Reviews (219)

Good recipes, fast preparation, could be organized better
I have to say I was surprised by how much I have liked a lot of the recipes in this book.My wife asked for this book because she likes Rachael Ray and she likes to have a lot of simple meal recipes for during the week.If that is what you are looking for, this book has that.
Hard to Find Ingredients
I bought this book hoping to add some variety to our family meals.I live in a rural area with what I consider "normal" grocery stores.A lot of the ingredients Rachel's recipes call for are impossible to find in my area.I also thought many of the recipes were similar in that they had an Italian theme.I have to say I was highly dissappointed with the book.I wish I had spent my money on a different cookbook.

Recipes for everyone

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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - Quick & Easy    5. Quick and easy cookery    6. Cooking / Quick & Easy   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (62)

SB Menu Enhancer
Need for quick yet diet conscious recipes which provide great nutrition, variety of ingredients and tasty meals are hereby provided in this "quick and easy" addition to SB diet collection.
great!
i'm not on the southbeach diet... i don't even know why i bought this cookbook, to be honest.i actually considered returning it but by the time i remembered, it was too late.
Excellent for SB Dieters
I would recommend this South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook for your diet programs.
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Subjects:  1. Cooking / Wine    2. Diet / Health / Fitness    3. Diet/Nutrition    4. Diets - General    5. Health & Fitness    6. Health & Healing - General    7. Methods - Quick & Easy    8. Nutrition And Diet    9. Recipes    10. Reducing diets    11. General cookery    12. Health & Fitness / Diets   

Reviews (69)

If its too good to be true.....
Well you know the rest. Aside from her brash repetative demeanor her cooking has a lot to be desired. These meals CANNOT be done in 30 minutes, unless that is if you want everything half cooked. The book makes false promises and does not deliver. There are also NO PICTURES and NO INDEX and the recipes are very confusing..most of them deriving from an original Master recipe and then just changing one or two things. If you want good food and a good cook book don't buy into the hype and don't buy this book.

Interesting reading and do-able, but on-hand items aren't common
This cookbook definitely makes for good reading; it's done in a conversational style like her show is.Kind of humorous when they have to include a section about what EVOO is and what it means to let food "hang out".
Easy cook bookfor the non-cook
Good but needs to have more interesting choices ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. General    4. Methods - Quick & Easy    5. Quick and easy cookery    6. Quick and easy cooking    7. Cooking / General    8. Main courses    9. Cooking, Wine & Spirits   

Editorial Review

Fans of the Food Network's Read more

Reviews (31)

Recipes you will really make, again and again.
I don't have any of Giada's other cookbooks, so I cannot compare them to this one. What I can say is that this (Giada's Family Dinners) is a cookbook you will actually use, not just look at the pictures. The recipes show how simple and easy to make real Italian food can be. If you love to cook, you'll enjoy working with fresh ingredients to make really tasty main dishes and other recipes. The chicken marsala is a real winner - ditto the winter minestrone. I look forward to working my way through all of the recipes, then back again. Thanks Giada!

Brides and grooms will love this!
One of the biggest trends in wedding registries is signing up for cookbooks. Brides and grooms want to cook together, entertain, host family holidays -- and they want fabulous recipes to impress the in-laws as well. So grab this book for all the newly engaged and newlyweds you know, and give them the gift of preparing for a wonderful, nurturing future together. Giada is a phenomenal guide even for beginning cooks, and this cookbook is a treasure for every engaged couple's kitchen.

review
The cookbook is wonderful.What I was not happy about was not being able to change my order once I hit submit.2 minutes later it said it was being sent for delivery.I hit the wrong delivery service I wanted and was not able to change it 2 minutes later. It was a sunday, I hit 1 day delivery by mistake.Since it was Sunday I ended up not getting the book until Tuesday.I think that there should be some kind of grace period, at least a couple of hours to be able to change or cancel your order. Everything else was great ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery, Italian    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Family    5. Italian Cookery    6. Nutrition    7. Quick and easy cookery    8. Regional & Ethnic - Italian    9. Cooking / Italian   

Reviews (143)

EXCELLENT COOKBOOK!
I don't know if I could live without this cookbook.I have the Entertaining version as well and love it just as well.We've tried over half of the recipes and there hasn't been one that we didn't like.HIGHLY RECOMMEND purchasing this book!

