The Perfect Pantry®

Grilled chicken, avocado and peach salsa quesadilla recipe

In the house where I grew up, we ate grilled cheese sandwiches all the time, but nary a quesadilla. Maybe it was a Northeast thing, but more likely, it was a my mother never heard of quesadillas thing. My own pantry always holds enough fixings for these simple Mexican grilled cheese sandwiches, a go-to meal on busy days. Most often I use Joseph's low-carb oat bran tortillas -- the gorgeous orange ones in these photos are habañero-lime tortillas from Trader Joe's -- and my friend Lucia keeps me supplied with her homemade peach salsa. Newman's Own peach salsa from the supermarket, or Trader Joe's peach salsa, will be fine substitutes that add a bit of fruity heat. Here's my secret to great quesadillas: tuck a few teaspoons of the salsa inside, and cook them on a dry griddle, to keep them from being greasy on the outside.

Slow cooker green chile chicken recipe

Chelsea, my summer intern, returns to college this week. It hardly seems possible that we've been cooking together for three months, or that we've made dozens of great recipes with only two toss-in-the-compost failures. This slow cooker green chile chicken typifies the budget-friendly recipes we've created with college students in mind. Throw a few ingredients into the slow cooker on the way to classes in the morning, and come back to a ready-to-eat dinner at the end of the day. We paired this chicken with quick and easy black beans and rice, and rolled everything in a tortilla with a bit of salsa on top. It's nutritious and economical, as a small bit of chicken is all you need with rice and beans, and you'll have plenty of time left to do homework -- or play with your kids, or read a book, or watch reruns of The Good Wife on television.

Recipe for spicy tuna and avocado ceviche

Everyone (including me) will tell you that you should never shop for fish on Monday morning, yet it was a field trip to my local fishmonger last Monday morning with my summer intern that inspired this amazing tuna and avocado ceviche. We'd gone to get the kinds of things you can buy on a Monday -- fish for chowder, clams and clam broth, and calamari -- and there, calling to us, was sushi-grade tuna, tightly wrapped in plastic to keep the air from degrading it. Ceviche (pronounced seh VEE chay) is a Latin appetizer of raw fish "cooked" in an acid like lime or lemon. I had beautiful purple scallions and cilantro from the farmers' market, an avocado, and a full pantry of Asian condiments. My spicy ceviche came together in five minutes, and I could have inhaled the entire bowl in five more minutes if I hadn't stopped to photograph it. Sushi-grade tuna isn't inexpensive, so this dish would be a wonderful dinner party appetizer, or a special treat for a romantic evening at home.

Mango, watermelon and tomato salsa fresca recipe

A week of recipes designed for easy cooking, in or out of a burrito. Viva Mexico Week, Day Three.

Even though I love Mexican food, I'm a little afraid of salsa fresca, the salsa that works magic on chicken and bean burritos but almost always contains cilantro. Sometimes those cilantro leaves jump right up and grab onto my tongue, where I can't avoid the vaguely soapy taste they leave behind. One day, I had an epiphany: I can make my own salsa, and leave the cilantro out. Yes, out, completely, none, not one sprig of it. Don't tell anyone, but this mango, watermelon and tomato salsa fresca packs plenty of sweet and a touch of heat, flavor and crunch, and doesn't need cilantro at all. If you want to add it, I won't stop you, but try it without and enjoy your own little epiphany over your next burrito.