How to Make the Most Out of Your Enjoy Cookbook

It’s finally HERE! We’ve been counting down the days and now our brand-new cookbook ENJOY is out at last. Seeing you all receive your books is Christmas come early for us! We’re desperate to know which recipes you’ll try first, so PLEASE tag us in any photos you share (or log in and upload them to our gallery). 

With 100 new recipes to choose from, you’ll be spoilt for choice! We wanted to fill the pages of this book with dishes that everyone will love. Each one has been chosen because it’s a recipe we just know you’ll want to cook, eat and share with friends and family time and time again. You can find out more about Enjoy here. 

To help you to make the most out of your new book, we’ve put together a few handy tips for getting started. 

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Step 1: Join our Facebook Group

If you’re new to Pinch of Nom, you might not know that it all started over on Facebook. Today, our Facebook Group is a community of almost 1 million incredible people, and without them, we wouldn’t be where we are (celebrating our FIFTH cookbook!). 

When you’re getting to grips with a new book, we can’t recommend scrolling through the group enough. From ideas of what to try first, to tips and tricks, you’re sure to feel instantly inspired. We absolutely love a cheeky scroll through the group – you lovely lot always put a smile on our faces with your photos and comments. 

When you have a question or need some advice about recipes, the community is always on hand to help – plus, we swing by as often as possible to pick up any queries that they don’t beat us to answering! 

Step 2: Stock up your store cupboard

If you’ve cooked from any of our cookbooks before, you’ll already know that we like to keep the ingredients lists as cheap and cheerful as possible. We try to streamline the shopping list so that you only need to pick up bits that you’ll use across more than one recipe. 

The key to this is making sure your store cupboard is stocked with herbs, spices, tins and dried staples that you’ll use time and time again. Jars of spices are relatively inexpensive and add so much flavour to food, without adding calories. Stock up on essentials like ground cumin, ginger, chilli and garlic powder – and don’t forget ground coriander. It’s one of those ingredients that you’ll reach for when you’re cooking a whole host of different dishes. 

Making your own spice mixes and marinades is not only a cheaper option, we also think they turn out tastier than shop-bought versions. (You’ll see exactly what we mean when you try the Chicken and Cheese Curry Pie on page 70 of Enjoy!). 

Step 3: Shop for fresh ingredients

Planning your meals for the week can turn into a major balancing act. Trying to work out a menu that‘s varied, doesn’t waste food and won’t cost a fortune in fresh ingredients sometimes feels impossible. Enjoy is all about putting the food you love back on the menu, and it does this without sending you shopping for lots of special ingredients. 

Even a simple carton of eggs can be used to create delicious dishes that are worlds apart – try the Fry-up Frittata (page 32) for breakfast one day, and tuck into Creamy Garlic Mushroom Quiche (page 154) for dinner later in the week. 

Just like in so many of our website recipes, reduced-fat dairy products give the dishes in Enjoy a taste of indulgence, without adding too much to the calorie count. Our top tip is to stock up on low-fat cream cheese, and you’ll always be able to rustle up a tasty lunch or dinner. 

Open Enjoy to page 156 if you’re in the mood for some proper comfort food. We’ve combined two Italian-inspired classics to make this Meatball Lasagne, and the secret to the slimming-friendly white sauce is (you guessed it) low-fat cream cheese. 

Step 4: Dust off your kitchen kit

From sharp knives to a decent potato masher, there are certain bits of kitchen equipment that we always recommend. We know that our community likes to have options when it comes to cooking recipes in different ways, and if you’re looking for an opportunity to crack out your air fryer, pressure cooker or slow cooker, Enjoy won’t disappoint. 

We’ve made sure that 29 recipes in this book include one or more alternative cooking methods. Flick to page 116 to feast your eyes on the beauty of our Mini Chicken Kyiv Balls recipe. Just as delicious cooked in the oven, there’s also an air fryer method to get them extra crispy. 

When it comes to air fryers, this Ninja Foodi Health Grill and Air Fryeris a great choice. With a 5.7 litre capacity, there’s plenty of room to spread your ingredients in an even layer, so they’ll cook more efficiently. 

You’ll find lots of multi-method recipes on our website too, like this Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon that can also be made in the oven or in a pressure cooker.

If you don’t have one already, a slow cooker is well worth the investment. They’re often not too expensive, and they save so much effort on soups, stews, casseroles and curries. We’d recommend choosing a model like this one, with a 3.5 litre capacity, to give your ingredients room to simmer. 

Step 5: Become a batch-cook boss

Throughout Enjoy you’ll be able to spot at a glance any recipes that are well-suited to batch cooking. We’ve added a little ‘batch friendly’ icon on dishes that you can store and save for a rainy day. Whether you like to have a batch-cooking session where you make lots of different meals, or double up quantities each time you make something in order to freeze spare portions, we’ve got you covered. 

The Banana Bread Brownies (page 230) are so squidgy and delicious that you’re guaranteed to want to make extra. Luckily they keep well in an airtight container for a few days, and you can even freeze them for the next time you need a baked treat in a hurry! 

You’ll find lots of hints and tips in the book to help you to make sure you’re storing, freezing and reheating food safely, although it’s always good to take a look at NHS guidelines too. 

It’s important to make sure any containers or bags you’re using are freezer safe. These airtight glass containers can go from the freezer into the oven – handy for cutting down on the washing up!

Which Enjoy recipe are you cooking first?

We’d LOVE to see which recipe you tuck into first from our latest cookbook. Head over to our Facebook group to share your photos – and don’t forget to tag us! You can also share any pics you take over in our Gallery (there’s SWAG up for grabs!). 

If you haven’t ordered your copy of Enjoy yet, you can pick up a copy here. You might even want to grab one of our Family Meal Planners to help you get organised. With space to plan your weekly meals, track your food and keep a note of what’s in the freezer, it has everything you need to make the most of the 100 new recipes from Enjoy.