It's five o'clock and tummies are rumbling..... -

Just because you need dinner on the table fast doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice taste or nutrition. We are all busy and we all need to eat. I don’t know about your family, but mine likes their food to taste good, too. Not that they are picky (some would eat nearly anything), they just like their meals to be yummy.

When I was given the opportunity to review the latest cookbook in the “Don’t Panic…” series I knew our family would find something to like. I found not just a few recipes, but many. I do not have any of the other books, but have heard nothing but rave reviews for them. After checking this one out, I need to see the others, too.

I found recipes for dinner, for having company over and for lunches for the children and I. The recipes have symbols by them to denote those that are especially quick, good to freeze, 6 ingredients or less and other categories. All of the recipes are quick, some may require preparing the night before or cooking in a crockpot. I was also very happy to find no recipes with cream of something soup in the ingredient list.

We have made several recipes in the few short weeks we have had Don’t Panic — Quick, Easy and Delicious Meals for Your Family. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of most of them. Many recipes will be part of our regular rotation — they were a hit! Many of them were also easy enough for my girls to tackle (together) — a big plus for this busy mama!

The only recipe I remembered to bring out the camera for is the Homestyle Mac & Cheese. One of our regular items for lunch during the week is pasta, usually mac & cheese. I have never made a recipe with eggs so I was looking forward to tasting this one. This is not one of the quickest recipes (still only 45 minutes or so). After cooking the pasta and mixing it all together there is a time of baking the whole dish. It was well worth the time. We all loved it!

We doubled this for 7 of us for lunch (and shared with a couple of neighbors and had one serving leftover). We added the optional chicken as well. I wanted to stir some sort of green vegetable in — but didn’t, this time. I always think, “it’s a complete meal if there is a green vegetable, right?”

1/2 lb. elbow macaroni

Sauce

3 T butter

3 T flour

1 T dry mustard

pinch nutmeg (don’t skip this — it really adds something special)

3 C milk

1/2 C onion, diced fine (optional)

1 egg

12 oz (approx 3 C) shredded cheese (sharp cheddar, or combination of cheddar and Gruyere)

1 t kosher salt

1/4 t black pepper

1 C shredded or diced rotisserie chicken (optional)

Topping

2-3 T butter

1 C panko or regular breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350º In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the macaroni al dente according to package directions.

For sauce: while pasta is cooking, in a large saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour, mustard, and pinch nutmeg and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Immediately add milk and onion (if using) and whisk until smooth. Let mixture simmer on very low heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While mixture is simmering, break egg into a small bowl and beat with fork. Add 1-2 T hot milk mixture to the beaten egg and continue mixing until smooth. Set aside. When milk mixture is smooth and slightly thickened, add egg mixture and 2 C cheese, stirring to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir macaroni into cheese sauce and pour into a 2 quart baking dish (I used a 5 qt for the doubled recipe). (If using chicken, stir in with macaroni.) Top with remaining cheese.

For topping: melt butter. Toss the panko or breadcrumbs in butter with fork to coat. Sprinkle evenly on top of macaroni. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on top. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

The categories are Small Bites and Appetizers; Breakfast, Breads, and Brunch; Soups, Salads and Sides; Pasta, Pasta; Crockpot Collection; Easy Baked Oven Dishes; Grate Grills and Marinades; Savory Skillets and Quick Sautes; and Desserts Divine. No matter what the purpose, you will find something in these pages. We have also made Potato Soup Extraordinaire, Oven Roasted Potatoes, and Shirley’s Mini Meatloves. The next ones I want to try are Apricot Chicken (it calls for French salad dressing– I have a great one for that!) and some of the dessert selections (anything chocolate).

If you cook at home frequently – or would like to more often, you should check out Don’t Panic — Quick, Easy and Delicious Meals for Your Family. You might be surprised at how easy it is to have something good on the table quickly (and without calling in an order).
Available April 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Revell for the purpose of this review. I was not required to write a positive review; all opinions expressed are my own.