Quick Dinner Recipes for a Family
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Easy Recipes for a Family of 2 or 4
Feed your family one of these easy dinner recipes for 4 instead. Most of them serve 4, but you can cut them in half for 2, or save the rest and reheat the next day (then you get dinner in 2 minutes).
There are quick salmon recipes, quick chicken breast recipes, even a quick soup recipe. They're simple and most take about 15 minutes to cook. Cut up some fruit, make a quick salad, grab some bread, and you've got dinner!
photo from click
Contents at a Glance
- Simple Chicken Dinner Recipes for 4
- Fast and Easy Chicken Curry
- Chicken with Crimini Mushroom Sauce
- Chicken Breasts with Broccoli and Mushro...
- Cookbooks with Quick and Simple Dinner R...
- Easy Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
- Easy Italian Soup Recipe for 4
- Quick Salmon and Fish Dinners for 2 or 4
- Salmon with Yogurt and Dill Sauce
Simple Chicken Dinner Recipes for 4
Fast and Easy Chicken Curry
- Serves: 4
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 1 medium onion peeled and sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1 pound boneless chicken breasts or chicken thighs
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
Add oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook for 1 minute. Then add the onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
Reduce heat to medium, and sprinkle with half the curry powder, cook another minute or two.
Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper and season it with the rest of the curry powder. Slide the onions to the side of the pan, away from direct heat. Add the chicken and cook a few seconds per side. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and cook for 5 minutes.
Turn heat to very low and wait a minute. This allows the pan to cool so the yogurt doesn't curdle. Add the yogurt to the onions and stir over low heat, until hot.
(Adapted from a recipe from The New York Times - I think!)
Chicken with Crimini Mushroom Sauce
Criminis are also called baby bella mushrooms
- Serves: 4
I invented this the other night from things I had lying around. It was delicious. I should have taken a picture, but I couldn't wait to eat it.
Ingredients
- I cut-up chicken - about 3 1/2 pounds - or use chicken breasts or thighs
- salt and pepper
- 3 T olive oil
- 2T flour
- 1/3 C chopped onion
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 3/4 lb. sliced mushrooms
- 1 C chicken broth
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 C sherry or apricot brandy
Instructions
Season the season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in large skillet and cook chicken. Turn it occasionally, but don't let it brown. Cook about 5 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, and mushrooms.
Sprinkle with flour, and stir it around so it is evenly distributed. Add the chicken broth, nutmeg, and sherry.
Cover and cook 15-20 minutes. Remove the chicken to a platter, and cook the sauce for another few minutes, so it thickens. Spoon the sauce over the chicken.
(I made this with boiled rice and some spinach, which I sauted with olive oil and lemon pepper.)
Chicken Breasts with Broccoli and Mushrooms
- Serves: 4
- Prep Time: 10
- Total Time: 15
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts (or thighs)
- 1 egg (beaten)
- Flour for dredging
- Salt/pepper to taste
- 1 tsp. dried tarragon
- 1/2 tsp. mustard powder
- 1/3 C olive oil
- 1/2 bag frozen broccoli
- 1/2 bag frozen broccoli
- 1/2 lb. portobello mushrooms
- 1/4 C chicken broth
Instructions
Season flour with tarragon, mustard, salt and pepper.
Dip chicken in beaten egg, then in flour mixture.
Cut the chicken into thin strips, about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide.
Heat oil in heavy skillet. Add the mushrooms and cook a minute or two. Add the broccoli, then the chicken broth, and the chicken. Cook stirring about 1-2 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
Cookbooks with Quick and Simple Dinner Recipe Ideas
Cook dinner in under 30 minutes
So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week
Amazon Price: $9.48 (as of 05/30/2012)
Easy dishes that anyone can make. She's got options for fast (or slow, when you feel like it). Includes 30 days of rush-hour dinner ideas, like garlic basil shrimp, chipotle orange glazed pork chops, and steak chimichurri with grilled garlic bread.
Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express: 404 inspired seasonal dishes you can make in 20 minutes or less
Amazon Price: $7.03 (as of 05/31/2012)
Mark Bittman is the king of quick and easy cooking. Many of the recipes don't even require measuring. The book is divided by seasons; 101 dishes for each one. He's got Latin, Creole, Caribbean and Asian flavors, including pasta jambalaya, Korean barbecued beef, and white bean stew.
Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking
Amazon Price: $10.04 (as of 05/30/2012)
I love Indian food, but it's a little intimidating, because it's not as familiar to me as a home cook. These recipes make it easy to cook chicken kebabs, shrimp with garlic and chiles, deep-friend puffy breads, and fish fillets in curry sauce. Most of the recipes take less than 30 minutes to prepare. One reviewer said, "I wanted to marry the hard-cooked eggs masala."
The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh
Amazon Price: $9.29 (as of 05/30/2012)
The name pretty much says it all. It's got over 1,000 recipes made with ingredients that are easy to find. This book uses everyday ingredients, tells you what's in season, and organizes the recipes by both types of foods and meals. Great if you've got some fish and don't know what to do with it.
French Cooking in Ten Minutes: Adapting to the Rhythm of Modern Life (1930)
Amazon Price: $2.00 (as of 05/31/2012)
Before Rachel Ray, there was Eduard de Pomaine. This cookbook shows you how to make veal, beef, fish, desserts, and even soups in only a few minutes. And, it's funny and well-written. Yes, it was written long ago, but the translators have kindly included instructions on updating it for the modern kitchen (if it took 10 minutes chopping by hand, imagine what you can do with a mini-chopper and a Cuisinart!)
Easy Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
Easy Italian Soup Recipe for 4
- Serves: 4
- Prep Time: 5 minutes (unless you make your own meatballs)
- Total Time: 20-25 minutes
I'm not Italian, so don't hit me if this isn't authentic. It is, however, quick, easy, and good. Just dump, pour, and heat and you've got a fast, easy soup.
Ingredients
- 6 C chicken broth
- 1/2 bag frozen meatballs (try Trader Joe's mini meatballs)
- 8 oz. canned white beans (optional)
- 1/2 lb. spinach
- 1 T parmesan cheese
Instructions
Add broth to saucepan and bring to a boil. Add meatballs (straight from the bag), the beans (if using), and the spinach. Lower heat and simmer about 8-10 minutes, until meatballs are heated through. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Quick Salmon and Fish Dinners for 2 or 4
Salmon with Yogurt and Dill Sauce
IngredientsSauce
- 1/4C yogurt
- 1/4C mayo
- 1 small cucumber (finely chopped)
- 1 small onion (finely chopped)
- 1/8 tsp dry mustard
- 1/4C dill
- salt and pepper
Salmon
- 2 salmon steaks
- 1/4 C white wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 T dill
Instructions
Make the sauce first. While it's sitting, make the salmon.
Place the salmon on a microwave proof plate. Add the wine, bay leaf, and dill. Microwave 4-6 minutes. Or, wrap the whole thing in foil, and cook in a conventional oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees (F). Serve with the sauce.
Trout with Sage and Almonds
- Serves: 4
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 C flour
- 1/4 cup toasted almonds
- 3T dried sage
- 1 tsp salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 4 brook trout (cleaned with heads and tails intact)
- 6T canola or olive oil
Instructions
Grind the almonds in a mini-chopper. Place the ground almonds in a bowl, then add the flour, sage, salt, pepper, and mix thoroughly. Pour the mixture onto a flat serving dish or large plate. Coat the fish on both sides. Season the inside of the fish with salt and pepper to taste.
Heat the oil in two large skillets. Put two of the fish in each skillet. Cook, over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes per side. The fish should be golden brown when done.
Salmon with Lemon Caper Sauce and Asparagus
IngredientsSauce
- 2T fresh lemon juice
- 1/4C mayo
- 2T minced red onion
- 1 T olive oil
- 1T drained capers
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
- salt and pepper
Salmon
- 1 1/2 lb skinless salmon fillet
- IT olive oil
- 1 lb. asparagus, trimmed
Instructions
Whisk sauce ingredients together in small bowl.
Preheat the oven to 450F (232C). Make several shallow slits in the salmon left to right (about half an inch/1.25 cm deep or so). Then make three more right to left (to make a criss-cross effect).
Arrange the asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzle it with the olive oil, plus salt and pepper. Then place the salmon carefully over the vegetables. Roast until it's done. This should take about 20 minutes, depending on how thick the salmon is. Check it and cook a bit more if needed (it should be pale pink throughout).
Transfer to a serving dish, and spoon the sauce over the fish.
Quick Ham Dinner for 2
Ham with Apples
Great recipe for leftover ham
- Serves: 2
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
This one is a bit more advanced - you have to be able to cook "by eye."
Ingredients
- butter
- apples
- nutmeg
- brown sugar
- cloves
- apple juice (or cider or calvados or a combination)
- ham
Instructions
Saute sliced apples in butter. Add nutmeg, brown sugar, cloves, juice (or cider or calvados)
Add slices of ham. Cook until heated through. Add flour if necessary to thicken sauce.
Cook Quickly with a Great Frying Pan
Quick Pasta Recipes for 4
Pesto with Pistachios and Broccoli
Another "by eye" recipe
A twist on an old standard. I 'stole' this idea from a Spenser novel.
Ingredients
- garlic
- parsley
- basil
- salt
- olive oil
- shelled pistachios
- pasta
Instructions
Blend ingredients until smooth.
Make pasta.
Cook broccoli.
Blend everything together.
You can also use this pesto (or regular pesto) over chicken or fish.
Singapore Noodles
- Serves: 4
- Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
- Total Time: 15-25 minutes
This is a great dish for "cleaning out the fridge." If you use frozen veggies, you can have the whole thing put together in 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- ½ lb. thin rice noodles (or use vermicelli)
- 3 T vegetable or canola oil
- 2 slices fresh ginger
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 chicken breast (or leftover cooked chicken)
- shredded OR leftover roast pork OR raw shrimp OR some combination of all three
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- ¼ lb snow peas
- ½ green bell pepper
- 2 scallions cut into 1/2 inch lengths
- 1 -2 T curry powder
- 1 t sugar
- 2 T soy sauce
- 4 T chicken stock
Instructions
If you don't have all the veggies, try a blend of frozen Chinese veggies instead, such as Trader Joe's stir fry, or harvest hodgepodge. Seapoint Farms Oriental Blend is also good. Or, mix and match. Add Chinese mushrooms, broccoli, whatever you have around.
Bring pot of water to a boil. Add noodles, using chopsticks to stir. After about 30 seconds, drain noodles into a colander. Cover and let cool.
Preheat large pan or wok. Add the oil and ginger. Stir fry about 1 minute. Toss in onions, snow peas, mushrooms (if using), bell pepper and scallions. Stir fry 1-2 minutes. Push vegetables to the side of the pan. Add curry powder and sauté for 10 seconds. Then add sugar, soy sauce, and chicken stock. Mix together, using chopsticks. (If using raw chicken or shrimp, add it here).
Add noodles, and combine with vegetable mixture, using chopsticks to separate the noodles and mix the ingredients together. Add more chicken stock if noodles get too dry. Add cooked chicken (or pork or shrimp) to mixture and cook until heated through. Adjust seasoning as needed.
The Perfect Wok for Stir-Frying
16 inch Carbon Steel Wok w/ 2 Wood Handles (round bottom)USA made
Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 05/30/2012)
Carbon-steel means it will last. It's got two wooden handles so it's easy to pick up and move. The large size means you can cook lots of food at once (without splattering). Made in the USA.
More Quick Recipe Ideas
- 101 Meals in 10 Minutes
- Get in and out of the kitchen quickly with tasty food that's easy to prepare. Add some bread, maybe some wine, and you're done. Note that these are (as the author notes), not "formal recipes, but outlines." Follow along, adapt, or mix and match as it suits you.
- Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way
- Start with a French chef and you know the food will be good. His version of fast food has no Big Macs in sight. Instead, you'll get sweet potato chowder, oven baked salmon with sun-dried tomato and salsa mayonnaise.
- 101 Picnic Dishes in 20 Minutes
- It's a little cold for picnics (though I saw some people picnicking on the Brooklyn Bridge the other day), but here are 101 recipes you can make quickly. Less time in the kitchen, more time in the park!
- 15 Minute Meals from Allrecipes
- Get dinner in a hurry with recipes for tilapia parmesan, Asian beef with snow peas, and a yummy Vietnamese sandwich (among others).
- Quick Dinners from Allrecipes
- Try pizza with pesto and chicken instead of tomato sauce. Or, how about chicken tortilla soup?
- Greek Syle Fish
- This has become one of my favorites this summer. It's tasty (and quick) when it's hot and I don't feel like cooking. Use greenmarket tomatoes (if you can get them).
- Newman's Own 30 MInute Meals
- Easy chicken, seafood, fish, and pasta meals in minutes: gyro steak salad, fiesta pizza, Joanne's cioppino (fish stew), and potato and chorizo frittata,
Chicken curry: toofarnorth
Italian wedding soup: Stu Spivak)
Salmon with yogurt dill sauce: poppacket)
Singapore noodles: Charles Haynes
Lemons: katerha
Almonds: melintur
Mushrooms: buklava
Broccoli:jacoulter
Chef's hat: public domain
Pasta Pesto: Ilovemypit
Got a quick recipe? Got a comment? Share them here.
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Tipi
Feb 28, 2012 @ 12:57 pm | delete
- I like quick dinner recipes and you have some good ones. I like dinners that take hours to prepare for the family when they come to eat. Quick, easy, healthy and yummy works best for me.
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Susan52
Nov 24, 2011 @ 6:35 pm | delete
- Wow, lots of work went into this page. Interesting recipes, too, some of which I really need to try. Yum!
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TravelingRae
Oct 8, 2011 @ 10:44 pm | delete
- Love these ideas! I'd like to try your pesto and pistachio pasta and also your ham with apples. A standby in my kitchen is salmon or trout with potatoes. Take a thick piece of fish and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning. Chop a small potato into small cubes, toss with olive oil and garlic salt. Cook together in the same dish (fish skin side down) in the oven for about 20 minutes, stirring the potatoes halfway through. I like my fish on the dry side, so for me the potatoes take the same amount of time as the fish, but you may want to take the fish out first. While the fish and taters are cooking, toss together a salad and some vinaigrette (I like to mix equal amounts of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, honey mustard to taste, and fresh ground black pepper).
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aesta1
Sep 10, 2011 @ 8:45 pm | delete
- Now that we have a diabetic in the family, we are learning to cook to remedy this so we are more careful in choosing what to cook. The chicken and broccoli is a winner and of course, the fish.
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WorkitSmart
Sep 6, 2011 @ 7:59 am | delete
- Since you asked! My two favorites:
1) Anything in the crockpot. It's not a quickie but you throw it all together in the morning, and the mmmm, yummy fragrance of cooking greets you when you come home that evening.
2) Grilled (in a pan) fish. Seafood has to be the best 'fast food' ever. My preference is salmon. I put the salmon on one side, and asparagus or green beans on the other. Get some rice or pasta going and you're set.
dee :)
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by Jodi_k
These recipes are quick and easy and great for those times when you don't want to spend a lot of time cooking.
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