After a long, tiring day of work, I often crave the warm, soothing flavors of comfort food. But because my job involves cooking all day long in theFine Cookingtest kitchen, I honestly don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen when I get home at night. I’m willing to bet that a lot of you feel the same way, too, even if your day job doesn’t involve cooking.

The good news is that comfort food doesn’t have to be slow-cooking. Sure, you may have to wait until Sunday for that beef stew you’ve been dreaming of, but doesn’t a roast chicken soup flavored with lemon and saffron sound good? How about a rich butternut squash and bacon risotto topped with crisp fried sage leaves? These may not sound quick, but trust me, they are. Just be sure to read the recipe through and have all your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking, and you’ll be sitting down to a relaxing, homemade dinner in about 45 minutes or less.