We are all always looking for diners that can be made quickly and easily. Make them during fall and winter when your time is short.

Skillet Lemon Chicken

4 servings

This came from a food magazine of 40 or more years ago.

• ½ teaspoon lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 4 large boneless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ⅔ cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon flour
• lemon slices
• parsley sprigs

1. Mix lemon peel, parsley, salt, pepper and flour on a sheet of waxed paper. Coat chicken breasts.

2. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Cook chicken until tender and golden brown on both sides (about 7 minutes). Remove to a platter.

3. In a bowl, mix chicken broth, lemon juice and 1 t. flour. Add to the skillet. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minutes. Pour over chicken.

Garnish with lemon slices and parsley sprigs.

Skillet Chicken and Mushroom Pot Pie

6 servings

• This is a recipe of Grace Parisi—cookbook author, writer, food stylist and test kitchen editor for Food & Wine. I made a few changes to the original recipe.
• 4 tablespoons unsalted pareve margarine
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 1 pound thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
• 2 thinly sliced carrots
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 2 cups non-dairy, pareve milk
• 3 cups shredded chicken
• ¼ cup frozen peas
• ¼ cup any other vegetable
• 8 1-inch-thick slices white pareve bread with crusts removed

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.

2. In an oven-proof skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of margarine. Add onion, mushrooms and carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 1 minute until vegetables are soft. Uncover and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in flour and paprika. Cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth and wine and cook until blended. Add pareve milk and bring to a boil. Stir in chicken, peas and any other vegetables.

3. Arrange bread over chicken mixture. Brush bread with remaining 2 tablespoons of pareve  margarine. Bake for 20 minutes until filling is bubbling and bread is golden. Serve immediately.

Top-of-the-Stove Barbeque Chicken

4 servings

This has no origin but is at least 40 years old.

• 3 tablespoons oil
• 2-3 pounds chicken, cut into pieces
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• ¼ cup chopped onions
• ½ cup water
• tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add chicken pieces, season with salt and pepper.

2. Combine in a bowl tomato sauce, onions, water, vinegar, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over chicken. Cover. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently.

Sybil Kaplan is a Jerusalem-based journalist, author and compiler/editor of nine kosher cookbooks. She is a food writer for North American Jewish publications, and she leads walks of the Jewish food market, Machaneh Yehudah, in English.