15-Minute Dinner Winners: Delicious Meals That Come Together in No Time and Deliver Special Flavors

There are plenty of recipes out there that claim to offer shortcuts to making home-cooked meals. Often, these recipes are indeed delicious, but they typically involve using store-bought or precooked ingredients. In her new cookbook, What to Cook When You Don’t Feel like Cooking, author Caroline Chambers takes a slightly different approach, streamlining the methods instead.

“The ethos of What to Cook is to prepare delicious food with as little effort as possible,” explains Chambers. That means techniques like cooking noodles and veggies all in the same pot and poaching fish in its sauce to maximize flavor and minimize cleanup.

Veggie Peanut Noods

Serves 4

10 oz. (3 to 4 cups) broccoli florets
9 oz. instant ramen noodles
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
1⁄2 cup creamy peanut butter
1⁄3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. Sriracha, plus 1 to 2 tbsp. more if needed
1 tbsp. honey

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Break broccoli florets into 1″ pieces. Add broccoli, noodles and edamame to boiling water; cook 2 min. Drain, rinse and shake out excess water.

2. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, honey and 1 tbsp. water. Add more water, 1 tbsp. at a time, until you achieve a drizzle-able consistency. Taste and add more soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha and/or honey to your liking.

3. In a bowl, toss noodles and vegetables with as much peanut sauce as desired. Serve topped with desired toppings, such as sliced scallions, shredded carrots, chopped toasted peanuts or sesame seeds.

PER SERVING: 312 cal, 13g protein, 39g carbs, 5g fiber, 8g sugar, 12g fat

Lemon Harissa Chicken And Zucchini

Serves 4

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs
2 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. harissa
2 tbsp. olive oil 1 lemon
3 zucchini
3⁄4 cup labneh or plain full-fat Greek yogurt
1⁄4 cup soft herbs, such as parsley, dill or chives

1. Heat a grill to medium-high.

2. In a bowl, combine chicken, 2 tbsp. harissa, 1 tbsp. oil and 2 tsp. salt. Using a Microplane, grate in zest of lemon, then halve and squeeze in juice from one half (reserve other half).

3. Halve zucchini crosswise, then slice into planks. Add zucchini on top of chicken, drizzle with remaining oil and season with 3⁄4 tsp.salt.

4. Grill chicken and zucchini 5 to 7 min. per side, or until chicken registers 165°F and zucchini is very, very tender. Transfer to a large serving platter.

5. In a bowl, mix labneh, remaining harissa, juice of second lemon half and 1 ⁄4 tsp. salt.

6. Tear soft herbs right over top and serve with sauce.

PER SERVING: 246 cal, 22g protein, 11g carbs, 2g fiber, 6g sugar, 13g fat

Fish With Saffron Cherry Tomatoes

Serves 4

1 large shallot
1 fennel bulb
4 garlic cloves 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 pints cherry tomatoes
Pinch of saffron (about 20 threads)
4 (6- to 8-oz.) fish fillets (I like cod
or halibut)
4 pita breads

1. Thinly slice shallot and fennel. Mince garlic.

2. Melt butter in a 12″ skillet over medium. Add shallot, fennel and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 min. Halve tomatoes. Add tomatoes, saffron, 3⁄4 tsp.salt and1⁄4 tsp. pepper to skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomato juices begin to pool in the skillet, 3 to 4 min.

3. Add fish fillets, nestling them into the tomatoes. Season with a big pinch each of salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook 7 to 10 min., until fish flakes easily with a fork.

4. Heat pitas in toaster oven or under broiler for a few minutes.

5. Divide the fish and tomatoes among 4 plates and serve with the pitas alongside for scooping up the sauce.

PER SERVING: 527 cal, 49g protein, 61g carbs, 4g fiber, 3g sugar, 9g fat