30-Minute Cooking for Two: Healthy Dishes Without All the Fuss

By Taylor Ellingson

"This excellent book shows . . . that small batch cooking doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming. With delicious recipes . . . sure to please all eaters." —Sonja Overhiser, author of Pretty Simple Cooking and founder of the blog, A Couple Cooks
Imagine if cooking for two cut prep and cook times in half, too. 30-Minute Cooking for Two offers perfectly portioned, time-saving recipes to make whipping up meals for just the two of you, easy to do.
Table-ready in thirty-minutes or less, these recipes offer fast solutions for meals any day of the week, from a quick breakfast sandwich to a proper date-night steak. Using no more than eight staple ingredients per recipe, 30-Minute Cooking for Two gives you fewer leftovers, less processed food, and more time to spend between your twosome.
Whether you're a newlywed, an empty nester, or just plain tired of giant portions and days of leftovers, this cookbook is for you. Inside you'll find:

- Tips for kitchen prep that include shopping lists for pantry staples and essential cooking equipment to stock your kitchen with.
- Thirty-minute recipes for breakfast, soups, salads, sandwiches, dinner, and dessert, with quick-reference labels super-fast recipes (twenty-minutes or less) and one pot meals.
- Eight ingredients per recipe that are easy-to-find all year around, and make every meal fresh and healthy.
Every twosome has a special thing that they do together. With the quick and easy recipes in 30-Minute Cooking for Two, cooking can be your thing, too.
"A fantastic addition to anyone's cookbook collection. . . . Cooking delicious and healthy meals at home just got easier!" —Suzi Hinck, MS, RDN, LD
"Simple and approachable recipes you'll want to eat day after day." —Philia Kelnhofer, author of Fast and Easy Five-Ingredient Recipes: A Cookbook for Busy People, and creator of sweetphi.com

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Nov 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781641522250

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Copyright © 2018 by Rockridge Press, Emeryville, California

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Designer: Christopher T. Fong

Editor: Pippa White

Production Editor: Erum Khan

Photography © Darren Muir

Author photo © Marc Ellingson

Cover: Hawaiian Chicken Sliders.

ISBN: Print 978-1-64152-224-3

eBook 978-1-64152-225-0

TO MARC, MY FAVORITE REASON TO COOK FOR TWO

CONTENTS

Introduction

ONE Why Two Can Be Tricky

TWO Breakfast

Mango Berry Smoothies

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie Bowls

Cinnamon-Apple Yogurt Parfaits

3-Minute Microwave Vanilla Almond Granola

Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls

Blender Peanut Butter–Banana–Chocolate Chip Muffins

French Toast Muffins

Orange-Almond French Toast

Caramelized Banana Pancakes

Sweet Potato and Bacon Hash

Southwestern Chorizo and Hash Browns

Egg Pesto Mozzarella Sandwich

BLT Avocado Toast

Denver Omelet Scramble

Mexican Breakfast Bowls

THREE Soups, Salads, and Sandwiches

Melon and Cucumber Salad

Grapefruit-Avocado Salad

Beet and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad

Summer Vegetable Salad

Kale Caesar Salad

Zucchini and Corn Panzanella Salad

Grilled Romaine with Buttermilk Dressing

Curried Avocado Chickpea Salad

Cherry-Pecan Chicken Salad

Bacon, Brie, and Raspberry Jam Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

BLT with Basil Mayonnaise

Thai Curry Noodle Soup

Carrot-Coconut Soup

Chipotle Lentil Soup

Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Southwestern Turkey Chili

FOUR Vegetable Mains

Carrot and Leek Fritters with Dill Dipping Sauce

Grilled Vegetable Platter with Chipotle-Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Thai Peanut Noodles

Cold Soba Noodle Vegetable Bowls

Tropical Quinoa Bowls with Avocado Dressing

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Tacos

Mexican Vegetable Quinoa Skillet

Vegetarian Enchiladas with Avocado Sauce

Chipotle Chickpea Tacos with Creamy Lime Slaw

Cauliflower-Chickpea Curry

Red Lentil Curry

Parmesan Spinach Gnocchi

Pumpkin Fettuccine Alfredo

Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta

Brown Butter Brussels Sprouts Spaghetti

Roasted Balsamic Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Garlic Fries

