This salmon dish is super quick, simple and delicious. I'd serve with garlic bread and green beans - fresh, not frozen.

Buy container of chopped up butternut squash. Roast in oven tossed in olive oil with cinnamon and nutmeg. Chop 1 medium onion and 3 carrots. Saute in olive oil until onions turn clear. Remove squash, add to pot. Add water or vegetable stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Puree with stick blender and serve with sunflower seeds and Greek yogurt as garnish, plus a salad.

Roasted salmon with olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper and rosemary. Small red potatoes roasted the same way. Sauteed asparagus. YOu can also add some white rice as a side - or not.

Done in 40 min.

About as easy as it gets, Chicken or Salmon with sage.

You can do any size pieces, but I usually prefer to make about 2" medallions of chicken or salmon steaks. If you are doing chicken, cut thick breasts in half so that the pieces are no thicker than about 3/4"; it makes them cook more evenly

Melt butter, brown your chicken and/or salmon in the butter until cooked to desired level. Sprinkle a dash of S&P on the meat while cooking. I like salmon to have warm brighter centers and cooked/seared outsides, but cook to desired level, browning the butter in the process. Sprinkle a chiffonade of sage (chopped) on until the sage is wilted. Halve a lemon and squeeze half over the chicken/salmon in the pan. Plate or put on serving platter with a drizzle of the browned butter. Make quarters or eighths of the remaining lemon and put on the size of the serving platter or in a dish on the table. Individuals can squeeze more lemon on if they want. If you want to be showy, when you put the pieces into the skillet, put a couple of whole sage leaves into the oil and cook until crispy and dark green, turn and cook the other side. The crispy sage leaves make nice garnishes.

Serve with grain of choice, but I find a nice wild rice pilaf (and boxed ones are pretty quick and easy to make) and a steamed green vegetable make a pretty fancy looking dinner. The whole think takes about 20 minutes from start to finish if the meat is already cut to your serving portion sizes.

I just made dinner for a friend last night.

Roasted salmon with salt, pepper and tarragon
Roasted whole baby potatoes
Roasted asparagus with grated parmesan (added last minute of cooking)

Potatoes went in the oven when she arrived. Rest went in 15 minutes before dinnertime.

Could. Not. Be. Easier.

Chicken Marbella

If you can put it together tonight, Chicken Marbella is delicious and easy. Just put it in the oven when you get home.

http://www.silverpalate.com/recipe/store-favorites/chicken-marbella

Another option:

http://www.marthastewart.com/852107/braised-chicken-potatoes-olives-and-lemon

Martha Stewart one-pan pasta. Seriously. It's changed my dinner repertoire. I add frozen shrimp to it. Serve with a simple mixed green salad and crusty bread.

http://www.marthastewart.com/978784/one-pan-pasta

Roast chicken is easy, but I wouldn't have time for it between work and kids' bedtimes - depends on what time you get home from work, I guess. You can cut the chicken in half or quarters to speed up the cooking, but then you lose the dramatic chicken carving.

My go-to for quick guest dinners is seafood - kind of special (not something that everyone eats every day), delicious and FAST.

Roast salmon - get 4-6 oz per person, individual fillets are easiest. Drizzle with EVOO, salt & pepper, garlic powder, and chopped fresh basil. Squirt a little lemon juice over it. Roast at 400 degrees 10-20 minutes depending on the size of the fillets. Serve with additional lemon wedges. Add rice and a veggie, and you're done.

Pasta with shrimp, and either an EVOO/garlic sauce or a light lemon/cream sauce. Add a bag of frozen peas to the pasta water while the pasta is boiling, cook them together. Cook the shrimp and sauce in a separate pan, then combine with the cooked pasta and peas. Serve with a salad.

And wine. Don't forget the wine.

Pot roast in a crock pot. Use a bottom round roast or rump roast, add a can of beef broth, baby red potatoes, and carrots to the crock pot. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the roast, add some crushed garlic if you want, then add a mixture of 1 tsp marjoram, 1/2 tsp thyme, and 1/4 tsp oregano. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Toss a can of biscuits or crescent rolls in the oven, and dinner is done!

(This is from my Betty Crocker cookbook, and is DH's favorite meal ever.)

Anonymous wrote:I just started making Vodka Pasta and it is simply delicious and very quick.

+1. Super easy and quick.
Also lasagna, especially if you get the noodles that don't need to be boiled first.

I just started making Vodka Pasta and it is simply delicious and very quick.

Agree with PP - most people think roast chicken is hard but it really isn't.

My DH stuffs an onion in the cavity and that also gives good flavor.

Good luck OP!

A roast chicken is about as simple as it gets. Throw in pan, top with olive oil and spices (I usually use salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, and rosemary). Stuff cavity with 1 lemon cut in half, a few peeled garlic cloves and a few sprigs of thyme if you have. Throw in oven for around 1.5 hours.
Easy sides are whole baby potatoes potatoes - put in a pan or wrap in foil with olive oil and spices, or rice, and a large leafy green salad. Add a bay leaf when doing the rice for a little flavor and chop up some parsley and chives to top with when complete. You can quickly toast some nuts and add chopped apple or strawberries to the salad.
I can whip this kind of dinner together in less than 10 minutes (most of it is hurry up and wait while the chicken is roasting) and it looks beautifuland is delicious when complete.

Another couple is coming for dinner tomorrow night and I need a plan for dinner (not takeout). What is something worthy of guests but that won't take forever and is pretty easy to throw together since I'll be rushing after work and have to put my kid to bed at some point.