Lauren Allen grew up cooking and eating a variety of foods. She loved to try new dishes and the try her hand at making them. She studied journalism is college, spending time in Spain and later in Mexico. And her love of food kept growing. She got married, and her family grew bigger, with four kids. She turned her love of home cooking and turned it into a website where she shares her recipes and meal plans with her followers. And then she brought it all together into a cookbook.

Allen focuses on simple recipes. As a mother of four, she understands how families are stretched these days—stretched by tight budgets and by busy schedules. She offers tips for making things ahead and instructions if you want to freeze a dish, and also gives you substitution ideas and variations to offer more ways to use a recipe. And she even offers tips for dealing with picky eaters, like making sure they’re hungry before having them try something new, saving the best for last, and getting them involved in the cooking.

After getting home cooks up to speed on the equipment and ingredients they need, Allen jumps right into recipes for Breakfast. With classics like Belgian Waffles, Buttermilk Biscuits, and Classic French Toast, it’s hard to go wrong. There is also Healthy Granola, Overnight Oats, Easy Homemade Scones, and a Breakfast Casserole that can be put together in the evening and baked in the morning for an easy, delicious breakfast celebration.

From there, Allen goes to a chapter on Muffins and Breads. There are some healthy treats, like Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffins or Bran Muffins, Buttermilk Cornmeal, or Pumpkin Bread. And there are also ideas for baking Perfect Cinnamon Rolls, Easy Artisan Bread, and Pretzels, with ideas for dipping sauces.

Dinners includes classics like Italian Meatball Subs, Grilled Fish Tacos, Mini Meatloaves, or Slow Cooker Ribs. For more challenging flavors, there are Black Bean Burgers, Grilled Hawaiian Chicken Teriyaki Bowls, and One-Pan Jambalaya. There are even global favorites like Pad Thai and Butter Chicken.

There is a chapter on Soups, which includes classics like Beef Stew, Corn Chowder, Broccoli Cheese Soup, Chicken Noodle, of course, and a Classic Homemade Chili. And there is a chapter on Salads and Sides, like Artichoke Dip, Baked Wedge Fries, Authentic Mexican Rice, Butternut Squash Salad, Macaroni Salad, Baked Potato Salad, and Gourmet Mac and Cheese.

And for that sweet tooth, there is a chapter full of Desserts. Chocolate Brownies, Banana Bread Bars, Snickerdoodles, Apple Crisp, Peach Cobbler, Chocolate Cream Pie, Tres Leches Cake, Texas Sheet Cake, Caramel Popcorn, Fudge, and Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats, just to name a few of the treats that are included.

The Tastes Better from Scratch Cookbook has well over 100 recipes ideal for easy family cooking. And each recipe comes with extra tips, times for both prep and cooking, and a QR code that you can scan to take you to Allen’s video for that dish. There are lots of beautiful photos of each finished dish, and some recipes include photos of the cooking process.

The Tastes Better from Scratch Cookbook is a great starting place for someone with a young family, wanting to learn more about cooking at home, planning for meals, and getting picky eaters on board with family dinners. It’s a little basic for how I cook, but it would make a really great gift for a beginner cook. I do love how there are photos for every recipe. I think that’s important for new cooks, and having the extra information online will be a big help as well.

Egalleys for Tastes Better from Scratch Cookbook were provided by Greenleaf Book Group through NetGalley, with many thanks.