Bare Minimum Dinners: Recipes and Strategies for Doing Less in the Kitchen

by Jenna Helwig

Overview

Easy recipes and shortcuts to spend less time in the kitchen—with fewer ingredients, less cleanup, Instant Pot and slow cooker options, meals made in 30 minutes or less, and other smart strategies

Getting a home-cooked meal on the table every day is an admirable goal, but it shouldn't get in the way of your life! In Bare Minimum Dinners, Jenna Helwig—food director at Real Simple magazine—shares delicious, easy recipes so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying your meal…or doing whatever else you want! Chapters include: Bare Minimum Time (30 minutes or less); Bare Minimum Ingredients (7 ingredients or less, including salt and olive oil); Bare Minimum Hands-On Time (slow-cooker and Instant Pot meals); Bare Minimum Clean-Up (one-pot/sheet pan/skillet meals); and Bare Minimum Sides (super-simple vegetables, salads, and grains so you can feel good about serving healthy, well-rounded dinners). Throughout, Jenna offers helpful tips—for example, how to keep salad greens fresh and at the ready, easy substitutions, and suggested supermarket brands—as well as easy ideas for dressing up or rounding out your meal.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780594229018
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/07/2021
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	521,623
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

JENNA HELWIG is the food director at Real Simple and former food editor at Parents magazine, as well as a freelance writer, culinary instructor, and personal chef. She also founded Rosaberry, a culinary services company devoted to helping families eat better.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments viii

Introduction 1

1 Your Setup 6

2 Bare Minimum Time 25

Recipes Ready in 30 Minutes or Less

Fish Stick Tacos 27

Provini Pasta 28

Ginger-Scallion Turkey Burgers 30

Tortellini en Brodo 31

Lemony Chopped Salad with Pita 33

Tuna and White Bean Salad 34

Caesar-ish Kale Salad 35

Spicy Sloppy Joes 36

Crispy Chicken Salad 39

Good Money Flounder 40

Lamb Pita Pizzas 41

Cacio e Pepe Mac 'n' Cheese 42

Skillet Harissa Beef and Cabbage 45

Turkey Enchilada Bowls 46

Meaty Meatless Filling 48

Sweet-and-Tangy Beef and Broccoli 49

Summery Pesto Pasta 51

Scallop and Asparagus Salad 52

Cauliflower and Chickpea Tikka Masala 55

Black Bean Burgers 56

Mediterranean Tuna Sandwiches 57

Moroccan-Spiced Tacos 58

Zucchini-Herb Pancakes 61

Spring Roll and Lettuce Roil-Ups 62

Shortcut Salmon Burgers 65

3 Bare Minimum Ingredients 67

Recipes with Seven Ingredients (or Less)

