What's for Dinner?: Delicious Recipes for a Busy Life: A Cookbook

I recently graduated from graduate school and wanted to finally graduate my cooking from heating up things from the frozen food aisle. I had some knowledge with cooking, I am not a complete novice, but I wanted to eat healthy and try different recipes besides what my mom's staples are (my mom is extremely accomplished in the kitchen). I looked many places, the problem with a lot of "health conscious" cookbooks is that they are loaded with ingredients that are difficult to come by. Or they have such limited ingredient lists that there is no variety. This is not that book.I remembered Curtis Stone from his old, "Take Home Chef" show, he was our favorite chef on TV back then and I stumbled upon this in a search and decided to give it a try after reading reviews and looking inside the book. This cookbook definitely did not disappoint!! All the recipes I have made so far are amazing! And a lot of them reheat well so I take the leftovers to work. I actually appreciate the breakdown of this book! Instead of breaking it down by either course (main dish, breakfast, etc.) or ingredient (poultry, beef, etc) like most cookbooks, this one changes it up! The breakdown of the weekday kind of breaks the recipes down by difficulty level in a sense. I am working my way through what I know I can make, Monday through Thursday are the days I have tried recipes from. I'll try the recipes in Friday, Saturday, and Sunday after I've gained some more practice.The recipes look deceivingly long if you're not used to looking at cookbooks, but that is because Curtis really breaks everything down for you! I've read and made recipes with little direction and always comes out strange, not with this book! The prep and cook times may be inaccurate if you're not used to prepping and cooking food, I've gotten some of them down after doing the recipes a few times. I also appreciate how the recipes aren't just a single dish, most have a meat and a vegetable with them. If they are single dishes, the book does a good job of suggesting what side salad or dish to make with it (recipe included). And all of the Kitchen Notes are really helpful. AND this is the first cookbook I have seen where every dish is photographed which is SUPER helpful and inspiring as others have noted!Yes, this book requires a little bit more effort than throwing something in the microwave or if you're a beginner in the kitchen, but the recipes are delicious and there is great variety in not just the type of dish but even the skill level required to do it, so it gives you something to work toward.Great stuff from a great chef!!

I have tried almost every recipe in this book - all but about two recipes to date. Every recipe was excellent. The ingredients are straightforward and the instructions are perfect. I love to bake which means I follow recipes. My husband likes to get inspiration from a recipe and go from there, tweaking things to his liking. I go step by step and hardly ever deviate from the written word. That sometimes means that the meal doesn't always taste that great because recipes are always that good when you cook them as written. But the recipes in this book have never failed me - they work as written which takes the guess work out of cooking. That doesn't mean the recipes are boring. The tomatillo chicken recipe is delicious and so easy to make. I had never had or heard of tomatillos and was surprised how easy it was to find them (available in Publix and Wholefoods and in the local Mexican Market Store). In fact, I have used techniques I learned in this recipe in other chicken recipes I have and they turned out better. I have a lot of recipe books and I cook a lot. I am typically happy if I have two to three recipes in a single book that are worth repeating. I have about 20 recipes that I go back to in this book and cook from it one or two times a week. This is my go to book. I also own Good Food, Good Life and Relaxed Cooking. Although not as good as this one - they are still great books. My all time favorite and easiest roast chicken/roasted potatoes recipe is in Good Food, Good Life.

Great recipes

Book had been in a public library. Hope it wasn't stolen,

I bought this book used from the Goodwill offer from Amazon, & it was in excellent condition! I didn't want to pay a lot, not being certain it would be what I wanted. Our son told me to just look at the used offers & I took a chance, found one for half the price, & I'm so glad I did. This is an excellent cookbook, great recipes, easy for every night dinners, & easily accessible ingredients, a good portion that you likely already have in your pantry. The dishes are tasty, & take little time to prepare. Curtis Stone is one of my favorite chefs and this book doesn't disappoint! Don't hesitate to get this book, I doubt you'll be sorry, and if you're not willing to pay full price, don't be afraid to check out the used section. I've bought a few more used books & have been very satisfied with each one. Great cookbook, & great buy, what more could you want....except maybe someone to cook for you?!? 😊

Just wanted to share that the cookbook what's for dinner is marketed in what I find to be a very misleading way.It says for busy families and on a budget....but less than 10 recipies have kid friendly spices and flavors and ingredients such as shrimp, Mahi Mahi, snapper, goat cheese and blue cheese are outrageously expensive where I live.I was very disappointed to receive this book and really feel you could adjust the marketing on this to be more representative to coastal clients where fresh herbs are available yeat round and seafood is affordable.

Fast service, book arrived as described. Thank you for excellent transaction. Was sent as gift. The recipient has made many recipes from this book and all have been excellent !!!

Love the recipes, the presentations and the stories.

Love this chef, time to cook!

good book for people on the go who need to cook and move on with their day. I would recommend this to anyone who lives a busy lifestyle