Dinner Victories

This tray dinner gives potatoes a head start before adding Parmesan-coated chicken and green beans. Keep raw-chicken utensils separate from the vegetable preparation. Use enough tray space for a single layer, even if that means cooking across two pans.

Thin steak slices and three colors of bell pepper are coated in a concentrated soy-and-oyster sauce. Prepare the marinade and finishing sauce in separate bowls before heating the pan. Working in batches helps the meat sear instead of releasing liquid into an overcrowded skillet.

Cooked beef, peppers, ricotta and mozzarella fill rolled flour tortillas, which bake under pizza sauce and pepperoni. This is a pizza-style tortilla casserole rather than a claim to a traditional enchilada recipe. Separate the filling and topping measures before cooking so the sauce and cheese are not counted twice.

Thin chicken breasts enclose ham and Swiss before receiving a flour, egg and crumb coating. Roll first and dredge afterward so the flour stays on the exterior. Searing colors the crust; the oven finishes the chicken and enclosed filling.

Cooked shredded chicken, salsa, beans and corn bake under Colby Jack cheese in this simple casserole. Drain the vegetables before mixing so the salsa supplies most of the sauce. Sour cream, guacamole and green onions go on after the hot center has been checked.

Sweet potato cubes and sausage are finished in a honey, soy and garlic glaze. Cook the sausage according to whether the package is raw or fully cooked, and soften the potatoes before reducing the sugary sauce. The covered potato stage may need a little water to prevent scorching.

Chicken cubes are coated with a honey, lime and coconut-aminos sauce, then served with cooked rice and green beans. This sauce has no starch thickener. Reduce it gently to a light glaze rather than waiting for the dense texture of a cornstarch-based takeout sauce.

Pan-cooked chicken is finished with crumbled feta and honey warmed with chili flakes and cider vinegar. The cheese is added at serving, not baked into a sauce. Cook the chicken first, then use the separate honey pan to control sweetness and heat without burning the glaze.

Seared salmon rests while orzo cooks in broth with onion and garlic. Spinach, Parmesan and lemon finish the pasta before the fish returns briefly to the skillet. This method starts with dry orzo and uses the broth as its cooking liquid.