Easy Dinner Recipes from the 28-Day Dinner Plan

Eggplant Parmesan doesn't have to include layers of deep-fried eggplant and mountains of cheese. This healthy eggplant Parmesan recipe has is satisfying without piling on the calories and fat. Don't skip the step of salting the eggplant, especially if you want to freeze one of the casseroles. Salting helps to draw out extra moisture so the eggplant holds up better in the freezer. Serve with a salad of bitter greens tossed with a red-wine vinaigrette. This recipe makes enough for two 8-by-8-inch casseroles (four servings each)--have one for dinner tonight and freeze the other for a night when

This quick, one-pot version of fideos, a toasted pasta recipe served in Spain, gets a smoky flavor from delicious chorizo. If you can't find Spanish chorizo, pepperoni works well in its place. Serve with a green salad drizzled with sherry vinaigrette.

In this healthy chicken stew recipe, we save prep time by using pre-sliced mushrooms and pre-chopped kale (found near packaged fresh greens). If you don't like turnips, potatoes are an easy substitution.

This rosemary-infused lentil and greens recipe is a perfect topping for toasted bread. Serve as a vegetarian main dish for 4 or a hearty side dish for 8.

Studded with briny olives, bright lemon zest and a touch of dill, this healthy, easy salmon cake recipe is perfect for dinner and for freezing. Whether you serve the salmon cakes on a bun like a burger with lettuce and tomato or paired with a mixed green salad, try a dollop of reduced-fat mayo mixed with lemon juice on top.

Anything but dainty, this healthy cowboy beef and bean chili recipe is hearty with the addition of mushrooms and beer. To keep the saturated fat low, we use one pound of ground beef and add whole-grain bulgur to boost the volume and fiber in this chili recipe. After all the ingredients are added to the pot, we like to slowly simmer our chili for close to an hour to develop the best flavor, but if you're in a hurry, reduce the liquid by half and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

Made with whole-grain cornmeal and white whole-wheat flour, this healthy cornbread recipe is quick enough for a weeknight and perfect to serve with chili or instead of dinner rolls. We like to make a few extra batches of the dry mix and store it in the freezer. To make a batch of cornbread, just measure out 2 cups of dry mix and combine with the liquid ingredients. If you don't want to pull out your food processor, you can skip pureeing the corn in Step 2 and instead whisk an 8-ounce can of creamed corn with the egg, milk, oil and sugar before combining with the dry ingredients.

The days of just stuffing chiles with cheese to make chiles rellenos are over. Case in point: this duck-filled chile relleno recipe with onion, garlic, tomato, green olives, almonds and raisins. If you prefer, this chile relleno recipe also works with chicken instead of duck; use 1 cup chopped cooked chicken in Step 6.

This bright orange hot sauce recipe is perfect for spicing up eggs, soups and seafood. To cut the heat, use a little more carrot or fewer habanero peppers. Scotch bonnet peppers can be substituted.

This healthy shrimp-and-cabbage dumpling recipe makes a big batch, so you can eat some for dinner and freeze some for later. To vary the dumpling filling, try ground turkey instead of the shrimp. Look for wonton wrappers in a refrigerated case--usually near tofu. Serve with reduced-sodium soy sauce or mix up this quick dipping sauce recipe: 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce mixed with 2 tablespoons lime juice and 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil.

This vegetarian Brussels sprout and potato hash recipe is a quick, easy dinner, perfect for a cool fall evening. Resist the urge to stir it too much! Cooking the hash undisturbed allows a crispy caramelized crust to form on the potatoes at the bottom of the pan. Look for hash browns that don't have added salt to help keep sodium in check.

Here's a favorite Southwestern chicken soup recipe featuring the exquisite New Mexican green chile (but poblano peppers work well too). Traditional versions of this creamy green chile chicken soup recipe are made with heavy cream or half-and-half, but our recipe for this healthy chicken soup is made creamy with thickened low-fat milk.

This healthy apricot-chile glazed salmon recipe marries fruit and chiles to make this easy grilled salmon mouthwateringly special. Use jam rather than preserves for a smoother, prettier glaze. Look for New Mexico chili powder in well-stocked supermarkets or online at Amazon.com, or substitute your favorite red chili powder.

