Don't Panic--Quick, Easy, and Delicious Meals for Your Family [Paperback]

Susie Martinez (Author), Vanda Howell (Author), Bonnie Garcia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2012

Your family can have great meals even when you are on the run. The ladies who brought you Don't Panic--Dinner's in the Freezer now offer busy cooks Don't Panic--Quick, Easy, and Delicious Meals for Your Family. From quick meals made on the grill or in the sauté pan to crockpot dishes that require little prep and cook while you're out for the day, the recipes in this cookbook are tasty, nutritious, and require less hands-on preparation than traditional meals. Easy appetizers and desserts, one-dish casseroles and pastas, simple soups, salads, and side dishes, and even fast breakfasts round out the selections. Meals that are freezer-friendly are marked for those who want to make ahead.

You don't have to settle for feeding your family commercially packaged meals full of sodium and preservatives or fat-laced fast food. Serve them quick and healthy meals from your very own kitchen with this easy-to-use cookbook.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Great meals for your busy family!

We're all busy, but that doesn't mean we have to eat like we are. You don't have to settle for feeding your family commercially packaged meals full of sodium and preservatives or fat-laced fast food. Quick and healthy meals from your very own kitchen are easy with delicious recipes like

Southwestern Baked Cheese Dip
Thai Chicken Wraps
Walnut Spinach Salad
Homestyle Mac & Cheese
Slow Cooker Pork Chops
Oven Roasted Orange Chicken
Grilled Flat Iron Steak Sandwiches
Spicy Shrimp and Asparagus Stir-Fry
Fruit Pizza
Mexican Chocolate Mousse
and many more

From quick meals made on the grill or in the sauté pan to crockpot dishes that require little prep and cook while you're out for the day, the recipes in this cookbook are tasty and nutritious--and require less hands-on preparation than traditional meals. Easy appetizers and desserts; one-dish casseroles and pastas; simple soups, salads, and side dishes; and even fast breakfasts round out the selections. Meals that are freezer-friendly are marked for those who want to make ahead.

Give your family the best--the easy way!


Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia are the authors of the popular Don't Panic--Dinner's in the Freezer and Don't Panic--More Dinner's in the Freezer.

About the Author

Susie Martinez is the elementary director of Southern Gables Church in Littleton, Colorado. She graduated from Taylor University with a degree in social work. The mother of two, Susie and her family live in Colorado.

Vanda Howell attended Colorado State University and now serves as the administrator for the performing arts ministry at her church and sings on the praise team. A real estate appraiser, Vanda and her family live in Colorado.

Bonnie Garcia is a graduate of Grace College. A pediatric nurse, she is also the busy mother of three sons. Bonnie and her family live in Colorado.

Susie, Vanda, and Bonnie are the authors of Don't Panic--Dinner's in the Freezer and Don't Panic--More Dinner's in the Freezer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Revell; Original edition (April 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800719948
• ISBN-13: 978-0800719944
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #590,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #88 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Professional Cooking > Quantity

More About the Author

Susie Martinez is the elementary director of Southern Gables Church in Littleton, Colorado. She graduated from Taylor University with a degree in social work. The mother of two, Susie, her family live in Lakewood, Colorado.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Some nice recipes... June 14, 2012

By Karen Harrison

Format:Paperback

Although there are some recipes in the book that look ok, I was disappointed that nothing really stood out to me as something I was dying to try. My general rules of thumb for new recipes are that it has to contain mostly ingredients that I would have around the house, we have to already like the general idea of it, and has to be kid friendly. Quite a lot of these recipes, I found, either didn't sound as good as I already make it, or had too many ingredients that I would have to buy specifically for that meal.

Now - there are some things that I may still try in here (and I have already tried some). There are some great things about the book, like the keys at the top which at a glance can tell you which dishes are lighter fare, the author's favorites, have minimal ingredients, are great for entertaining and freezable meals. I really like that. I also like that on the freezable meals, there are notes for how to make multiple batches for freezing. Great idea!

Probably this would be a good first cookbook as it has a lot of recipes that are kind of already staples in houses where we have been cooking for our families for a while.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Panic Quick, Easy, & Delicious Meals for Your Family May 29, 2012

By Tiffany C.

