THE DINNER PLAN by Kathy Brennan and Caroline Campion (Abrams, Sept. 19) is subtitled "Simple Weeknight Recipes and Strategies for Every Schedule" so it definitely caught my attention. However, I thought the number of ingredients per recipe seemed relatively large. What does help is the very useful Pantry List - getting organized with those ingredients may indeed make the cooking task less daunting. Brennan and Campion also take special care to label recipes as "extra fast" and "one dish," for example. Within each recipe, there are helpful notes about "make ahead" or "staggered" directions. They also suggest some "back pocket" favorites like Shrimp Scampi, Skillet Chicken Parm, or Frittata. Ingredient lists and oven temperatures are listed in both US and European measures which blend nicely with the mix of choices across cultures.

I really like The Dinner Plan. It will definitely be a cookbook I'll turn to for dinner. Between school and extra curricular activities my kids and I are always on the go. These are good quick recipes laid out simply.

I liked The Dinner Plan: The Keepers Guide to Mastering Weeknight Meals and More by Kathy Brennan and Caroline Campion so much I have pre-ordered the cookbook at Amazon. I loved how the authors have created recipes that could be prepared for weeknight cooking. I also loved how the recipes are tagged with Make Ahead, Staggered, One-Dish, Pantry, Extra Fast. You will also find a section called "Recipes by Category" that lists the recipes by food type i.e. Shellfish, Beef, Pasta, Vegetables hot, The Forgotten Meal. Again the recipes are tagged with Make Ahead, Staggered, One-Dish, Extra Fast making it easy to select what you want to prepare for a meal.

Sprinkled throughout the recipes are cooking tips to help make meal prep easier while the color photos help too.

Another cook's helper is a "Pantry Ingredients" list included in the cookbook. The "Pantry Ingredients" list can be used to prepare any of the "Pantry" recipes found in The Dinner Plan Cookbook.

Some of the recipes you'll find include:

Tex-Mex Salmon in Foil
Tarragon Chicken
Turkey Sloppy Joes
Beef Stew in a Hurry
Bacon and Egg Fried Rice
Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil
Spicy or Not Black Bean Soup
Faux Cubanos
Chinese Chicken Salad
Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce
Raw Broccoli Salad
Go-To Scalloped Potatoes
Dark Chocolate-Banana Bread

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

The Dinner Plan is just that. There's something for everyone on any schedule. Meal planning can be difficult and this book helps with the pain of that. It's organized into Make-Ahead, Staggered, One-Dish, Pantry, and Extra-Fast by type of food. The recipes are interesting, but don't use ingredients that aren't obscure. Many of them are already in the pantry. The photos in the book are appetizing and the authors included tips and tricks that are handy. It's filled with easy recipes that takes the hassle out of planning meals.

Great cookbook for simplifying weekday dinnertime. I particularly like that recipes fit several strategies (make ahead; one pot dinners; super fast; staggered dining times). The recipes are detailed and easy to follow and also easy to modify (we have a few food preferences and issues in our house). Also includes hearty vegetarian dishes as well as some great sides that would be fabulous to take along to a potluck (scalloped potatoes, anyone?). These recipes also help you to see how your own go-tos could be easily adjusted to fit some of these categories for simplifying meals. Highly recommended.

Brennan and Campion deliver exactly as the book promises, and very spectacularly so. "The Dinner Plan" is heavily loaded from cover to cover with nearly organized recipes that not only can fit nearly anyone's work schedule, but also can satiate nearly any tastes and preferences thanks to the rich variety of the different meals presented. I personally loved the look of so many of the recipes that it wasn't look before I found myself writing up a small "to-cook" itinerary of my own as I read through (first up on the list - white beans and pesto over toasty bread!).

This a perfect book for anyone who wants to deliver delicious, schedule and budget-friendly home-cooked meals from Monday to Friday that will be sure to satisfy every single time!