30 Minutes or Less

If you can’t find haricots verts, look for slender green beans.

This shows how well green beans play with other vegetables.

Gina: This colorful salad is one of my go-to recipes when I need something to satisfy a crowd, whether at a church potluck supper or a backyard barbecue. The champagne vinaigrette gives the beans a fresh, zippy flavor. For the best results, add the fresh beans to the salad just before serving, so they do not discolor.

Good for Slathering: Pork; chicken, turkey, duck; beef; lamb: It doesn't get any easier than this! And this mop is probably what 90 percent of the competition barbecuers use—with maybe a little beer mixed in for good measure!

Tofu noodles replace pasta, so you don't need to boil water. Plus, this comforting dish offers nearly one third of your day's calcium, via the yogurt and broccoli.

Be anything but crabby after enjoying this sunny citrus bisque. You'll net half your daily folate needs per bowl.

Buy the freshest seasonal vegetables for this pasta. A trip to your local farmers’ market might be in order.

This wonderful slaw is a great twist on classic cole slaw. If you like your slaw crunchier, make it just before the party.

This can be a great dish all year round, if you choose the best fruits available. The addition of mint adds a bright, refreshing flavor to the sweetness of the fruit.

In Philippine cuisine, dark, fairly harsh soy sauce is favored, but it's often combined with sugar to create a syrupy dressing for vegetables. The added garlic gives this sweet and salty sauce a pleasant kick. This recipe originally accompanied Lumpia Rolls .

This well-known Philippine starter combines attributes of many of the wrapped foods of other countries. It's filled like an egg roll, has an egg wrapper like a crêpe, and is served warm but not fried. All the components, which can be varied according to what you have in your kitchen, are cooked before assembly.

Dashi is a traditional Asian stock. The recipe is simple—the only ingredients are dried kelp (seaweed) and flakes of dried bonito, a type of fish. However, both ingredients are packed with flavor, creating a rich, aromatic broth.

Make this salad for lunch but serve it hot at dinner first. To give kids extra protein at lunch, add 1/2 cup finely chopped cold cooked chicken and round it out with a small whole-wheat roll and an apple.

All the other kids at school will be jealous when they get a look at these delicious, colorful, healthful wraps.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this lunch. Store this tasty salad in a wide-mouthed thermal container, use several Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves to wrap around the salad instead of bread, and pack the nuts separately in a little plastic bag for sprinkling. For those who can take the heat, add a splash of Chinese hot oil or hot sesame oil to the salad.

Peanut butter goes well with more than just jam, and this interesting combination proves it. This is delicious with whatever fruit is in season.

These roll-ups are great for school and burst with tuna and veggies. If your child likes wasabi's heat, add an extra 1/4 teaspoon to the tuna mixture.

For this dish, I recommend using leftover chicken or a pre-roasted chicken from the supermarket.

Editor's note: The recipe below is from Kimberly Kennedy's The Art and Craft of Entertaining. For Kennedy's baby shower tips click here.

Black-eyed peas can replace the chickpeas, if desired. For a lighter soup, the rice can be omitted.