The Book That Started a Revolution
With five kids and two working parents, our family depended heavily on convenience foods.We had a slow cooker tucked way back under the cabinets, but it saw use only once or twice a year, usually for a dip or somesuch during the holidays.Our dinners were expensive, low quality and somehow unsatisfying.
Own It, Now Buying for My Daughter
I have had this book since it was released.It is one of the best cookbooks I own.The format is much like a tried and true "church family cookbook".My daughter is away in her first apartment and while she is an avid baker, she has never been interested in cooking.This books will provide she and her roommates with great meals! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Electric cookery, Slow    4. Electric cooking    5. Methods - General    6. Methods - Special Appliances    7. Cooking / Quick & Easy   

Reviews (49)

Bring it on!
A refreshing author, an innovative book and a marvelous concept.If you want something as good as it gets, then get something good.Dive whole heartedly into these meals -- and bring it on!
My new favorite cookbook
I am always surprised to hear people say they don't like Ray's books.I have most of them, and everything I have ever made has been wonderful.I am an "accomplished cook" like one of the other reviewers, but instead of finding the cookbook full of cute stuff, I find that it is the perfect antidote to my insanely hectic days as a teacher. (We don't get home at 3--just an aside!!) I bought the few items I didn't already have from the suggested "keep on hand" list, and even on the nights that I haven't planned ahead, I can make a quick, healthy, tasty meal using one of her recipes.And as for the "methods" Ray always talks about, they've saved my exhausted self on many a day--got some beans, pasta, broth/stock, a few spices, garlic and onions?Some veggies? You've got dinner!(In way less than 30 minutes.)
No thank you...
Healthy? I don't think so. Every meal she uses a lot of olive oil, butter, and salty additives. then writing a recepie for "Hamburger Salad" Basically garden greens from a bag, and a couple fried hamburger patties placed on top of the greens, with cheese on it. Oh my...Quick, easy and "Healthy" meals. I don't think so. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - Quick & Easy    5. Quick and easy cookery    6. Cooking / General   

Reviews (97)

I love this book
I have had this book for two weeks and I love every recipe I have tried. I had run out of ways to cook chicken and this has given me so many new and exciting things to do with it.
Yummy
Tasty, easy recipes along with Rachel's great chatty humor and down-to-earthness!! For simple but delicious comfort food, this is the book for you!! My 5 year old granddaughter always wants to know if it's time for Rachel!!!!

A must for engaged couples!
Add this to your shopping list for engaged couples -- for bridal showers, engagement gifts, or just as a gift during the stressful planning process. You'll give them the gift of prepping for marriage, nurturing and spoiling each other, domestic bliss times, and the relationship-bonding experience of cooking together. Rachael's recipes are fantastic, easy to create, and a great gift for couples who are either experienced or beginners in the kitchen. I highly recommend this as a top pre-wedding gift, and brides and grooms should register for it as well. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Health & Healing - General    4. Low-carbohydrate diet    5. Methods - Quick & Easy    6. Recipes    7. Cooking / Quick & Easy   

Reviews (15)

Time saver for a busy medical student!
I'm a pre-clinical medical student, and often don't have time to mess around with dinner when I get home, especially during exam times.Using this book, I've been able to eat really well on the one night's worth of cooking I did at the beginning of the semester!I tried the spinach lasagna and beef stroganoff recipes this time around, and have been really happy with both of them.I find that I want to alter the recipes a little bit, but I think that has more to do with my needs and tastes than any problem with the recipes themselves.
Yumo!!!!!
I have done Dream Dinners numerous times & have also frozen my own meals from time to time.I've tried numerous other cookbooks but none compared to the recipes this one had to offer.They were similar to the Dream Dinners meals in my opinion.I attempted to put some in the freezer this weekend & am happy to say I spent about 3 hours & was able to sock away 10 meals.So far we are very happy with the results.I will definitely be grabbing this cookbook again.

