Better Than Take-Out (& Faster, Too): Quick and Easy Cooking for Busy Families

"You can get a quick dinner out of practically anything - a little of this, a little of that and supper's ready. Using the ideas here and whatever is in your cupboard, your family will think you have been planning dinner all day." Better Than Take-Out ( & Faster, Too) is filled with humorous cartoons that make the recipes especially fun. The timesaver tips show you how to cook rice in the microwave and save time on other preparation steps. The recipes are divided into six main chapters: Cook as You Are Extra Easy Appetizers Simple Soups Made-in-Minutes Main Dishes Scrumptious Salads & Sides Desserts in a Dash Examples of the recipes: Orange Herb Marinade Dressed Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms Cheesy Potato Soup Pork Medallions with Cherries and Onions Pasta with Artichoke Sauce Peaches Caramel Ambrosia Each recipe has simple directions in a paragraph format, preparation times and variations. Like the Chocolate Banana Cream Pie has variations for puddings or you could use cherry pie filling for the fruit. ~The Rebecca Review

Better Than Take-Out is a very creative manual for busy people who like to eat well. Chapters on Extra Easy Appetizers, Simple Soups, Made-in-Minutes Main Dishes, Scrumptious Salads & Sides, and Desserts in a Dash offer up quick, nutritious, zippy entrees with style. Each chapter title page has the index of recipes and page numbers displayed, making for quick and easy finding of favorite recipes. One of the most fun chapters is the first, Cook As You Are. From Red Beans and Rice, to Mediterranean Starter, this chapter is about fast, experimental, creative approaches to good eating. The author suggests,"Come back to this section whenever you don't know what to put on the table or are feeling that mealtime is monotonous." With Better than Take-Out, it is a guarantee they won't be!A few example of tantalizing recipes are Linguine with Gorgonzola and Broccoli Sauce, Black Bean and Corn Tacorito, New Mexican Posole (a stew of hominy, ground pork, chiles, lime, and spices), and Warm Rice Salad with Shrimp. Dessert ideas include Raspberry Trifle, Fresh Berries and Sweetened Sour Cream, and Chocolate Banana Cream Pie.Better Than Take-Out is obviously designed to be user-friendly. What makes the book a bonus is it is just plain fun!Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

Better Than Take-Out is a practical tool for busy moms who want to provide their families with nutritious meals but don't have the time to spend hours in the kitchen. From time-saving tips to desserts in a dash, parents will find this book helpful in their meal planning and preparation. And with the Preparation Time included with each main dish, even the organizationally challenged will find it hard to make excuses not to cook!