1. Soup/Stew
2. Lasagne

I made root veggie soup (diced turnip, rutabega, carrot, celery root, onion in veggie stock) on Monday night and have been enjoying it as part of dinner since.

However, it's easy to make a quick, healthy, tasty meal if you've got the right ingredients in the house.

On Tuesday, I made flank steak with carmelized apples and shallots, with the root veggie soup on the side. Simple ingredients, done in less than half an hour:

- Season one 1lb. flank steak to your liking and set aside.
- Slice two medium shallots into thin strips.
- Do the same to one medium apple (your choice, although I recommend sweet over tart)
- Heat 1T of butter or olive oil in a skillet on medium heat, then add shallots and apple and sauté.
- Once the shallots begin to go translucent, add a pinch of salt and about 2tsp of liquid (anything from water to bourbon, as long as it's sweet) to keep it from sticking (the apples will soak up a lot of the butter/oil).
- Set aside once the apples and shallots have mostly carmelized (but not burned). Turn heat to medium high and add steak. Let sear for at least a minute, then turn over and sear the other side. Cook to desired doneness, remove steak to rest.
- Reduce heat back to medium and return shallots and apples to skillet. Add a little more liquid to help loosen fond. Once it's all hot, remove from skillet and plate.
- Slice flank steak into the desired number of portions, put it on the plate next to the apples'n'shallots, retreat to dinner table with plate and bowl of soup.

I find that spaghetti sauce with meat, onions, garlic, and herbs, with diced tomatoes, and then slow cooked, tastes better the next day.

Make it this evening, put it away, and have it tomorrow. Or, depending on how much you make, there can be several days worth.

Also, many stews are better the next day.

Finally, fill a slow cooker in the evening, cook overnight, and refrigerate in the morning. I am reluctant to slow cook while I am away at work all day.

I don't know how much this will appeal, but when I cook for myself, simple is always the answer: Add any vegetable worth sauteeing to a pan in which you have cooked some herbs in butter—say broccoli + rosemary + thyme. Eat with bread and pasta. Or brown some turkey in a pan with squashes, then add that to the pasta.

I am also a big fan of steaming frozen veggies (peas + corn are generally my choice) and just eating a big bowl of that.

Finally, learn to make a real tomato sauce. Make a lot on Sunday. You can then have it with any sort of pasta all week long. Growing up Italian, this is how a lot of my childhood went.

Stir fry is always a treat... and so fast! In fact, I'm having some right now:

Heat 1-2 tbsp. oil in wok or pan over highest heat, and throw in some peanuts (I like the ones with skins) stir around a bit, then toss in minced ginger and small strips of boneless, skinless chicken. Stir around a bit, then toss in onion strips and minced garlic. Stir around a bit, and throw in red and green pepper slices. Stir around a bit and throw in one smallish sliced zucchini and/or broccoli. Stir around a bit and add 2 tbsps. tamari, and whatever spices you feel like using. Stir around a bit more, then serve over rice or noodles.

That's my no-frills supersimple version that I'm having tonight. Just be sure to slice your vegetables before you start cooking; and if you've done it even earlier (like over the weekend, and stored them in baggies in the fridge), it seems like you've spent about zero time on it.

Make some of my very orgasmic Black Bean Soup!

Very Orgasmic Black Bean Soup

warning: may contain cilantro

The long long way is to start with a bag of dried black beans, and simmer them all the live long day. The short way (much shorter!) is to start with a large can of black beans. You will be wanting the short way, yes?

Two cans black beans
a few sprigs of fresh cilantro
one slice onion
salt
pepper
the juice from half a lime
one 16 oz can chicken (or vegetable, to make it vegan) stock
one tbsp cumin

Just puree it all together, and heat it up!

Very quick, and you can double the recipe to have some for the next night. It's really good with tortilla chips or avo slices or sour cream or a cheese on top, or with crusty bread and salad.

For the vegetable portion of the meal:
Frozen broccoli (or any frozen vegetable medley) is a godsend for me. No washing, or nothing. Just fire up the steamer, throw a couple handfuls in (maybe with some minced garlic), and 5-6 minutes later its ready. Season with salt and pepper, and eat with your favourite sauce. I tend to use oyster sauce or the chili sauce with the rooster on it.

For the starch:
I eat rice with pretty much every meal, and it takes about 2 minutes to prep. Put it in the pot, let it simnmer, cover and wait 15 minutes. No sweat.

Shrimp take no time at all to cook. I generally sautee em up with some olive oil and salt and pepper, and toss them on top of some pasta with pesto (one of those big jars of it), or eat them with rice and some premade sauce.

