In this half-hour live-action series, an ancient cookbook with magical recipes makes life complicated - and thrilling - for friends Kelly, Darbie, and Hannah. The overarching plot revolves around the girls' experimenting with the cookbook's powers as they try to solve a mystery involving a network of potential bad guys and gals. They're often challenged by unintended consequences of the culinary creations and then it takes logic and loyalty to overcome problems.

In "Just Add Beginnings," the girls cast a spell to protect their magical powers but soon learn remembering magic comes with a terrible trade-off: forgetting their friendship! In "Just Add Caroline," the girls investigate the whereabouts and identity of Caroline, a foe who can change appearances and may be behind the plot to make the girls forget how to use magic. And, in "Just Add Spices," most of the magical spices that give the recipes their power turn to ash and the girls must follow a mysterious map in hopes of locating more magical supplies.

In addition to the serial plotline, each episode offers a lesson related to navigating conflicts that creep up in the landscape of a young adult's world. The diverse cast of young actors does a nice job of pulling off the air of mystery required for this series to keep viewers hooked, and familiar storylines are spiced up thanks to the magical cookbook element. It all amounts to pleasant serial entertainment that dishes up sci-fantasy suspense right alongside the stories of daily tween life.