From It's June -- time for graduations, garden parties, or just some serious lazing around. It's definitely not a good time to be cooped up in the kitchen, so these recipes from Taste of Home, the magazine created by busy home cooks, get delicious dinners on the table fast. Each uses no more than five ingredients and requires your attention for 25 minutes or less. You'll find no fuss -- yet lots of flavor -- in dishes like picante pork chops, spicy scallops, and hearty manicotti. What's more, these simple recipes let you downsize your shopping lists, leaving you more money to spend on summer pleasures.
5 Speedy Substitutions
Quickie versions of old favorites save time and effort.
- Ready-bake pasta
Lasagna is easy when you use a no-boil pasta (the noodles soften as they bake). - Dressed-up tomato sauce
Adding herbs to jarred sauce makes it taste more like your own, but for a bigger flavor boost, use a splash of red wine. - Rotisserie chicken
Chop it for chicken salad, shred it for burritos, or squeeze some lemon juice over it and pretend you roasted it yourself. - Couscous
Rice can take up to 30 minutes; this grain is ready five minutes after the water boils. - Marinated meat from your grocer
Ready for the oven, these cuts often cost little more than if you'd prepared them at home.
Recipes to Try
- Pecan-Crusted Catfish
- Sausage Manicotti
- Southwestern Scallops
- Orange Picante Pork Chops
- See 10 more 5-ingredient meals