Desperation Dinners By Chefmom on Oct 03, 2007 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

I love to cook. And I'm a really good cook. Give me a Saturday in the kitchen with the food network in the background, and I'm happy. Problem is, I just don't have enough of those Ssaturdays or any other time. I'm busy, and my family is busy. We all have different schedules and activities. But we do share one goal: we all want to eat.

Desperation Dinners by real-life moms Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross is not only a cookbook. It's also a resource chock full of tips and ideas. Mills and Ross are not trying to be groumet chefs. They're just trying to get reasonable meals on the table with as little stress as possible. It's okay to use minute rice, salad bars and shredded cheese. Minced garlic from a jar rather than chopping? That's fine. The result is still a great taste.

While I don't use that many of their recipes, I've found their book gets the ideas going in my head. As long as their are teenagers in my home, I'll probably always be a desparate cook, but now I can cook those desperation dinners that please everyone.