Does anybody have any good, quick dinner recipes?!

Does anybody have any good, quick dinner recipes?

My kids are getting sick of all the same-old, same-old dinner recipes, so I'm looking for some new choices. But as a working mom, I just don't have the time for extensive meal cooking, so I'm looking for something relatively quick. Also, my family doesn't eat red-meat, so please keep that in mind.

Muchas gracias in advance!

?Spinach & 3-Cheese Panini
?Italian Flag Panini with tomato, cheese, and basil pesto
?Pizza Panini


Makes 4 servings; 3 half sandwiches per person


2 cloves Garlic-in skins
1/2 cup Extra-virgin olive oil, eyball or estimate the amount
1 box Frozen spinach, defrosted in the microwave (10
ounces)
1/2 cup Ricotta cheese (half a small container)
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
4 slices Provolone from the deli
1 large round loaf Crusty Italian bread, sliced at bread counter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Pesto sauce (a delicious greeh herb and cheese
sauce that's available in dairy aisle in tubs)
2 small Plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 pound Fresh mozzarella, chopped into small cubes
1/2 cup Pizza sauce, any kind
6 slices Salami
12 slices Pepperoni (like for pizza)


You will build 2 panini of eah kind, for 6 panini total.

Start by putting garlic cloves on a cutting board. Hit each one with a small, heavy skillet and give the garlic a good whack! Throw the skins into the garbage bowl. Add the garlic to the extra-virgin olive oil in a microwave safe bowl and put it in the microwave. Cook i t 25 seconds on high and let it sit there until you need it. Because you heated the oil and garlic together, all the oil will taste like garlic, so you sandwiches will taste like they are made on garlic bread!

For the spinach and cheese panini, put the defrosted spinach into a kitchen towel and squeeze out all the juice to make the spinach dry. Mix the ricotta and Parmesan together in a small bowl. Line up the spinach, the cheese mix, and the sliced provolone. Get a pastry brush and the sliced bread. Get the garlic oil form the microwave. Brush one side of four slices of the bread with garlic oil and put the painted side down on the cutting board. Place half the drained spinach on each of 2 slices of bread, pulling it all apart and spreading it out. Season it with salt and pepper. Top with cheese mix in the equal amounts and 2 slices provolone. Put the other 2 pieces of bread on top to make a sandwich with the oiled sides facing up.

For Italian flag panini, start out the same way, painting 4 slices of bread. Spread pesto sauce on two slices of bread and top with tomatoes and half the diced mozzarella. Season the fillings with salt and pepper. Top the sandwiches with the other 2 slices, keeping the oiled side up.

The pizza panini sandwiches are the same. Start by painting your bread with the oil. Then spread the pizza sauce on 2 slices. Put 3 slices salami and 6 slices pepperoni on top of the sauce, then add the rest of the mozzarella to the two sandwiches and put the tops in place.

If you have a panini press, just press the panini in batches until toasted and melted. If you do not have a press cook panini on a nonstick pan over medium heat using a brick, covered in foil, or a cast-iron skillet to weight and press them. They cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Cut each sandwich in half and pile on a huge platter to serve.





Pasta and Pesto Salad

Makes 8 side dish servings or 4 entree servings

1 pound Medium past shells or penne rigate
1 tub Store bought pesto (1+1/2 cups, available on the dairy
aisle)
grated zest (just the yellow part of the skin and juice of 1
lemon
2 Scallions, chopped or snipped with kitchen scissors
1/2 pint Grape tomatoes, halve some of them and leave
some whole
1 tub (1 pound) Bocconcini (bite-size pieces of fresh
mozzarella cheese), halved, or 1-pound ball of fresh
mozzarella, diced
1 cup Fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste


Cook the pasta according to package directions to al dente (with a "bite" to it, or slightly chewy). Drain pasta and run under cold water. This cold shock will stop the cooking process and cool the pasta for the salad. Drain the pasta again when it is cool. Get all the water off with a vigorous shake, or your salad will be wet.

Place pesto into a large bowl. Add lemon juice. Add scallions, tomatoes, and cheese to the bowl, then the pasta. Stir salad up from the bottom and coat it evenly with the pesto. Season with salt and pepper. Tear basil leaves into strips, add them to the salad, and fold them in.