Simple & Delicious: Easy Recipes for Busy and/or Novice Cooks

A few years ago, I quit my job as a computer professional to become a full-time mom. It can be a thankless job but also has proven challenging and interesting. I adore seeing my son grow up before my eyes. Prior to quitting my job, I could not cook. Actually, I could cook about five meals but outside of that I was clueless. My husband did all the cooking. In the last few years I've come to realize that cooking isn't all that terrible. There are worse things I could do around the house. Seeing my apparent lack of skills in the kitchen, my mother in law got me a subscription to Simple & Delicious. I've now been getting it for going on three years.

Simple & Delicious is intended for cooks who don't want to spend all their time in the kitchen. It has helped me gain confidence, learn basic techniques, and understand ingredients. It also makes me feel completely capable rather than painfully inept. I can look at a recipe, say "I can do that," buy the ingredients, and actually put together a decent meal. Recently Simple & Delicious went through a face lift. They changed their fonts, colors, and are now published on recycled paper. On the downside, the magazine has just started including advertisements. I guess with the widespread adoption of the internet, the need for magazines has waned. I prefer getting my recipes on paper so I remain a fan of this publication.

The magazine predictably begins with a letter from the editor and some readers comments. After that the real interesting part of Simple & Delicious begins. It is now called "Express Lane" but the purpose is to show people you can shop once and eat all week. I am currently thumbing through the March/April edition and one reasonably priced shopping trip (and making sure you have a few staples in your cupboard or pantry) can lead to the following easy-to-make meals: Orange Roughy with Rice, Mushroom Steak 'n' Linguine, Chicken over Curly Noodles with a Broccoli Side Dish, Chicken Tortilla Bake, and Grilled Beef Fajitas with a Zesty Spinach Salad. These are all quick recipes that, assuming you like the ingredients, will please your family. Also in the "Express Lane" is a collection of recipes that take just five (or fewer!) ingredients. Shrimp Canapes, Spinach Pasta Salad, Beer-Glazed Ham, Brie Mashed Potatoes, Fluffy Chocolate Pie, Apple Cherry Salad, Polka-Dot Macaroons, and Lemon Fudge. Some of the recipes are reader-submitted and some are from the Simple & Delicious Test Kitchen. I have tried various recipes and have been mostly pleased with the results.

Continuing forward, the magazine offers suggestions on casseroles and saving time in the kitchen. I always like reading about how you can maximize your time and space in the kitchen. I'm not exactly an expert in that area. In this issue one reader from Virginia suggests impaling ears of corn on ice picks and slicing kernels off with an electric knife. Talk about an obvious and resourceful solution to an age-old problem! There are always innovative ideas on this page--well worth checking out.

Simple & Delicious also has a Quick Fix section that features 30-minute meals. We're talking meat, potatoes, drinks, and veggies all in 30 minutes. Considering my complete lack of aptitude, the fact that I have been able to complete many of these meals is nothing short of miraculous. My husband always comments that he likes what I cook when I try the recipes here. In this issue I've attempted the Pork Chops With Onion Gravy and Lemon Rice Meal. It was delicious. Even better? The rice is ready to serve in about 15 (!) minutes. The March/April issue also has a handful of quick entrees, some mushroom appetizers, and two 10-minute soups. I'm looking forward to trying the Hot Dog Bean Soup on my son in a few years.

As has always been the case the magazine hosts a contest. The editors come up with a theme and readers submit their favorite recipes. This time around "It's All About the Dough." Refrigerated-bread-dough. A particularly scrumptious Pull-Apart Caramel Coffee Cake from a reader in Oregon took top honors. The recipe is simple (even for me). It takes just 10 minutes of prep and 25 minutes to bake. Other readers won with ones including Ham and Cheese Loaf, Tomato Cheese Pizza, Surprise Monkey Bread.Beef-Stuffed Crescents, Breakfast Pizza, Crescent Apple Desert, Garlic-Cheese Crescent Rolls, Mini Toffee Rolls, Pizza Loaf, Spicy Chicken Bundles, and Stromboli Slices. At this point, it is important to note that come recipes have a snowflake next to their title. Those ones are good frozen, too. I rarely freeze food, so that bit isn't that useful for me but others will certainly find the information important.

With springtime comes fresh produce and the editors at Simple & Delicious were smart enough to focus their efforts in this particular issue on these foods. I have tried the Italian Spinach Salad (sans the mushrooms and tomatoes, plus some cauliflower and celery). Other choices include Rhubarb Lemon Muffins, Salami Asparagus Salad (that one sounds good), and Lemon Shrimp with Parmesan Rice. Other recipes include ones for sweets, blueberries, chicken, appetizers (the Jalapeno Wontons look like winners to me), pasta, leftovers, and breakfasts. I love how simple and common the ingredients are (I can get them in a small town in Michigan) and how easy they are to bake/cook/prepare/put together.

Toward the end of Simple & Delicious the test kitchen fields questions from readers. Like the tips at the front of the magazine, I find much of this information to be valuable. This month readers ask if you should freeze hard-boiled eggs (no), if you can substitute canola oil for olive oil (yes), what the radio of large marshmallows is to small (10), and if you can substitute sesame oil for tahini in hummus (no). Of course the explanations are more detailed than my simple yes and no, but you get the idea. Useful stuff. Cooking for busy dummies if you will. As the magazine comes to a close (it is only 66 pages, and even with the new advertising there is little that isn't dedicated to recipes) there are a few more food ideas. There are recipes for Bacon-Almond Green Beans and Slow Cooker Beef Brisket from the Test Kitchen (Amy Welk-Thieding, RD, Food Editor). I love that even the bottom, tops, and sides of pages are full of easy tips and hints. Even the pictures are fabulous (though not all the recipes have photographs).

I really do like Simple & Delicious. It has now undergone two or three major changes during my subscription and it seems to be getting better. I have yet to run into something that is in the least bit challenging, at all expensive, or vaguely time consuming. Even the desserts are easy. If you are like me and lack the time or energy to make good, savory food then I suggest checking out Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious. My one complaint is that most of the food comes without dietary information. Considering all the ingredients are listed and you are the cook this should not be too troubling, but with that said the meals aren't always the healthiest. Regardless it gives me hope that I too can become a reasonably decent cook.