FIVE Poultry

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Hawaiian Chicken Sliders

Barbecue Chicken Pizza Flatbreads

Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls

Coconut Chicken Curry

Buffalo Chicken Burritos

One-Pot Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pasta

Turkey Parmesan Meatballs with Creamy Tomato Sauce

One-Skillet Creamy Lemon Chicken

Creamy Salsa Verde Chicken Enchilada Skillet

Italian Chicken and Green Beans Skillet

Grilled Cilantro-Lime Chicken

One-Skillet Caprese Chicken

Creamy Tuscan Chicken

Greek Roasted Chicken Breasts

Garlic Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Tenders

SIX Seafood

Crab Cakes with Mango Salsa

Salmon Cakes with Lemon-Dill-Yogurt Sauce

Spicy Salmon Roll Rice Bowls

Fish Taco Rice Bowls

Shrimp Tacos

Cajun Shrimp with Corn Maque Choux

Crispy Fish Sandwiches with Herb Tartar Sauce

Coconut Shrimp with Creamy Rémoulade

Chili-Lime Shrimp Skewers

Mediterranean Salmon Kabobs

One-Pan Honey-Ginger Salmon and Vegetables

Skillet Lemon Scallop Piccata

Baked Cod with Gremolata

Lemon-Butter Salmon and Orzo

Pistachio-Crusted Halibut

Grilled Sesame-Crusted Tuna Steaks

SEVEN Meat

Crunchy Beef Tostadas

Hawaiian Steak Kabobs

Pork Fried Rice

Thai Peanut Beef

Teriyaki Beef Stir-Fry

Avocado Club Burgers

One-Pan Steak Fajitas

One-Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta

Cheesy Sausage and Ravioli Skillet

Skillet Lasagna

One-Pot Beef Stroganoff

Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Skillet

Italian Stuffed Pepper Skillet

One-Skillet Shepherd’s Pie

Chimichurri Grilled Steak

Pan-Seared Steaks with Gorgonzola Sauce

EIGHT Dessert

Peanut Butter Cup Shakes

Chocolate–Peanut Butter Banana Splits

Whipped Ricotta with Grilled Peaches

White Chocolate–Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Salted Caramel–Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter–Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

Avocado Chocolate Mousse

Caramel-Stuffed Brownie Bites

Raspberry Oat Cups

Mini Strawberry Crisps

No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Cups

Confetti Cake Shortbread

Mini Churro Bites

Caramel-Apple Hand Pies

Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes

Measurement and Conversion Tables

Acknowledgments

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to 30-Minute Cooking for Two! And welcome to the wide world of smaller-batch cooking. Whether you’re single, a newlywed, an empty nester, or just plain tired of giant portions and days of leftovers, this cookbook is for you.

My interest in cooking began in graduate school when I lived alone, in my first apartment with a full kitchen. I stuck to cooking the basics for a couple of years with a rotation of meals that I was comfortable making. Eventually, though, I became bored with the same limited flavors week after week, and decided to step outside of my comfort zone. I began experimenting, became more creative, and came up with a variety of dishes that I love and still make today—even though I am not just cooking for myself anymore.

Eventually I got married, adding another mouth to the mix. These days I have two small children, but between their early bedtimes and having only one who is eating solid food so far, I am usually still cooking just for my husband and me. In the times when all four of us do sit down for a home-cooked meal together, I give my three-year-old a small portion of what we are eating, so the recipes in this book with two or three servings are doubly great for my little family. Despite the changes in my own life, I have found small-batch cooking and baking to be continually useful, and I think you will find that, too.

Beyond portion size, the majority of people I’ve talked to about cooking are frustrated with the lack of time they have between getting home from work or school, and needing to have dinner on the table. We are all busy, and it can be hard to find an hour (or longer!) to cook a nice meal. Ordering in or going out gets expensive, and is not always the healthiest option.

My hope is that 30-Minute Cooking for Two becomes your go-to cookbook for simple and delicious recipes that are easy to follow and quick to whip up. Each of these 110 recipes makes two or three servings and takes 30 minutes or less from start to finish, and most contain eight ingredients or less (excluding olive oil, salt, and pepper). You’ll find recipes for any day of the week, from a quick weekday breakfast sandwich, to indulgent weekend cinnamon rolls, to Tuesday night tacos, to a proper date-night steak. With this cookbook, you will see that cooking doesn’t need to be complicated, take a long time, or have 20 ingredients to make something amazing. Cooking for two means fewer leftovers, realistic portion sizes, and less processed food.

To give you even more variety, most of these recipes have a suggested ingredient swap, so you can adapt the recipe to your liking or switch it up the second time around. And don’t be afraid to come up with your own variations of these recipes. Just because a recipe includes rice doesn’t mean you can’t try it with quinoa or pasta instead. The bottom line is to have fun with these recipes, and to use this cookbook as a jumping-off point for having delicious, fast, and easy culinary adventures!

CHAPTER ONE

WHY TWO CAN BE TRICKY

Cooking for two can be challenging for many reasons. For one, most cookbooks are geared toward large-batch cooking and have serving sizes of 6 to 8. Leftovers can be great, but it’s never fun eating the same thing for days and days on end.

Even when you scale recipes back, you are left with half-used packages of food that take up cabinet space and often end up forgotten. Use these tips to help you navigate the grocery store and organize your kitchen to decrease waste and make the most of your space at home.

SHOPPING FOR TWO

When it comes to shopping for two, meal prep and planning are key. The following tips mainly address what to buy in small portions versus large portions to stick to your budget and reduce waste.

Meat. Try to buy straight from the butcher/fishmonger as often as you can. That way you can get exactly what you need. Most prepackaged meat comes in 1-pound increments, which is often too much for two people. If you don’t have the option to buy from the counter, and prepackaged meat is your only option, be sure to freeze what you don’t need immediately. Place the leftover portion in a plastic bag and label with the quantity and date.

Vegetables. Buy your vegetables from a market where you can choose the quantity you need, as opposed to produce wrapped in packages. Many recipes call for small-size vegetables, so be aware of the size of vegetables that you select at the grocery store.

Grains. For items that I use often, such as rice, quinoa, and oats, I prefer to buy them in the self-serve bulk section of the store. It’s usually cheaper than buying