I bought the new CL Light & Easy cookbook...

[heatherfeather]

The cookbook has beautiful pictures and I love the whole menu concept. I think that the menu section of the mag is one of my most used sections. Anyway - I haven't had time to try the recipe yet, but they look very good. There is something wierd about this book though - there are lots of menus (especially in the breaksfast category) where they give stupid recipes like:

"Blueberry Bagels with Cream Cheese"

4 (2.8oz.) blueberry bagels, cut in half and toasted

1/4 cup 1/3-less fat cream cheese

Spread 1 1/2 tsp. cream cheese on each bagel half. Serve immediately. Yield 4 servings.

Duh- why is this called a recipe?? What were they thinking?? Couldn't they have used that space to provide an actual recipe? Or just say, serve with toasted blueberry bagels & cream cheese?? There are quite a few of these kinds of recipes tossed in, as if to fill up space. However, there are other menus, such as the breakfast menu "Baby Vidalia Onion Frittata, low-fat Bluebery Muffins, Red Grapefruit sections" where they provide a yummy looking recipe for the frittata but say to BUY store bought lowfat blueberry muffins! Does this make sense?? There is another recipe for Italian green salad that is a bag of purchased salad, bottled dressing and black pepper. Again - why is this considered a recipe? We now need recipes to pour dressing from a store on salad from a bag??

Despite this strange flaw, I do like the cookbook and can't wait to try some of the delcious recipes & menus - especially the ones for fish that look terrific.

[Lynn B]

Heather,
Thanks for the input! I haven't seen that cookbook yet! Where did you get it? Would you mind telling me how many pages it has and what's on the cover? THANKS!
Lynn

[pmmahan]

LOL, Heather! I was giggling at your post.

Maybe they were trying fatten up the "menus" aspect of the book. But it does seem strange for a "cookbook" when you expect recipes.

[heatherfeather]

The name of the cookbook is Cooking Light Light & Easy Menus and is a new book. I bought mine in Costco a couple of days ago for $21.99 (there was a previous thread on whether or not to buy the cookbook)

One the cover is a delicous looking Grilled Beef Fajita Salad...and I just checked and yes...there actually is a real recipe for this salad. (Although it calls for salt-free Mexican seasoning, which I didn't know existed.)

It has 240 pages - but the last 11 are index pages. One thing I forgot to mention that is very nice about this book (and played a part in selling the book to me) is there are charts for each season listing which fruits & veggies are usually in season. There is also a section in the back that lists weights & yields for things like macaroni - 4 oz dry (1 cup) yields 2 cups cooked etc. This section is VERY handy & USEFUL!

[Peeps]

Originally posted by heatherfeather
The name of the cookbook is Cooking Light Light & Easy Menus and is a new book. I bought mine in Costco a couple of days ago for $21.99 (there was a previous thread on whether or not to buy the cookbook)...

Aw - I was hoping you got off Ebay since I posted that link to it when it was $9.99 there! It finally sold for $13.99 - I thought for sure it was someone on this board that got it after I posted that - was it? Anyone?

[Wendy w]

Peeps, my eyes were failing me that day, I thought it said $19.99. Oh well, I ended up picking it up at Costco.

Even though it has a few things like the "recipe" that heatherfeather was describing, it looks like it will be good for weeknights when you want something decent without spending the whole evening in there - an amalgram of convenience products and "actual cooking".

I do agree with heatherfeather about the "duh factor'" of some of the so-called "recipes", but perhaps CL is trying to attract the "culinary challenged". There are a lot of people out there who claim to not know how to boil water. Just a thought.

[BlueMoose]

I recently picked up Pillsbury's Fast and Healthy Cookbook....that's a good one!

[Julia1Pin]

I picked this book up at Costco on Sunday, and it's acutally pretty good. If book marked a couple of recipes to try. But I also found that at least 1/4 of their recipes weren't really recipes at all.

[tammarak]

I was wondering if anyone has purchased the CL Light & Easy Cookbook in Canada ? If so where?

[nancy_east]

A co-worker of mine has this cookbook and there is a recipe for shrimp you grill with some type of beer marinade that she just loves! Just thought I'd give you a tip on a good recipe from it!

[Lynn B]

OK, I'm a little confused!!! :confused: :confused: :confused:

I just realized that I have a CL cookbook called, "Cooking Light Light and Easy Cookbook" On the cover is a bowl of mushroom soup. It is 240 pages... and the copyright is 1997.

So am I correct in assuming that CL has released a new cookbook with the same name as a 4 year old one?

Can anyone shed some light?!

Thanks!

Lynn

[beacooker]

Are the recipes in the Light & Easy cookbook repeats from CL magazines, or are they all new?

Such a shame that cookbook didn't have a recipe for Cinnamon-Raisin Bagels with Cream Cheese, those are my favorite. What to do?? (Sarcasm. sarcasm) Thats pretty hilarious that they put that in there. Even good old Betty Crocker cookbooks don't have stuff that simple!

[BethR]

Originally posted by Lynn B
OK, I'm a little confused!!! :confused: :confused: :confused:

I just realized that I have a CL cookbook called, "Cooking Light Light and Easy Cookbook" On the cover is a bowl of mushroom soup. It is 240 pages... and the copyright is 1997.

So am I correct in assuming that CL has released a new cookbook with the same name as a 4 year old one?

Can anyone shed some light?!

Thanks!

Lynn

The new cookbook is called Cooking Light: Light and Easy Meals; 30 Minute Menus, and was just published in July. I don't know if the recipes are repeats (I don't have it yet, it's on its way from Amazon as we speak). Hope this helps.

Beth :)

[Lynn B]

Originally posted by beacooker
Are the recipes in the Light & Easy cookbook repeats from CL magazines, or are they all new?



That's a really good question! Heather, (or anyone else with the book!) does the book mention anything about this in the introduction, or etc.? What does it seem like to you?
Thanks!!!
Lynn

[Wendy w]

Hi Lynn,

I just bought the book last week and I haven't had the chance to read the introduction but I do have quite a few CL books and I believe that they are new recipes as I have not seen any duplication.

[COLOR=blue][SIZE=3] Omg, I don't know what is wrong with the posting mechanism, :o but I didn't intend for MULTIPLE posts:( :confused: :eek: sorry.

[Wendy w]

Hi Lynn,

I just bought the book last week and I haven't had the chance to read the introduction but I do have quite a few CL books and I believe that they are new recipes as I have not seen any duplication.

[Wendy w]

Hi Lynn,

I just bought the book last week and I haven't had the chance to read the introduction but I do have quite a few CL books and I believe that they are new recipes as I have not seen any duplication.

[Wendy w]

Hi Lynn!

I bought the book last week and although I haven't had time to go through the introduction, I have noticed that all of the recipes are new. I have a lot of CL books and I haven't seen them in other books.

Sorry about the double post-bb has been weird this morning.

[Lynn B]

Wendy,
Thanks for the info! I think that book is now officially on my "MUST HAVE" list!!! :)
Lynn