Damn Delicious: 100 Super Easy, Super Fast Recipes - Rhee Chung-Ah (2016)

INTRODUCTION

I used to think I was too busy, too tired, and too uninspired to cook a delicious and exciting meal every night. I bet you think that, too. But I’m going to show you that, no matter how busy or hectic life gets, there’s always time to put dinner on the table. Forget the days when dinner was an hour-long fiasco of failed recipes and dishes piled in the sink—a healthy and delicious meal can be done in just 20 to 30 minutes from start to finish. That’s what this cookbook is all about—helping people just like you, who don’t have any time to spare during the week, get back in the kitchen and whip up satisfying meals without all the fuss.

When we’re short on time, we typically sacrifice a home-cooked meal. After all, who has the time to create dinner from scratch when we still need to walk the dog, help the kids with homework, and catch up on e-mail? That usually leaves us resorting to frozen dinners, delivery, or drive-through meals to feed ourselves. But these options can quickly become a strain on our wallets and our waistlines.

That’s the scenario that inspired me to create my blog, Damn Delicious, with the goal of developing super-easy recipes as a way to eat healthier and lose weight. I had just gained 30 pounds during my last year of college, and yet I continued to eat out for every single meal while studying and applying to grad school. I habitually told myself, “There’s just not enough time to cook,” as I ordered Chinese takeout or pulled into the drive-through at In-N-Out. But eventually, I got back into the kitchen, where I began to discover cooking shortcuts and easy ways to prepare satisfying, nutritious meals that were actually skinny-jeans friendly. I also saved a ton of money by cooking at home, especially when I learned how to create dishes using affordable pantry ingredients and repurposing leftovers.

After years of documenting my experiments in quick, low-fuss cooking on my blog, I’ve watched Damn Delicious grow into a vibrant community of cooks from around the world. My readers often tell me they love the simplicity of my recipes, swearing that even the picky eaters in their households gobble up every last bite! I also love hearing from readers who are just beginning to cook and who seem relieved that my recipes are not only unintimidating, but work every time and involve minimal cleanup. (I’m all about doing fewer dishes.)

When I saw how my recipes were helping readers bring fun and ease into their cooking routines, I knew I wanted to do something more. That’s why I decided to write this book. By sharing the recipes collected here, I hope to make cooking at home even more effortless for my regular readers, while also inspiring and encouraging a whole new set of cooks. I’ve always dreamed of a pretty, go-to cookbook that you can flip through when you need inspiration and motivation to skip the drive-through lane and make an amazing homemade meal instead. I hope that this book will serve that purpose for you, and that eventually, you’ll start to reach for it instead of the stack of takeout menus. I want you to feel confident and creative in the kitchen. I truly believe that, just by getting back into the kitchen, even a few days a week, a healthy lifestyle change can happen, just as it did for me.

In this book you’ll find more than 100 recipes, all of them delicious, foolproof, and a cinch to throw together. They include both brand-new, exciting ideas and some of the best tried-and-true classics that the readers of my blog love most. This cookbook is designed to be your one-stop shop for everything from fast breakfasts, one-pot wonders, quickie takeout copycats, skinny favorites, superfast dinners, and even insanely easy drinks and desserts. I’ve also included some of my favorite go-to dishes, such as zero cleanup foil packets and healthy zoodle (a.k.a. zucchini noodle) recipes. Along with my tips for easy meal prep and speedy grocery shopping, you’ll find that cooking dinner has never been easier!

So get ready to revive and rethink your mealtime routine. I hope you’ll realize that, with just the right recipes and strategies, you can put the fun—and the yum—back into cooking!