FANTASTIC!
I absolutely love this cookbook!The recipes are fantastic and simple to prepare, yet taste like you spent more time on them.I like the fact that even the preparation to them to the freezer isn't very involved.As a working mother of 2 under 2, this is a necessity.I'm recommending it to all my friends.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery (Frozen foods)    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Make-ahead cookery    5. Methods - General    6. Methods - Quick & Easy    7. Quick and easy cookery   

Reviews (22)

Fast, easy and delicious!
"Get Togethers" contain some wonderfully delicious recipes!
Rachel multi-tasks!
More fine, quick recipes from one of my favorite cooks.Rachel knows how to reduce a recipe to its basics without compromising the taste.On the day it arrived, we found a recipe that had to be shared -- the Chili Casserole.I look forward to trying most of the others.I go back to Rachel Ray's cookbooks time and again -- many of her recipes have become standards in my cooking.But she can sure multi-task!I rarely do one up in thirty minutes until I have done it several times.

ALL of her books share the same major fault....
Don't get me wrong, I love her shows, it is great to see how she pulls it all together in the 30 minutes without seeming rushed. The recipes, for the most part, are pretty healthy and have good variety. The lack of pictures doesn't bother me, as she's not really into foo-foo presentation with raspberry sauce swirled half-a-mile away on the edge of the dessert plate, imho totally wasting perfectly good raspberry sauce....
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Entertaining    5. Entertaining - General    6. Menus    7. Methods - Quick & Easy    8. Quick and easy cookery    9. Cooking / Entertaining    10. Etiquette & entertaining    11. Main courses   

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Entertaining - General    5. Methods - Quick & Easy    6. Cooking / General   

Reviews (15)

Outstanding Book
I love this book! It has some great tips and recipes in it. Dream Dinners is the best meal assembly place in my opinion. You have to check this book out!
Great idea but too many errors
I have been intrigued with the concept of the Dream Dinners and I bought the cookbook to hold me over until a franchise opens here in Canada.I love the little excerpts about conversation starters and the like and all of the low(er) fat ingredients but sadly, I've tried 3 recipes so far, and all of them came out horribly.
Tasty Recipes, but many mistakes
I was so excited to purchase this book after reaading the great menus from the Dream Dinners store website.The recipes contained in the book are defintely different than what it offered in store, but they are still great meals. I really have no use for the other recipes besides the dinner/entrees.As a small family of three(with a one year old), we don't need these additional preparations.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Courses & Dishes - General    5. Methods - Quick & Easy    6. Cooking / Quick & Easy   

Editorial Review

There's a popular game at baby showers in which the new mom-to-be has to taste jarred baby food and guess its contents. Inevitably, the first comment is "Yuk! How do they eat this stuff?" The answer, of course, is that babies don't know there's an alternative--fresh, delicious, wholesome food made at home. In the beautifully and extensively illustrated Read more

Reviews (118)

