Easy Weekday Recipes

By Food & Wine
Updated September 04, 2017
Credit: © John Kernick
Whether you're pressed for time or want to streamline your weekday dinner prep, these flavor-packed recipes go from oven to table in no time at all. These delicious dishes include a Moroccan carrot salad with oranges and medjool dates and sea bass fillets with parsley sauce. Check out 21 of our favorites.
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Yukon Gold Potato, Leek and Fromage Blanc Frittata

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Dede Sampson prepared this frittata for the Oliveto staff when she applied for a pastry position at the restaurant. This recipe gets its extra-creamy texture from fromage blanc, an extremely soft cow's-milk cheese with a sour cream-like tang. Sampson buys hers from San Francisco's Cowgirl Creamery.

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Turkey Chili Soup with Hominy

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This recipe evolved from a soupy, thin chili F&W's Grace Parisi had been served at a recent party that was lacking in texture and flavor. Determined to strike a balance between a soup and a stew, she started with the basic recipe and added a bit of tomato paste and flour to thicken the broth, then gave it a kick of flavor with cumin, chile powder and chipotle powder.

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Spicy Sloppy Joes

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Make this easy weeknight dish using leftovers from Mom's Meat Loaf.

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Chicken in Tarragon-Mustard Cream Sauce

Credit: © Fredrika Stjärne
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Grace Parisi steals the flavors from a classic French pan sauce (mustard, tarragon, white wine and cream) for this quick chicken sauté.

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Moroccan Carrot Salad with Oranges and Medjool Dates

Credit: © Lucy Schaeffer
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This gorgeous, lightly sweet salad is terrific with roasted chicken and great for a buffet.

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Asparagus and Bok-Choy Frittata

Credit: © KAREN MORDECHAI
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When making an Italian frittata, don't limit yourself to traditional ingredients. The Asian flavors that fill this version offer a real change of pace. Cook the eggs on top of the stove or in the oven—but be sure to use moderate heat so they don't turn rubbery.

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Sea Bass Fillets with Parsley Sauce

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Bob Chambers, a private chef and former F&W staffer, created this delectable butter-fried sea bass with an easy, lemony sauce.

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Gingered Salmon with Grilled Corn and Watercress Salad

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Quinn Hatfield stuffs pickled ginger into slits in the salmon to infuse it with flavor. To keep the sliced fish intact and the ginger in place, he cleverly skewers the fillets before cooking.

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Grilled Salmon with Melted Tomatoes

Credit: © John Kernick
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Jalapeños not only garnish this sweet-smoky grilled salmon but also infuse the oil used to sauté the tomatoes.

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Veal Scallopine with Charred Cherry Tomato Salad

Credit: © Tina Rupp
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In this faster version of a steak salad, charred tomatoes add their warm, tangy juices to an arugula salad served alongside quick-grilled veal scallopine.

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Gingered Stir-Fry with Shrimp and Snow Peas

Credit: © Antonis Achilleos
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Large nonstick skillets that can create a sear are ideal for stir-fries. For this recipe, Grace Parisi creates layers of flavor with Chinese chile-garlic sauce and matchsticks of fresh ginger.

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General Tso's Chicken

Credit: © Kate Mathis
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Zach Brooks adores this sweet-spicy Chinese-American restaurant staple. The version here is lighter than take-out because the chicken is only lightly coated in cornstarch and is pan-fried rather than deep-fried.

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Tuscan Chicken Casserole

Credit: © Ian Knauer
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The flavors of Italy are tied together neatly here with garlic and rosemary inflected stock, making this weeknight meal extra-special.

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Easy Scallion Mayonnaise Baked Salmon

Credit: © Ian Knauer
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Think of this mayonnaise as a fast, refrigerator-ready version of aioli.

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Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Credit: © Ian Knauer
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Simmering the reserved chicken bones in the milk increases the chicken flavor of this casserole.

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Easy 5-Ingredient Tilapia

Credit: © Kristen Stevens
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This Asian-inspired tilapia makes a fast and delicious weeknight meal.

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Grilled Skirt Steak with Poblano-Corn Sauce and Salsa

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Corn and poblano become a tasty sauce as well as a salsa for juicy skirt steaks.

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Olive-Mint Pesto Meatballs with Fettuccine

Credit: © Deirdre Rooney
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Some cooks are surprised when Grace Parisi tells them she mixes pesto into meatballs to add flavor quickly. If you're pressed for time, good store-bought pesto works too.

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Italian-Sausage Burgers with Garlicky Spinach

Credit: © Stephanie Foley
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Using sausage in burgers is a smart shortcut, because the meat is already seasoned.

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Chicken Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Cashews

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This chicken-cashew stir-fry is a lighter take on a dish that Stéphane Vivier orders at Rin's Thai in Sonoma, California. Its Asian flavors come from a bright mix of fish sauce, oyster sauce and basil—and just a little oil.

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My Grandmother's Meatballs

Credit: © John Kernick
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Milk-and-cream-soaked breadcrumbs and an egg are the secrets to these supertender meatballs from Swedish star chef Magnus Nilsson. Serve them as he does, with lingonberry jam and mashed potatoes.

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