We tend to fill our Pinterest boards with recipes for super-detailed, multi-step dinners, yet by 7 p.m. on Tuesday our patience for chopping and dirtying dishes starts to dwindle. We’re so tempted to reach for the frozen veggie burgers (and don’t get us wrong, sometimes we’ll do just that!), but when we hear about bloggers who go out of their way to create recipes for quick yet tasty dinners, we have to spread the word. This week’s featured foodie, Chungah Rhee of Damn Delicious, is the queen of easy and fast recipes. In fact, she just published a cookbook on the subject: Damn Delicious: 100 Super Easy, Super Fast Recipescomes out September 6—and she’s sharing seven of her favorite dinners. Read on and eat up.
1. Honey-Lemon Chicken Broccoli Bowls
Save the takeout for another night and try whipping up DIY chicken and broccoli—it takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish. A glaze of lemon and pineapple juices with soy sauce give tender chicken a finger-lickable caramel coating, offset by gently steamed broccoli. Serve with rice and a shower of sesame seeds.
2. “Cheater” Pho (Asian Noodle Soup)
Ramen is old news; you’ve got to get on the pho wave. A spicy, slurpy Vietnamese noodle soup dish, pho is the perfect solution to your dinner rut. Toss rice noodles (or any you can find at the store) in a spicy chicken broth seasoned with hoisin and fish sauce. Serve with bean sprouts, sliced raw onion, cilantro, mint, and lime wedges.
3. Kale Cobb Salad
If this salad were an episode of Friends, it would be called, “The One Where Cobb Salad Gets a Much-Needed Makeover.” Traditionally a mixture of chopped veg with chicken and bacon, plus hard-boiled egg and creamy cheese (whew!), this Cobb salad gets its crunch from almonds and extra flavor from fresh berries. Avocado and a homemade poppyseed dressing add richness, and fresh kale makes it hearty enough to serve a crowd.
4. One-Pot Mushroom, Spinach, and Artichoke Pasta
One-pot dinner alert! This flavorful yet way too easy dish is a mixture of herbs and cheese (pasta’s two best friends), with a boost of other good stuff, like mushrooms, spinach, and artichokes. Our favorite part of this dish is definitely the starchy pasta water, which reduces down to make a creamy sauce out of nothing but the herbs, cheese, and veg.
5. Honey Mustard Chicken Fingers
Was one of your favorite childhood meals chicken fingers? It was ours too. But then we grew up and… still love this dunk-able meal. This version is slightly better for you: First, the chicken is baked, not fried, and second, the honey-mustard dipping sauce is bare bones, leaving all the flavor and no weird unpronounceable ingredients lurking in bottled versions.
6. Greek-Inspired Quesadillas
Wilted spinach and gooey mozzarella make a bed for tangy feta and sun-dried tomatoes in this super-quick quesadilla dinner. While you could easily pick up a premade tzatziki sauce, you won’t believe how much fresher it tastes when you make it yourself. We’d cut these into small triangles and serve to our friends (along with a good cocktail) on a Friday night—talk about the easiest dinner party ever.
7. Chicken and Avocado Ranch Burritos
If you don’t already use taco seasoning outside of the shell, it’s time to live a little. Sprinkle the smoky spices over chicken thighs and wrap in a soft tortilla with avocado, mozzarella cheese, and a smear of creamy Ranch dressing. Grill gently in a pan to melt the mozzarella just enough to get a good cheese-pull shot for Instagram.
Chungah focuses on quick and easy meals for the everyday home cook using simple, fresh ingredients. Her book, Damn Delicious: 100 Super Easy, Super Fast Recipes, comes out September 6 and is available for preorder now. She currently resides in California with her corgi, Butters. To learn more about her, check out her blog and follow her on Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter.