Absolutely best cookbook - don't be afraid to try to cook the amazing and tasty visual treats!
I first checked this book out of the library when my son was a baby and found really awesome recipes for baby food. I could hardly resist eating the peas, leeks and potatoe recipe myself even as a puree! The recipes for party foods were a huge hit for his first birthday. Overnight I became the star of our baby group!
Real people (babies) deserve real food
I used this book for both of my older children (now 7 & 4) and just dug it back out for our new little one (7 months old).Once again I am impressed by the variety of recipes presented.I think offering a wide variety of healthy foods from the start of solid feeding is one of the reasons I don't have any trouble introducing new foods to my older children now.They love their vegitables and enjoy trying all types of food even those that many adults would find new or exotic.I agree that some of the recipes take a bit longer than opening a jar and reheating.Many take the same amount of time as preparing a dish for an adult dinner...but since many of the recipies can be frozen (I make bigger batches and then freeze in small portions that can be thawed as needed)I only need set aside a couple of hours every month or so to have a wide variety of good and healthy dishes available to serve.
help for the cooking challenged
I really like this cookbook.I know my infant needs good nutrition, and now have a great resource to use.The book does use some "new" foods for my family, but now that we have stocked the kitchen it is a snap to try new healthy fun food.My son, 15 months, loves these recipes. They are not the quickest meals in the world, but if you enjoy preparing good food for mealtime, this will be a useful book for you. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children    2. Consumer Health    3. Cooking    4. Health & Healing - General    5. Infants    6. Life Stages - Infants & Toddlers/General    7. Methods - Quick & Easy    8. Nutrition    9. Popular works    10. Toddlers    11. Family & Relationships / Child Care   

Reviews (8)

WHY REINVENT THE WHEEL OF BLANDNESS
I WASTED MY MONEY AND TIME. I MADE THE BBQ PORK RIBS AND BAKED BEANS. THEY WERE EXTREMELY BLAND. THE AUTHOR MUST BE A NURSING HOME COOK. ONLY AFTER MIXING IN A WHOLE BOTTLE OF KC MASTERPIECE BBQ SAUCE AND WARMING THIS MESS UP AGAIN WERE THEY PALATABLE! IN WAY LESS TIME THAT IT TOOK TO SHOP FOR INGEDIENTS, PREPARE THE BLAND TASTELESS BBQ SAUCE AND THE BLAND BAKED BEANS, I COULD HAVE OPENED A CAN OF BUSHES' BBQ BAKED BEANS AND POURED A BOTTLE OF KC MASTERPIECE BBQ SAUCE OVER THE RIBS, THEN NUKED THEM AND HAD A TASTY MEAL. MY QUESTION IS, WHY GO TO THE TROUBLE, TIME AND EXPENSE TO CREATE A BLAND RECIPE WHEN THERE ARE ALREADY PLENTY OF TASTY BBQ BEANS IN A CAN AND BBQ SAUCES ON THE GROCERY SHELVES? WE DON'T NEED MORE LOW FAT NO TASTE BLAND RECIPIES. I PUT THE BOOK IN THE WHITE ELEPHANTBOX TO GIVE FOR A GAG GIFT!

Sounds stupid, but actually OK
My 12 year old son picked up this book and it's not all that it promises to be. I've certainly bought worse cookbooks! It's clear cut, concise and easily followed. The pictures of the canned items are actually a very ingenious idea.

"Don't look, I just...."
So I "cooked" the gravy-turkey sandwich and the bread pudding for my neighbors, and after the meal was over, the guy says, "Don't look, I just had to unbutton my waistband," and kept eating...
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Subjects:  1. Canned foods    2. Cookery (Canned foods)    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Methods - Microwave    6. Microwave cookery    7. Microwave cooking   

Reviews (1)

Outstanding, Easy, and Delicious
Have tried four recipes and all have been very quick and easy to make and have been delicious.Have given the book as gifts and plan to give more.An outstanding book in a wonderful series of books.Never a disappointment with Cook's Illustrated books.Highly recommend to beginner or experienced cooks. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Entertaining - General    5. Holiday - General    6. Methods - Quick & Easy   

Reviews (14)

Wonderful cookbook for a busy family
I love this book! Everything is easy to make. Lots of the ingredients are food most people keep as staples. I also like that there are plenty of photos which is always a bonus in a cookbook. I think kids will like most of the recipes. This is a must have for any one who has a family to cook for.

