Quick Meals

Five routes cover most weeknights: pasta, a rice skillet, a sheet pan, a soup, or eggs with whatever vegetable is left. The times assume you have already found the pan.

The five routes

• Pasta, about 30 minutes. Boil noodles while tomatoes and garlic simmer.
• Rice bowl, about 35 minutes. Chicken and rice in one skillet.
• Sheet pan, about 40 minutes. Potatoes and sausage, turned once.
• Soup, about 35 minutes. Beans, vegetables, and tomatoes in one pot.
• Eggs and vegetables, about 20 minutes, if the rice is already cooked and cold.

Garlic butter noodles

Prep: 5 minutesCook: 15 minutesServes: 3

This is the 20-minute noodle from the front page. It is not a separate sauce project.

• 10 ounces dried pasta
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• Salt and black pepper
• Optional: a handful of grated hard cheese, or frozen peas

1. Boil the pasta in salted water until just tender. Save 1/2 cup of the water, then drain.
2. Melt the butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir about 1 minute, until it smells strong. Do not let it go dark.
3. Add the pasta and a splash of the saved water. Toss until the noodles look coated. If you are using peas, add them now and toss until they are hot.
4. Taste. Add salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese if you have it.

No butter: use olive oil. No garlic: a pinch of garlic powder in the butter, less than you think. Leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge. Loosen them with water when you reheat.

The other 20-minute plates are egg fried rice, tomato chickpea skillet, vegetable quesadillas, lemon tuna pasta, and bean tacos.