Crispy Dijon Pork 68

Mushroom and Gruyère Quesadillas 69

Broccoli and Shrimp Orzo 71

Kimchi-Cabbage Cakes 72

Chicken Enchilada Casserole 75

Apple-Cheddar Dutch Baby 76

Gussied-Up Eggs on Toast 79

Miso Avocado Toast with Fried Eggs 80

Baked Rigatoni 83

Balsamic-Soy Strip Steaks 84

Dead-Simple Sausage Soup 85

Grilled Ham and Cheese 86

Pumpkin-Shiitake Ravioli 89

BBQ Pork Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries 90

Kimchi and Pineapple Fried Rice 92

Simple Tomato Soup 93

Chicken Tender Fajitas 95

Farro and Tuna Salad 96

Marinara-Poached Cod 99

Whole-Wheat Pasta with Chard and Garlic 100

Chicken Farm Burgers 103

Bacon and Corn Frittata 104

Chilaquiles 106

Teriyaki Tofu and Broccolini 107

Tahini-Coconut Noodles 109

4 Bare Minimum Cleanup 111

Dinners That Came Together in a Single Pot or Pan

Sesame-Maple Tofu Bake 112

Springy Chicken and Asparagus 113

Lemony Cod and Potatoes 115

Spiced Beans and Eggs 116

Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash 119

Saucy Simmered Eggs 120

Spiced Chicken and Rice 123

Any Onion Frittata 124

Magic White Bean and Tomato Stew 127

Skillet Pizza 128

Baked Chicken with Artichokes and Feta 131

Spinach Calzones 133

Chicken and "Dumpling" Soup 134

Chicken Tortilla Soup 135

Miso Chicken Ramen 136

Layered Ravioli Bake 138

Smoky Baked Potatoes 139

One-Pan Pierogi Supper 141

Za'atar Roast Chicken 142

Roast Pork Loin with Fennel and Apples 144

One-Pot Bacon and Zucchini Pasta 145

Chile-Lime Salmon 147

Gnocchi Sheet Pan Supper 148

Greek Chicken Salad 150

Mixed Grill 151

One-Pan Chicken Dinner 153

5 Bare Minimum Hands-On Time 157

Recipes for the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

Instant Pot Bean with Bacon Soup 158

Instant Pot Lemony Shrimp Risotto 159

Instant Pot "Pae-sotto" 161

Instant Pot Chickpea, Kale, and Sausage Stew 162

Instant Pot Smoky Beef Chili 164

Instant Pot Split-Pea Coconut Soup 165

Instant Pot Pork and Bean Burritos 167

Instant Pot Meatballs in Marinara 168

Instant Pot Turkey Chili 171

Instant Pot Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Curry 172

Instant Pot Creamy Butter Beans 175

Instant Pot Saucy Chicken 176

Slow-Cooker Big-Batch Lasagna 178

Slow-Cooker Salmon with Lemon and Dill 179

Slow-Cooker Deep-Dish Pizza 181

Slow-Cooker Beef Ragu 182

Slow-Cooker Shrimp Boil 185

Slow-Cooker Ropa Vieja 186

Slow-Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches 189

6 Bare Minimum Sides 191

Easy Add-Ons to Round Out Dinner

Any Green Leaf Salad 193

Basic Kale Salad 194

Eat-with-Everything Slaw 196

Everyday Broccoli 197

Spicy Oven Fries 198

Peels-On Cumin-Roasted Carrots 201

White Beans with Sage 202

Roasted Shredded Brussels Sprouts 205

Spicy-Sweet Roasted Brussels Sprouts 206

Cheesy Cauliflower Rice 207

Sesame-Soy Cauliflower Rice 208

All-Purpose Yogurt Dip 209

Asparagus with Garlicky Mayo 210

Peas with Walnuts and Parm 213

Fennel-Roasted Cabbage 214

Savory Fruit Salad 217

Quick Cukes 218

Caprese-ish Salad 221

Quinoa Pilaf 222

Index 225

Editorial Reviews

06/21/2021

A hassle-free guide to healthy cooking arrives from Real Simple food director Helwig (The Multi-Cooker Baby Food Cookbook), who encourages readers to do “the bare minimum, and it tastes delicious.” She addresses the issues home cooks face on weeknights and provides practical solutions—for example, instead of pre-prepping homemade sauces, she recommends good quality supermarket products, such as the Maya Kaimal brand tikka masala simmer sauce featured in her cauliflower and chickpea tikka masala. She devotes a chapter to recipes that are prepared in a single pot or baking sheet for minimal cleanup—including a skillet pizza and one-pot bacon and zucchini pasta—while showcasing dishes that require seven or fewer ingredients (including salt and pepper), such as balsamic-soy strip steaks, “a flavor bomb of beef.” Naturally, as a weeknight cookbook, there are several dishes that can be made in under 30 minutes—some notable examples include Korean sloppy joes and turkey enchilada bowls—as well as recipes for slow cookers, such as a crowd-pleasing shrimp boil. Throughout, Helwig shares suggestions for turning meat dishes into vegetarian-friendly fare, such as by swapping out chicken for cremini mushroom caps in chicken fajitas. This is a motivating volume for those who dread cooking weeknight dinners. Agent: Sharon Bowers, Folio Literary Management. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

“You know how some books promise fast, easy dinners—but there’s always some weird catch? This book REALLY, absolutely, 100% delivers on that promise. I dare you to flip through and not find at least a dozen delicious meals you can probably make with what you have on hand right this second. Packed with recipes that have crazy-short ingredient lists, fast cooking times, and creative spins, this is my kind of cookbook. I’ll bet it’s yours, too.” —Jenny Rosenstrach, best-selling author of Dinner: A Love Story and The Weekday Vegetarians   “You’re going to want Jenna as your new friend in the kitchen. In keeping with her philosophy, this book is filled with simple dinner options that are rounded out with helpful tips, suggested sides, dress it up moments, and substitutions. I learned some new tips and I think you will, too. But, most importantly, the recipes are delicious, approachable, and totally doable. I hope you love this book as much as I do. Welcome to MY kitchen, Jenna!” —Sarah Carey, editorial director of food and entertaining, Martha Stewart Living —

From the Publisher

08/01/2021

This collection by Helwig, food director at Real Simple, has an inspired premise and delightful recipes. The cookbook's four well-explored themes—30-minute meals; one-pan meals; seven-ingredient or fewer meals; and slow cooker meals (here mixed with a multicooker)—together create one masterful guide to getting dinner on the table, no matter the obstacles of the evening. The recipes are simple (sometimes only two steps), and readers who are comfortable in the kitchen will enjoy Helwig's encouragement to substitute ingredients to suit their pantry. While the recipes are written for the confident home chef, the introductory information, as well as a few personal anecdotes, seem to be geared toward novice cooks doing things like buying fresh greens for the first time. Helwig's friendly and accessible tone includes such words of wisdom as her "Nine Commandments for Bare Minimum Dinners" and "Perfectly Acceptable Store-Bought Sides," which may seem preachy, but the blog-style writing will appeal to many readers. The book doesn't offer many vegetarian or gluten-free options. VERDICT A worthwhile consideration for all libraries, but note that the book is published in paperback and might not withstand high circulation.—Catherine Field, Appomattox Regional Lib. Sys., Richmond, VA

Library Journal