One should never have to resort to microwave dinners. With a little creativity and some savvy shopping, you can make a decent meal in ten minutes flat. Yes, ten minutes! It'll be a packed ten minutes with lots of prep, but you'll go from refrigerator to kitchen table in a fraction of the time it would take to order take-out. Never reach for sad microwave "lasagna" again.
Here are five great recipe ideas for a quick but flavorful meal:
Ricotta, basil, arugula and cherry tomato pasta. Make some pasta, chop some basil and arugula while it boils, and toss the pasta and greens with ricotta and cherry tomatoes. Salt and pepper generously and enjoy.
Seared steak with quick chimichurri from Martha Stewart. Follow the recipe to make the chimichurri, but to significantly cut down your prep time, make it in a blender. Sear the steaks quickly without moving them around in the pan. Rest the meat. Slice and serve.
Tostadas, from Pati's Mexican Table. These are customizable and perfect if you have some leftover chicken lying around. They can be assembled in five minutes and are super filling.
Lemon-garlic shrimp from Rasa Malaysia. To save time, buy pre-cleaned shrimp and blend the parsley, garlic, lemon juice and cayenne instead of chopping. Follow the recipe and serve with pasta, veggies or rice.
Halloumi and arugula sandwich from Amuse Your Bouche. More interesting than a grilled cheese, this sandwich is made with halloumi which is a grillable cheese. The cheese chars and gets stretchy and wonderful and is salty enough to compete with the arugula and sun-dried tomatoes.
