Dinner Made Simple

Oxmoor House

Dinner Made Simple
Real Simple
2016

The Summary
"Think you'll never win at weeknight cooking?  Think again.

"Organized from apples to zucchini, Dinner Made Simple is filled with 350 easy inventive dishes--many ready in 30 minutes or less--to help you get out of your recipe rut.  With 10 ideas for every ingredient, you'll never look at a box of spaghetti, a bunch of carrots, or a ball of pizza dough the same way again."

The Good
Okay, so I know you can't really "read" a cook book in the traditional sense; however, I can say with confidence that I looked at every single page in this book and I examined all the recipes and checked it from cover to cover and even tested out some of the recipes, and it has been "read."

And I loved it.

Now, let me tell you why:

One, I loved the pictures.  They were bright and really very lovely when you're looking at how a dish should have looked.  Granted, reality is never going to be as pretty as the picture (and I never get the portions right), but I think the book does a fine job of showing you what it will look like--and then helping you achieve those results.

Two, I adored the fact that the book has an index; in fact, it has two.  One is similar to a table of contents, which shows you the main ingredient of each recipe in alphabetical order, followed by an easy to read table that show you what's vegetarian, what's vegan, what's family friendly (read:  kid friendly), what's gluten free, and more.  Moreover, it goes on to tell you all the nutritional information and it helps you make healthy choices.

Three, I liked that it has good food that's easy to make within an hour or less.  Most of the recipes only take 30 minutes, and that's including prep time and baking, which I absolutely loved.  As the subtitle promises it has "easy recipes" that are loaded with simple, but wholesome ingredients, and easy-to-read recipes that make cooking so much less of a chore.

For instance, I liked that I could reach into my cupboard and cobble together a delicious meal in just an hour after work.  I tried the Shepherd's Pie (which was delicious), the garlic rolls (equally delicious, but I added some mozzarella cheese and I think it could have used some more butter and parsley), and the sausage and broccoli calzones (or, more accurately, I took the recipe and made it my own with Italian sausage, spinach, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, and a little bit of Parmesan cheese).

All these recipes turned out delicious, and they were seriously some of the easiest meals I made throughout my week.  After working until 5 or 6 in the evening, I liked coming home, throwing together a Shepherd's Pie with the leftover hamburger in my refrigerator and pouring on a heaping helping of instant mashed potatoes and cheese.  It was pretty delicious, but I will probably be more careful about following the directions to the letter next time.

The Bad
No complaints.  I found the recipes I loved, and then if I didn't like the recipe I simply didn't make it.  There are more than 350 different recipes that range from gluten-free to Vegan with a spattering of other healthy choices in between decadent recipes like Salted Caramel Cupcakes and Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting, so there's bound to be something for everyone.

I'm still drooling over the marshmallow frosting.

The Ugly
There's really not anything here to complain about.  I mean, unless you just don't like food, in which case you wouldn't even pick it up in the first place, it's a nice little cook book that's good to give you an idea on busy weeknights.