Rating: 
Summary: Best Book for Busy People
Review: I have purchased many many cookbooks, but I have never used one as thoroughly as I have this one. The recipes are very easy to follow - even without pictures of how the dish is supposed to look when done! I have had the book for almost 3 months and I have made well over 30 of the recipes in it. I plan my week's menu's straight from it. I am buying this book for all of my busy friends for birthday gifts this year!!!
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Summary: Makes Home-Cooked Meals On Weeknights Possible
Review: As a new, busy lawyer, I simply cannot make most of elaborate, delicious, time-consuming meals I enjoyed preparing as a student. I thought my family would be reduced to frozen ravioli and pizza and take-out until I discovered this book. Even when I've had a stressful, 11-hr. day at work, I can take 20 mins. to make something fairly nutritious and delicious from this book. I pick and choose favorites based not just on taste and ease, but based on nutritional value and calories (I follow Weight Watchers), and I have not been disappointed. My favorites, off the top of my head, include: Spanakopita in Pastry Cups, Summer's Best Pasta, Jamaican ("Me Hungry") Macaroni, Flexible Jambalaya, Middle-Eastern Eggplant with Pita Points, Winter Pesto Pasta . . . I could go on and on.
Rating: 
Summary: Hit or Miss, But Worth It
Review: I must admit that a year ago I was ready to throw this book away. A friend had recommended it to me and I am always eager to find quick and easy recipes. I made a few of the dishes and thought they were awful. I did't want to give up, though, so I looked at the other reviews on Amazon.com Several reviewers listed recipes that they liked so I tried those. Turns out, I found some really good ones and I'm keeping the book. I have only made about 20 of the recipes so far, so I'm looking forward to trying the rest.My favorites:
White Bean and Chicken Chili
Mindless Mu-Shu
Tempting Thai Chicken
Balsam Mountain Inn's Fancy Fettuccine
Dinner Huevos in a Hurry
Sweet & Sour Broccoli Slaw
Garlicky Green Beans (these are worth the price of the book; they taste like they are from a fancy asian restaurant; we eat them like candy) I would avoid these:
Garlicky Potatoes and Sausage
Tuxedo Chicken
Southwestern Chicken on the Spot
French Peasant Supper (this was awful- nobody wanted to touch it; it's pictured on the front cover!)
Primo Chicken-Vegetable Pasta
Pepperonata with Penne and Sausage I would consider this a book with some fabulous recipes and some horrible ones. It's true that you can have dinner in 20 minutes. Yes, it is worth the money, but just know that you will have to weed through the bad ones (and/or read all of the Amazon.com reviews and follow customer opinion about what to cook from this book).
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Summary: Delicious even on NON desperation nights!
Review: Hands down winner for quick dinners (20 minutes!) that are easy and taste great! I've shared many of these recipes with families and friends and all have had rave reviews.
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Summary: Love this book!
Review: I love this cookbook. The recipes are really easy and fast. What I like about this book is that the recipes are ordinary downhome cooking. I hate to get a cookbook where I have to go to a gormet food store to find any of the ingredients. You can find any of the ingredients at your local supermarket. And the best thing that I like about this cookbook is that the recipes are delicious.
Rating:
Summary: Energizing when you don't know what to cook!
Review: I have truly enjoyed using the recipes out of Desperation Dinners! They are easy, delicious, and did I say easy?! My favorite by far is the French Onion Soup, which I always make double of and freeze for those really frantic days!
This book has become my cooking bible!
Rating:
Summary: Anyone can learn how to cook well!
Review: As a guy starting to live alone, there had to be a point where I wasn't eating gut-busting and unhealthy fast food. Having seen the book at a friend's house and having her mother-in-law recommend it; I bought it for myself. I always enjoyed a good meal, but never knew how to make one. The recipes in this book are so easy to follow, it's like, cake! When I make a recipe out of the book and bring it to dinner parties, people are amazed!
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Summary: Got me started cooking
Review: I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to cook...period. Not only is this a good book for beginners (like me), but I believe it would be great for more advanced cooks as well. As others say, the book not only produces great tasting meals, but it produces them quickly and easily. I have made 4 of their meals in the last week and a half, and loved every single one of them. This is one cookbook that will definitely get used.
Rating:
Summary: This made a cook out of me!
Review: I'm a guy just learning to cook. I bought "The Joy of Cooking" and just was not excited by those recipes. But the recipes in this book are really fun and tasty and very easy. Unlike others who recommend their favorite recipe, I'll recommend the easiest of the tasty recipes: "Sausage Zucchine Skillet". This was very tasty and incredibly easy. I did have to buy a "chef's skillet" for the skillet dishes, but I bought it at [a local store] and the cost was small. (A word of warning for you guys: be careful with the step in "French Peasant Supper" where you brown bread crumbs in the broiler. Beware. Bread crumbs can catch fire and create a large flame. The bread crumbs brown in 10 to 15 seconds, so just stand there and wait patiently.) This is my favorite cook book. I use it every week. I have yet to cook anything in 20 minutes, but I'm new to cooking. It usually takes me 40 minutes, including all the time to pull all the ingrediants from the fridge and panty.
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Summary: My most used Cookbook
Review: This is a great cookbook for both novice and experienced cooks. Many nights my husband and I get home from our first jobs at 5:30 and need to be out the door by 6:15 for our second jobs. These are the nights that I use this cookbook. I have not had a bad experience yet. The mindless mushu tasted just like the real stuff from a restaurant. The tuna melts were yummy, skillet shepherds pie, awesome, broccoli cheese muffins, fabulous, and the garlicy green beans, to die for.... I could go on and on. I try a new recipe every week, and will be re-making all of them in the future. Great basic rib-sticking recipes.
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