Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals: What to Keep on Hand, What to Buy Fresh for the Easiest-Ever 30-Minute Meals

Good CookBook for a Busy Person

I've had this cookbook for a couple of years, and it has definitely made some good, easy meals when my husband and I were in a time crunch. The grocery lists are particularly useful. A couple of caveats though. First, a lot of these meals take one hour, particularly if you count how many ingredients you need to chop or grate. Second, my husband complains that some of these recipes have far too many flavors and ingredients. The best solution for both problems is to occasionally "dumb down" some of the recipes in the book to something a little more basic. However, the plusses is that Rachael Ray's meals usually look really pretty (I use a lot of these recipes for stress-free get-togethers), and she really knows how to enhance meals with spices. Since cooking with her recipes, I feel like my spice collection has increased considerably. Overall, very worth buying for someone who wants to cook at home but feels to busy to do so.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Very Pleased !

This was my first time buying a cookbook from Rachael Ray. I think Rachael makes cooking fun. I like the title 'Express Lane meals'. It's very catchy. I think it's neat the way she divides the meals into three categories. The idea of whipping up something in 30 minutes or less puts a smile on my face, especially since both my husband and I work fulltime. He sometimes helps me cook. And on days that we are tired, a half hour preparing a meal beats the heck out of an hour-plus. I have found my new cookbook to be very useful. I don't think it designed to be used seven nights a week, because sometimes I like to prepare something fancy. But I can easily see myself going to this book 2 or three times a week. So far so good!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Something is lacking

I like the format and the idea behind this book, but some of Rachel Ray's recipes are just too "out there" for me. She's definitely a fusion cook - a lot of things she puts together are things that I think don't match. Also, a lot of her recipes require many ingredients, some of which I won't use again.

Great recipes helpful lists

I'm happy I got this ebook. It has really useful shopping lists and did help me answer the question "What should I always have on hand?" But at the beginning of each recipe there is a jumble of overlaping words partially obscuring the first ingredient. I don't appreciate paying money for a book withthat type of "bug" in it. Still a worthwhile purchase.

LOVE IT!!

This cookbook by Rachael Ray definetly lands in her top 3! It has such tasty, cheap, easy, and fast recipes! I absolutely love it! This cookbook is a great buy for anyone, even beginners!

Love these recipes.

This is my first Rachel Ray cookbook. I will be getting more.

Queen of 'can' dumping

Again, Rachael can't create a table of contents to save her life. Book is poorly organized into 3 chapters based on how tired you are. So all the chickens, salads, pork, meat, turkey, etc.. recipes are all mixed up.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Just a repeat of all the other cookbooks

Okay, I do like the 30 min tv show but Rachael Ray cannot write a cookbook to save her life. Here are the many things that are wrong with this cookbook: (1) This is her 11th cookbook, all recipes are starting to look familiar. If you are new to RR then by all means pick up this book, however you have a couple of her other titles, you will find nothing new in here. (2) Rachael cannot organize a cookbook or make a proper table of contents to save her life. The book is divided into 3 silly sections based on how exhausted you are when you come home from work. So again, meat, chicken, fish, vegetarian, everything is all mixed up together. (3) Most of these recipes are not healthy. A lot of burger recipes. One very disgusting recipe calls for making a hamburger salad and topping it with canned onion rings and potato stick chips. Gross. (4) Too many pasta recipes. I think we all know how to make pasta and sauces creatively. Plus most of her sauces call for using canned clams or someother type of canned seafood. Gross again.

Rachael cooks up another classic!

The idea behind this clever cookbook is to have on hand a certain amount of basic ingredients. Then, to complete one of the recipes in the book, all you have to do is stop by the store and pick up a few items on your way home from work- thereby qualifying you to use the 'express lane'- hence the title of the book. This particular cookbook of Rachael's contains not only easy to follow recipes, but also has a wide enough variety of them that will keep you from serving the same boring meals every night- a chronic problem at my house. All in all a good cookbook that deserves a place on everybody's bookshelf, I give it five stars.

Super fast, super easy & super fun!

I'm not normally into the 'quick cooking' stuff because it often uses too many pre-packaged foods - but I flipped over RR's 30 Minute Meals shows, and since life is hectic, thought I'd give this book a try. WOW! Most of the recipes are super simple and easy - they don't require any complicated tricks or tools (which I love doing, but not on a busy weeknight) and so far, every one I've tried has been a HUGE hit! If you're a relative novice or non-creative type, the basic recipes and easy instructions make putting together a solid, healthy and fast meal a breeze. If, like me, you like to be a bit more creative, they're easy to play around with and adapt to your own needs. I love to just read a cookbook, using it as inspiration for my own creations, and this one has really changed the way I cook at home on weeknights. Kudos for this one!

Rachel's Great

Just got this book, and can already see it is easy to use. Rachel is always fun to watch on TV. And now I have her great and easy recipes whenever I need them!!! Buy this book, you'll be glad you did!

A Keeper

Easy to use recipes which will appeal to anyones taste. suggestions for what to keep in stock is a great idea.

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