Building the Family Cookbook by Suzanne Fowler is not your typical cookbook. Although the layout is similar to most church cookbooks with a comb binding that allows it to lay flat for reading, the contents include much more than recipes. The opening pages include such Catholic topics as "A Recipe for a Happy Life," based on scripture, "The Importance of the Family", based on the words of John Paul II, the value of a family eating meals together, some advice from other moms on motherhood, practical ideas for building a Catholic family, and more.

The book then follows the Liturgical Year's feast days with Saint's feast day or other feasts and includes a short biography of the saint or a description of the feast day along with a recipe for the day. Because the book follows the Liturgical Year, there is not a recipe for every single day.

The recipes vary. One day will be a main dish. The next day is a dessert. Surprisingly, the recipes are not the typical "diet" variety. In other words, the "St. Therese Fudge Brownies" have real butter and don't skimp on sugar. That is because The Light Weigh program allows the person to eat any type of food, just limited to small quantities. You do not need to be familiar with The Light Weigh program to enjoy the recipes or benefit from the wisdom of the book. But if you would like more information about The Light Weigh program, you can contact Suzanne at the webpage listed below.

The book closes with more advice on building a happy family, sources for the feast day information and an index to the recipes. Following her practical advice, sharing these wonderful saint stories, and enjoying these delicious recipes is a sure way to achieve Suzanne's goal of making dinner time your family's favorite time.