Weeknight Meals

Hey, why should tuna have all the fun? Try this even-heartier rendition.

Here’s another MYOTO (make your own take-out). Thai this one, you’ll surely like it.

Like the title says, this is lasagna but it’s not. Veggie lasagna is often served up layered with a creamy white sauce and seasonal vegetables. This dish incorporates vegetables, ricotta, and a just-creamy-enough sauce tossed with pasta—without all the work and the long baking time.

I recently ate at a wonderful little bistro in Montreal called Chez L’Epicier, or “house of the grocer.” The menus are written on what look like grocery sacks. Well, supper here was so good, I went out and got a sack of my own groceries to make a 30-Minute Meal knock-off of their gourmet lamb shank served with “raw spaghetti,” which turned out to be pasta with raw sauce. Hey, Montreal is a favorite getaway of mine, but I can make this meal any night I like and my market’s a lot closer!

Guilt-free pasta? Everything is a pasta-bility when you add fresh fish and lots of veggies.

This is a gut bustingly delicious twist on steak and bakers.

Do you have trouble making up your mind? How does this sound: grilled meat, salad, take-out Thai food, and pizza, all in one meal? There are no special ingredients required; you can get them all in the regular market and have this pizza on the table in less time than it would take the delivery man to get to your door.

This is one of my fancy fake-out meals. It looks like it came out of an Asian influenced bistro, but the difference between your Express Lane receipt and your dinner check, not to mention the prep time, is substantial.

This dinner is full of antioxidants, low in fat, high in fiber, and huge on flavor. Can you get anything better for you than that? Plus, you won’t find this one on any take-out menu.

French bread pizza from Stouffer’s was my favorite frozen food as a kid. Now that I’m all grown up I make my own, because I can overstuff them. (My appetite grew, too.)

When they’re made with 99 percent lean ground turkey breast, these burgers are a figure-friendly way to enjoy a sausage sandwich.

Though I haven’t lived on Cape Code since I was eight, this dish proves I’m not just a Red Sox fan but a true New England Patriot. With Chowda and Mac ’n’ Cheese in one dinner, you can get to Massachusetts in 30 minutes or less, even if you live in Michigan.

Get in “The Zone.” These calzones are meat-free, super hearty, and super healthy. Eat up, chow down, and enjoy.

Make a Thanksgiving dinner, Southwestern style, any night of the year with this stuffing shortcut.