There are no excuses right now. The year is new, and if you resolved to cook at home more, you can’t disasppoint yourself just yet. Like you, I sometimes get home at night and don’t want to cook. But I remember, almost always, that dinner doesn’t have to be fancy and that there are myriad meal possibilities that use only a few ingredients and dirty just a pan or two. At those moments, I re-resolve to cook, and in order that you can share in this minor triumph, I put together 11 dinners that take almost no effort, each with a mini summary of what to do so that you don’t really have to read the instructions.
**11 of the Easiest Dinners You Can Possibly Make**
1. Za’atar Roasted Salmon with Greens. Sauté greens and garlic in some olive oil. Turn on the oven, put the salmon on the greens, bake, sprinkle za’atar if you have it and then squeeze on some lemon.
2. Chicken Sausage & Ravioli Soup. Brown sausage, onion, and garlic. Add tomatoes and chicken stock, then simmer away. Cook ravioli and spinach right in the pot. Eat.
3. Grilled Swiss & Roasted Fennel Sandwich. Roast fennel. Pile onto a sandwich with Swiss and Parmesan. Toast in a pan with melted butter.
4. Nachos. Melt cheese on top of refried beans and nachos. Garnish with guacamole and tomatoes.
5. Roasted Caponata Salad with Goat Cheese. Cut up vegetables into small pieces and roast them. Toss with chickpeas and goat cheese.
6. Coconut Curry Mussels. Cook up some aromatics. Add curry powder and coconut milk, then add mussels. When they open, dinner is done. Serve with bread.
7. Bulgur & Cauliflower Salad. Roast cauliflower. Boil water and pour over bulgur wheat. Make a salad dressing and chop lots of parsley. Put everything in a bowl.
8. Open-Faced Avocado Grilled Cheese. Melt cheese on baguettes, in a toaster oven or covered frying pan. Mash avocado with lemon and salt and spread on top of cheese. Dollop with harissa.
9. Braised Lentils with Sausage. Brown sausage. Add carrots, celery, onion, then put in garlic, lentils, red wine, and water. Simmer for a while. Melt in spinach at the end.
10. Sweet-and-Sour Tofu with Bok Choy. Cube firm tofu and toss it with flour, then fry in a little oil. Make a sauce from honey, lemon, and soy. Wilt some bok choy if you want to eat a vegetable.
11. Creamy Blue Cheese Rotini with Spinach. Sauté garlic, add cream, let simmer, dissolve in some blue cheese. Boil pasta, add spinach, combine with the sauce.
