• LanieR on October 12, 2015

  New England-Style Bananas Foster: Very easy but special enough for company. I make this frequently and people always ask for the recipe.

• jannybee on April 10, 2011

  One of favorite go-to cookbooks. The recipes are consistently good.

• heavysift on May 13, 2010

  My favorite Cooking Light book I have.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Blueberry-yogurt muffins

  • Coopskitchen on January 21, 2026

    I tried subbing full fat Greek yogurt. It worked but the muffins were not very sweet.

• Oatmeal-buttermilk pancakes

  • allison_t6drd6 on February 07, 2026

    I love how hearty these pancakes are. Definitely go with the buttermilk.

• Mom's banana bread

  • monicatgood on February 07, 2017

    page 79

• Chocolate cupcakes

  • swiand on October 31, 2025

    May have been overbaked but we wanted moister cupcakes. Flavor was fine.

• Maple caramel flan

  • monicatgood on August 25, 2018

    page 168 August 26th, 2018

• Microwave chocolate pudding

  • stacey on June 28, 2011

    better than instant puddings, but not as yummy as other stove-top puddings

• Irish bread pudding with caramel-whiskey sauce

  • ashallen on November 27, 2019

    A delicious and not-too-heavy bread pudding, though it'd be easy to make it richer by replacing some of the milk with cream, if desired. I usually use golden raisins - their flavor seems to go with the other ingredients better than that of dark raisins. Good with or without the caramel-whiskey sauce.

• Peach Melba crisp

  • chawkins on August 17, 2014

    My peaches were super ripe and juicy, so could have used a bit more cornstarch; otherwise, it is quite good, not overly sweet or buttery.

• Grilled salmon with ginger-orange mustard glaze

  • Aggie92 on July 03, 2016

    Good recipe. Wound up marinating the salmon for close to an hour and a half since hubby decided to mow the lawn right after I got everything together. Even though the marinating time was triple what the recipe suggested, the fish was still mildly flavored from the marinade and the texture was good. Didn't know that we were out of sherry so I had to substitute dry Marsala. Watch the fish closely on the grill as the honey in the marinade will cause the fish to burn. Served with grilled asparagus and a medley of grilled mushrooms with Vidalia onions.

• Bombay curried shrimp

  • swiand on October 31, 2025

    We used Madras Curry and the dish had a warm, yellow curry flavor that was perfect for a dark fall night.

• Vidalia onion risotto with feta cheese

  • Agavegal on July 02, 2020

    2 ounces feta

• Lazy lasagna

  • lisari on June 13, 2025

    This will not make anyone weep with joy but you know, for very little effort and not a lot of calories this was pretty good.

• Creamy four-cheese macaroni

  • unrealmeal on March 18, 2011

    Really good, very very cheesy. I used 4 cups of pasta instead of 3, and there was still a very good cheese to noodle ratio. Make sure you cook the pasta in well-salted water, and don't rinse it before adding to the cheese sauce (just drain well).

• Smashed potato-and-broccoli casserole

  • candrika.jo on July 03, 2011

    A good way to cook those potatoes that need to be used. Although the red pepper was good, I think I'll substitute chipotle chile pepper for red pepper next time + add a little more fresh dill. Note: I didn't peel the potatoes.

• Tex-mex tofu burritos

  • Couture911 on September 25, 2010

    Turned out ok. Good way to pack some veggies and tofu into your diet, but I don't think I'll make it again.

• Beef meatballs

  • deborah_4dbd59 on May 18, 2026

    I used the leftover tomato sauce for marinara dipping sauce. Even the picky eaters here loved them!

• Cranberry chutney

  • krobbins426 on November 14, 2011

    Nice sweet and sour. Very easy. Everyone liked it. I subbed 3/4 cup agave for 1 cup white sugar.

• Mexican cobb salad

  • shamby on August 22, 2013

    p. 412

• Spicy fish stew

  • chawkins on February 20, 2014

    I used a pound of mahi-mahi, so scaled everything down accordingly with the exception of the crushed red pepper and the red potatoes. I crushed a two-and-a-half inch dry red pepper into the stew, this is probably more than the amount called for and I used three quarter lb of red potatoes, this is slightly less than called for. The stew ended up with enough spice for us but could do with slightly less potatoes.

• Chicken enchilada casserole

  • chawkins on March 11, 2014

    I did not start with fresh chicken breast. I used the meat shredded from half of a Costco rotisserie chicken, did not drained the tomatoes, used a whole egg instead of 2 egg whites and shredded Mexican blend cheese instead of the cheddar and Monteray Jack, roasted home grown chile for the canned chopped chile and finally 2% milk instead of the 1% called for. Overcooked the white sauce a little, so it was kind of thick but the final result was good even though it might not be as light as the original recipe.

• Cajun gumbo

  • chawkins on September 10, 2014

    We enjoyed this. Instead of a roux, you just toasted the flour in a dry pan until brown, added to the sweated trinity with a little bit of water, stewed tomatoes and broth. The gumbo did get thickened and had the taste of real roux but hardly any fat. I used home-canned tomato sauce instead of the stewed tomato, turkey broth for the chicken broth and turkey meat instead of shrimp. A tablespoon of filé was added at the end to further thicken the gumbo, but I find that filé powder don't usually have much thickening effect.

• Chicken Parmesan

  • chawkins on March 08, 2016

    A solid light version of this dish. On the down side, a lot of pots and pans and dishes were used, so a lot of clean-up.

• Roasted eggplant-and-cannellini bean salad

  • Larkspur on November 21, 2017

    I left out the tomatoes. Delicious

• Macaroni salad

  • chawkins on July 07, 2019

    The salad was a bit dry after sitting in the fridge for a few hours. May be I should have cooked my macaroni beyond al dente, so they would not suck all the moisture out of the dressing. Taste-wise it was good.

• Chicken-tortilla soup

  • monicatgood on July 23, 2019

    July 23rd 2019 Omitted tomato soup added canned tomatoes with chilies ( rotel)

• Maple-mustard pork tenderloin with apples

  • chawkins on March 30, 2020

    Delicious dish, pork was moist and apple not mushy. With all that maple syrup, I was worried that the dish would be too sweet and the pork burnt, but everything turned out perfect. I used Granny Smith apples.

• Lime-cilantro vinaigrette

  • hbakke on July 11, 2021

    Page 424. This tastes like a pureed salsa. The combination of tomato juice and cilantro/jalapeno in the blender turns this into an unappealing brown color. It was fine, but not what I was expecting.

• Pork-and-pineapple kebabs

  • swiand on August 17, 2025

    Added red onion. We got a great pineapple and this was really good.

• Chicken with roasted pears and wild rice

  • swiand on November 04, 2025

    The adults found this surprisingly tasty. The savory, cinnamon flavored dish was a bit weird for the teenagers. We used dried tart cherries, apple cider, and cooked the wild rice longer than stated.

• Senatorial bean soup

  • SalsaSister on June 07, 2026

    My favorite Ham and bean soup! Tonight I added 2 ham hocks which really amped up the flavor.

• New England boiled dinner

  • geri_2706bl on March 17, 2026

    I made this today and it turned out great. The finishing with maple syrup is the key, sweetness added to the savory. A definite make again.

• Oven-fried chicken fingers with honey-mustard dipping sauce

  • deborah_4dbd59 on May 18, 2026

    I cut the strips into smaller pieces. Used oatmilk and vinegar instead of buttermilk and crushed croutons instead of cornflakes. It took about 12 minutes in total to cook. They turned out tender and good.