Quick & Easy Main Dishes

Beach Shrimp

This easy baked shrimp dish will transport your taste buds to the beach no matter where you eat it. Your whole family will love the fresh flavor. Simply mix shrimp with bottled Italian dressing and garlic cloves; top with lemon halves, parsley, and butter; and bake.

• Recipe: Beach Shrimp

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Tempura Shrimp Tacos

Beer-battered shrimp and a simple Mexi-Coleslaw fill these tacos to bring an easy coastal fiesta to your dinner table. Prep the coleslaw in advance for a quick weeknight meal.

• Recipe: Tempura Shrimp Tacos

Chicken Scaloppine With Spinach and Linguine

Looking for an easy dinner-party dish? Try Chicken Scaloppine With Spinach and Linguine. For fast assembly, measure out and prep ingredients before guests arrive.

• Recipe: Chicken Scaloppine With Spinach and Linguine

Lemon-Dill Tilapia

Baking in parchment paper makes this fish light, flaky, and pretty to serve.

• Lemon-Dill Tilapia recipe

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Here’s a menu that you can put together on a hectic day, yet it is fancy enough for company. Prep, but don’t bake, the tenderloin before work in the morning, giving the seasoning time to work its delicious magic. While the tenderloin bakes, whip up the grits, and prep the ingredients for the pears. As your family clears the table, cook the pears and put the finishing touches on dessert.

• Recipes:
   Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
   Creamy Cheese Grits and Spinach
   Sautéed Brown Sugar Pears

Basic Salmon Croquettes

No buttermilk on hand? Make your own by combining 1 cup milk with 1 Tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice. The results are the same.

• Recipes: Basic Salmon Croquettes

Spaghetti With Sausage and Peppers

You can make Spaghetti With Sausage and Peppers in about 40 minutes, including prep time. Instead of chopping and blending the recipe’s vegetables into the sauce, our reader’s version showcases the vibrant colors and textures of the peppers and onions.

Round out your menu with a side of steamed broccoli or assorted salad greens served with your favorite vinaigrette. And don’t forget that big basket of warm garlic-cheese bread.

• Recipe: Spaghetti With Sausage and Peppers

Chicken-fried Steak

Saltine cracker crumbs make a simple, salty breading for this classic meat dish. Serve it with our white cream gravy.

• Recipe: Chicken-fried Steak

Shrimp-Pesto Pizza

Pizza dough from your grocery store, local wholesaler, or favorite pizza restaurant speeds up prep time for summery pizza. Sauté shrimp with onions and red bell pepper for a flavorful complement to pesto. Cut kitchen time by substituting jarred pesto and peeled shrimp.

• Recipe: Shrimp-Pesto Pizza

Mediterranean Turkey Cutlets and Pasta

Cooked quickly in a skillet, Greek-seasoned turkey cutlets are the perfect accompaniment to fettuccine with sautéed red onion, tomatoes and olives.

• Recipe: Mediterranean Turkey Cutlets and Pasta

Barbecued Pork Quesadillas

Six-ingredient Barbecued Pork Quesadillas make perfect weeknight comfort food. For an easy side: melt a few tablespoons of butter with minced garlic and a dash of chili powder in a microwave-safe bowl; pour over boiled or grilled corn on the cob.

• Recipe:  Barbecued Pork Quesadillas

Grilled Basil-and-Garlic Pork Chops

Total Time: 19 minutes

Sprinkle pork chops with a few basic seasonings and toss them on the grill for a flavorful main dish. Prepare quick-cooking rice and sautéed vegetables while the meat is on the grill.

• Recipe: Grilled Basil-and-Garlic Pork Chops

Sage-and-Pecan Pork Tenderloin Cutlets

Instead of smothering your pork cutlets with heavy gravy, try this sweet and tangy blackberry reduction sauce. Bread pork tenderloin slices in a crunchy mixture of chopped pecans, breadcrumbs and sage then sear until golden brown. The contrast of the sweet berry sauce and earthy sage is a flavor combination you will want to taste again and again.

• Recipe: Sage-and-Pecan Pork Tenderloin Cutlets

Snappy Smothered Chicken

A speedy dinner is as close as your grocery store's deli. Take advantage of this delectable dish to feed your hungry brood.

• Recipe: Snappy Smothered Chicken

Pan-Seared Trout With Italian-Style Salsa

The Italian-Style Salsa can be made a day ahead or whipped together in just 10 minutes; the fish itself needs only four minutes per batch.

• Recipe: Pan-Seared Trout With Italian-Style Salsa recipe

Hamburger Steak With Sweet Onion-Mushroom Gravy

A savory gravy dresses up these quick, skillet-cooked hamburger steaks. Eliminate prep time by keeping prepared beef patties in the freezer for up to three months.

• Recipe: Hamburger Steak With Sweet Onion-Mushroom Gravy

Almond-Crusted Tilapia

If you don't have a skillet large enough to hold all the fillets without overlapping, we recommend cooking them in batches. You can substitute catfish, flounder, or orange roughy for tilapia.

• Recipe: Almond-Crusted Tilapia recipe

Grilled Triggerfish with Potato Salad

Freshness counts with a recipe this elemental. We recommend meaty, just-caught triggerfish, but any firm-fleshed fillets will work—just adjust the cooking time depending on the thickness.

• Recipe: Grilled Triggerfish with Potato Salad

Cornmeal Cakes with Smoked Chicken and Coleslaw

Dinner will be on the table in a flash with this delicious recipe. Pick up coleslaw, smoked chicken, and sauce from your favorite barbecue joint.

• Recipe: Cornmeal Cakes with Smoked Chicken and Coleslaw

Lemon Pork Chops with Quinoa Salad

Your family will love pork chops on the bone (gives them more flavor) with a crunchy almond topping. And for perfectly fluffy quinoa simmer, drain, and let it stand, covered, to steam, then fluff!

• Recipe: Lemon Pork Chops with Quinoa Salad

Country Ham Carbonara

Hearty, not heavy, is key in this Italian dish. Serve immediately for the best flavor.

• Recipe: Country Ham Carbonara

Pan-Grilled Chicken with Fresh Plum Salsa

A mix of sweet and heat on these chicken cutlets is sure to get your family's taste buds ready for dinner. Add a side of steamed vegetables for a complete meal.

• Recipe: Pan-Grilled Chicken with Fresh Plum Salsa

Chicken Fried Rice

Instead of getting takeout, make this easy at-home version complete with scrambled eggs.

• Recipe: Chicken Fried Rice