Don’t feel challenged by having to get dinner on the table fast. Turn to one of these quick and easy meals with only five ingredients—all guaranteed to please. Toss together a simple lettuce salad, add crusty bread or rolls and a purchased dessert and dinner is served!
Teriyaki-glazed salmon and roasted asparagus
Two of your healthy favorites pair up to bring an elegant flair to weeknight dinner.
Photo by Gina Moore
TERIYAKI-GLAZED SALMON AND ROASTED ASPARAGUS
SERVES 4
4 salmon fillets
All-purpose seasoning (your favorite)
¼ cup teriyaki sauce
1 pound asparagus spears (12–15), trimmed
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 F. Sprinkle salmon on both sides with seasoning mix and place in a resealable plastic bag. Pour in teriyaki sauce. Close tightly and rotate bag to ensure all sides of salmon are saturated. Place bag on a platter and refrigerate for 30–45 minutes.
On a foil-lined baking sheet, season asparagus with seasoning mix and sprinkle with olive oil. Toss lightly to coat evenly. Bake for 20–25 minutes.
While asparagus is baking, remove salmon from refrigerator, pour off marinade and place salmon on another foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until flaky, about 10 minutes.
Cooking tips
Don’t overcook salmon. As a general rule of thumb, bake salmon 10 minutes for every 1 inch of thickness. This applies to the average salmon fillets sold in supermarkets.
Trimming asparagus spears. Bend an asparagus spear with both hands until it breaks. Line the rest of the spears into an even row across the top tips. Using the thick bottom of the broken spear as a guide, cut off the bottoms of the remaining spears to the same length.
Linguine and meatballs
Linguine and meatballs
With frozen meatballs and a jar of your favorite pasta sauce, you can dig into this classic dish in record time. Mangia!
Photo by Karen Hermann
SERVES 4
1-pound package linguine noodles
25 frozen beef meatballs
1 jar pasta sauce (your favorite)
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil or oregano
Grated parmesan cheese
In a large Dutch oven or saucepan, cook linguine according to instructions. Drain and keep warm. If necessary, sprinkle with a few drops of oil to prevent noodles from sticking together. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, add meatballs and sauce, and cook slowly until meatballs are thoroughly defrosted and sauce is bubbly. Stir in herbs (reserve a bit for the topping) and keep warm on low heat.
Divide noodles among plates or bowls and top with sauce and meatballs. Sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese and additional fresh herbs.
Pork chops with sauteed spinach and mushrooms
Pork chops with sauteed spinach and mushrooms
Plain old pork chops come to life with a little seasoning and a side of sauteed spinach.
Photo by Gwénaël Le Vot
SERVES 4
4 bone-in pork chops, 1-inch thick, rinsed and patted dry
All-purpose seasoning (your favorite)
Garlic olive oil
1 pound fresh spinach
1 pint sliced mushrooms
Place pork chops on a large platter or foil-lined sheet pan. Sprinkle both sides with seasoning and olive oil. Let rest 30 minutes. In a stovetop grill pan over medium heat, grill chops on both sides for 8–10 minutes until cooked through (145 F on an instant-read thermometer) and sear marks appear. If pork chops are thicker, finish in a 400 F oven for 10–15 minutes until desired temperature is reached. Slide grill pan from heat and cover chops with foil.
In a large saute pan over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Saute mushrooms for 3–4 minutes. Add spinach and continue sauteing until tender. Sprinkle with seasoning and toss lightly. To serve, place spinach-mushroom mixture on serving plates and add pork chops on top.
Flank steak pinwheels
Flank steak pinwheels
It’s quick, easy and delicious—and your family will think you went to a lot of trouble to make it. Don’t worry, we won’t tell.
Photo by Gina Moore
SERVES 4–6
1 flank steak, 2–3 pounds, butterflied
Steak seasoning (your favorite)
1 to 1½ cups olive salad, drained
8 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
Garlic olive oil
On a cutting board, use a fillet/boning knife to butterfly (slice open like a book) the flank steak just to within ½ inch of the side seam (or have the butcher do this for you). With a meat mallet, gently pound along the seam to flatten.
Sprinkle seasoning mix on the inside (cut side) and spread the olive salad to within ½ inch of the edges. Follow with overlapping slices of cheese. Roll filled meat—along the grain—into a burrito shape. Secure with loops of kitchen twine every 2 inches along the length of the roll. Sprinkle seasoning on the outside and drizzle with olive oil.
If cooking outdoors, grill over direct medium-high heat, 10–12 minutes on all sides, until internal temperature is 145 F for medium-rare or 155 F for medium. Let rest 15 minutes and cut between twine loops into 2-inch slices to serve.
If cooking indoors, use a stovetop grill pan or cast-iron skillet. Brown the meat on all sides and finish in oven for 25–35 minutes to desired internal temperature of 145 F for medium-rare or 155 F for medium. Let rest 15 minutes and cut between twine loops into 2-inch slices.
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Related Story
One-pan dinner—If you love to cook but hate doing dishes, try Chef Belinda Smith-Sullivan’s convenient one-pan approach for a delicious chicken dinner that requires almost no cleanup. See how it’s done in her latest how-to video.
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BELINDA SMITH-SULLIVAN is a chef and food writer who lives in Trenton, where she is a member of Aiken Electric Cooperative. She has a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University and is certified in wine studies from the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, Calif. Her articles have been published in several regional magazines and in her blog, “The Flying Foodie.”