It happens to all of us, you get home late from work or from taking the kids to ballet and there`s no time to cook up an elaborate dinner. Do you order pizza? Grab burgers on the way home? Or do you turn to one of these five simple foods that can be whipped up in no time?

Pasta

If you put on a pot of water to boil the minute you walk in the door, you can literally have this dish ready to go in just 15 minutes. Use readymade sauce or mix a can of cream of mushroom soup into ½ cup of the hot pasta water and use for a "gourmet" sauce.

Turn it into a full meal by: Tossing a salad, lettuce and two sliced tomatoes, with your favorite dressing and making garlic bread by slicing a loaf of bread almost all the way through, putting a couple pats of butter between each slice and sprinkling a teaspoon of garlic powder over each slice. Bake at 200º for 10 min. or until the butter melts.

Chicken Breast

Cut a chicken breast into cubes and cook in a hot frying pan with a dribble of oil. You will have cooked chicken in just minutes.

Turn it into a full meal by: Adding chopped broccoli, garlic, snap peas, red pepper and carrots to the pan for a delicious stir fry. Sprinkle with soy sauce and serve hot.

Ramen Noodles

The instant noodles you keep on hand might not seem like much of a meal, but they can be delicious and nutritious if you fix them up. It takes longer to prepare this meal than to cook it! Put the water on to boil as soon as you walk in the door and start chopping. Toss carrots, onions, and peas or any other veggies you happen to have in the fridge or freezer, right into the pot of hot water. Let them simmer for a minute and add your ramen noodles. Presto, instant good food.

Turn it into a full meal by: Just adding bread. The soup is pretty complete on its own.

Ground Beef

This is another meat that takes very little time to cook. Fry it up with a chopped onion and some garlic, along with a sprinkle of dried basil and some salt and you have the basis of a great meal in about 10 minutes.

Turn it into a full meal by: Getting out the bread (buns are perfect) and adding a can of kidney beans and a package of readymade pasta sauce to turn the hamburger meat into sloppy joes. A crowd pleasing hit in less than 15 minutes.

Eggs

Scrambled eggs are virtually instant and can make a great evening meal. Whisk them with some milk (about 1 Tblsp. Per pair of eggs), add in your favorite seasonings (garlic and basil are always good options), and scramble those suckers.

Turn it into a full meal by: Adding some refried beans and toast for a tasty and very fast meal.

There`s no reason to resort to fast food all the time just because you`re running behind. With the right foods, you can have a tasty, healthy dinner ready to go in minutes.