Food Network Magazine Great Easy Meals: 250 Fun & Fast Recipes

by Food Network Magazine

What's for dinner You'll find all the answers you need in this eagerly awaited first cookbook from the best-selling Food Network Magazine . Inspired by the magazine's popular "Weeknight Cooking" section, this book is packed with great family recipes from Food Network Kitchens, plus dozens of tips from the chefs. With this book, you'll be able to put fun new dinners on the table every night, along with dozens of simple sides and 10-minute desserts. And each recipe comes with a photograph, so you'll see exactly what your dish will look like when you take it to the table. Best of all, each chapter comes with an exciting mix-and-match feature that lets you write your own recipes and try new twists on your family's favorite dishes. You'll be able to make mac and cheese dozens of ways, throw together tasty new stir-fries, and reinvent chicken dinners again and again. This is easy cooking at its Just look at the all-photo recipe index and see what grabs you. You'll have dinner done in no time! Look inside for 250 amazing (and amazingly easy!) recipes, plus sneak peeks at the stars' home kitchens, and a list of Food Network's ultimate pantry essentials. With this book, anyone can cook like a star! Recipes

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference

416 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2011

Reviews

[Blog on Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, it was a network, then it was a magazine and well, what’s the next step? A cookbook, of course. No worries, despite it massive popularity, the Food Network (magazine) has actually delivered a handy, really usable, cookbook to satisfy all those readers who (according to the book at least) are emailing the magazine like mad for easy to make dinner recipes. (It helps to have a cable network, we suppose.) In any event, the book is filled with 250 single page with accompanying full color photo pages of each scrumptious looking recipe and while the meals look ‘easy’, they are also sophisticated enough to keep people entertained beyond the run of the mill fare. Using the basic staples – beef, fish, chicken – the book’s value comes in the accoutrements that accompany each dish – a salad, a garnish or a few, carefully selected ingredients that top of an otherwise predictable dish. If pictures and ease of use are what make a good cookbook these days, the Food Network magazine’s “Great Easy Meals” delivers. Now, if this book was turned into a home video, even better.

[Erin Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't think most of these recipes were "easy" or "delicious." The ingredients seemed pretentious to me, and I'm not sure that I would be able to find all of them unless I went to a specialty shop. There were a couple of recipes I would make, but otherwise this is not the cookbook for me.

[Camie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love cookbooks by the Food Network. Every recipe has a picture; the index is done by pictures as well. Lots of recipes that look good to me with simple instructions and ingredients I'm familiar with. So far, every recipe I made from this book has tasted amazing, and I have more to try. Checked out from the library, and will check out again so I can try more recipes.

Recipes Made:
p. 118 Chicken Schnitzel with Mustard Sauce - kids gobbled this, a keeper!
p. 310 Pasta with Escarole - delicious, a keeper!
p. 332 Israeli Couscous with Raisins - yum, a keeper!

Recipe to Try:
p. 35 Carrot-Mushroom-Barley Stew
p. 117 Chicken with Creamy Mushrooms and Snap Peas
p. 185 Japanese-Style Crispy Pork
p. 223 Pan-Fried Cod with Slaw
p. 228 Tilapia with Escarole and Lemon-Pepper Oil
p. 231 Broiled Halibut with Ricotta-Pea Puree
p. 232 Tilapia with Green Beans
p. 269 Whole-Grain Pasta with Chickpeas and Escarole
p. 306 Roasted Pepper Pasta Salad
p. 334 Garlic-Sesame Spinach
p. 337 Cauliflower Gratin
p. 350 Roasted Brussel Sprouts
p. 370 Mango Cloud

[Sabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the layout of the book and how colorful it was with a picture accompanying every recipe! The nutritional info was clearly displayed so it was easy to plan meals when on a particular diet. Each chapter also had a "mix-and-match" recipe, which was basically putting a spin on a common recipe and giving a guideline to make it Asian, Italian, Mexican, etc. I loved this book and it has definately made it into my top 5 recipe books, just because the recipes are easy to follow and the book is fun to flip through when looking for a recipe! 😊

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some feasible recipes and some not-so-practical. A few of the ingredients will be hard to find for some people.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book and the recipes. I haven't tried one yet that wasn't great!

