"Don't Panic - Quick, Easy, and Delicious Meals for Your Family" Book Review

Your family can have great meals even when you are on the run. The ladies who brought you Don't Panic--Dinner's in the Freezer now offer busy cooks Don't Panic--Quick, Easy, and Delicious Meals for Your Family. From quick meals made on the grill or in the saute pan to crockpot dishes that require little prep and cook while you're out for the day, the recipes in this cookbook are tasty, nutritious, and require less hands-on preparation than traditional meals. Easy appetizers and desserts, one-dish casseroles and pastas, simple soups, salads, and side dishes, and even fast breakfasts round out the selections. Meals that are freezer-friendly are marked for those who want to make ahead. You don't have to settle for feeding your family commercially packaged meals full of sodium and preservatives or fat-laced fast food. Serve them quick and healthy meals from your very own kitchen with this easy-to-use cookbook.

MY REVIEW:
I love the way this cookbook is set up - some great sections with yummy recipes.
1) Small Bites and Appetizers
2) Breakfast, Breads, and Brunch
3) Soups, Salads, and Sides
4) Pasta, Pasta
5) Crockpot Collection
6) Easy Baked Oven Dishes
7) Grate Grills and Marinades
8) Savory Skillets and Quick Sautes
9) Desserts Divine

I have sampled a couple of the recipes so far and I have liked what I have tried but I am just getting started. I am purchasing a grill soon and can't wait to dive into the Grate Grills and Marinades section - it all looks divine! Doesn't Cajun Mahi-Mahi, Chipotle Peanut Barbeque Chicken, Steakhouse Burritos and Tahitian Chicken just to to name a few - hello yumminess! The Crockpot Collection will also be a new favorite for me because Crockpot cooking fits well into my lifestyle so new ideas are always welcome.

I actually tried the Scrumptious Baked French Toast and loved the fact that it was designed to make it the night before and then you bake it when you wake up in the morning. I however was not prepared for how much it was going to raise while it was baking... it did actually cause the topping to spill over and create quite a lot of smoke in the baking process. I will now have to clean my oven but it was worth it. My kids loved it and I will be trying this one again!

I also made the Cheesy Potato Casserole and was thrilled with it! Super simple with only 4 ingredients and it was fabulous! I made a couple adjustments just because I kind of had to - first I bought 2 cans of cream of celery soup like I was supposed to but when I was ready to make it my almost 2 year old had "misplaced" one of the cans... so I substituted a can of cheese soup for one of them. Then I decided I wanted to use it as a main dish instead of a side dish so I added diced ham to it for some protein - fantastic! I was in heaven. This will be a new staple in my house!

The only negative I found in this cookbook in any way shape or form is that there is not a single picture inside the cookbook - the only picture at all is on the cover and it doesn't even tell us what recipe that is (although it looks really good though). As someone that shops by picture when I go to a restaurant (like most of society) I was disappointed that they wouldn't spend a little extra on the cookbook and put pictures in it. I thought that was shortsighted when every other part of the cookbook was fabulous.

All in all I will still get a ton of wonderful recipes from this cookbook, but pictures would have made it 5 star.

Available April 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Thank you to Revell for sending me a copy of this book to review for my honest opinion.