30 Minutes or Less

Instead of ordering Thai takeout, whip up this easy classic. Serve with: Steamed jasmine rice and a cucumber and snow pea salad. Dessert: Sliced tropical fruits such as pineapple, kiwi, and mango.

The pasta and sauce cook simultaneously (so two cooks can divide and conquer), for a total of about ten minutes, start to finish. Serve with your best bottle of bubbly.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

This spicy-sweet salsa makes a delicious accompaniment to grilled pork, chicken, or duck.

Using a salad spinner makes short work of washing fresh spinach, which usually requires several changes of water. Start by filling the spinner bowl with water. Then fill the basket with spinach, submerge it in the water, and stir the spinach to release dirt. Lift the basket out and repeat with fresh water.

You can make the salad with roast chicken if you prefer. Offer purchased sesame noodles as an accompaniment. For dessert, serve sugared sliced plums, topped with vanilla ice cream and chopped crystallized ginger. Look for the Thai fish sauce in the Asian foods section of the supermarket.

"While vacationing in northeastern Minnesota, I had dinner at the Cove Point Lodge in Beaver Bay. The highlight of my meal there was called Lucca pasta, a blend of fettuccine, chicken and vegetables in a creamy, slightly spicy sauce," says Debra Adam of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(Steamed Green beans) Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Red peppers are teamed with onions, toasted pine nuts, fresh oregano and creamy goat cheese in these luscious savory pies. Purchased Boboli cheese pizza crusts make them a snap to prepare. You'll find them in the bread section, specialty food aisle or frozen food section at the supermarket.

Thai spicing brings new flavor to an avocado classic. Add more color by serving this in a large leaf of red cabbage.

This is the Rolls-Royce of bran muffin recipes. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This light soup makes a lovely first course.

Braised carrots, a cucumber salad, and some steamed new potatoes sprinkled with chopped fresh dill are good choices to accompany this Swedish-inspired dish. Holiday cookies and mugs of hot apple cider make a happy ending.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.