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Meals for When You Really Don’t Feel Like Cooking

We get it, you’re busy, like super busy.  Between running a house, running the kids around, and working, it’s no surprise that by the time 7 o’clock rolls around, dinner is the last thing on your mind, and why take-out often seems like the only viable option.

Think again, the folks at Marcia Selden Catering know a thing or two about delicious food, they also know how to throw together some awesome quick meals.  Hey everyone’s busy, but it doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice good food.  None of these recipes involves a slow cooker, or anything else that involves a lot of forethought.

All of the recipes take less than 15 minutes to make from prep to plate AND USE ONE PAN.  That’s not a typo, so hit the market at the beginning of the week to buy everything you need for these amazing, and amazingly easy weeknight dinners!

turkeyMSCTurkey (chicken, veal, tilapia, scallops or shrimp) Picatta with Spinach

This tangy dish is such a breeze to make, you’ll wonder why you didn’t make it sooner!? Keep bags of frozen, peeled, cleaned and deveined raw shrimp on hand for a quick protein option.

  • 1 lb. boneless, skinless thinly sliced turkey, chicken breasts, veal or peeled, cleaned and deveined raw shrimp
  • Kosher salt & pepper
  • ¼ C. flour*
  • 1 Tbs. olive oil
  • ½ C. white wine
  • ½ C. chicken stock
  • ¼ C. lemon juice
  • 2 Tbs. capers
  • 2 thinly sliced cloves of garlic
  • ¼ C. flat leaf parsley
  • 2 C. baby spinach
  • ½ C. sliced mushrooms (optional)

Season turkey with salt and pepper and dredge in flour until all sides are covered (spread the flour on a plate, or sprinkle on each piece).

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté turkey until brown on the outside and no longer pink on the inside, about 3 minutes per side. Remove turkey, and keep warm on a plate covered with foil while you make the sauce.

Pour wine, chicken stock, garlic and lemon juice into the pan (still on medium heat). Scrape the brown bits off the bottom, add spinach and cook for about 2 minutes until spinach has wilted down, and liquid has reduced by half. If using mushrooms, add at the same time.  Add turkey back to pan and garnish with parsley before serving.

*if you’re watching your carbs, omit the flour, and substitute a bit of almond flour.

Sausage Whitebeans MSCSausage, White Beans & Peppers over Polenta

Think there’s NO way to make this hearty meal in under 20 minutes?  Well think again! Utilize some of these great shortcut foods, and you’ll be eating in no time.

  •  2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1 lb. chicken sausage, cut into 2” pieces
  • 1 bag frozen sliced peppers and onions (Trader Joe’s sells a bag of grilled peppers are onions that are amazing!)
  • 1 C. rinsed cannellini beans
  • 1½ C. pasta sauce
  • 1 roll prepared polenta
  • Optional- fresh basil and grated Parmesan to taste

Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil in a large nonstick pan on medium high heat.  While oil heats, slice polenta into 1” pieces and season with salt and pepper and set aside on a plate.  When oil is shimmering, add sausage and 2 C. of the frozen peppers and onions and brown for 4-5 minutes.  Add cannellini beans and pasta sauce and continue cooking for 2 minutes.  Remove from pan and tent with foil.  In the same pan (you don’t need to wash it), add 1 Tbs. olive oil and polenta rounds and cook 1 minute per side to brown slightly.    Remove polenta rounds and tuck into to sausage mixture.  Top with basil and grated Parmesan if desired before serving.

BLT Soup MSCBLT Soup

Most people shy away from mid-week soups because they think it takes hours to prepare, not true… this soul satisfying take on the classic blt sandwich is ready in the time it would take you to order Chinese take-out.

  •  1 Tbs. olive oil
  • 6 oz. diced prosciutto, available at most markets
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 32oz. chicken stock
  • 2 C. Italian seasoned petit diced tomatoes with juice
  • 2 C. baby spinach (frozen is fine to use too) or Swiss chard
  • 2 C. frozen tortellini
  • ¼ C. basil leaves, torn
  • Kosher salt and pepper to taste
  • ½ C. grated Parmesan cheese
  • Slice of toast, baguette, ½ bagel toasted

Heat olive oil in an 8 qt. nonstick pot on medium high heat.  Add prosciutto and cook for 2-3 minutes or until prosciutto is browned.  Add garlic, stock, tomatoes and spinach and cook for 5-6 minutes.  Add tortellini and continue cooking until tortellini float, about 2 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add basil and Parmesan, and serve with a piece of toast for dipping.

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For over 30 years, Marcia Selden Catering has been creating unique events with an accent on extraordinary food, creativity, and highly polished professional service. Whatever your desire, whether it’s a low-key clambake on the beach, a lavish over-the-top wedding, or anything in between, they will create a special memory that you and your guests will remember for years.