Monterey Jack

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(Layered Corn Tortillas, Tomato Sauce, and Cheese)

Susan serves these with homemade pico de gallo, but purchased salsa also works well.

"For my birthday," writes Cynthia Black of Kansas City, Missouri, "my husband took me to Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale. One night we ate dinner at Top of the Rock, a restaurant at the resort. As a side dish, they served incredible cheese and jalapeño grits." This colorful side dish would be delicious with roast chicken, steak, or pork.

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 45 min

I came up with this recipe one day when I was boiling a big old hen for chicken soup and had plenty of meat left over, but if you don't care to fool with that, the casserole can easily be made with a nicely roasted chicken picked up in a deli or supermarket.

This zesty, eye-opening casserole can be made with either pork or beef chorizo.

This pie uses pizza toppings as a filling. Serve it with a tossed green salad.

Chipotle chiles are quite spicy; choosing a mild enchilada sauce will temper the heat of this dish. Look for chipotle chiles canned in a spicy tomato sauce, sometimes called adobo, in the Latin American foods section of the supermarket. Serve with: Avocado, red onion, and grapefruit salad with citrus vinaigrette, and Spanish rice.

"At the Manhattan law office where I'm a legal secretary, it seems as though the phones are always ringing," writes Lisa Caiazzo of Franklin Square, New York. "And if it isn't the phones that have me occupied, then there are lots of documents that need my attention. By the time I get home from the city, I usually have only about 45 minutes to put together dinner for my husband, Angelo, and myself. Still, that's enough time to make something filling and delicious, like a salad and a hearty pasta or soup. My best cooking, though, is done on Sundays during the fall and winter, when I become a football widow. An afternoon of cooking can be very therapeutic after a busy week." Any mixture of vegetables you have on hand would make a great filling. Serve the wraps with purchased salsa and sour cream.

Active time: 3 hr Start to finish: 4 hr