Top Cooking Programs for Busy People: No Time to Cook? These Shows Beg to Differ..

With the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it is easy to get into a rut when it comes to the foods you eat. While it may be convenient to have the same seven dinners every week, it will definitely bore your taste buds to death. Watching cooking shows on television is a great way to get recipes and ideas for meals that you can implement at home. However, so many cooking shows feature recipes that are complicated and too time consuming for busy people. There have been a few shows that have emerged recently that are great for quick meal ideas that don’t skimp on great taste or spectacular presentation.

1.30 Minute Meals with Rachel Ray, Food Network
Rachel Ray is the Julia Child of Generation X. While she has many shows including a new talk show style show that will be aired on a major network in the fall, 30 Minute Meals is probably the least intimidating. On the show, Rachel shows viewers how to prepare various fares from party food like her Mushroom Lover’s French Bread Pizza to elegant dinners like her Almond Crusted Chicken Cutlets with Scallion Beurre Blanc. Not a bad feat in 30 minutes or less. If you’ve never watched Rachel before, you’ll love her light-hearted attitude and her witty commentary. She’ll never leave you hungry for entertainment or dinner ideas when she’s through.

2.Take Home Chef, The Learning Channel
Take Home Chef is an innovative cooking show idea where master chef Curtis Stone wanders around the grocery store looking for someone that is preparing dinner for a loved one. He offers his culinary expertise to the unsuspecting shopper and they come up with a delightful gourmet menu to surprise their loved one. The meals are yummy and flavorful but oftentimes have reasonable prep and cook times. The look on the meal recipient’s face is usually priceless when they come into the house to find a wonderful meal, a house full of cameras, and gorgeous Stone’s Aussie accent greeting them.

2.Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee, Food Network
Sandra Lee, author of the best-selling cookbook, Semi-Homemade Cooking, brings her shortcuts and ideas to her show of the same name. The concept is simple: Ms. Lee prepares food that tastes like it was made from scratch, but uses shortcuts or some pre-made products to shorten prep or cooking times. This is definitely a breath of fresh air for fast food junkies and restaurant regulars who need ideas for preparing a meal at home once in a while. Watchers of the show will quickly discover Ms. Lee’s love for entertaining since most of the meals seem perfect for parties or get-togethers. My favorite is her Butterflied Jerk Chicken that has a wonderful sauce made from rum, pineapple, and brown sugar. It is definitely a winner with everyone at my house.

3.Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller, Food Network
Cookbook author and nutritionist Robin Miller hosts Quick Fix Meals, a show that is centered on putting out good weekdays meals for the family in a reasonable amount of time. Ms. Miller makes recipes easy to follow for people who are not well-acclimated to gourmet cooking. I record this show and copy down the shopping list Ms. Miller gives for each menu so you don’t forget all the necessary items at the store.