Don't know what to make for dinner?... There's an app for that!

I remember my first cell phone. It was the size of a box of spaghetti, had one ringtone (that was obnoxious) and lost signal if I so much as sneezed. It made calls... and received calls. That was it. I've come a long way since then, having recently purchased my very first smartphone (or should I say smart-er than me- phone). This thing blows my mind. I was impressed with the browser, amazed by the Navigation system (I couldn't find my way out of  a paper bag), and excited with the free TV channels Sprint offered me. But when I found out that I could get coupons, right on my phone, I fell in love with Android! Over the next few weeks, I will post some reviews of great money and time saving apps that I have tried out. These will all be free apps, as we are all on a tight budget.

Up first is DinnerSpinner by Allrecipes.com
I love Allrecipes.com and use the site as my go-to for meal planning. The app takes the highlights of the website and turns them into an easy to use app that is pretty fun to use. The opening screen has three categories of choices: Dish, Ingredient and Ready In.

First, you select the dish, such as Breakfast, Appetizer, Desert or Main Course. Second, select your main ingredient and lastly, how long you have to prepare the meal. I love the slow-cooker option. Then, you hit the spinner button and the app will find the recipes that match your criteria.
Don't know what you want to make? Just give your phone a shake and DinnerSpinner will randomly spin the three categories for you.

The recipes can be sorted, just like the website, by relevance, rating, title or popularity. The full recipe and instructions are right on the app, and once you select a recipe, you can view the calories and some user ratings. There is a button at the bottom that links to the website and allows you to view the recipe there if you want.

To get this app, you can do a search on the android market or simply scan the QR Code at the bottom of this post.

*The free version contains some ads but they are unobtrusive and usually appear during loading times.