Customer Reviews

Busy People's Super Simple 30-Minute Menus: 137 Complete Meals Timed for Success

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I hosted a bridal shower luncheon for my soon-to-be sister-in-law and wanted to make a great impression. I'm pretty good at planning events, but I'm lousy at making food, so was in a quandary until the 30-Minute-Menu cookbook saved me! In it I found the perfect menu for my luncheon, start to finish, and it was a huge hit! With the timings spelled out, I was able to coordinate the entire event seamlessly. No waiting, no soggy sandwiches, no missing ingredients or last-minute dashes to the store. And Dawn has a great knack for finding flavors that combine well together. What a great tool!

As the author of Busy People's Super Simple Menus Cookbook, I wanted to submit the e-mails I have recieved from two people who have purchased this new book. Here is what two busy people have to say...

I bought a few of Dawn Hall's cookbook about three weeks ago and they changed my life. That may sound a bit dramatic but it's true.

I don't really "like" to cook and I'm very busy so planning meals was a real challenge for me. As a result we used to eat a lot of frozen dinners, fast food and expensive restaurant food. Now we eat cost-effective, good, nutricious meals. The way this cookbook is laid out with minute by minute preparation instructions and grocery lists I can do it. Each member of my family picks one meal, I plan the other 2-3, go to www.dawnhallcookbooks.com to print the grocery lists and I'm set for the week.

There used to be nights, just three short weeks ago, when I would go to bed feeling like a bad mother and wife because I couldn't be super mom ... work, get the kids everywhere, help with homework and fix supper. With the help of this (and other Dawn Hall cookbooks) I can do it all now without as much effort as I used to put into waiting for "fast" food.

Tonight, I had a dinner party. One of my guests is a very well-known caterer in our town and he loved it.

I served:
Taco Vegetable Soup
Sweet and Spicy Tossed Salad
Southwestern Chicken Pasta Casserole and
Taco Biscuit Buttons.

I asked my mom to take my kids out for dinner to make it easier for me while I prepared for the party and my daughter was upset! That cracked me up ... when is a teenager upset about going out to eat. I'll tell you when ... when her mom uses Dawn Hall cookbooks. Anyhow, the meal was a hit.

We eat together as a family more. My daughter and I spend more time together in the kitchen. And everyone looks forward to supper time!

Dawn's biggest fan,
Nichole Coleman, Findlay, Ohio




Dear Dawn,
I am writing to give you some feedback on your menus
:)

The first one I made was the Tilapia. I'm not much of a fish person, but I would like to be! This recipe will help, because I thought it was delicious!! Very mild and moist and tasty. And I loved the idea of using pickle juice, I always feel like I am wasting it when I just pour it over our compost pile!! I was just wondering if you used Kosher or Polish, or what kind of dill juice? Also, did you just use the juice, or also the spices in the juice? This menu was also great because we have an asparagus patch in our back yard, and we had lots of asparagus to use. The kids and my husband also liked this recipe alot, and said they would definitely want it again. The cranberry salad was very refreshing.

The second menu we made was the the Hawaiian Chicken Salad Sandwich. The kids called it the "Giant Sandwich". They all loved it, along with the fruit
kabobs. I made the chicken salad using crushed
pinapple, because the kids were helping me mix it, and I didn't want them to use a knife. I've also made the kiwi tea very often since then.

The next menu we had was the Beans-R-Boss with corn dog dumplings. It was very good, but the day we had it, it ended up being very hot outside! But, we will definitely have it again this fall or winter! And the peppers were very festive.

The next menu we had was the Caesar Chicken Pasta
Stove Tope menu. The kids aren't into mushrooms, and
I was glad they aren't, because there were plenty of left overs the next day for lunch! This was very very good!

The next menu I made was the Beefy Ranch Stroganoff menu. I was not able to find the roast beef with gravy in my grocery store. I looked by the canned meats, and the gravy. So, instead I used a can of gravy, and 1/2 pound roast beef from the deli. This menu was great! We absolutely loved this recipe, it was so good, and easy!

We saved the best for last! At last we had the Steak Tips with Onions/Gravy. Those potatoes were DELICIOUS!! And so easy to make! And of course the steak was great as well. And the kids love broccoli.
We have a large garden, so we'll have lots of broccoli this summer to use in these side dishes!

I set the timer (just for fun) to check on my progress, and I was very close, especially for making them all the first time. The instructions were very good, and most importantly, the food was all very good and very healthy. I have told several people about your cookbook, and they are very interested in seeing it!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to try these recipes, and give you feedback. Hopefully this will help you!

Leigh Flick

I am a busy man with not much time to cook, but I love to eat good food. So I gave Dawn's Hall book a chance and I love those recipes! I'm usually not much of a recipe-following man, always improvising and having to do with what's at hand, however I followed her recipes and the meals were delicious. Her way for presentation, with every step clearly spelled out and to the minute is ingenious, and the final results, the meals are very tasty and satisfying. I loved in particular her Savory Pork Tenderloin. Yummy!!
This cookbook is so cool!