Oh, and big bags of frozen chicken breast and fresh pre-washed spinach are great for cooking in a hurry.

...the chili sauce with the rooster on it.

I call that "hot cock" sauce.

So does Bill Clinton.

Or was the phrase "baby gravy?"

Sorry, I don't know what I'm talking about.

Hot cock sauce = sriracha = mmmmmmmmm!

Rice cookers are god's gift to... something.

I used to use a rice cooker, but for small quantities, there's not much point. You add your rice and water, put it on high heat til it simmers, cover and reduce heat to lowest possible for 15 minutes. Simple as can be.

Beans on toast.(total prep and cooking time - 3 minutes)

- grab a can of baked beans (Heinz BB is best but is notoriously difficult to find in the US)
- open baked beans and warm in microwave (add a pinch of cayenne pepper for an extra zing)
- grab two slices of bread
- stick slices in toaster till toasted
- pour warmed baked beans on toast
- voila!
(carbs from bread, protein from beans, fats/oils from butter (if you so desire on the toast)

Next day, use the leftover beans (if there are any) with instant mashed potatoes and sausages!

(I know you said healthy....:-))

Welsh Rarebit made with a microwave is very fast:

4 English muffins, toasted; top with slices of Canadian bacon and tomato slices.

In the microwave heat up a pound of cubed cheddar, mixed with a cup of beer, a beaten egg, a bit of butter, a teaspoon or Worcestershire sauce, a bit of nice mustard, or 1/2 tsp. of mustard powder, a very little hot paprika or other red pepper. When it melts, pour over the English muffins. You can also put an egg cooked however you like on top of the muffin first, if you'd like. Have it with a green salad, and it's a tasty, comforting,, very fast and easy fall or winter meal.

This book is a goldmine of inspiration and is well worth checking out. Nigel Slater is a culinary god. All the reciepes are simple, for two people, and take no more than half an hour each (most are twenty mins or less).

I like simple, easy food. One favorite at Dodgy Mansions is just salmon and broccoli. Takes all of eight minutes to cook. If you want to get fancy you can sprinkle lemon juice over the salmon and broccoli and some olive oil on the broccoli.

But generally if you get really nice ingredients you really don't need to work too hard.

I buy those big bags of frozen skinless boneless chicken breasts so I'll always have them if I need them, and I keep canned beans and frozen vegetables around for the same reason - and I always have tortillas.

Quick chicken quesadillas (dinner chez moi last night):
Defrost a couple chicken breasts in the microwave, saute a couple peppers & half an onion & whatever else you want to add, like zucchini or something, in olive oil.
Move the veggies to a bowl.
Dice the chicken & saute it. When it's about halfway done add about 3 tbsp of taco seasoning mix & about the same amount of beer.
When it's all done toss it into the bowl with the veggies.
Wipe the frying pan out with a paper towel.
Put a tortilla down in the hot pan
Put the chicken veggie mixture down
Add about 1/4 cup of grated cheese
Put another tortilla on top. Flip.
Yum! You made yourself a damn quesadill-a.

Oh, and sometimes I make a big pot of chili one night and turn it into enchiladas the next night. Get a crock pot, too - those things are great. You can toss a roast in there in the morning or even the night before and voila, when you get home you have dinner waiting for you. This takes longer but is worth it:

Carolina Crock Pot Barbecue
Get a Boston butt pork roast.
Coat it with BBQ dry rub (I make a big jar of this about twice a year and use it for everything: for a big jar, it is: 2 tbsp kosher salt, 4 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp cumin, 2 tbsp black pepper, 2 tbsp chili powder, 4 tbsp paprika, 4 tbsp garlic powder, 2 tbsp onion powder, 2 tbsp coriander)
Put it in the crock pot with a can of frozen orange or apple juice and 12 ounces of beer.
Put the crock pot on low and leave it alone for 36 hours. Yes, 36 hours. The smell will drive you mad the 2nd day but it's all worth it.
Pull the roast out and into a bowl - it will be falling off the bone. Shred it with two forks and mix in roughly 1/2 c. vinegar, 1/4 c. honey, 1/8 c. mustard and whatever bottled barbecue sauce you like. Or worcestershire. Whatever. Salt & pepper. Just keep tasting it and you'll know. Boy, will you ever know. This stuff is mad delicious.
Serve it on white rolls with coleslaw and baked beans. You are now an honorary North Carolinian.

Rooster/hot cock sauce doesn't neccesarily = Sriracha, there are a couple of varieties. I like em all!