A Man, a Can, a Plan : 50 Great Guy Meals Even You Can Make Hardcover – June 17, 2002

I bought this as a gift for my nephew and i'm glad i did. Its a great starter book for a young man that is new to cooking. The ingredients are simple, easy to find, and accessible to most. Its not a gourmet cook book by any means, but its a good book to help a young person get more comfortable with being in the kitchen and fending for themselves. I can see this book as being perfect for a teenager or a college kid making meals for themselves. I'm sure after mastering these recipes a person would probably graduate to more complicated and interesting dishes, and i think that this book provides that confidence and stepping stone to get there. Not that it ventures into that territory, but once a person gains that confidence that they can actually cook something other than a hot pocket that actually provides decent nutrition and sustenance such as the things in this book, they will be more willing to branch out to other great meals/recipes. Bottom line, this book is a great start for some one new to cooking, or looking for easy, less complicated meals that are simple to make.I also bought the "Second Helping" follow up to this book at the same time and HIGHLY recommend it. I'm not saying that this book is bad, but I think the recipes in the 2nd Helping book are allot better and a little more appealing to my tastes. I highly recommend buying them in a pair. That is what i did. These books are STURDY. They come with those THICK pages like you would find in a kids book. So i'm sure you can prevent ruining the book with accidental splashes and spills, which fits right in a beginner.I might buy another set for myself just to get quick and easy ideas for myself.

I have bought this book several times to accompany a more hefty Better Homes and Garden or Betty Crocker cookbook. Kind of a his/her gift, if you will. It is always well received with a chuckle. I don't know if it ever gets used but I know I've done my part to promote equality in the kitchen for young couples.

This is a major cute book even if you just kept it on the shelf. Great title too! But what's really surprising is how quick, tasty and practical the recipes are!! Well worth the price!

This is a fun gift for a young grandson.

I just ordered this book (got it next day (Sat) with prime membership though I did not pay for the faster shipping)as part of a useful gag gift for a really good friend. He is single, lives alone and does not know how to cook. He's over at my place for food all the time so I thought this would be a funny part of his gift this year. The book is great. It has large cardboard pages (like toddler books) and pictures of ingredients in a fashion of 'picture of can of soup' + 'picture of noodles' + 'picture of cheese' = 'picture of final product'. Then a few paragraphs of the steps with cooking instructions. Also some helpful blurbs tossed in like 'only you can prevent kitchen fires!' Its so basic and funny, it really is what the title describes. For the gift hes going to be getting cans of food and other nonperishable food items, all wrapped separately then I will give him the book last. :D

I bought this for a guy who seriously knows absolutely nothing about cooking. Absolutely nothing. This book is good for people at his level of (not) understanding because it presents accessible, everyday, ingredients in an easy-to-use format. One recipe even uses the football game to measure how long the dish should stay in the oven. It also presents some excellent health facts. However, kitsch factor aside, some of the recipes don't look all that tasty. As previously mentioned, some things like chilli/beer/biscuit dish just look unappetizing. Plus, the titles of some of the recipes strike me as offensive and unnecessary: "Border Patrol Casserole," "Homeboy Homefries" and "Mexi Can Pie" made me embarrassed to give this book as a gift. Just becaues a recipe has beans in it, doesn't mean it has ties to mexican food, or its people. But the book is good on the basics and will make the kitchen less intimidating for some people.

My cousin, who is a chef recommended this to me. The book's recipes center around using canned ham, chicken, fish, beans, veggies, chili, fruit, beer and SpaghettiOs. SpaghettiOs you say? Believe it or not each can has 10 gms of protein, only 5 gms of fat and the sauce is from tomato puree which is a rich source of lycopene. Who knew? I'll be making one of the SpaghettiO recipes today with some ground beef, shredded cheese and a can of veggies the only things being added. These recipes are simple, use common ingredients and the instructions, both written and visual are great. The other nice thing is that at the end of the instructions the author gives a breakdown of each serving (calories, protein, fat, fiber etc). Canned foods store a long time and can be used so many different ways as the book suggests. I'll now be watching for canned good sales at the supermarket and stocking up. Highly recommended!

I bought this cook book and 2 others like it for my 20 something young sons for Christmas. They were constantly calling me asking for recipes and cooking advice so I thought I would give them some cookbooks. These covered board books spell out every recipe in language a clueless teenager should be able to understand. Plus they are easy to wipe clean. There a pictures of everything and a grocery shopping list to help. The recipes are simple, easy and seems like they would fill up a hungry college student. None of the recipes require weird spices, foods or utensils --they are all user/student friendly. My sons has successfully tried a few of the recipes and didn't burn anything down.I also bought a Man and A Tailgate plan for my sports nut.