The Busy Mum’s Cookbook: Easy, quick and delicious recipes for families with hectic lives by Mary Gwynn

Stars: ★★★★☆

Simon and Schuster UK (2011)

Summary: Provide food for breakfast, fill the children’s lunchboxes, stock the fridge with after-school snacks, cook everyone’s supper day in, day out… every week. Weekends mean more shopping, cooking, baking – and there are always teenagers, hungry partners and friends who might want a snack. Ready-meals, takeaways and fast food are fine on the odd occasion, but especially in these purse-stretched times families need tasty and healthy meals. In this practical cookbook, Mary Gwynn shows the working mum what foods to buy that will last the week and how to have delicious, easy-to-make and nutritious meals ready in a trice with no wastage. – source

I just love cookbooks and this has in it what I look for to determine of a cookbook is for me:

• Colour Photos (although not quite for every recipe, but just about)
• Uses “regular” ingredients (not foods I’ve never heard of or have to go to a specialty store to find)
• Tips for making them easier
• Variety of recipe types (meats, pasta, salads, budget conscious, desserts, good for children etc.)

The chapters are as follows:

• Busy Mum’s Basics (Tips for planning, shopping, cooking and 25 essential ingredients for cupboard, fridge and freezer)
• Family Essentials (12 classics)
• Fast and Fabulous Pasta
• Fall-Back Favourites (when you don’t have energy or inspiration)
• Weekend Wonders (when you have more time)
• Feed the Hordes (budget conscious meals to feed large numbers)
• Magic Meals (Recipes that double as healthy packed lunches)
• Transient Teenagers (Meals to be ready for teenagers to cook themselves –or husbands)
• Small but Perfect (Tried and True for the Under Tens)
• Home Alone (Me-time meals)
• Two’s Company (Special treats for you and your partner)
• Really Good Puds (Puddings and Desserts)
• Great Bakes (Baking with kids and for kids)

Keep in mind this book is from the UK (if you aren’t) and some of the terms may be different than what you are used to and you will find yourself planning all kinds of good meals. I can’t wait to make something from this book!