Several of the recipes have worked well for me - some nod to health, more to making kids happy, but does have some balance ( )

Subtitled 100 Recipes Every Mom Needs in Her Back Pocket Solutions For All The Cooking-For-Two-Kids Dilemmas That Everyone Faces Every Day (whew- that is a mouthful!), this is a well-organized book filled with solutions to moms' problems.

Every mom wants to feed her children healthy, home-cooked meals, and Workman's book can help with that often-overwhelming process. She starts with basic information, like 5 Basic Tips for Getting Your Kids to Eat More Things, and 17 Amazing Ingredients, olive oil and canned tomatoes among them.

Each chapter starts with a dilemma- Enough with the frozen chicken nuggets is one. Then Workman gives a number of solutions to the dilemma in the form of easy to make recipes. Some of the solutions include Roast Chicken Several Ways, Lemon Chicken, Barbequed Chicken, Homemade Chicken Tenders, and Taco Night.

The recipes are easy to follow, and on the right margins she includes Cooking Tips (don't be afraid of the broiler), Make Ahead (broil the chicken and make the sauce a day ahead) and What the Kids Can Do (let the kids juice the lemons, combine the ingredients for the sauce, shake it up, and pour over the chicken), all for Lemon Chicken.

Another interesting aspect of the book is what she calls A Fork in the Road Recipe. At the end of those recipes is a little box that gives you an alternative way to cook the dish. In the Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas recipe, if your kids don't like things spicy, you can cut back on the chili powder and garlic in the enchilada sauce. You can also use different baking dishes to make the enchiladas; one with enchiladas with the spicier sauce and one with the less spicy sauce.

There are so many recipes in this book that I would try, even though my kids are all grown and will eat pretty much anything. Shrimp Risotto, Fork-in-the-Road Chicken Kebabs, and Vegetable Frittata among them.

There are lots of photos, and Workman walks you through every recipe step-by-step. It's a terrific resource for those who are intimidated by cooking or think it's too difficult. (You can make nutritious meals for your family, even if you have picky eaters.) It also has appeal to the more experienced cook who is looking for easy, classic recipes. And at $16.95, it is a real bargain. ( )