Store-bought shortcuts for dinner, fast!

CookingLight.com

Be brilliant in much less time: delicious dishes that have at their heart a work-done-for-you supermarket ingredient.

Healthy Shortcut Dinners

Speed up the cooking with versatile, healthy supermarket convenience foods that help you turn out vibrant, healthy main dishes. The prep time for each of our featured shortcut recipes is slashed to about 20 minutes. We guarantee that these helpful tips and products will help you turn out a delicious, made-with-care meal in no time.

See More: 100 Easy Chicken Recipes

Shortcut Pizza: Refrigerated Fresh Pizza Dough

Store-bought dough yields pizzeria quality. Ask for it in the bakery of your supermarket, or check specialty retailers like Trader Joe's. In a pinch, buy dough in tubes from the refrigerated section of the grocery store (it's higher in sodium than fresh dough). Just bring the dough to room temperature while the oven preheats.

Roasted Vegetable and Ricotta Pizza

Ingredients:
1 pound refrigerated fresh pizza dough
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices zucchini
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 medium red onion, cut into thick slices
5 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons small fresh basil leaves

Preparation:
1. Position an oven rack in the lowest setting; place a pizza stone on rack. Preheat oven to 500°.
2. Remove dough from refrigerator. Let stand, covered, for 30 minutes.
3. Combine mushrooms and next 4 ingredients (through onion) in a large bowl; drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Toss. Arrange vegetables on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 500° for 15 minutes.
4. Punch dough down. Sprinkle a lightly floured baking sheet with cornmeal; roll dough out to 15-inch circle on prepared baking sheet. Brush dough with 1 teaspoon oil. Spread sauce over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella over sauce; top with vegetables. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella and red pepper over zucchini mixture. Dollop with ricotta. Slide pizza onto preheated pizza stone. Bake at 500° for 11 minutes or until crust is golden. Sprinkle with basil.

Recipe By: Susan Russo

Nutritional Information:

  • Amount per serving

  • Calories: 347

  • Fat: 11.1g

  • Saturated fat: 3.7g

  • Monounsaturated fat: 4.4g

  • Polyunsaturated fat: 2g

  • Protein: 14.8g

  • Carbohydrate: 48.5g

  • Fiber: 2.7g

  • Cholesterol: 15mg

  • Iron: 3mg

  • Sodium: 655mg

  • Calcium: 193mg

See More: 100 Healthy Soups

5 More Ways With Pizza Dough

1| Brush with olive oil and top with cheese and herbs to make flavorful flatbreads.

2| Cut into small portions, roll small circles, bake and top with salad or meats for piadines.

3| Make great calzones with dough, pasta sauce, cheese, wilted spinach, and cooked, crumbled sausage.

4| Roll into a rectangle, brush with butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar for roll-ups. Cut crosswise and bake.

5| Cut into strips and make garlicky cheese sticks.

See More: Superfast Italian Recipes

Shortcut Stir-Fry: Washed & Bagged Baby Spinach

Rinsing, drying, stemming, and chopping supermarket spinach is a messy time-eater. Ready-to-use baby spinach from the bag cuts out that whole process. Inspect in the store to make sure it's in prime condition-no black spots, no wilting.

View Recipe: Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Beef and Spinach

See More: Superfast Asian Recipes

5 More Ways With Bagged Spinach

1| Stir into scrambled eggs or omelets during the last minute of cooking.

2| Up your veggie intake by adding chopped or whole leaves to rice or pasta.

3| Toss with olive oil, thinly sliced shallots, and crumbled bacon. Put on a pizza after it's baked.

4| Stir into soups just before serving for a boost of garden flavor.

5| Sauté spinach and garlic until wilted and use it to fill savory tarts.

Shortcut Turnover: Refrigerated Pie Dough

The nutritional difference between refrigerated pie dough and one made from scratch is actually quite small, so on a weeknight, this is a shortcut that's worth the trade-off. Pillsbury is our favorite brand.

View Recipe: Savory Sausage, Spinach, and Onion Turnovers

See More: 17 Best Freezable Recipes

5 More Ways With Pie Dough

1| Roll dough into an 11-inch circle; fill with sautéed veggies. Fold dough toward center. Bake a savory galette.

2| Use dough to top individual or casserole-style potpies.

3| Divide dough; roll into small circles. Fill with cooked meat, beans, cheese. Fold, crimp, bake; empanadas.

4| Bake in mini muffin cups, and fill with crab or shrimp salad for appetizers.

5| Wrap seasoned chicken or fish, and bake for an en croûte entrée.

Continue Reading: Store-Bought Dinner Shortcuts

Don't Miss:
5 Ingredient Chicken Recipes
Superfast Pasta
Dinner Tonight: Pork