Weeknight Meals

A low-fat but tasty version of a typically calorie-laden favorite.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Serve this with white rice to soak up the delicious sauce.

Nice with the chicken, as a side dish for burgers, or on its own as a snappy vegetarian main course.

Red pears are first choice here, but any ripe, firm pears would be delicious. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A salad of baby greens and raspberry vinaigrette and some pencil-thin breadsticks go well with the pasta. End the dinner with orange sherbet, Swedish butter cookies and, perhaps, a shot of aquavit.

Using sun-dried tomatoes that are not packed in oil cuts down on fat. You can find them at some supermarkets, specialty foods stores and Italian markets.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. We found this pasta just as delicious without the salmon.

This Mediterranean-style treatment of lamb shanks is delicious over orzo.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

If you have cooked lamb, beef, or turkey on hand, use it instead of the chicken.

A baked potato, peas and sorbet are all you need with this entrée, but for a party, dress up the pork with cranberry relish, couscous studded with diced bell peppers and green beans, and a rich almond tart.

Suitable accompaniments to this risotto-like dish are crusty bread, an avocado and orange salad with a cilantro vinaigrette and, to top it off, coconut pie.

"Since we live in a town where there are plenty of apple orchards, my husband and I enjoy developing new dishes that include apples," says Lidian Long of Tehachapi, California. "We particularly like this recipe—he loves its curry flavor, and I appreciate its simplicity."