5-Ingredient quick dinners

Quick dinner recipes

Dinner is a quiet, relaxing, peaceful event at which families and friends congregate around the table and leisurely discuss... OK, so that's not true. When you're cooking at home, a quick dinner is the secret to mealtime success -- and to eating more quick dinners at home. Try one of these five quick dinners tonight.

Stock your pantry with these Top 10 quick dinner essentials >>

Black Bean Soup

This is a hearty soup that tastes rich and savory and will keep you full and warm during the cold of fall and winter. Crusty bread or tortilla chips are great to serve on the side.

Ingredients:

• 2 strips, bacon
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans black beans
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup cream or milk

Directions:

1. Cut the bacon into small pieces and put them into a soup pot. Bring the heat up to medium and let the fat render out of the bacon. Once you have about a tablespoon of fat (or less if you want a healthier soup), remove the bacon, leaving the fat behind.
2. Crank up the heat to medium-high, add the garlic and stir-fry for about 30 seconds.
3. Add both cans of black beans and the chicken stock. Stir until the stock begins to boil and the black beans break apart. If you want smooth soup, put half of the soup into a food processor, blend, and add back to the pot, or skip this step altogether if you prefer a chunkier version.
4. Add the heavy cream, bring back to a boil and serve.

Curried Chicken Skewers

These skewers take only a few minutes to construct and are ready very quickly. As a side benefit, getting everyone together to build skewers and add their own spices can be fun. These are also great on the grill, where they need about 6 to 8 minutes per side to cook.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 mango per person
• 1/4 cup apricot jam
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken and mango into 1/2-inch cubes and construct the skewers.
2. Mix the apricot jam with 2 tablespoons of water and mix well, then brush on the skewers. Sprinkle with curry powder.
3. Cook the skewers in a skillet over medium-high heat in batches of four to six at a time (you'll probably have three batches). Any more skewers than that, and you will overcrowd the pan and the chicken won't cook evenly.
4. To cook the skewers, add the oil, let it get hot, and then cook for 6 minutes. Flip and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes or until the chicken is done.

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