The 5:30 Challenge: 5 Ingredients, 30 Minutes, Dinner on the Table

IT'S 5:30. DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

Long commutes and busy schedules leave us all wondering the same thing, but don't worry, because The 5:30 Challenge is the perfect solution to creating healthy and delicious meals in a snap!
Forget the fast food and frozen packaged meals -- with just five easy-to-find ingredients you can have dinner on the table in thirty minutes or less every night, guaranteed. Based on the popular newspaper column from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, these tasty recipes are sure to appeal to any appetite, from hearty dinner entrees to satisfying seasonal salads, zesty soups, and chilies to tantalizing stir-fries, plus pizzas, pastas, and more. You won't believe how easy it is to make great meals such as:

• Lamb Shanks with Tomato and Mint
  
• Filet and Portobellos with Blue Cheese
  
• Cajun Chicken Pasta
  
• Mid-Week Madness Chili
  
• Polenta and Meatball Casserole
  
• Farfalle with Smoked Salmon and Spinach
  
• Fresh Tomato and Ricotta Pizza
  
• Trout Amandine
  
• Bacon, Tomato, and Avocado Quesadillas
  
• Tex-Mex Ribs

Whether you're cooking for a hungry family or whipping up something for just one or two, The 5:30 Challenge is the ideal cookbook for creating a terrific meal without spending a lot of time in the kitchen. From kid-friendly to restaurant-style, each simple, streamlined recipe is designed for maximum flavor in minimum time. Each recipe has detailed nutritional information, as well as suggestions for substituting ingredients and using easy cooking shortcuts. In addition, there are recipes for quick and tasty desserts, plus helpful tips on shopping for quality convenience products and keeping the basics on hand for a quick meal anytime. For busy home cooks, The 5:30 Challenge is the answer to eating a great dinner every night and having plenty of time to enjoy it.

Jeanne Besser has written The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's "5:30 Challenge" column for more than three years and is the author of The First Book of Baking and Working Mom's Fast and Easy Family Cookbook. She lives with her husband and two sons in Atlanta, Georgia.

Susan Puckett has been the food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Food & Drink section since 1990. She has won national awards for food writing and editing and has authored four previous cookbooks including A Cook's Tour of Mississippi and Dips. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.