Quick Dishes to Prepare When You Have Less Than an Hour to Cook

Ratatouille is a French vegetable stew. It can be prepared with vegetables you have on hand — like zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, spinach, carrots, or potatoes — then add herbs and a can or two of beans for the protein.

Instead of putting the stuffing inside the pork chop, pile it on top! This time-saving method means you can quickly sear the chops on the stovetop rather than bake them stuffed for much longer time in the oven.

Boil up some pasta (or even use leftover), then add a colorful mix of fresh vegetables, herbs, and toss it all together with olive oil and a little vinegar or your favorite dressing.

As long as you cut everything into small chunks, stir-fries cook up quickly. Chicken makes for the classic sweet and sour, but tofu or any protein will also work. Add some vegetables and top it with your favorite sauce — sweet and sour, honey garlic, teriyaki, or maybe even make it primavera.

This is a simple classic. Cut chicken breasts into thin slices, coat them with Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, garlic, top with a spoonful of tomato sauce, some grated cheese, and then bake. Cooking the chicken this way makes it lower in fat and calories than deep-fried chicken.