Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats--A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners (A 30-Minute Meal Cookbook)

To me this book isn't practical. Many of the ingredients are not in local grocery stores and the recipes aren't that quick and easy.

Rachael Ray makes it look so easy on TV. Since I'm not a very adventurous cook, I wasn't familiar with some of the directions given in the recipes and had to guess. Once I had to toss things out partway through and start over as it became clear I had misunderstood a direction. I also bought a mini food chopper because you can't make some of these meals in 30 minutes if you're chopping by hand. But the food is good, although when it calls for hot sauce and jalapeno peppers, beware, these dishes are VERY spicy. We won't be trying all the recipes as some of them just sound too odd, but there are some really good ones (espcially with a little less hot sauce!)

I need to see what I'm about to make before I actually make it. Some of the recipes call for some interesting ingredients and it really boggles the mind in what the outcome will look like. The book contains only a few photos of what you are about to make. The rest is just text. The cover makes the book look colorful and full of pictures. Don't be fooled.

I have had this book for awhile now and my family & I have really enjoyed the recipes I've made from it. They are relatively simple to make and most ingredients are easy to find. However, I feel like I do need to make a warning. I believe in an effort to keep prep. time under 30 minutes, almost every recipe begins with "heat 2 tablespoons EVOO (olive oil) in skillet on med/hi heat". While the skillet and oil heat you prep your meat with seasonings or salt & pepper. I was doing this for the hundredth time last week and when I went to put our pork chops in, all of the olive oil came sizzling out of the skillet and onto my hand. I receive a very painful 2nd degree burn that is still really not a whole lot better a week later. Please be careful- its worth the extra few minutes to let your meat heat with the oil- then you can hear the sizzling begin and know you need to turn down the heat. I had never been warned about this and probably wouldn't have thought of it had I not been on the receiving end of the burn. I still would recommend the book- its a great concept and everything in it is delish, just be careful!

I like this book, but not so much the lack of pictures. Rachael Ray has great ideas, and is never boring.