Betty Crocker Rocks
I highly recommend this book. I have tried 4 recipes so far and they really were easy and tasty. I wasn't able to make the crepes because my equipment wasn't very good but I just substituted tortillas!! It is a little more work than I am used to in the kitchen, but it is worth it because they food is so much more interesting with just a little more effort.

Decent quick meals
I bought this cookbook for my daughter.She loves it.She likes the simplicity and being able to put a good meal on the table quickly.For the culinary snobs, unwilling to use canned (gasp!) packaged (arrgh!) or prefab (?) food--get out your Martha Stewart cookbook and spend 6 hours making dinner!
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Dinners and dining    5. Methods - Quick & Easy    6. Quick and easy cookery    7. Cookery dishes & courses    8. Cooking / Quick & Easy   

Reviews (62)

You've got to read this book!
I received this book as a gift. There are quite a few books on this subject on the market and this one is the best. I too could not put it down and finished it in 3 days. It's a huge book, a great resource that is well researched and written.. I have a few friends who've purchased this book and really loved it too. I can highly recommend this book.
No comfort food recipes
I was very disappointed that this cookbook didn't have more comfort food recipes.It used ingredients that you wouldn't normally have on hand.I was looking for recipes for meatloaf, mac & cheese.I won't buy another cookbook that I can't review first.

Pleasantly surprised
As someone who doesn't like to spend hours in the kitchen...and who is also a new Weight Watchers member...I can say that this is of great benefit to me.The recipes that I've tried have been quick and non-complicated with good flavor.The ingredients are all easily obtained at your local stores...no hunting for "exotic" spices or anything.I'm glad I got it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Diet    4. Health & Healing - Weight Control    5. Methods - Quick & Easy    6. Naprapathy    7. Quick and easy cookery    8. Recipes    9. Reducing diets    10. Weight loss    11. Cooking / Dietary    12. Diets & dieting    13. General cookery   

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Methods - Quick & Easy    4. Methods - Special Appliances    5. Cooking / Quick & Easy   

Reviews (21)

I know that I will be BOO..ED but oh well
Well I bought Kids Rock by Rachael Ray and although I thought I had a hit on my hands I was dead wrong. I have made some recipes for my kids, but they responded with the 3 bite test thats it nothing more. I keep racking my brain with them I have no idea what else to do, but this book wasn't a hit with them, and therefore I rated it 2 stars. Still on the search for something MY kids will like other than Nutella and Mortadella.

soooo cool
I bought this book for my 10 year old and its awesome. The instructions are easy to follow and the recipes are simple enough for her to complete on her own. The food tastes great also. Rachel Ray is the best!!

Great Purchase!
My 8 and 5 year old want to cook dinner every night. They are easy and DELICIOUS!!!! It makes dinner so much fun and my children have actually eaten vegetables! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. General    5. Juvenile literature    6. Methods - Quick & Easy    7. Cooking / General   

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. General    5. Methods - Quick & Easy    6. Cooking / General   

Reviews (17)

GRATE BOOK FOR VEGGITARANS
This book woould be a grate gift if you havea friend or a family member that does not eat meat now they can have some new recipies that don't take for ever to make , now they can make a meal and not wast thier time in the kitchen cooking they can be in and out in a lott less time and have more time to do what they love.joanna
Thanks Rachel Ray
I have previously read many of Rachel Ray's cook books and had always wished there was one with more vegetarian recipes. Well, this one is just that. Simple, 30 minute meals that taste great and are easy to make.

Good food, but a lot alike
I've made several dishes from this book, but I have to say a lot of them are so similar that it's not like a new recipe. I'm a big fan of RR's cook books, and granted this is one of her earlier ones. Her other cook books don't have many vegitarian meal- she loves her meat. So, this was a great idea. As she says in the beginning that her fans asked her to make it, and that's what she did. I gave it 3 stars because the recipies are good, and easy to follow. But there are too many that are so similar. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. General    4. Methods - Quick & Easy    5. Specific Ingredients - Vegetables    6. Vegetarian - General    7. Cooking, Wine & Spirits