What's-For-Dinner Cookbook: A Year-Long Program of Balanced Dinners for Your Family

As a single working mom, this cookbook has been a lifesaver. Before I added this cookbook to my collection the meal selections at home usually ended up alternating between pizza and frozen dinners. My challenge was always the planning side - what will I make - as well as having the ingredients on hand and having something on the table within 30-45 minutes of arriving home. By following the menus in this book, the shopping (which I also HATE) is simple, and even if a particular recipe doesn't appeal to me or my son, it offers me the idea and I can easily substitute one of my own favorites. The monotony of alternating between one or two "old standbys" are over, and both my son and I enjoy having home cooked, balanced meals. I agree with one other reviewer about the large numbers of recipes that call for instant rice or other processed foods. However, I recognize this as a trade-off to allow for quick preparation. I often substitute with the long cooking varieties when I have the extra time. I recognize the true value here is on the planning side - having the menus laid out along with the shopping lists is well worth making some adjustments in the recipes. I'm not one who tends to follow recipes exactly anyway -- I treat them more as "inspiration and guidelines". Also, the seasonal changes are reasonable if not perfect -- it really depends on your location on whether the specific produce will be fresh for you locally at that time, but the seasonal changes are as much about what you'll be craving (i.e. more lighter entrees in summer with more "comfort food" in the winter meals). One comment on the format of the book -- it would be great if they tabbed the sections so that you can easily find the correct week's menus and shopping lists. I've actually added tabs to mine and it makes it much more functional.

I've used this cookbook about six weeks now, in one way or another. Some weeks I follow their plan, some I just use a couple of recipes from it. So far, the vast majority of the recipes have been hits with my family, and I am amazed at how inexpensive the meals work out to be, even following the weekly plan. I really recommend this book!

I am constantly trying to decide what to make for dinner. It seeems like we always have the same things. I needed new ideas and new recipes to use. My neighbor had bought the recipe book "What's for Dinner?" She said I could borrow it. It has a complete menu for each week completed with the recipes for each item. Each menu consists of a full course meal, (including dessert!) I used it for a week and loved it! I did not have to think about it any more, and I had all the ingredients I needed because I took the shopping list with me to the store. If you are not a creative cook, and do not have the time to plan your own meals and menus, I highly reccomend it!!

I absolutely love, love, love this cookbook! I hate to cook! But now I'm enjoying it because I no longer have to plan meals or make shopping lists it's all done for me! I love the recipes, they're simple and time saving. The shopping lists are divided buy catagory and if you don't want to make a particular meal the items are numbered so you can quickly and easily delete them from the list! This is a well thought out cookbook! My family and friends all want one! Needless to say, I'm ordering more!

The What's-For-Dinner Cookbook is a superbly presented, highly recommended kitchen planner specifically designed by Kathleen Botta and Claire Mendonca to be a "user friendly" organizers for the kitchen so that busy cooks can plan meals a week at a time, organize shopping so that the ingredients needed for every meal is available at the right time, and to have a more economically, nutritionally, and seasonally advantageous dining experience for the family. A wonderful compendium of recipes ranging from Tuna-Water Chestnut Casserole; Armenian Shish Kebabs; and Garlic Prawns; to Beefy Onion Pie; Spicy and Sweet Pork Chips; and Korean Stew, The What's-For-Dinner Cookbook is additionally enhanced with time-saving tips and seasonal menus at a glance.