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.

okay, I admit that she can be terminally perky, but give Rachael Ray her props. The woman makes up some nice recipes. Everything I've made from her books has been delicious. Even better..everything is EASY!

I've yet to actually cook her meals in 30 minutes, but usually in less than an hour.