Cookbook helps you get back into daily grind

NEW YORK — Many cookbooks are organized by ingredient — like pasta, chicken and veggies. Or by dish — mains, sides and desserts. But not the latest offering by Caroline Chambers. Her book is grouped by how long each recipe takes to cook.

“What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking” has sections for meals ready in 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes and an hour, complete with shortcut tips, slow cooker instructions, ingredient swaps and ways to bulk each dish up.

It was inspired by the daily grind: She found herself a new mother, working full time as did her husband, facing the nightly freakout about what to feed everyone.

“I think every single person is daunted by the idea of putting dinner on the table every single night for their family,” Chambers says from her home in Carmel Valley, Calif. “That’s why we text our friends like, ‘Hey, what are your kids loving lately? What’s something you’ve cooked lately that was really good?’ ”

If you have an hour, Chambers shows how you can make Salmon Crunch Bowls or Sheet Pan Sesame-Ginger Steak & Peppers. If all you have is about 15 minutes, there’s a fish dish — any fish will do — with cherry tomatoes and saffron, or a skillet dish with ground pork, Brussels sprouts and peanut butter. Each is a complete meal, so no need to add a vegetable side from another part of the book.

Piggybacking off Chambers’ popular Substack newsletter, the cookbook comes out just as summer melts into fall, schools restart and the dreaded 9-to-5s kicks back into place.

“All of a sudden, we’re having to get back in the routines. We’re not eating chicken nuggets at the pool anymore. We’re not eating hot dogs every single night. We are like, ‘OK, back to reality. Let’s cook a meal,’ ” she says.

Chambers is all about ease and flexibility. Take her Thai-inspired Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs & Veggies — 45 minutes — that uses red curry paste and handmade meatballs. She encourages home chefs to grab Italian meatballs from the store if time is running low.

“Would a Thai cook ever use oregano? Hard pass. Would they ever use thyme? Nope, they sure wouldn’t. But those flavors can still play together really nicely and it’s going to make your night a lot easier,” Chambers says. “A little oregano in a meatball is not going to be as weird as you think it is when it’s thrown together with coconut milk.”

Her proteins include mussels, eggs, steak and scallops, and her flavors jump from North African harissa to Mexican fajitas, Asian bo ssam and Italian pesto. She thinks lentils are criminally disrespected and refried beans are the perfect thing to bind a “taco-dilla” — a cross between a taco and a quesadilla.

The 15-minute chapter offers several melty sandwiches, multiple uses for rotisserie chicken and instant ramen — cheap versions are fine, toss the flavor pouch — to which she adds tons of vegetables and pantry items like coconut milk, sesame oil, peanut butter and soy sauce.

“It doesn’t have to be fancy and it doesn’t have to be the coolest seaweed kelp noodles to taste really good and still be a nourishing meal,” she says.

Chambers has enjoyed a varied career in food, opening her own catering company, Cucina Coronado, and becoming a professional recipe developer. Her first cookbook, “Just Married: A Cookbook for Newlyweds,” came out in 2017 after she got married, to George. The couple now have three boys.

During the pandemic, Chambers offered easy, smart meals on social media, perfect for stuck-at-home readers. She created a paid Substack newsletter, thinking she’d maybe make enough for a side hustle. Think again: She’s attracted almost 20,000 paid subscribers and is the No. 1 entry on Top Food & Drink Substacks.

“I grew a really loyal audience by just showing up and giving them exactly what they needed — really quick, really easy. Everybody was sick and burnt out on cooking,” she says.

Chambers’ editor — Amanda Englander, the editorial director at Union Square & Co. — says: “Her audience has proven really loyal and really engaged. I think it’s because she’s such a genuine person but also because her recipes are also so true to how we all really are in the kitchen.”

Ten of Chambers’ recipes from the newsletter have found their way into the cookbook, including one of her most popular dishes, Hella Green Pasta, which uses boiled kale and garlic, and Parmesan in the sauce.

“My kids do not touch a green vegetable, but they absolutely demolish Hella Green Pasta,” she says. “It has this insanely creamy, delicious sauce. There’s olive oil, there’s tons of Parmesan. And it’s like a pesto — pesto’s cool cousin.”

Panko Honey Mustard Chicken (With Frico Broccoli)

Serves 4. “What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking” by Caroline Chambers.

Plain ol’ boneless, skinless chicken breasts are given new life in this sheet pan meal by Caroline Chambers. The chicken gets coated in a honey mustard sauce, then topped with buttery breadcrumbs that get crunchy and browned in the oven. The broccoli gets the frico treatment — crisped up with Parm. Then dunk everything in the extra honey mustard sauce.

½ cup grainy Dijon mustard

⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1½ teaspoons garlic powder

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Kosher salt

4 (6- to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter

¾ cup panko breadcrumbs

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 pound broccoli florets

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together the mustard, honey, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder, the red pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon salt. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the sauce in a serving bowl.

Add another 1/2 teaspoon salt to the sauce in the large bowl, then add the chicken and turn to coat evenly. If you have time, let the chicken marinate at room temperature for up to 30 minutes or up to overnight in the refrigerator. But don’t worry if you need to cook it right away!

Melt the butter in a microwave-safe medium bowl in 20-second bursts, stirring after each, or in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the panko, ¼ cup of the Parmesan, the remaining ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and a big pinch of salt (do this right in the skillet if you used one to melt the butter).

On the prepared baking sheet, toss the broccoli florets with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and ¾ teaspoon salt to coat evenly. Nestle the chicken breasts among the florets. Top with the panko mixture, pressing firmly to adhere.

Roast for 12 minutes, then gently toss the broccoli and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan on top. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 160 degrees, 5 to 7 minutes more.

Serve the chicken and broccoli with the reserved honey mustard sauce alongside for dunking.

SWAP: Use finely chopped almonds or hazelnuts instead of breadcrumbs for a gluten-free spin. Swap in asparagus or green beans for the broccoli.