Weekly Wonders

Brook Noel is delightfully funny and her cookbooks are a result of all the years where she was learning to cook and accomplished tasks with amusing results, like the time she baked a cherry pie without pitting the cherries. Not unlike one of my aunts who made a cherry pie without straining the cherries from a can but can make the best lasagna in the world. So, everyone has their strengths and Brook Noel is especially good at creating recipes for cooks who don't have a lot of time to spend cooking, but want to get dinner on the table and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment from making a meal at home. After all, you have marathons to run, yoga classes to attend and scrapbooking parties to go to, not to mention decorating, gardening and reading your favorite books and a list of other favorite hobbies and activities. Weekly Wonders is filled with recipes, weekly menus and grocery lists. If you want to make cooking part of your life, Brook Noel will show you how to get dinner on the table fast and it will also taste delicious. This will encourage family time and give your family a moment to reconnect in a busy world. Some of the delicious ideas include: Making your own salad dressings - Buttermilk, Italian, Garlic and more... Delicious Marinades using fresh herbs - Rosemary-Basil, Red Wine Marinade with Garlic Making homemade pancakes ahead of time and freezing them. I will admit to doing this and tossing them in the toaster. Making your own cinnamon applesauce - something I also learned recently and love using Braeburn apples. Recipes that are easy to adapt to your tastes: Chocolate Banana Smoothie - you could substitute soy butter for the peanut butter. When making the Orange Juice Smoothie, you can also use any fruit you prefer. Delicious Recipes: Lasagna Rolls Rosemary Broccoli Beef Enchilada Casserole Tuscan-Style Pork Roast Ever wondered how long buttermilk lasts or when you should toss the leftover salad dressings? A list of freezer and refrigerator storage dates makes this book even more useful. Recipes like the one for Balsamic Vinaigrette encourages you to learn the basics but also experiment and add your own herbs and spices. Weekly Wonders is a book filled with realistic recipes for cooks who love cooking, but just don't have a lot of time. Book Noel is an amazing creative force for good in the world, I'm reading all her books. ~The Rebecca Review

Okay. I have been with my husband for almost 6 years. And during that time, I think I have probably cooked around 40 meals not using a box or frozen prepared item. And I was in complete agony from the moment I attempted to pick a dish to cook, all the way through to washing the dishes. Then, last week my Weekly Wonders book showed up!!! First off, I thought I hated to cook and thought I would until the day I die. There were always too many expensive wierd ingredients to come up with, the instructions were often too legnthy or cumbersome, I had to spend a LOT of time flipping through pages to write out grocery lists and I would invariably leave something off, or not buy enough, etc. I have TONS of cookbooks, but would pick just a recipe or two to try, then be sick of the whole deal. This book is different. It's a lifesaver with the grocery lists. I wish there were more books on the market in this format. Because of my aversion to the flipping missing ingredient gathering in individual recipes, I have been sticking to the lists and cooking the entire weekly menus. Some of it did not sound appetizing, but I did it anyway and I am discovering we actually LIKE this food! Not all of it. But we have a pact to eat everything in the name of variety. There is a lot of fresh produce and meat involved in these recipes and so each meal has been an adventure. Quick to cook. Simple steps. Fast. Fairly Tasty. And for crying out loud, I actually have exactly what I need to cook these recipes with, no more and no less! No emergency trips to the grocery store right in the middle of rush hour for one stinking missing item! YAY! No more going into shock and then a coma with the question "What are we having for dinner?" I know every night before bed what tomorrow's dinner will be! No more chopping for hours and eating at 10 pm! No more boxed frozen crap! No more emergency runs to a burger joint! The number to the pizza place has been removed from speed-dial and it's completely okay!!! I am so excited to be finally cooking food on a daily basis. I feel like I have reached a semblance of "normal". And my husband is so pleased! Thank GOD for this book! And you too, NOEL. Please make a volume 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6!!!! I WOULD buy them! This is likely to be a Christmas present for all the girls in my family.

The best part about this book is that I can just take the shopping list and not have to think about what I'm going to make for the week. Since the menus are so kid-friendly, my picky family isn't groaning about what I'm cooking anymore.

This is the most incredible book. I felt like Brook was in my kitchen and knew what a real family would eat--and how much a time the average person has! I am so pleased with this cookbook and it has made my life easier in many ways. Hat's off to Brook Noel!

A friend of mine saw Brook featured at the Taste of Home Expo teaching her genious (and humorous) approach to dinner-making to a packed audience. Knowing I was clueless in the kitchen, he bought me a signed copy. I work first shift, so I am in charge of dinner preparations--much to my wife's utter dismay. However, she has now given me two thumbs up on numerous nights as I have woven my way through rush hour with the help of Brook Noel's book. I have actually prepared 15 of the weekly menus so far and our family has 8 favorites. I just rotate these, so we don't have repeat meals for two months. The shopping list is ready to go (my wife does the shopping on the weekend) and it frees up time for playing with the kids, talking with my wife, and even RELAXING during dinner! If you are a gourmet cook, I wouldn't recommend this book--because it isn't about gourmet cooking. It is about meals that anyone can prepare, that are cost-effective, easy-to-make and enjoyed by the whole family. They taste great--the leave plenty of room for improvisation and adding your own spice. My only complaint is that I have been living without this book during dinner duties for way too many years! Write another cookbook Brook, you have devoted fans in this household.