Busy weeknights call for dinners that are mostly assembled, not cooked. Keep a few things in the freezer and pantry and you can have a real meal on the table in about fifteen minutes.
1. Garlic shrimp rice bowls
Thaw cooked, peeled shrimp under cold water while a pouch of butter and garlic rice heats in the microwave. Toss the shrimp in a hot pan with a little oil, pepper and lemon for two minutes, then spoon over the rice. Add any vegetables you have.
2. Mussels in garlic butter
Frozen cooked mussels heat through in a covered pan with butter, garlic and a splash of broth in about five minutes. Serve with crusty bread, or over pasta.
3. Sausage and pepper skillet
Slice fully cooked chicken apple sausages and brown them with sliced peppers and onion. They only need to heat through, so dinner is ready as soon as the vegetables soften.
4. Crispy tilapia tacos
Individually frozen tilapia fillets cook straight from frozen in an air fryer or hot oven in about 12 minutes. Flake into warm tortillas with slaw and a squeeze of lime.
5. Rotisserie-style chicken night
A fully cooked lemon-pepper chicken only needs to be warmed through. Serve it with rice, and save the leftovers for lunch bowls the next day.
Keep a backup shelf
For the nights when even fifteen minutes is too long, keep a couple of single-serve frozen bowls on hand. A steak bowl or shrimp scampi bowl is ready in minutes.