[Darlene Karalash · Rating 5 out of 5]

For weekday inspiration, this is the only cookbook you need! I've pretty much made every recipe, from cover to cover. The section on vegetables is really simple, but it was a game changer!

[Benjamin Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really is a good, well-designed, easy to use cookbook. Perhaps one of the best cookbooks I have ever used when considering design, easiness of the recipes, and tastiness of the food. Iťa and I have used it at least once a week since we received it as a gift. It's her first go-to cookbook when we don't have ideas for dinner.

The pages are nicely laid out, with big photos, and clear directions. There are English-to-metric conversion charts in the back, cross-references with other recipes involving the same ingredients, mix-and-match recipes for stir-frys or pizzas or baked fish, colored tabs for each chapter, and a photo-laden table of contents.

I was a bit dubious about the book's quality when I first saw the Food Network's name across the front cover. Although I enjoy watching that channel when I'm back in the States, it's more about competitions and reality shows than working in the kitchen anymore. (I think all of their cooking instruction shows have been spun off to a new channel.) But the book went way, way past my expectations. We received it as our first wedding gift and could not have been happier.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a nice cookbook; easy to manoeuvre and use for budding time-pressed chefs. While some recipes may take a little more time and effort (or require some esoteric ingredients) to make, for the most part the recipes are easy to replicate. I love the fact that there are pictures for each recipe, not a selected handful. However, it would have been helpful to have little side explanations about the more complicated procedures. Overall, this is an excellent cookbook for the beginner or the experienced. Happy cooking!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

While there wasn't really anything wrong with this book, there really wasn't anything particularly inspiring about it. No stories behind the recipes, no intro, and a lot if it I'd already seen elsewhere (in some cases, better). So, while this wasn't a bad book - particularly if you're new to cooking - I don't think I'd recommend it. You can find better for your time and money.

[Jennifer Didik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christmas present from last December. Of all the recipes I've made, nothing was bad. Nothing was spectacular, either. Biggest perk are the tips on what to use leftover ingredients in. Biggest downside is that the book assumes you own lots of gadgets (slow-cookers, grills, food processors, etc.) and for those without gadgets--like me--you have less options of what you can make out of this.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the recipes I've tried have been great and there's more on my meal plan. Since the recipes are from Food Network Magazine they're available on their website, but it's nice to have them all in one place. Love the chicken and cheese enchiladas. I've been making it since the recipe was published in the magazine years ago.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this and cannot believe how many really good and simple recipes are in this. This collection comes from the magazine, which I have never read. Every recipe is a color coded section and if is low-cal, it is plainly marked.

[Susan Mehring · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has great pictures to go with every recipe, which I appreciate. Most ingredients required are easy to find. There were some new and interesting recipes, but many that my family would not eat.

[Melissa Lee-Tammeus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything a cookbook should be - easy to decipher recipes, with beautiful color pictures of each dish. THe quotes and pictures of the Food Network stars are a bit cheesy, but for what it is, it is a great addition to the "regular" cook's repertoire.

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the magazine itself, this cookbook was good (but not great) with the occasional amazing recipe.

[Sommer Marsden · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this book! i have about a kajillion recipes to try now :) or should i say...a kajillion more. I am very much a recipe addict..

[Stephanie Denison · Rating 4 out of 5]

best puttanesca recipe

[Wendy Resnik · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, every recipe is a winner. Easy, fresh, yummy.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book, with great recipes that I have tried and enjoyed a whole lot.

[Erynne M · Rating 5 out of 5]

the book 250 Delicious recipes for the Whole family is a great book and has lots of great recipes that every family will love.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will now be putting
this on my Christmas list

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few recipes in here that I will try.

[Lee (of Shalott) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five stars for Food Network Magazine making all of their recipes available online!

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title said it all, great easy meals.