Format:Paperback

"Great meals for your busy family" describes this cookbook well. The quick and easy meals in this book are healthy and include ingredients that you usually have around. Each recipe includes the prep time, total time, and nutritional information. The book is divided into sections including: appetizers; breakfast, breads, brunch; soups, salads, and sides; pasta; crockpot collection; baked oven dishes; grilling and marinades; skillets and sautes; and a dessert section.

My favorite section was the crockpot collection. I made the Succulent Teriyaki Chicken. Oh my heavens, was it good! The kids liked it too which is always a plus. And talk about easy! Here's the recipe:

Succulent Teriyaki Chicken

3.5 lbs chicken breasts

1/4 C brown sugar, packed

1/4 C soy sauce

3T lemon juice

3T water

1 clove garlic (I left out since I hate garlic)

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 C flour

1/4 C water

Place chicken breasts in crockpot. Mix together sugar, soy sauce, lemon, water, garlic, and ginger. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high 4 hours, until chicken is tender. Pour juices from chicken into saucepan. In separate small bowl, mix together flour and cold water until smooth, then whisk into juices in saucepan. Cook on medium heat until sauce is thickened and smooth. Pour over chicken in crockpot and heat on low until warmed through. Serve with rice.

I highly recommend this cookbook. It's so easy to use, well organized, and includes a great variety of family friendly choices for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Snacks too! You couldn't go wrong investing in this book.

This book was given to me to review from the Baker Publishing Group.... I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own. Read more ›

5.0 out of 5 stars Good recipes December 20, 2012

By J. Noble

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is a good source of inspiration for frozen make ahead meals. I love cookbooks and this one is a keeper.

4.0 out of 5 stars No photos, but recipes are much like Pioneer Woman's May 20, 2012

By Julieanne at JoyInOurJourney-dotcom

Format:Paperback

The front cover of this softbound cookbook is so beautiful! Can we say, "drooling" here? In all fairness, though, I want you to be aware that this cookbook doesn't contain any photos or drawings inside. For those of you who absolutely must have photos or graphics in your cookbooks, this may not be the cookbook for you.

Some of these meals are designed to make large batches - if desired - so the ingredients lists on the recipes are two-fold. The regular list is designed for 4-6 servings, while the second "large batch" list is designed for making extra for a large crowd or putting away some freezer meals for another busy evening.

If you are a "whole foods" person, some of the recipes contain convenience food ingredients. You can adapt the recipe to fit your needs, but it will probably take longer to prepare many of the recipes than the directions say.

I personally have enjoyed the recipes we have tried. If you need a comparison as to the style of this cookbook, I'd say that the style of cooking is similar to Pioneer Woman's cookbooks, without the photos. If you are familiar with Pioneer Woman, you'll know what I mean!

I would also like to note a pet peeve of mine in recipe cookbooks. When the preparation times are listed for recipes, and the ingredients list calls for "cooked and diced chicken" or already prepared meats or cooked pastas, etc., I think the prep time to cook those items needs to be added to the time in the recipe. Only those who have unlimited funds to spend on groceries are going to be able to afford to purchase "already cooked and sliced or diced" meats, etc. For the average American family, this isn't practical because it is too expensive.... So when I made both of these recipes, I needed to add an extra 20 minutes to the prep time because I needed to cook chicken and ground venison sausage.

Other than that, Don't Panic: Quick, Easy, and Delicious Meals for Your Family is a great option to fast food! I'm looking forward to trying additional recipes from this cookbook! Read more ›

5.0 out of 5 stars quick, easy and oh so yummy! May 20, 2012

By Loren M. Mcghee

Format:Paperback

I love this cookbook! Since there are three authors, each one of them share their favorite dish in each section. They also share if the recipe has a lower number of ingredients, if it is a low fat recipe, and if it is good for entertaining!

Our whole family together, so I thought, "Hmmm, this would be a great time to use this cookbook..." I chose the Chicken fettucine alfredo dish. It was sooooo super easy and absolutely delicious! Some of the comments I heard the kids say were...

MMM, this is good! Kind of like Olive Garden's but honestly, it tastes better than Olive Garden!" WOW- great compliment!
Man Mom, this is sooo good! and It really was fabulous!

The next recipe I chose to make was flavored butter to go on our corn-on-the-cob: Let me just say.... This was delicious! and talk about EASY!!!! It was super easy :)

Thank you Donna for the complimentary copy of this issue in exchange for my honest review!! I love this cookbook and would definitely recommend it!!