The book has great recipes and the meals I have cooked have been completed in around 30 minutes. Some of the items for the recipes are expensive, but I found alternatives that taste just as great. I recommend making the Tamale Pie. I like that it is lower in fat and it tasted wonderful!

I absolutely LOVE this cookbook!! I choose my menus at the start of the week, jot down what I need (the grocery lists are on each page how simple is that?!)head to the store and I am set for the week! No more running to the store every day to pick up needed items for dinner!(saves gas too!)
Preparation is a snap and the meals are balanced and taste great! My family loves Dawn Halls recipes! In fact, hers are the only cookbooks I own!! You will never regret having this, or any of the other "Busy People's" cookbooks at your fingertips! Busy People's Super Simple 30-Minute Menus: 137 Complete Meals Timed for SuccessBusy People's Fun, Fast, Festive Christmas CookbookBusy People's Slow Cooker Cookbook2nd Serving of Busy People's Low-Fat Recipes for the New MillenniumDown Home Cookin' Without the Down Home FatBusy People's Diabetic Cookbook (Busy People's Cookbooks)Busy People's Low Carb Cookbook (Busy People Cookbooks)

This book is great! Until I tried the recipes in this book, I would usually make the main entree and then because I couldn't figure out what would be good with it, heat up a can of vegetables as the side dish. This takes all the difficult parts out of cooking weeknight meals -- the shopping list is there, the equipment list is there, the time to start each step is there, and in approximately 30 minutes, I'm able to put more than an entree and a can of warmed-up veggies on the table. Plus the meals are healthy -- I'm on Weight Watchers and my honey's diabetic -- so I'm able to make great-tasting meals that are both low in points and low in carbs! When is the author writing Volume 2 of "Busy People's Super Simple 30-Minute Menus"? Soon, I hope!

Bad ingredients: every meal in here calls for canned pre-made ingredients, boxes of pre-mixed cooking items, and SPLENDA IN ALMOST EVERY MEAL. Along with things like "immitation butter sprinkles", eck, please cook using real ingredients! This is basically like Hamburger Helper in book form.

I bought this book, because I watch Dawn Hall on Direct TV ch.378 (NRB) on Thursday mornings at 7am and on Saturdays at 12 noon (PST).

I love this cookbook so much, in fact, so much that I'm going to order her slow-cooker book, too. Also, I am going to purchase a second 30-minute menus cookbook for my 24 year old daughter.
I know that it will help her feed her family.

The fruit of your labors are paying off in big dividends to us all.

Thank you, Dawn Hall!

Keep writing these great cookbooks.

I have never been a fan of low fat meals until now! I love this cookbook! We have been using it faithfully and every meal has been excellent. One of my teenagers, who refuses to eat unhealthy, often hesitates after taking a bite and questions me that it really is low fat and I'm not trying to "trick him" into eating it!

The recipes are so easy to make, we even prepare these meals while at our camper!

I have been enjoying Dawn Hall's recipes for years. I make them for my family all the time!

Dill-icious Tilapia with Shrimp Menu---Easy party meal without the fuss of cooking all day. Very nice : ) Seafood is so healthy for you, I like this recipe.
Asparagus and mushrooms---This is yummy I love the colors : )
Raspberry Pecan Salad---I like the tangy taste of this salad : ) YUM YUM!!
Hawaiian Chicken Salad Sandwich Menu -- I would serve this when I have friends over for lunch.
Tea -- very refreshing and different from your ordinary lemon tea mixes on the market.
Hawaiian Chicken salad -- Very nice : ) I like the twist you put on this one. Not your everyday chicken salad sandwich : ) Yummy!
Melon Kabobs - very pretty and refreshing.
Steak tips with Grilled onions & gravy -- Lovely Sunday dinner.
Loaded Potatoes - Oh yeah, this is a hit with my family...seconds please : )
Buttered Broccoli & Mushrooms -- refreshing idea on the broccoli : )
Steak tips with onion & gravy -- I love this one! Sooooo simple : )
Caesar Chicken Pasta Stove Top Casserole -- Yummy and easy to put together.
Stuffed mushrooms - Give me mushrooms any day! Very nice : )
Caesar Chicken & Pasta - I love this one. I have my own version of a chicken & noodle recipe, but I also like this light version. ; )
Caesar Salad -- I like this. How about adding sliced red onion rings to this? : )
Beefy Ranch Stroganoff -- Fast & simple. This a feel good, fill your tummy menu : )
Broccoli & Carrot Medley -- Nice side dish.
Beefy Ranch Stroganoff -- Very Easy and Yummy ; ) !!! Pass the dinner rolls ; )

Beans-R-Boss Chili with Corn Dog Dumplings Menu -- What can I say but "Ya Whoooo- Buckaroo", this is a winner ; ) who can resist Chili & Corn Dogs?!!
Pepper sticks -- the color and the crunch of the peppers are a perfect complement to this meal : )


I'm sure that if use this cookbook, you will enjoy it as much as my family and I have!

-Getty : )