Written by two working moms with four kids between them, Desperation Dinners! fulfills its promise to supply you with more than 250 recipes that can be made from start to finish in 20 minutes. With the help of Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross, you can serve up appealing and nutritious home-cooked meals on nights when that might seem impossible. There are meaty dishes (Fiery Chinese Beef) and meatless ones (Very Vegetarian Chili), as well as Ravioli with Roasted Red Pepper Cream for pasta-lovers, and even Magic Brownies for those with a sweet tooth.

The authors' technique, which calls for using convenience foods (canned, frozen, boxed, bagged, or jarred), is based on the idea that the time saved justifies extra cost and sacrificed quality. Their Desperation Pantry includes staples such as canned beans and broth, along with onion powder, frozen lemon juice, pre-shredded cheeses, and produce that is ready to use, such as chopped garlic and sections of citrus fruit. This is not great cooking, but the meals will rescue families from a surfeit of fast food and boxed-pasta dinners.


The Washington Post, 12/21/98
Do you think of yourself as cooking impaired? You never know what to make. Reading recipes gives you a headache. (What size is the dice supposed to be?) And of course, you're short of time and energy. Maybe you need a little handholding and a lot of practical advice--just what you'll find in Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross' new cookbook Desperation Dinners! This family-friendly book also boasts clear detailed instructions and lots of tips to help beginners.


Mark Knoblauch, Booklist
Mills and Ross set out to share their solution to preparing meals when working moms come home tired and in no mood to start fussing over the family dinner. All separately employed cooks face this dilemma, and Mills admits to feeling panic at the situation even though she is a newspaper food editor. The authors' prudent first line of defense is a well-stocked pantry, which makes daily trips to the grocery store superfluous. But their cooking thoughtfully avoids using merely prepackaged foods loaded with preservatives and commonplace flavors. Mills and Ross instead recommend combining fresh, frozen, and canned items to produce foods dominated by the cook's personality and taste. Thus, a bit of freshly chopped onion and garlic and additional herbs enliven jejune bottled spaghetti sauce. The imaginative cook will find inspiration here to follow in Mills' and Ross' footsteps.


Book Description
Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross created Desperation Dinners, part cookbook, part survival guide, part culinary revolution, as the answer to every frantic cook's prayers. Developed from "Desperation Dinners," their nationally syndicated column, the cookbook features over 250 recipes and a promise: With no idea what to cook, without having shopped in days, you'll have a tasty, home-cooked meal on the table in 20 minutes flat. By taking brilliant advantage of convenience foods-frozen chicken breasts, washed and cut vegetables, prebaked pizza crusts, salsas, and more-and using easy-to-master techniques (doing different tasks at the same time, "pushing" flavors with bold seasoning), the authors deliver: Barbecued Shrimp on Spicy Rice. Lazy Lo Mein. Pork au Poivre. Lime-Garlic Chicken Saut,. Minute Minestrone. Garlic-Roasted Salmon. Mom's Mini Meat Loaves. Individual Lemon Ginger Trifles. Heavenly Cream Cake.


From the Back Cover
Part cookbook, part survival guide, part "whole new way of cooking for your family," here is the answer to every busy cook's prayers. What's a Desperation Dinner? How to feed your family well when your spouse is late, the kids are losing it, and the dog is scratching at the door. Features over 250 tempting, nutritious recipes that take brilliant advantage of convenience foods-from individual quick-frozen chicken breasts to chopped ginger in a jar-plus innovative techniques to cut time and "push" flavor. Desperation Dinners Promise 1. These recipes are not hard. 2. These recipes do not require expensive equipment. 3. These recipes don't lie--every one can be made in 20 minutes, start to finish. 4. Expect to be working, but only for those 20 minutes. 5. These recipes taste good. A Slightly Desperate Cook's Answer to "What's For Dinner?" Skillet Shepherd's Pie Topsail Spaghetti Pork au Poivre Chidken Chili Quesadillas And When You're Really Desperate Southwestern Chicken on the Spot Minute Minestrone Tuna and Fusilli Alfresco Miracle Baked Pork Chops


About the Author
Beverly Mills & Alicia Ross are co-authors of the nationally syndicated column "Desperation Dinners." Both women are food journalists, are married, have two children each, and have been living the desperate life for the past seven years.


Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
PRESTO PESTO CHICKEN SOUP 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2/3 pound total), fresh or frozen 1/2 teaspoon olive oil 3/4 cup frozen chopped onions 2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) fat-free chicken broth 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic 1/2 cup half-and-half 1/4 cup commercially prepared pesto Salt and black pepper to taste 1. If the chicken is frozen, run hot water over it so you can remove any packaging. Place the chicken on a microwave-safe plate and microwave 2 minutes, uncovered, on high, to begin defrosting. 2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a 4 1/2-quart Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-low heat. Cut the chicken (fresh or partially defrosted) into bite-sized chunks, adding them to the pot as you cut. Raise the heat to medium, add the chopped onions, and cook 2 minutes, stirring from time to time. 3. Add the broth and raise the heat to high. Cover, and bring to a boil. Drain the tomatoes and add them to the pot, along with the Worcestershire and garlic, keeping the lid closed as much as possible. When the soup boils, reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue to cook at a slow boil until the chicken is no long pink but is still tender, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. 4. Stir in the half-and-half, pesto, and salt and pepper. Let the soup rest off the heat for 1 1/2 minutes, then serve. Serve 4 generously HARVEST PORK CHOPS 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) fat-free chicken broth 1 1/2 cups water 2 1/2 cups "instant" (5-minute) rice 4 boneless center-cut loin pork chops (each about 3/8 inch thick; about 1 pound total), fresh or frozen 1 tablespoon butter or margarine 1 medium onion (for 3/4 cup slices) Black pepper to taste 1 large tart apple, such as Granny Smith (for 1 cup slices) 1/2 cup apple juice, white wine, or water 1 tablespoon dark or light brown sugar 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar 1 bag (8 ounces) cabbage coleslaw mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch 3 tablespoons water 1. Combine 1 cup of the chicken broth and the water in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, begin step 2 (if necessary) and step 3. When the liquid boils, add the rice, cover the pan, and remove from the heat until ready to serve. 2. If the pork chops are frozen, run hot water over them so you can remove any packaging. Place the chops on a microwave-safe plate and microwave 2 minutes, uncovered, on high, to begin defrosting. 3. Meanwhile, melt the butter over low heat in an extra-deep 12-inch nonstick skillet that has a lid. Peel the onion, cut it in half lengthwise, and cut each half into 4 crescent-shaped slices, medium and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 4. Add the pork chops (fresh or partially defrosted) to the skillet, pepper them to taste, and cook until brown on the first side, about 3 minutes. 5. Meanwhile, cut the unpeeled apple in half, core it and cut it into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Turn the pork chops and add the remaining 3/4 cup chicken broth, the apple juice, brown sugar, mustard, and vinegar. Stir well. Immediately add the apple slices and coleslaw mix. Stir to coat the slaw with sauce. Cover the pan, raise the heat to high, and bring the liquid to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, just until the chops are no longer pink in the center, about 8 minutes. 6. Meanwhile, combine the cornstarch and 3 tablespoons water in a small container that has a lid. Shake well until the lumps disappear, then set aside. 7. When the chops have simmered for 8 minutes, uncover the skillet, shake the cornstarch mixture again, and add it to the skillet, stirring constantly. Stir until the sauce is the desired consistency for gravy, about 2 minutes. 8. To serve, place a chop on a bed of rice on each serving plate and top with some onions, apples, cabbage, and gravy. Serves 4 GINGERED SALMON CROQUETTES 48 small square soda crackers with unsalted tops 1 can (6 ounces) skinless, boneless salmon 1 small onion 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream 3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise 1 tablespoon lemon juice from frozen concentrate 1 teaspoon bottled chopped ginger 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon mango chutney, such as Major Grey's 1. Place the soda crackers in a 2-quart or larger bowl and crush with your hands to make medium-fine crumbs. You should have roughly 2 cups of crumbs. Pour 1 cup of the crumbs onto a plate and reserve. 2. Add the salmon and its liquid to the bowl with the remaining crumbs. Peel the onion and grate enough on a handheld grater to make 1 tablespoon with juice. Add the grated onion to the salmon, setting the remaining onion aside for another use. Stir in the sour cream, 1 tablespoon of the mayonnaise, the lemon juice, ginger, garlic, and Worcestershire. 3. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Shape the salmon mixture into four 3-inch patties about 1/2 inch thick. Press both sides of each patty into the reserved cracker crumbs to coat, adding each patty to the hot oil as it is coated. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. 4. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and the chutney in a small bowl and stir to blend well. 5. Place the patties on serving plates and top each with a dollop of chutney mayonnaise to serve. Serves 4 Excerpted from Desperation Dinners! Copyright c 1997 by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross. Reprinted by permission of Workman. All rights reserved.

FROM OUR EDITORS

From the creators of the nationally syndicated column of the same name, Desperation Dinners! is a collection of truly realistic recipes that will appeal to the whole family. Relying on timesaving staples like canned beans, frozen vegetables, and preshredded cheese, authors and working moms Mills and Ross make great use of convenience foods without sacrificing flavor and quality.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Do you think of yourself as cooking impaired? You never know what to make. Reading recipes gives you a headache. (What size is the dice supposed to be?) And of course, you're short of time and energy. Maybe you need a little hand holding and a lot of practical advice--just what you'll find in Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross' new cookbook Desperation Dinners! This family-friendly book also boasts clear detailed instructions and lots of tips to help beginners. --Washington Post

SYNOPSIS