Fall routine back in full swing? Make the busy weeknights a little easier with these simple and delicious recipes—from two recently released cookbooks—that are sure to bring everyone to the table.
One-Sheet Asian Salmon, Snap Peas, and Potatoes
Serves 6
You’ve got options with this meal. Actually, you have options with just about every meal in this book, but sheet pan dinners make it so simple to substitute ingredients. Just about anything works on a sheet pan, so let your imagination and the contents of your refrigerator be your guide. I’ve used white potatoes here, but sweet potatoes pair really well with salmon. Snap peas add a touch of green to the dish, but feel free to use green beans or Brussels sprouts or broccoli. It’s your dinner—make it your own!
1 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
Kosher salt and black pepper
¼ cup soy sauce
1 garlic clove, crushed
½ teaspoon sesame oil
12 ounces fresh or frozen sugar snap peas
6 salmon fillets
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a large baking sheet with several teaspoons of the olive oil.
2.In a large bowl, drizzle 1 tablespoon or more of the olive oil over the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat the potatoes with the oil. Spread the potatoes over one end of the prepared baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the
soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil and season with pepper.
4. In the same bowl you used for the potatoes, drizzle the snap peas with the remaining oil and season with salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
5. Pull the baking sheet from the oven and place the salmon fillets on the pan. Pour the soy sauce
mixture over the salmon. Add the snap peas to the pan as well. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the salmon flakes easily with a fork and the potatoes are tender.
NOTE: Small vegetables like green beans and snap peas can be added to the pan while still frozen. They thaw and roast quickly, making them convenient for easy dinners.
Creamy Italian-Style Chicken and Kale Soup
Serves 6 to 8
This creamy chicken soup gets an Italian spin with the seasonings and Parmesan topping. Hearty bowls filled with potatoes, chicken and kale will warm you on the coldest of days. There are a couple of ingredients that get added at the end of cooking, but this still works for a freezer recipe. Just make a note when you freeze the soup so you remember those extra ingredients.
2 bone-in chicken breasts
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
3 (15-ounce) cans chicken broth
TO SERVE
1 large bunch kale leaves, chopped
2 cups half-and-half, warmed
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1. Place the chicken breasts in a large freezer-safe bowl with a lid. Add the potatoes, onion, bell pepper, garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, salt, black pepper and broth. Cover the bowl and freeze.
2. A day or two before you plan to serve the soup, set the bowl in the refrigerator to thaw (this may take up to 48 hours, so plan ahead or defrost the soup in the microwave if you’re pressed for time). Pour the contents of the bowl into a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.
3. Carefully remove the chicken from the slow cooker and pull the meat from the bones. Return the meat to the slow cooker and discard the bones. Add the kale and half-and-half. Cook for 10 minutes more, until the soup is heated through and the kale has wilted a bit.
4. Serve in bowls, topped with the Parmesan.
Easy Apple Tart
Time: 10 minutes prep + 30 minutes Baking
Serves 4-8
½ cup caster (superfine) sugar
1¼ ounce (2 generous tablespoons) unsalted butter, cubed
Pinch of coarse sea salt
12 ounces crisp apples, about 2 (such as Cox, Pink Lady, Granny Smith or Braeburn), peeled, cored and sliced ¼ inch-thick
10½ ounces pre-rolled puff pastry, trimmed into a 9½-inch circle, ¼-inch thick
1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Heat an 8-inch
ovenproof frying pan (skillet), add the sugar and cook, shaking the pan, until golden brown.
2. Remove from the heat and add the butter and salt. Arrange the apple slices in the caramel and return to the heat for 2 minutes, spooning the caramel over. Drape the pastry over the top, pushing the excess inside with a wooden spoon.
3. Bake for 30 minutes until golden. Rest for 5 minutes, then invert.
Pear, Goat Cheese & Pistachio Tartlets
Time: 5 Minutes
Serves 4
3½ ounces (¾ cup) soft rindless goat cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons icing
(confectioner’s) sugar
8 digestive biscuits (graham crackers) or 16 petit-buerre butter biscuits (cookies)
2 small pears, cored and thinly sliced into half moons
4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon shelled pistachios, very finely chopped
1. Mash together the goat cheese
and icing sugar, then spread over the biscuits. Top with pear slices, drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with
the chopped pistachios.
(Salmon & Chicken) Excerpted from ‘EAT AT HOME TONIGHT: 101 BUSY-FAMILY RECIPES FOR YOUR SLOW COOKER, INSTAT POT®, AND MORE’. Copyright © 2018 by Tiffany King. Published by WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Photos by Alexandra Grablewski
(Apple tart & Tartlet) Excerpted with permission from ‘10 Minute Desserts’ by Anna Helm-Baxter, published by Hardie Grant Books September 2018, RRP $19.99 Paperback. Photos by Lauren Volvo
