The Effortless Kitchen Cookbook

By Debbie Brosnan

Make it Easy, Fresh and Effortless

Feed yourself and your family flavorful, effortless dishes that come together in a snap.

This debut cookbook from The Effortless Kitchen will help you eat well while saving time in the kitchen. From Fettuccine Bolognese to Buddha Bowls and Meatballs from Around the World, Debbie Brosnan shares her delicious recipes for easy everyday meals. You will find over 70 fresh and easy-to-make recipes that will please every type of palate. Recipes include ideas for adapting ingredients for those wanting vegan, vegetarian, dairy free, and gluten free options.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Debbie Brosnan
• Release date: Dec 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781946694393

Book preview

Introduction

Welcome to The Effortless Kitchen. Thanks for choosing this cookbook. We have all optimistically purchased cookbooks then only use them once or twice because the recipes are too complicated. I decided to write this book because I truly believe that everyone can cook and I wanted to provide recipes that are easy to follow and simple to prepare so that you can feel inspired and successful in your kitchen.

My philosophy around food is that it should taste delicious, should be healthy-ish – as healthy as possible without sacrificing flavor and texture – and it shouldn’t take long to prepare. No one has time to be in the kitchen all day. I like to cook from scratch with fresh ingredients as much as possible so I know what is in my food. And now you can, too.

Knowing what is in your food allows you to control what you are eating which can contribute to better overall health. Using fresh, whole foods and seasonal ingredients when you can is good for your body, plus they just taste great. My recipes focus on just that- healthy food that is simple to prepare, using whole foods and seasonal ingredients so that you have a delicious meal on the table in a short amount of time.

How did The Effortless Kitchen come to be? I have been obsessed with food and cooking since I was a young girl when I learned to cook alongside my grandmother and mother. It became clear to me at an early age that food is the great connector and a way to nurture those around you. Our family is not as large as it is loud - an Italian and Jewish mix. The Italian side would gather at my grandmother’s apartment in Queens every Sunday for dinner.

We would sit around the table and eat for hours, first the pasta with sauce and meatballs, sausage and pork bones, then the roast beef and veggies, then the salad, then the dessert. It was a feast I looked forward to and it’s part of what made me want to get in the kitchen. The first dish I ever helped cook is my mother’s famous chicken cutlets, breading the chicken cutlets before my mother would fry them. My kids request this meal often and it’s something my mother makes for me every time I visit home. See what I mean about connection?

I was lucky to grow up in Brooklyn, NY which is a melting pot of many different ethnic and cultural foods and I was exposed to the flavors of the world, which intrigued me. I am still as curious today as I was back then to try new foods, but now I also try to recreate them in my own kitchen. And once I have perfected them, they’re ready to share with you.

I started The Effortless Kitchen in 2019 as a passion project. After being a CPA and then a full-time stay-at-home mom, it was time to focus on what I really wanted to do - cook. I opened my business as a personal chef and was cooking in my client’s homes. When the pandemic started in 2020, I ended up transitioning to virtual cooking classes which organically came from the need for inspiration and recipe ideas. I love the virtual world because I can help people wherever they are and teach them to cook for themselves.

This book is a compilation of the most popular recipes I have been teaching since May 2020. You will love this book if:

You are a foodie

You are in a food rut and need ideas in the kitchen

You are afraid to cook and need help in the kitchen

My hope is that this book will help you expand your repertoire and some of these recipes will become your new weeknight go-to recipes.

If you are looking for more of The Effortless Kitchen, you can join me for a live virtual cooking class, your company can host a virtual cooking event, or you can travel with me on a culinary retreat. You can find everything on my website (theeffortlesskitchen.com).

See you in the kitchen,

Debbie

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Helpful Notes for Using this Book

The best recipes not only taste good, but they are also easy to understand and execute. Here are some tips to help you work through these recipes with ease and confidence.

Dietary Substitutions:

All recipes in this book are flagged with some or all of these symbols:

Veg = vegetarian

GF = gluten free

V = vegan

DF = dairy free

When a recipe includes these symbols it means the recipe is naturally suitable for those dietary restrictions or it can be adapted with the dietary substitutions indicated in the recipe.

While dietary substitutions are included on each recipe if they are available, below is a list of some common substitutions:

Tips on Ingredients Used in Recipes

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Salt – salt is included in every recipe in this book. I simply refer to it as salt, but I use Morton’s Coarse Kosher salt. It’s important to note the brand of Kosher salt you choose to use as Morton’s tends to be the saltiest. If you use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, which tends to be the least salty, you will need to modify the measurements in my recipes to properly season your food and will likely need more salt. Taste as you season until it tastes perfect to you.

Grated garlic – most of my recipes that include garlic call for grated garlic. I am using a microplane grater to grate my peeled garlic cloves. You can get the same effect with a garlic press. I happen to prefer a microplane grater as my tool of choice, as I can use it for citrus zesting as well as grating ginger. Grating garlic is a personal preference and if you would like, mincing your garlic with a knife would work just as well in place of the grated garlic.

Neutral cooking oil – most of my recipes that include oil other than olive oil will call for neutral cooking oil. This refers to any oil you like to use for cooking at high heat. My preference for this is avocado oil. You could also use vegetable or canola oil.

Grated ginger – most of my recipes that include ginger call for grated ginger. I am using a microplane grater to grate my peeled fresh ginger. If you prefer, you can finely chop your ginger with a knife.

Healthy Swaps

Most of my recipes are healthy in some way (what I like to call healthy-ish) by making tiny tweaks from the traditional version. Here are some of my tips and tricks so you can use them to adapt your every day recipes.

Leaner protein – swap out ground beef or pork with ground turkey or chicken. One thing to note when using ground poultry is to avoid white meat or breast meat only. The breast meat has such little fat that the end result tends to be dry.

Lower sodium - use low-sodium soy sauce, coconut aminos, or tamari when you can. There is still plenty of sodium in the low-sodium version so I try to cut some of the sodium content by reducing the soy sauce quantity in my recipes and adding water. You still end up with the same amount of sauce, just less salt.

Use non-fat plain Greek yogurt to add creaminess without the heaviness and fat – fat is good for you in moderation and I try to have a good balance in my recipes. I typically go for Greek yogurt in place of sour cream or mayonnaise or I will cut the sour cream or mayonnaise amount with some yogurt. If you prefer, use a Greek yogurt with some fat in it if you like a richer product.

Why Use Chipped Pottery

Every dish tells a story, and there is a story behind many of the plates and bowls you will see throughout this book. Some pottery was purchased during my travels, and every time I use a particular dish, it brings back memories from a fun international trip. I can recall where I was when I made the purchase, who I was with, and the challenge of trying to pack it to get it home without breaking.

The plate used for the Beef Bulgogi Lettuce Cups was one of the many pieces of pottery I bought on a trip to Spain in 2000 when I was pregnant with my first child. We were in Toledo, and I fell in love with that plate. And then I fell in love with another and another. I found so many special pieces to bring back that I wasn’t sure how to get them all home. I won’t forget the time I spent packing all of the delicate ceramic so it would survive in the overhead compartment on the plane.

One colorful plate I use throughout this book has a noticeable chip in it. It appears in the Grilled Romaine Salad recipe, and the chip is not hidden but purposely front and center because