In this healthy, creamy mustard chicken recipe, thin-sliced chicken breasts (sometimes labeled chicken cutlets) cook quickly and are delicious smothered in a velvety, light mustard sauce and garnished with fresh chopped sage. If you can't find chicken cutlets, cut boneless, skinless chicken breast into 4-ounce pieces and place between pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet, rolling pin or heavy skillet until flattened to about 1/2 inch thick.

With just a few minutes of preparation, you can make this gorgeous grape chutney recipe to serve with roast pork or chicken or to use as a sandwich spread. Purple grapes give it the richest color, but red grapes taste and look great too.

This healthy broccoli rabe and turkey sausage lasagna recipe has plenty of vegetables and goes light on sausage, so it's lower in fat and calories than traditional lasagna recipes. The recipe makes enough for two 8-by-8-inch casseroles (four servings each)--have one for dinner tonight and freeze the other for a night when you don't have time to make dinner. Or, feel free to make one larger lasagna (in a 9-by-13-inch pan) instead of two smaller ones; just increase the cooking time a bit for the larger pan size.

This steak fajita recipe uses bottled Italian salad dressing as part of the steak marinade to make it quick and convenient. For a healthy choice, pick dressing with a short and simple ingredient list including canola or olive oil. Serve the steak fajitas with fresh pico de gallo, guacamole and cold beer.

We love frittata recipes for weeknights because they are the ultimate no-fuss healthy dinners. In this gorgeous, healthy chard and chorizo frittata recipe, we add convenient shredded frozen hash browns to keep it hearty. Finish cooking the eggs under the broiler to turn the top of the frittata a lovely golden brown.

In this healthy panzanella recipe, a classic Italian bread salad recipe, juicy tomatoes full of bright acidity are delicious when combined with the sweetness of basil and leftover bread. Bring out your best olive oil and vinegar and serve this bread salad with grilled meat or fish.

In this braised cauliflower and squash penne pasta recipe, we cook the pasta and vegetables in broth rather than water to make this warming vegetarian pasta extra flavorful. The starch from the pasta and vegetables combines with the broth as it simmers and creates a silky sauce. And you can make the whole dish in just one pot, so cleanup is a breeze.

This healthy Tex-Mex King Ranch casserole recipe is typically made with cans of cream-of-something soup. We've lightened up this casserole recipe considerably by making a homemade cream sauce and loading it up with veggies at the same time. You'll never guess that a serving of our version of King Ranch casserole has 300 fewer calories and two-thirds less fat than the original. This recipe makes enough for two 8-by-8-inch casseroles (four servings each)--have one for dinner tonight and freeze the other for a night when you don't have time to make dinner.

This healthy white turkey chili recipe is gorgeous, with flecks of green from zucchini, oregano and green chiles. To keep the saturated fat low, we use one pound of ground turkey and add whole-grain bulgur to boost the volume and fiber in this chili recipe. After all the ingredients are added to the pot, we like to slowly simmer our chili for close to an hour to develop the best flavor, but if you're in a hurry, reduce the liquid by half and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

In this Italian-inspired healthy pork Milanese recipe, you'll swear that these crispy pork medallions were deep-fried, when in fact they're cooked with a nonstick skillet and a mere 3 tablespoons of healthy extra-virgin olive oil. While the pork and sweet potatoes are cooking, steam broccolini or green beans and serve with a squeeze of lemon to round out the meal.

This brightly flavored, healthy orzo pasta salad recipe is a bright, refreshing and easy side dish to pair with chicken or lamb. Great served warm, room temperature or cold, this healthy pasta salad recipe is also delicious when made with quinoa instead of orzo.

In this healthy, quick risotto recipe, we use instant brown rice instead of arborio rice, and frozen corn and edamame to speed up the cooking time and add fiber. To get the creamy risotto texture without slow cooking, we stir in cream cheese and Parmesan just at the end of cooking.

This healthy French toast recipe is fragrant with vanilla and spiced with cardamom. Paired with a sweet-tart pear-cranberry sauce, it's a delicious way to use any bread that has gotten a little stale. Look for dried lemon peel (for the compote) in the spice section of well-stocked supermarkets or use lemon zest.

This stuffing-like vegetable-and-bread casserole recipe is inspired by the vegetable tians of Provence. The soaked stale bread binds leeks, nutty raclette cheese, abundant roasted garlic and thyme. Serve with roast chicken and a green salad to make a swoon-worthy meal.