Beyond Macaroni and Cheese [Paperback]

Mary Beth Lagerborg (Author), Karen Parks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1998

When the family has got to eat, and there's little time to prepare a meal, and the kids are picky eaters, and you've already exhausted the week's quota for macaroni and cheese, turn here. You'll find meals tasty and easy enough to coax you beyond the familiar, boxed standbys. These recipes were submitted and tested by moms in MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) groups across the country. Moms on the front lines, swapping recipes they know will work for families.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Beyond Macaroni and Cheese is the mealtime guidebook for moms.

When the family has got to eat, and there’s little time to prepare a meal, and the kids are picky eaters, and you’ve already exhausted the week’s quota for macaroni and cheese, turn here. You’ll find meals tasty and easy enough to coax you beyond the familiar, boxed standbys.

These recipes were submitted and tested by moms in MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) groups across the country. Moms on the front lines, swapping recipes they know will work for families. And that’s not all. Handy icons point you to ? Convenient cooking tips ? Ways to involve the kids in meal preparation ? Moms’ greatest kitchen catastrophes (for a quick chuckle) ? Company-pleasing meals and tips ? Potluck and take-to-a-friend dishes ? Family prayers and Scriptures

Here’s help to prepare family meals that are mom-tested, kid-approved . . . and way beyond boxed macaroni and cheese -- Publisher

From the Publisher

What's for dinner Mom? It's a question that demands constant ingenuity. Beyond Macaroni and Cheese is a mom-tested resource that's designed for busy mothers and fathers who cook, especially mothers of preschool and elementary school-age children. Drawing from the best of hundreds of recipes gathered from MOPS groups around the nation, this practical and entertaining book contains more than just a collection of kid-friendly recipes that are easy for busy parents to prepare. It also offers a wealth of information such as: recipes for favorite comfort foods and healthy snacks chronicles of cooking/mealtime catastrophes light-hearted suggestions for manners and dinner table dos and don'ts cook's comments and tips tips for involving kids in the kitchen, including recipes for kids and dads to prepare together feeding picky eaters Beyond Macaroni and Cheese is a lifesaver for busy parents who want to make sure their children eat well and enjoy what they eat. A great resource, it is both practical and fun to use.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310219787
• ISBN-13: 978-0310219781
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #492,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book!, August 13, 2005

By 

Ivanca (Valparaiso, IN USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beyond Macaroni and Cheese (Paperback)

This is a great book! I have *thee* fussiest 2 year-old eater on the planet. We've had an occupational therapist and a nutritionist working with us on my daughter's eating for close to a year. When she finally started eating, I got this book so I could try new things for her. Tonight I made the Chicken and Stuffing recipe which was very easy to make (and inexpensive), but it looked so complicated on my daughter's plate I said, "She'll never eat it.." But tonight was the very first night she nearly cleaned her plate! My husband and I kept saying, "Slow down." I have tried a few of the recipes from this book, and my husband says the reason my daughter likes them is because they are flavorful. So many kiddy cookbooks are lacking in flavor, which is very important to my daughter.

And we like them too!

The definite pros of this cookbook are:

1) the ingredients are easy to find - most of them are probably already in your kitchen.
2) it's very practical!
3) the recipes share a lot of common ingredients and they're inexpensive, so you don't end up spending a fortune at the grocery store.
4) the recipes are EASY (almost impossible to mess up) and very convenient for the busy mom or dad.
5) they are flavorful!

Also, the book is filled with little suggestions and stories, which I find annoying in some books, but I found extremely clever, helpful and endearing in this book. A lot of writers try writing their cookbooks in that familiar "passing on recipes from a friend to a friend" format, which usually feels very contrived to me. I thought this book, however, succeeded in doing that.

I've had my fair share of disappointments with cookbooks, but not with this one. I borrowed this from the library but I'll definitely be buying it. This is a GREAT book which I highly recommend for busy moms and dads who don't want to feed their children the same old recipes all the time and won't do fast food.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too much butter!, June 17, 2004

By 

arno048 (NEW CASTLE, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Macaroni and Cheese (Paperback)

I just received this book and though the recipes are original and fairly simple, I am disappointed in the amount of fat in them. Most recipes have a generous amount of butter in them. I like the section on appetizers and snacks.This book has something for everyone, including a vegetarian section, but I would really like to see these recipes tailored to cut out some of the saturated fats and include some whole grains. White flour and sugar are also common ingredients.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pantry Friendliest Family Cookbook Out There, June 3, 2006

By 

Susanne Koenig "mynewwritinglife.blogspot.com" (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Macaroni and Cheese (Paperback)

This collection of recipes, assembled by the MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) from it's member's best-loved recipes was an answer to prayer for me! I found this little book after a long, frustrating and almost fruitless search for a family-oriented cookbook that didn't send me to the grocery store every time I opened it. My family has liked everything I have tried from this cookbook, it's all been ultra-easy to make, and the shopping is a breeze. The book is also full of little anecdotes, hints, suggestions, tips, and get-the-kids-in-the-kitchen activities which make this book a delight to read.

But this review isn't without it's criticisms--I must say that one of my fellow reviewers is right--it does have quite a bit of butter in it, and admittedly, it's got its share of canned biscuits recipes (but boy, they are soooooo good!) but not enough to dismiss it outright by any means. After reading and reveiwing scores of "family" cookbooks, I found that for your family's menu, you really can't get it all in one cookbook--sometimes you're going to want to fall into the First Rule of Really Really Good Food and make a real crowd pleaser. (What's the First Rule of Really Really Good Food? You know it: The More Fat It Has In It The Better It Taste, n'est pas?) And of course, a lot of the time you're going to need help making it healthier, and then in some cases, there's the budget to consider.

So with that in mind, don't expect this little book that's written primarily for quick and easy eats to have it all. If you need food that's healthy, I recommend Better Homes and Garden's Kid Favorites Made Healthy. But for myself, I find that sometimes I do want to spoil my family and make something easy and quick. I also want to watch my budget--which is why I'm happy using a combination of books, and this is just one of several. But it is a really good one and will broaden your menu without tiring you out.

Keeping that glowing recommendation in mind, I will say I was frustrated by the lack of pictures and hope that subsequent editions have at least a few photographs or illustrations. I had a hard time imagining what the Buffet Eggs looked like, and the same goes for Crunchy Chicken Rolls (which are really good, btw).

They also add some asides about food and how it relates to family, my favorite being "Create a few familiar standard menus for your family. Don't feel guilty about preparing the same two or three dishes together. You're actually creating memories of comfort foods for your children. We all have favorite memories of menus or foods that bring a sense of consistency and contiunity to our busy lives."

Wise words, and a wise buy; so feel confident in buying this little volume of ultimately useful recipes! You won't regret it.

As for the other books I use, (just in case you're curious) see my Listmania list for Family Eats.