Tilapia and Red Pepper Fajitas

This satisfying spiced medley of black beans, peppers and flaked tilapia comes together in minutes and is a yummy way to introduce more fish into your family's diet. Wrapped up in warm tortillas, it's a dinner even picky eaters will love. Cost: 3.65/serving

Hoisin Meatball Lettuce Cups With Spicy Slaw

The quintessential Chinese dipping sauce, hoisin sauce is all you need to transform everyday meatballs into sticky, glazed nuggets of goodness. If you find your lettuce cups too crowded to eat neatly, just tear off a few more lettuce leaves and fill them with fewer meatballs. If you don't have ground pork, any ground meat will do.
Cost: $2.30/serving

Steak Fajita Toss with Cilantro Sour Cream

Thinly slicing flank steak across the grain breaks apart and tenderizes the tough muscle fibres and ensures the steak cooks quickly. If you like, serve Cheddar cheese, avocado, tortilla chips and extra salsa on the side. Cost: $4.20 per serving

Tomato Shrimp Soup

 Use ripe tomatoes for this soup. At this time of year, hot-house tomatoes are your best bet – the small, sweet "cocktail tomatoes" have good flavour. Adjust the number of hot peppers to your taste.

Fish Croquettes with Fennel & Red Pepper Sauce

Grilled Flank Steak Salad

Although flank steak is tender enough to grill and eat right away, it's even better when you marinate it. A resealable plastic bag makes a useful transportable marinating container. Slicing across the grain and serving no more than medium-rare ensures maximum tenderness.

Cold Chicken Noodle Salad

If you're making this fresh and flavourful salad ahead of time, store it in a large shallow airtight container for easy tossing. Better yet, just close the lid and give it a good shake.

Mini Cubanos

This shortcut version of the cubano sandwich uses marinated pork tenderloin instead of a large pork roast.

Rice Paper Lobster Rolls

Cooking a fresh lobster ensures great taste. If you are short on time, many fish markets will cook it for you.  

Curry Vegetable Barley Soup

This thick and hearty soup has a subtle kick to it, but if you prefer a bit more heat, increase the curry paste to 1 tbsp. Cooking the mushrooms on the side gives them a nice golden colour and prevents them from becoming waterlogged in the broth.