30-Minute Meals by Rachael Ray (1999)

Rachel Ray drives a lot of people nuts. I'm not one of them. But neither am I a huge fan of her TV work. Her cookbooks, however, are another matter. This book has helped me feed my family of 7 on many a night when I thought I had no time to make dinner. Ray shines most brilliantly in her Italian-themed meals, and it's helpful that the bulk of her recipes don't use ingredients so exotic I can't find them in my rural Kansas grocery store.

This is a terrific introduction to Rachael Ray's cooking methods, and I highly recommend it. ( )

I'm just learning to cook and I use this book all of the time. I especially love the salad section. The downside is the meals have never actually been finished in 30 minutes although they're still delicious. ( )

These recipes aren't as appealing as her later creations. I almost never look at this book. ( )

I like most of her recipes, but I need to have her elves come into my kitchen to set stuff up before I cook so I can cook in the 30-minutes. Was not going to get her books because she was Oprah's latest and greatest find, but she has some good recipes.