This tangy sweet and sour chicken over rice is an easy version of a Chinese traditional dish. And it's faster than sending out for Chinese food.

Wok cooking tips: Your wok or skillet, if using one, should be very hot so that the ingredients are crisp, not steamed. I add the ingredients in stages so that the wok stays hot while stir-frying.

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French paella?

Yes.

I tasted a French version of the famous Spanish dish in Paris where I found chefs reaching beyond their borders for new flavors. The paella, which included leeks and tarragon in addition to the usual Spanish ingredients, was made by a young chef from Southwestern France, near the Spanish border.

A washed, ready-to-eat ...Read more

This is a meal for the grill and perfect for the Labor Day weekend or anytime. Fresh ginger, soy sauce, mustard and garlic give this grilled steak a hint of Asian influences. Add corn on the cob to the grates while steak cooks.

Open a bag of ready-to-eat salad and add tomatoes. Serve with a reduced-fat dressing to complete this summertime meal....Read more

Fresh salmon, cucumbers and tomatoes make a soothing, soup supper. Gazpacho is a Spanish soup served at room temperature or chilled. Adding freshly cooked salmon creates a complete one-dish meal where the soup ingredients flavor the salmon.

The secret to the rich flavor of this dinner is that the salmon is cooked for just a few minutes on its ...Read more

Peppery peach salsa perks up slices of pork tenderloin. This is the season for fresh, ripe peaches. The fruit goes well with roasted pork. For this dinner, I made a fresh peach salsa to spoon over broiled pork tenderloin and served the entree with Brown Rice Salad.

The peaches should be ripe for the salsa. Many supermarkets sell tree-ripened ...Read more

This light, summer roasted chicken potato salad uses only one pot. It won't heat up your kitchen and takes only 20 minutes to make.

I use a bought roasted or rotisserie chicken breast for the salad. It is cooked on the bone and generally is moist and flavorful. There are many brands of roasted chicken breast that are boned, skinned and cut ...Read more

Hot Mexican spices make this one-dish salad a great summer meal. Crisp tortilla chips, which you can make in a few minutes in the toaster oven, add a spicy crunch. If you're pressed for time, buy baked -- not fried -- tortilla chips instead.

You can use any quick-cooking beef, chicken or tuna for this recipe. For a really quick meal, use any ...Read more

Poke, pronounced poh-kay, is a Hawaiian raw fish dish that is quickly becoming a popular favorite. Traditional seasonings include soy sauce and sesame oil. Serving the ingredients over rice makes it a meal in a bowl.

It's easy to make at home. This poke bowl has thin sliced radish, fresh salmon marinated in soy sauce, avocado cubes, grated ...Read more

Chicken with a chunky mango salsa makes a sweet and spicy summer dinner.

Here are some tips on how to handle a mango. Mangoes continue to ripen after they are picked. Keep them at room temperature until they yield to gentle pressure. To speed up the ripening, place mangoes in a covered bowl or paper bag.

The recipe calls for mango cubes. Here ...Read more

Portobello mushrooms add a hearty flavor to pasta in this vegetarian dish. It's a takeoff on traditional eggplant Parmesan. The meaty mushrooms are dressed in a rich tomato sauce and covered with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

For this quick meal, the entree ingredients are placed in a skillet and cooked in 8 minutes.

The side dish is made ...Read more

Here's a cool salad for a hot summer evening. The flavor and texture of just-cooked fresh tuna tops a refreshing salad of lettuce, sugar snap peas, corn and grape tomatoes. Seared Fresh Tuna salad is not your ordinary tuna salad.

Searing tuna and leaving the inside uncooked keeps the tuna moist and soft. The fish is quickly seared and finishes ...Read more