Real Simple Easy, Delicious Home Cooking

Real Simple Easy, Delicious Home Cooking: 250 Recipes for Every Season and Occasion Edited by Allie Lewis Clapp, Lygeia Grace, and Candy Gianetti, Time Home Entertainment Inc., 2012. Paperback. $25; 368 pages

Interesting recipes with short ingredient lists and uncomplicated procedures—does that sound good? The book oozes the signature style of the magazine from which it's born (a magazine produced by the company behind Cooking Light). All is easy, approachable, and streamlined.

While the majority of dishes are weeknight-speedy, like 25-minute Seafood Chowder with Crispy Bread Crumbs, the book also offers a few longer-cooking offerings with little hands-on time. In the end, this is a straightforward book that busy cooks can turn to often.

GIVE THIS TO: Any cook looking for no-nonsense recipes. —Vanessa Pruett