We can’t help with the stress of suddenly being overscheduled in a new school year. But we can help home cooks get a decent, economical dinner on the table in short fashion on a busy school night when there’s so much more to do than prepare dinner.
These four dinners can be assembled in a half-hour or less (one cooks all day long in a slow cooker) and use everyday ingredients. They include a meaty skillet lasagna that doesn’t require boiling noodles in water; homemade fish sticks coated in a crunchy mix of panko and Parmesan; a four-ingredient fettuccine dish that makes the most of frozen baby peas; and a slow-cooker chicken tortilla soup that marries boneless chicken breasts with fire-roasted tomatoes and the gentle heat of chipotle peppers in adobo.
Knowing no one likes to cook every night of the week, we saved Friday night for takeout!

Noodles and Peas
