Back to the Manic Mondays, and Tuesdays, and Wednesdays...

I knew the end of winter break was coming. Dreading the epic morning battles to get out of the house in time for school and work. A wiser mom might have maintained a more regular sleep schedule for the kids during the two weeks off, but no, I let them sleep in til 8 or 9 and stay up past their bedtimes too. Needless to say, Monday was a nightmare. I had to resort to dragging my daughter by the ankles out of bed while alternately cajoling and comforting my cranky 3-year-old son who told me, "Don't bother me, go to work, mommy."

But even more than the mornings... I was dreading the how-does-a-working-mom-make-dinner-for-her-family-in-between-dance-and-tennis dilemma that many of us face every weeknight. I scored Monday night with an easy chicken pot pie recipe. Ready made pie crusts, cream of chicken soup, milk, frozen veggies and chicken... and voila! Almost as good as Marie Callender's!

And just like that, I was out of ideas. There are only so many times we can eat spaghetti and tacos. Enter the late Mr. Food. Regardless of what you thought of his slightly creepy "OOH, it's so good!" tagline, the man was a genius at cooking shortcuts. Some of you my turn up your noses at some of his recipes, but even this wannabe foodie ain't too proud to beg.

The folks at Mr. Food's Test Kitchen are offering his Easy Weeknight Dinners: 20 Recipes for the Busy Cook cookbook for free. They've got plenty of simple dinner recipes that'll get you through your hectic schedule. Plus, they say it's a triple-tested guarantee, so you can be sure that all of the recipes included in this free eCookbook are going to turn out right the very first time you make it.

So here you go busy readers! I haven't tried any yet, but let me know if you do and I'll do the same!