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While the steak is simmering, prepare instant brown rice to serve with the sweet and spicy sauce. Round out the meal with tossed salad or your favorite green vegetable.

Cubes of beef are browned and simmered with colorful vegetables and thin noodles in this tasty, soupy Asian stew.

Buy marinated chicken fajita meat at the grocery store, choosing the one with the lowest sodium, or marinate chicken tenders in a low-sodium fajita marinade. You can even use leftover cooked chicken or lean beef. Warm it with the pasta and sauce.

This recipe boasts a Japanese marinade and a slightly sweet glaze. Like many other Asian stir-fries, it goes well over steamed brown rice.

An almost-effortless dish, this stew requires no peeling and little or no cutting!

Here’s the recipe to turn to when you want to spend your time with your family or friends, not in the kitchen. Just refrigerate lean flank steak in a lively orange marinade for up to 48 hours, then quickly grill indoors or out.

This steak is ideal for entertaining outdoors, and you get a bonus— enough meat to make another meal, such as Beef and Caramelized Onion on Hot French Bread (page 202).

Transform leftover cooked chicken into a dish that will delight the senses with color, texture, aroma, and flavor. Lemongrass, Thai red curry paste, and coconut (our heart-healthy recipe uses coconut extract) are the popular Thai ingredients that do the trick.

This simple dish is as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the palate. Savor it as is or over whole-grain toast or rice.

Although this dish is delicious if served immediately, the chicken and noodles absorb even more flavors if the mixture has time to stand for a while.

A quick sauce of beef broth, balsamic vinegar, and caramelized brown bits left from cooking the tenderloin tops a stack of baby greens, garlic toast, and sliced beef—an elegant presentation.

A taste of Italy, this tender roast gets a robust herb rub, then is left to bake or cook in the slow cooker. Among the recipes we’ve included for using the planned-over portion are Thai Beef Salad (page 91), Beef Salad with Vinaigrette or Horseradish Dressing (page 92), and Blue Cheese Beef and Fries (page 201).

Turn ordinary chicken and cauliflower into a flavor sensation with curry powder and tangy yogurt. Serve over couscous, noodles, or rice.

Known as a festive, regal dish in India and Pakistan, biryani is packed with flavor. Don’t be scared off by the long list of ingredients. The dish really is quick and easy to prepare.

This comforting steak casserole is slightly sweet and savory at the same time.

For a delicious Italian dinner, serve this flavorful combination of portobello mushrooms, bell peppers, and plum tomatoes with brown rice or on your favorite whole-grain pasta.

Nothing brings out the flavor of fresh asparagus better than lemon. Here the two combine with whole-grain bow-tie pasta, mushrooms, and chicken chunks for a delightful one-dish meal.

This basic stir-fry recipe gives you many options. You can choose between the Asian and Italian flavorings (see Italian Stir-Fry on page 147), and you can vary the meat by replacing the chicken with round steak, pork chops or tenderloin, firm-fleshed fish, bay scallops, or tofu. Save even more time by using precut vegetables or frozen mixed vegetables (no need to thaw before cooking). Even if you make only half this recipe, you’ll probably want to make the entire amount of sauce.

This recipe will eliminate all doubt that good-for-you tofu can be tasty, too!

Snow peas paired with either chicken or shrimp is a classic Asian combination. When you can’t decide which you’d prefer, try this recipe, which gives you both.