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Anyone Can Cook: Step-By-Step Recipes Just for You
An innovative cookbook for aspiring chefs introduces the basics of working in a kitchen with practical advice on kitchen equipment, food safety, pantry essentials, and ingredients, along with more than five hundred super-easy recipes, highlighted by nearly one thousand step-by-step photographs, detailed instructions, and nutritional breakdowns for delicious, home-cooked meals.
480 pages, Ring-bound
First published October 1, 2007
8 people are currently reading
547 people want to read
About the author
Better Homes and Gardens
2,045 books288 followersBetter Homes and Gardens is the fourth best selling magazine in the United States. Better Homes and Gardens focuses on interests regarding homes, cooking, gardening, crafts, healthy living, decorating, and entertaining. The magazine is published 12 times per year by the Meredith Corporation. It was founded in 1922 by Edwin Meredith, who had previously been the United States Secretary of Agriculture under Woodrow Wilson.
Better Homes and Gardens is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.
Better Homes and Gardens is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 11, 2011
This would be a great cookbook for the first-timer!!! Easy, basic recipes with step-by-step pictures... I do not usually by cookbooks, because I get recipes online... but I WILL buy this one!!!
June 10, 2017
I do not usually cook. At all.
Years ago my [future] mother-in-law bought me this book, which I found funny at the time. My husband loves to cook, and at the time I thought she was dropping a large HINT but really I think she was trying to be helpful.
And over the years it really has been!! Some people take for granted how long to boil and egg for, or what is "chopped" vs. "minced?" There are recipes as well, but it's the basics that I look up. For those not "naturals in the kitchen," I would highly recommend this 'un.
Years ago my [future] mother-in-law bought me this book, which I found funny at the time. My husband loves to cook, and at the time I thought she was dropping a large HINT but really I think she was trying to be helpful.
And over the years it really has been!! Some people take for granted how long to boil and egg for, or what is "chopped" vs. "minced?" There are recipes as well, but it's the basics that I look up. For those not "naturals in the kitchen," I would highly recommend this 'un.
May 14, 2025
Honestly, such a great book. This book basically teaches you how to cook from the ground up along with having a few recipes for the more experienced chef. My favorite recipe had to be the pumpkin pie. It was a great base that I was able to experiment with. I added vanilla creamer and some coffee to mine and made a pumpkin spice late cake!
December 11, 2017
Although I'm not new to cooking, this does help with basic recipes and basics in the kitchen. Love the images and the step by step guide to the recipes! A must for new chefs in the making or a college kid learning to cook for the first time.
June 15, 2019
This a really good cookbook with amazing recipes. I like the fact that it includes tons of color photos which is a plus. I really hate cookbooks with zero photos in them. The recipes are written simply so that anyone including a noncook can follow it. Great job!
December 23, 2025
This is an excellent book for new beginners in the kitchen.
I love the fact that they have colorful pictures of all the meals. In addition to step by step guide to how to do certain techniques in the kitchen.
I love the fact that they have colorful pictures of all the meals. In addition to step by step guide to how to do certain techniques in the kitchen.
November 29, 2015
Anyone Can Cook with this Cookbook!
Anyone Can Cook from Better Homes and Gardens is an exemplary choice for beginning cooks or those who just prefer easy cooking. A beginner myself, I have looked through many cookbooks and found this one the best purchase. As someone who learns visually and step-by-step, it’s a great help. There are many reasons why Anyone Can Cook is so useful and overall simple.
The beginning provides an abundance of colorful instructions, examples, and shortcuts to help beginners learn the basics of cooking. I have found many enlightening tips that drastically improved my own cooking techniques. This cookbook is the perfect choice for those who love a good variety of tastes. It provides recipes that tie in from many cultures, and has a wide option of healthy and unhealthy meals. All of the recipes are easy to cook and tasty. On many of them, it lists creative alternatives to get different flavors from the same recipe.
The layout of this cookbook is very useful, too. Its tabs are easy to find and are labeled under each category of food groups. In each corner of the page, there’s a skill level for how easy the recipe is: from 1 as super-easy to 3 being easy. If you forget a cooking technique, you can simply look at the bottom of the page to find “Ask Mom” references that can answer it.
