Really, Honest: Five Minute Recipes

If you hate to cook (Ooh! Ooh! Me, me, me!!!), you really don't want to spend more than five minutes in the kitchen, ever.  If you don't hate to cook, there are still times you can't afford to spend more than five minutes in the kitchen (because one or more of your children is swinging from a ceiling fan, perhaps).

Although the cooking time of most of these recipes is around 20-30 minutes, most of them can be thrown together in 5-10 minutes.

Don't forget to start the rice or pasta first!

And, I cook by the seat of my pants, sometimes tossing things in the pan from across the room (if I can't get to the stove because there's a bicycle in my way), so don't expect measurements to be highly accurate.

And, of course it's a given that fresh is almost always better.  But almost never faster.  So, if you have time, opt for fresh garlic or herbs over dried.  If not, don't be afraid of powdered garlic.  It can be your friend too.

The best thing about most of these recipes is that they don't require specialized "found only in American grocery stores" ingredients.  I haven't seen a can of Campbell's soup in years, but I can find canned tomatoes and yogurt just about anywhere.