11 easy dinner recipes for loooong weeks

As a line cook, I spent most of my time making dinner for other people, some time thinking about cooking for myself, and no time ever actually preparing dinner at home. When I stopped cooking in restaurants, this equation changed, slightly. While I now give myself time to make dinner at home, most nights I'm not that interested in spending more than thirty minutes in my kitchen. (I guess Rachael Ray had it right all along.)

For me, weeknight dinners should be enjoyable to eat, but always easy to make. Though the possibility of the occasional weeknight kitchen catastrophe will never quite disappear, I can confidently report that the 11 recipes below will make easy, delicious meals after even the worst of weekdays.

Our favorite easy weeknight meals