The book provides clear, vibrant step-by-step pictures that really helps beginners follow the recipe with the minimum of hassle. Based off an older edition from Better Homes and Gardens, this newly reformed book is both modern and simplistic in presentation.
However, there are some cons to this purchase. There isn’t a section for vegetable-based meals, and I have to waste time looking under different tabs to find one. Unfortunately the ring binder makes page-turning a hassle and some pages rip because of it.
All in all, I would recommend this cookbook to anyone who desires to learn the basics of cooking with plenty of easy step-by-step visuals. I believe this book is great for all kinds of people who love to taste variety on the table.
Anyone Can Cook from Better Homes and Gardens is an exemplary choice for beginning cooks or those who just prefer easy cooking. A beginner myself, I have looked through many cookbooks and found this one the best purchase. As someone who learns visually and step-by-step, it’s a great help. There are many reasons why Anyone Can Cook is so useful and overall simple.
The beginning provides an abundance of colorful instructions, examples, and shortcuts to help beginners learn the basics of cooking. I have found many enlightening tips that drastically improved my own cooking techniques. This cookbook is the perfect choice for those who love a good variety of tastes. It provides recipes that tie in from many cultures, and has a wide option of healthy and unhealthy meals. All of the recipes are easy to cook and tasty. On many of them, it lists creative alternatives to get different flavors from the same recipe.
The layout of this cookbook is very useful, too. Its tabs are easy to find and are labeled under each category of food groups. In each corner of the page, there’s a skill level for how easy the recipe is: from 1 as super-easy to 3 being easy. If you forget a cooking technique, you can simply look at the bottom of the page to find “Ask Mom” references that can answer it.
The book provides clear, vibrant step-by-step pictures that really helps beginners follow the recipe with the minimum of hassle. Based off an older edition from Better Homes and Gardens, this newly reformed book is both modern and simplistic in presentation.
However, there are some cons to this purchase. There isn’t a section for vegetable-based meals, and I have to waste time looking under different tabs to find one. Unfortunately the ring binder makes page-turning a hassle and some pages rip because of it.
All in all, I would recommend this cookbook to anyone who desires to learn the basics of cooking with plenty of easy step-by-step visuals. I believe this book is great for all kinds of people who love to taste variety on the table.
March 19, 2008
I love this book a lot. The beginning chapters explain EVERYTHING in the world to you and its fantastic. It even tells you what a beginner 'chef' needs to have in their kitchen, which is awesome because now I know what random things in the cupboards are called (well... I can look up the pictures and find out what they're called but still..). When it gets to the recipe sections on the bottom of each recipe it has an "Ask Mom" section that tells you what part of the beginning of the book to go to to get an explaination for something. ( If it says 1 tbsp minced garlic, who knows what that means?! so you go to the bottom of the page and it says 'mincing garlic pg 23). I love it. Yay books that take you through the steps of cooking.
February 1, 2011
Great for How to's.
Has good muffins, shortbread, stirfrys, and more.
There are a lot of trendy foods like I see in my mom's cookbooks from the 70's, and some produce that would be hard to get and not locally grown or almost never seasonal.
Awesome amount of pictures!!!
Has good muffins, shortbread, stirfrys, and more.
There are a lot of trendy foods like I see in my mom's cookbooks from the 70's, and some produce that would be hard to get and not locally grown or almost never seasonal.
Awesome amount of pictures!!!
August 18, 2011
This cook book would make a very nice gift for somebody that starts out with cooking.
I wish I had that cook book when I start it out .
It is very helpful and has lots of imformation and picture that go with it .
I wish I had that cook book when I start it out .
It is very helpful and has lots of imformation and picture that go with it .
October 21, 2008
Haven't started yet ... but I've heard this is where to get the ball rolling!!
June 1, 2009
I love to cook, and this had awesome recipes and was easy to follow. Which was nice, specially since ive never taken a class or anything. I just like to cook. Xmas present.
August 13, 2010
I didn't read every word so far, mostly took some notes to help me improve my cooking. Would like to buy it and try out some of the recipes.
August 6, 2008
I found a few really good recipes in here- I especially love the caramel chex mix!
July 20, 2010
Easy to read sections, great content and advice. Only problem was the spiral binding.
September 8, 2015
This is the best cookbook I have ever seen!!!!! Great for those who are trying to learn.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews