Delicious Meals in Minutes

Here are some recipes we found that are not just super easy and fast, they are really good. We wanted to share them so you’d have yet more tricks up your sleeve when you’re running low on time, energy, groceries, or homemaking interest. Let us know what you think, and if you’ve got a “quick meal trick” up your sleeve, please share it—we’re all in this together!

Tomato Beef
20 minutes or less

1 lb ground beef
1 (14-1/2 oz.) can Del Monte Diced Tomatoes with Green Pepper and Onion
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less, or not at all)
1 (14-1/2 oz.) can Del Monte Sliced New Potatoes, drained
Cheese topping

Brown meat and then drain. Add tomatoes and cayenne pepper to skillet. Cook 5 to 8 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring often. Stir in potatoes, heat through. Top with cheese. Courtesy: The Gluten Free Club.

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Tilaapia and Yellow Squash
10 minutes or less to prepare; 10 minutes to cook

This super easy and delicious five ingredient microwave entree recipe is ready in minutes. You can make it with any mild, thin fish fillets, including red snapper and orange roughy.

1 lb. tilapia or other mild fish fillets, in 4 serving pieces
1/2 cup chili sauce
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 small yellow summer squash, sliced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Place fish fillets in microwave safe pie plate, with thickest parts to outside edge. Cover with microwave-safe plastic wrap, venting one corner, and microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes. Drain well.
Spread 2 Tbsp. chili sauce over each fillet and place tomato and summer squash slices over sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover again with microwave safe plastic wrap and microwave on HIGH for 3-4 minutes until fish flakes easily when tested with fork and squash is tender. 4 servings. Courtesy: Linda Larsen of About.com.

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Black Bean-Smothered Sweet Potatoes
20 minutes or less

For a quick and satisfying last-minute supper, it’s hard to beat a sweet potato zapped in the microwave. The fragrant filling of beans and tomato adds protein, making it a nutritionally complete entree. Be sure to eat the potato skin; it’s full of fiber. (Serves 2)

2 medium sweet potatoes
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
1 medium tomato, diced
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Prick sweet potatoes with a fork in several places. Microwave on High until tender all the way to the center, 12 to 15 minutes. (Alternatively, place in a baking dish and bake at 425ºF until tender all the way to the center, about 1 hour.) Meanwhile, combine beans, tomato, oil, cumin, coriander and salt in a medium microwave-safe bowl; microwave on High until just heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. (Alternatively, heat in a small saucepan over medium heat.) When just cool enough to handle, slash each sweet potato lengthwise, press open to make a well in the center and spoon the bean mixture into the well. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro. Courtesy: Eating Well.

Nutrition Information: Per serving: 351 calories; 7 g fat (2 g sat, 4 g mono); 6 mg cholesterol; 61 g carbohydrate; 11 g protein; 12 g fiber; 468 mg sodium; 541 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (450% daily value), Vitamin C (45% dv), Iron (15% dv).
3 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 3 1/2 starch, 1/2 vegetable, 1 very lean meat, 1 fat

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Tuna Pan Bagna
20 minutes or less

This Provençal-style sandwich literally means "bathed bread." Though you can eat them immediately after preparation, refrigerating the sandwiches for several hours lets the bread soak up all of the juicy goodness of the ingredients. (Serves 4)

1 16-inch-long loaf French bread
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 6-ounce can chunk light tuna, packed in olive oil, drained, rinsed and squeezed dry, or packed in water, squeezed dry (see Note)
1 large vine-ripened tomato, seeded and chopped (see Note)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 scallions, trimmed and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped pitted black olives, preferably Kalamata
1 1/2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Cut bread in half lengthwise. Scoop out crumbs from both halves, leaving 1/2-inch-thick shells.
Process the crumbs in a food processor or blender until finely chopped; set aside. Whisk together lemon juice, oil and garlic in a large bowl. Stir in the reserved breadcrumbs, tuna, tomatoes, bell peppers, scallions, olives, capers and thyme; mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the breadcrumb mixture into the bottom bread shell and replace the top. Cut crosswise to serve. Courtesy: Eating Well.

Nutrition Information: Per serving: 307 calories; 6 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono); 13 mg cholesterol; 49 g carbohydrate; 23 g protein; 9 g fiber; 675 mg sodium; 317 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (88% daily value), Selenium (49% dv), Vitamin A (29% dv).
2 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 medium-fat meat, 1 fat

Notes: Canned white tuna comes from the large albacore and can be high in mercury content. Chunk light tuna, on the other hand, which comes from smaller fish—skipjack or yellowfin—is best for health-conscious eaters. According to a recent study, canned white tuna samples averaged about 315 percent more mercury than chunk light tuna samples. (The chunk light tunas averaged 0.132 parts per million mercury content, while the white [albacore] tunas averaged 0.412 ppm.)

To quickly seed a tomato: Cut the tomato in half crosswise and scoop out the seeds with your finger while gently squeezing each half.

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