Cookbooks

Hi S.. I'm not a big fan of Rachel Ray's personality, but I have one of her 30 minute meal cookbooks and I really like it. It has a variety of recipes, including recipes where you make a double batch of something and then use the extra half later in another recipe (saves a lot of time). I've only had a couple of the recipes actually take me 30 minutes the first time I tried them, but I have been able to get close to that after making them a couple of times. Also, I go to allrecipes.com quite often, since the recipes are rated by people who have tried them (along with comments) and you can print the recipes out in various formats. You can search for recipes several ways, get the nutrition info, and size them to the number of servings you want. Happy cooking!

Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Recipes. Quick easy and usually uses stuff you have around the kitchen. Another thought - find recipes that freeze well and then you can make some ahead of time for times you are really in a crunch and/or you can make them after you have the baby and then make double and freeze and save for later. Good luck!

I highly recommend www.savingdinner.com. You sign up for it and it does cost a minimal amount ($10 for three months), but you get a link to the week's recipes and shopping lists emailed to you every week. It's so easy! The recipes are really good and there are tons of menu options to choose from, like if you want all crockpot meals, or heart healthy or low carb or if you're really on a budget. There are also freezer menus (which I have yet to try, but am planning to) that you put together (like Let's Dish) and then freeze. You might want to look into that option so you have meals after your baby is born.

I started using this service a few years ago because I wanted to learn to cook using more seasonings and less salt. I have now actually run out of seasonings I'd never even heard of! And, many of the recipes have become family favorites. They're generally very easy, use fresh ingredients and take about 30 minutes to prepare. I liked that it was all in a list so I just had to add our family's other stuff, like cereal, and go to the store.

Good luck!

I love to get Kraft Food and Family Magazine! It has great recipes that are so easy and good. Everything I make out of it is a hit! The magazine comes once a quarter and is free! Put Kraft Food and Family in your search engine and it will come right up. It also has a great website.

Well, this isn't really a cookbook, but I'm a big fan of the dinner-prep places like Get Cookin' and Let's Dish. While they seem pricey on paper, they're actually quite economical--especially for your small (albeit growing) family. In your case you could split all the meals in half and get twice as many. Recipes are customizable (don't like onions? take 'em out), and you don't have to shop for all the ingredients. (Nothing like getting ready to cook a new recipe and realizing you're out of corn starch!) They then take no time to cook. Other cookbooks I'd look into for fall are crockpot ones; I love spending 20 minutes of prep in the morning (or even night before) to get a delicious meal in the evening. Good luck!

The Betty Crocker red and white cookbook is always a good one. it has familiar foods but also some newer receipes. There website is great too as you can put in a food like turkey and it will give you a bunch of recipes to try.

I get the Everyday Food magazine and it has so many tasty, quick meals and they all have pictures! The magazine has now taken the best recipes from the magazine and put them in a book, so you might want to check out that.

I got a book called "Favorite Brand Name 4 Ingrediant Cookbook" when I first got married. The recipes have no more than 4 ingrediants and are easy and pretty good too! Another idea -- We started going to "Let's Dish" soon after our son was born - we had gotten a gift certificate as a gift and loved it. We made 8 meals (but we split them into 16 because each meal serves 6) in less than 2 hours, brought them home and put them in the freezer. They come w/ instructions and are super easy to prepare and very good. We also don't think it cost much more than shopping and cooking and I am not a great cook so the food was much better. www.letsdish.com
Good luck!

Tastefully Simple has a great cook book with simple meals in it. I would love to help you if your interested. Here is my website www.tastefullysimple.com/web/tscheler my email is ____@____.com

T.

First of all, congratulations!

My suggestion would be to make your own cookbook out of a 3-ring binder. Print out recipies you like off websites (I like Allrecipies.com, but the spice (McCormick's) and condiment (Hunt's) sites have good ones, too.) and put them into plastic protector sheets. (Many sites also have the conversions and substitutions you can print out as well.) The cost of the supplies is less than you'd spend on one book and it only has the recipies in it you like! It's easy to clean, and when your little one starts "helping", you won't have to guess how much pepper you need when there's a bite out of the book! :) You can organize it any way you want with whatever dividers you choose. You can add recipies to it as your little one starts to eat (or NOT eat) different foods and even have a section in it for him/her.

Another option to save you more time, is http://savingdinner.com/menu_mailer/free_dinner_menu.html.

One more thing...CROCKPOT! It's a lifesaver, not just a timesaver!

(If you really want a cookBOOK, I'd suggest the Joy of Cooking.)

LLL's Whole Foods for the Whole Family is GREAT!

I just got a ton of really easy recipes from Campbell's website. I have 2 kids so I like to make quick things and a lot of the recipes on their website (they all use their soups) are done in 20-30 minutes and super easy.

I have a book-Cooking Light Super Fast Suppers.
Everything is under 30 minutes and healthy too. Good luck with the new baby. I also recommend preparing meals ahead of time and freezing them.

I don't know if you ever watch Rachel Ray, but she has several cookbooks out there that are 30 minute meals. So everything only takes you 30 minutes. Its awesome!!!

Betty crocker has a great one...

Have you ever tried the Everyday Food cookbooks? They are a smaller magazine that is usually in the check out aisle at the grocery store. I think they are made by the Martha Stewart company. They usually have some good, everyday, quick meals that are good for families.

I am working on the "A Man, A Can" books right now. They are cardboardy, like baby books, and since most of the ingredients are canned or boxed, it's easy to just go to the store and stock up. Some of the recipes we've tried are a bit bland or contain things we don't particularly like (such as mushrooms), but Ive been learning that the recipe is sort of the starting point and to make adjustments to suit us.

I can't stand Rachel Ray, but she is rather known for a fast, easy meal.

I've liked the Kraft magazine dealie, though I haven't signed up for it yet.

Also, look for books on feeding babies or toddlers. A lot of the recipes sound pretty good - just to make a bigger batch and not puree it to bits.

There is a cookbook magazine that I subscribe to that is GREAT! Everyday Food Magazine. It is put out by Martha Stewart Living. But it has super simple recipes, just a few ingredients, yet great food. It is also small easy to store and carry around in your purse for the grocery store or looking at it waiting at an apt. Check it out even at Barnes and Noble or something like that in the magazine section.
Good luck cooking!

Check out the Usborne kids' cookbooks - they are made for kids, so they are simple, but also have unique and yummy recipes. The Children's World Cookbook is a great one! They can be purchased online at www.ubah.com/g2687. Good luck!