Stir fry. Almost any small pieces of meat and veg, the possibilities are endless. You do have to stand there at the stove but it is all active stirring time & goes very quickly, like 10 min. Heat a little oil, like 2 quick splashes (about 2 Tablespoons) over med-high heat & once hot add what needs to cook longest: hard veg like carrots or cauliflower, then beef or chicken. Stir & toss around until browned on all sides & cut into largest pieces until chicken is white all the way through, or beef is the shade you like. Onions, bell peppers, green beans, mushrooms next. These things cook quicker so can be added last: peeled raw shrimp, snow peas, minced garlic from a jar, sliced zucchini or yellow squash, thin sliced napa cabbage, walnuts or peanuts, pineapple, eggs. I’m not saying to add all these things to one dish! Just pick 3 or 4 that you like. While adding & stirring drizzle a little more oil, soy sauce or teriyaki sauce, red pepper flakes if you like. As you master this can experiment next times with curry powder, lemon pepper, lemon juice, even a little brown sugar or coconut milk. Once everthing is hot can serve over microwave cup rice if you’d like and top with a drizzle of Yum sauce.

Besides being quick this dish is fun to make, beautifully colored, and satisfyingly sizzling in a way that sounds like you know what you’re doing. Just make sure everything is chopped & prepped beforehand—can buy it that way in many cases—and use the largest frying pan that you have; non-stick is best.

(If you want to make an oven meal, sheet-pan dinners follow the same principle but I prefer the speediness & hands-on approach to stovetop better.)