Ellie Krieger

The title says it all: Weeknight Wonders: Delicious, Healthy Dinners in 30 Minutes or Lees. Isn’t that what every working cook needs? And you’ll find it here in Ellie Kriger’s excellent cookbook. And if Krieger seems a bit overzealous in her use of egg whites and a bit strict in her banishment of cream, a cook can improvise if s/he wishes.

From Savory Carrot-Cashew Soup to Open-Face “French Dip” Sandwiches to Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Breasts to Scallops with Warm Citrus Sauce to show more Two-Minute Mango-Coconut Sorbet, Krieger sheds calories and fat while providing recipes that don’t require out-of-the-way ingredients or dismay children or reluctant spouses. Everything’s so fresh and yummy that no one will think to ask if the recipes are low-fat or low-calorie; they’ll just ask for seconds! Highly recommended. show less

Comfort Food Fix is a beautiful, straightforward, easy to use cookbook - just what I've come to expect of Ellie Krieger. The book focuses on classic family favorite type recipes and both simplifies and lightens them. Everything I cooked out of this cookbook I served to a group of 10 teenagers and 3 adults, so I got some great feedback on the recipes. Here's what I tried:

Citrus Salad with Cherries - extremely simple but the addition of cherries really makes this fruit salad something special show more both in taste and visually. This one was a hit and would be especially good for brunch.

Smoked Paprika Potato Chips and Triple Onion Dip - Wow! These two recipes make this cookbook a must have. Both recipes were really easy to make, especially if you have a mandolin for slicing the potatoes. These things flew off the baking sheet, I couldn't make them fast enough. The dip was delicious, tasted like that terrible for you store bought onion dip. Guilt free potato chips and onion dip!!

Honey-Mustard Dip - Nothing remarkable, but as she says, why would you serve honey mustard with high fructose corn syrup in it when the real thing is so easy to make yourself?

Creamy Tomato Soup - Another wow for me! This is a ridiculously easy recipe using canned tomatoes, but it was sooooooo good. Of all the recipes I tried this is the one I will make the most, on cold winter nights, to take to work for lunch, or anytime I need something quick, easy and healthy.

Honey-Crisp Oven-Fried Chicken - This is the one recipe I tried that didn't do much for me. The honey brushed on made it too sweet and the coating wasn't crunchy enough. But what do I know? The kids sucked this down, cleaned their plates, and asked for more.

Broccoli Cheese Calzones - Delicious! Hand held broccoli and I'm not sure the kids even recognized what they were eating. The combination of cheeses, broccoli, and sun dried tomato made for a more complex flavor and the pocket made it fun and easy to eat.

Waldorf Salad - Super easy to make and good. Nothing surprising here, it tasted just like a waldorf salad, but a nice way to get fruit and veggies into the kids.

Peanut Butter Cookies - A good, solid peanut butter cookie recipe. As expected these were devoured.

Grandma's Chocolate Pudding - Nice silky texture and a more chocolaty taste than I expected. The kids dipped their pb cookies in it to make that ultimate flavor match.

All-in-all a fabulous cookbook that I will keep handy for when I want a quick, healthy homemade meal. Lots more recipes I plan to try! show less

This cookbook is divine! It's filled with recipes that feel like new comfort foods. The recipes all feel like really fresh ideas and sound like they fit well into the seasons. Not being a meat eater the first two chapters are all plant based and seafood/fish and there are so many great recipes that it honestly felt like a complete pescatarian cookbook. But that is not to say the meat based recipes weren't luscious looking - because they were as well - and many looked easy to omit the meat show more and still have a great meal. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy; opinions are my own. show less

Ellie Krieger, The Washington Post’s doyen of healthy deliciousness, brings us a cookbook for busy cooks to prepare meals in advance for freezing. But, despite the title, this cookbook is really a two-for-one; virtually, all of the recipes can be served as soon as they’re done, some even on a weeknight. With You Have It Made, you really will, whether you’re freezing for a future dinner or serving it up that very night. Highly recommended.