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• Byrn, Anne

Making excellent use of the Crock-pot and other labor-saving appliances, incorporating hundreds of shortcuts and tips, and cooking from a pantry of prepared foods--whether canned, frozen, jarred, dried, or fresh from the salad bar--the Dinner Doctor shows how to make over 200 fast and kid-friendly appetizers, salads, soups, sides, and main course.

Take, for example, a can of tuna, and think outside the sandwich: Add beans, tomato, and a vinaigrette, and it becomes a Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad. Turn that healthy mixture into a pasta salad with the addition of cooked penne. And make a speedy pasta supper by tossing the salad with sauteed zucchini and a generous shower of shredded Parmesan. Or, whip up a tuna Noodle Casserole like mom used to make--but faster and healthier--by lightening the traditional cream of mushroom soup with lemon juice and lowfat milk and using precooked pasta and frozen peas.

There are dozens of ways to doctor deli-counter basics into stunning hors d'oeuvres. Five quick casserole toppers. Five zippy garlic breads and 30 ways to dress up frozen peas frozen spinach. And the 15s--15 cold pasta sauces, 15 ways to doctor deli chicken, 15 meals made from summer tomatoes, and more.