QUICKER THAN DELIVERY

On a night when I don't feel like cooking, these are my go-to meals. You can cook these meals with pantry ingredients and have them ready before you could get delivery.

FRITTATA

Let me start this recipe by saying you can take pretty much any vegetable in your fridge and make a frittata. My favorite is asparagus, with spinach as my second favorite. In the recipe, I use asparagus, but you use what you want. If you use potatoes, you need to cut them up very small or par-boil them a little so they will cook completely.

You can use the cheese of your preference, but I like cheddar.

Here are the basic ingredients....

eggs – 6-8 depending on how many people you are feeding
onion or shallot or even green onion
cheese – grated – whatever kind you have
a little bit of milk if you have it – I don't always use it
sea salt
pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Decide what kind of vegetables you want to use.
Chop the onion (or whatever you have).
Cut up the asparagus or potatoes or whatever. I don't cut spinach but leave it whole.

I use my 10 inch cast iron skillet. Put it on the stove and put about ½ a stick of butter in it. Turn on the heat and let it melt until it sizzles.

While the butter is melting, crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk vigorously.

Add a splash of milk if you are using, and salt and pepper.

Add a big handful of cheese and stir. Set aside.

When the butter is sizzling, add the onion and vegetables and saute until the onions are softened. The asparagus will be fine in that amount of time. Just wilt the spinach. If using potatoes you might have to cook them until they are fork tender.

Spread the vegetables out in the skillet and pour the egg mixture on top. Sprinkle with just a tiny bit more cheese. Leave the skillet on the heat until the edges set. Then put the skillet in the oven and cook until the frittata has risen and is firm in the center (about 15-20 minutes). It will rise and then fall when you take it out of the oven. That's normal.

You can serve it right away or eat it at room temperature. It is great the next day, too. You can keep it in a covered container up to 4 days.

You can serve it with a salad or with fruit. Easy dinner.

SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

This is by-far my favorite easy dinner. It is done in the time it takes to boil spaghetti. I always have bacon, eggs and Parmesan cheese in my refrigerator and some kind of long pasta and garlic in my pantry. You can use fettucini, too. Traditionally, this is made with long pasta, but if all you have is penne, go for it.
This recipe serves 4.

12 oz. spaghetti
3 eggs
1 cup Parmesan, plus more for serving
8 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water before draining.
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and Parmesan until combined. Add a pinch of pepper. 
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy, about 8 minutes. Reserve fat in skillet and transfer bacon to a paper towel–lined plate to drain.
Add garlic to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add cooked pasta and toss until fully coated in bacon fat.
Remove from heat. 
Pour over egg-and-cheese mixture and stir vigorously until creamy (being careful not to scramble eggs).
Add pasta water a few tablespoons at a time to loosen sauce. 
Season with salt (but be careful – the Parmesan is salty) and pepper and stir in cooked bacon.
Serve on plates, top with more Parmesan and drizzle with oil before serving. 
Again, you can serve a salad, but this is a filling meal. We love it!