Sausage and broccoli pasta

A quickie. Unfortunately, all I really have time for these days.

This is one of my favorite go-to weeknight recipes. All you really need is a pantry staple (pasta), a freezer staple (frozen chicken or turkey sausage), a crisper staple (broccoli - although I've used everything from asparagus to chard), and a cheese staple (good ole Parmesan).

Lime shrimp over coconut rice with roasted acorn squash in chile vinaigrette

The title makes this sound much more complicated than it is. In reality it's a quick, simple, crazy tasty weeknight meal.

Rice cooked in coconut milk becomes rich and creamy, like risotto without the work. Topped with a ladle full of limey buttery garlicky shrimp, it is heavenly.

Lamb, apricot and almond tagine over cilantro couscous with honeyed carrots

I love a good tagine. This is a classic version - sweet apricots, spicy cinnamon, and savory meat. Texturally it's very interesting too, with the contrast between the crunchy slivered almonds and soft braised lamb, all heaped over fluffy, grainy couscous. I just love it.

I've only been experimenting with Moroccan cuisine for a couple of years. At my bridal shower, my sister's best friend gave me a stunningly gorgeous cookbook called "Fresh Moroccan", by Nada Saleh. As soon as I cracked it open, it was all over.