If your household is anything like mine, you hear this on a daily basis. “What do you want for dinner?” says one. “I don’t know. What do you want?” says the other. We both know how to cook, we both we should cook at home. It’s just that life is busy, and it’s tiring, and some days it’s just hard to face the kitchen. But when you have a tool like Dutch Oven Dinners and a good Dutch oven (it doesn’t have to be one of the really expensive ones), then you can be on your way to a tasty homemade dinner relatively easily.

Author Janet Zimmerman is a big fan of the Dutch oven. She appreciates its versatility, its ability to take on an entire meal quickly, slowly, or to make it fancy. And she understands the difficulty of cooking dinner in real-life. Dutch Oven Dinners covers meals for a variety of circumstances with forgiving flavors and interesting ingredients.

For those days you don’t have a lot of time, there are 30-Minute Meals. From Sloppy Joes to Steamed Halibut with Spinach and Carrots, these dishes offer quick meals with lots of options. Spicy Orange Beef and Broccoli, Chicken and White Bean Chili, Pasta Nicoise, Fish Fillet Sandwiches, Thai Mixed Vegetable Curry, Pork Piccata, or Mussels in Garlic Wine Sauce offer creative options for those weeknight meals.

Low on ingredients? The chapter on Eight-Ingredient Showstoppers offers meal ideas with only a handful of ingredients, so you can still make a Fajita-Style Chicken and Rice, Pizza Chicken, Roasted Italian Sausages with Grapes, Creamy Ham and Potato Gratin, Spinach and Mushroom Fettucine, Sweet and Spicy Glazed Salmon with Box Choy, Creamy Pesto Linguine with Shrimp, or “Bacon and Eggs” with White Beans.

On-Pot Favorites includes recipes for Lasagna Soup, Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya, Creamy Chicken and Noodles, Garlic Pot Roast with Mushrooms, Chicken Paprikash with Potatoes, Moroccan Chicken and Sweet Potatoes, Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Stew, Beer-Braised Kielbasa and Vegetables, and Chili-Cheese-Tater Tot Casserole.

When you have some time on the weekend, you can go for the chapter Original Slow Cookers and try the Lamb Shanks with White Beans, Coq au Vin, Chunky Split Pea Soup, Jamaican Rice and Peas, Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo, Pork Ribs Cacciatore, or Green Posole with Chicken. Or you can go for some Everyday Decadence and make French Onion Short Ribs, Beef Stroganoff, Lobster Fra Diavolo, Crab and Asparagus Risotto, Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, or Chicken Saltimbocca. You can add some Quick Sides like Scalloped Sweet Potatoes, Herbed Rice Pilaf, Green Beans Amandine, Smoky Refried Beans, or German Potato Salad and make it a feast.

The recipes all include the total cooking time as well as the active time. Many are noted as being Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Dairy-Free, or Vegetarian. And the whole cookbook is loaded with hints and tips so you can get the most out of your Dutch oven (including important cleaning tips!), how to make meal preparation easier, what to serve the meals with, how to make the most of leftovers, and tasty substitutions you can make to a recipe to make it your own.

While Dutch Oven Dinners isn’t perfect or comprehensive, it is a great guide to help you make great dinners with ease and great taste. There are many color photos throughout, tempting cooks to try out the recipes, and lots of useful ideas for getting the most out of your Dutch oven. This would make a great gift for anyone who is living on their own, along with an inexpensive Dutch oven to get them started.

Egalleys for Dutch Oven Dinners were provided by Rockridge Press through the Callisto Media Publisher’s Club, with many thanks.