prepare meals.

I love this book! The recipes are good, wholesome, and easy to prepare. I especially liked the feature that shows you via pictures what canned goods or other ingredients are needed to create your "gourmet delight." I've tried over 1/2 of the recipes in here and not one is bad or hard to prepare. Being that they are simple with few ingredients, you can embellish them to your liking by substituting ingredients or changing quantities, and such. A nice basic cookbook for those who hate to cook, are cooking for 1 or 2 people, or are just learning how to cope in the kitchen. The desserts are great and you'll be cooking like Emeril in no time!!!!! I look forward to more books like this.

I bought this book for my husband who does not cook. He actually looked at the book, picked out recipes, and fixed some of the food. The directions were simple and they even provide pictures of the ingredients so you know what exactly to buy. The book is cute and is very simplistic. It is not for the gourmet, the dieter, or anyone who likes fresh vegetables. As the title implies, most recipes use only canned food. On the plus side, the recipes are simple, easy to prepare, and do not require a lot of planning. The results vary from edable to pretty good.