On the first season of Hell's Kitchen, working mom Elsie Ramos was clearly the audience favorite, though she didn't ultimately win. She even drew accolades from curmudgeonly chef Gordon Ramsay, who praised her no-nonsense approach to cooking and her simple but delicious Turkey Tacos and Chicken Soup. But while competing on the show may have been tough, it was no tougher than the challenge Elsie faced every night after a long day at work--getting a tasty dinner on the table fast for her longtime boyfriend and their hungry boys.

Now, in Elsie's Turkey Tacos and Arroz con Pollo, Elsie shares more than 100 of her tried-and-true, Latin-inspired recipes for family-friendly weeknight meals. As a working mom, Elsie knows the pressures of putting satisfying, healthy meals on the table night after night--her kids' typical greeting is not Hello but What's for dinner? Elsie's recipes offer ready-made solutions for great-tasting, easy-to-prepare meals, from one-dish favorites like Baked Ziti and Shepherd's Pie to dishes that draw on Elsie's Puerto Rican heritage--Arroz con Pollo, Fried Sweet Plantains, and Puerto Rican Baked Stuffed Meatloaf, among others.

With chapters on soups and stews, appetizers and sides, rice dishes, other main dishes, and drinks, along with Elsie's rules for simplifying shopping and weeknight cooking, Elsie's Turkey Tacos and Arroz con Pollo will be the go-to cookbook for parents everywhere who want real-world solutions for everyday dinner dilemmas.