What's a Desperation Dinner? How to feed your family well when your spouse is late, the kids are losing it, and the dog is scratching at the door. Features over 250 tempting, nutritious recipes that take brilliant advantage of convenience foods-from individual quick-frozen chicken breasts to chopped ginger in a jar-plus innovative techniques to cut time and "push" flavor. Desperation Dinners Promise: 1. These recipes are not hard. 2. These recipes do not require expensive equipment. 3. These recipes do not lie-every one can be made in 20 minutes, start to finish. 4. Expect to be working, but only for those 20 minutes. 5. These recipes taste good. A Slightly Desperate Cook's Answer to "What's for Dinner?" Skillet Shepherd's Pie Topsail Spaghetti Pork au Poivre Chicken Chili Quesadillas Garlic-Roasted Salmon Buttered Rum-Glazed Ham Fish Florentine Confetti Stuffed Peppers And When You're Really Desperate Southwestern Chicken on the Spot Minute Minestrone Tuna and Fusilli Alfresco Miracle Baked Pork Chops Practically Perfect Peach Crisp "The dinner dilemma is solved! The Desperation ladies deserve to be stove-side in every busy home." -Nathalie Dupree, author of Nathalie Dupree Cooks Quick Meals for Busy Days PART COOKBOOK, PART SURVIVAL GUIDE, PART "WHOLE NEW WAY OF COOKING FOR YOUR FAMILY," HERE IS THE ANSWER TO EVERY BUSY COOK'S PRAYERS. What's a Desperation Dinner? How to feed your family well when your spouse is late, the kids are losing it, and the dog is scratching at the door. Features over 250 tempting, nutritious recipes that take brilliant advantage of convenience foods-from individual quick-frozen chicken breasts to chopped ginger in a jar-plus innovative techniques to cut time and "push" flavor. Desperation Dinners Promise 1. These recipes are not hard. 2. These recipes do not require expensive equipment. 3. These recipes do not lie-every one can be made in 20 minutes, start to finish. 4. Expect to be working, but only for those 20 minutes. 5. These recipes taste good. A Slightly Desperate Cook's Answer to "What's for Dinner?" Skillet Shepherd's Pie Topsail Spaghetti Pork au Poivre Chicken Chili Quesadillas Garlic-Roasted Salmon Buttered Rum-Glazed Ham Fish Florentine Confetti Stuffed Peppers And When You're Really Desperate Southwestern Chicken on the Spot Minute Minestrone Tuna and Fusilli Alfresco Miracle Baked Pork Chops Practically Perfect Peach Crisp "The dinner dilemma is solved! The Desperation ladies deserve to be stove-side in every busy home." -Nathalie Dupree, author of Nathalie Dupree Cooks Quick Meals for Busy Days Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross have been writing together as a team for almost ten years. Their weekly newspaper column, "Desperation Dinners", is syndicated by United Media and appears in over 90 newspapers nationwide. Ms. Mills lives with her husband and two children outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Ms. Ross lives with her husband and two children in Raleigh, North Carolina. Their Web site is www.desperationdinners.com. Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross have been writing together as a team for almost ten years. Their weekly newspaper column, "Desperation Dinners", is syndicated by United Media and appears in over 90 newspapers nationwide. Ms. Mills lives with her husband and two children outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Ms. Ross lives with her husband and two children in Raleigh, North Carolina. Their Web site is www.desperationdinners.com. PRESTO PESTO CHICKEN SOUP 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2/3 pound total), fresh or frozen 1/2 teaspoon olive oil 3/4 cup frozen chopped onions 2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) fat-free chicken broth 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic 1/2 cup half-and-half 1/4 cup commercially prepared pesto Salt and black pepper to taste 1. If the chicken is frozen, run hot water over it so you can remove any packaging. Place the chicken on a microwave-safe plate and microwave 2 minutes, uncovered, on high, to begin defrosting. 2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a 4 1/2-quart Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-low heat. Cut the chicken (fresh or partially defrosted) into bite-sized chunks, adding them to the pot as you cut. Raise the heat to medium, add the chopped onions, and cook 2 minutes, stirring from time to time. 3. Add the broth and raise the heat to high. Cover, and bring to a boil. Drain the tomatoes and add them to the pot, along with the Worcestershire and garlic, keeping the lid closed as much as possible. When the soup boils, reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue to cook at a slow boil until the chicken is no longer pink but is still tender, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. 4. Stir in the half-and-half, pesto, and salt and pepper. Let the soup rest off the heat for 1 1/2 minutes, then serve. Serve 4 generously HARVEST PORK CHOPS 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) fat-free chicken broth 1 1/