Truth be told, I often find that chopping ingredients is the most tedious part of preparing any meal. It always takes longer than I expect, especially if the knives I'm using aren't up to snuff. And when I'm exhausted and hungry, the last thing I want to do is spend 15 minutes cutting up vegetables-possibly longer if I'm working with something sturdy like squash or time-consuming like brussels sprouts-and then even more time washing the cutting board and knife.

To get me through those kinds of days, I've assembled an arsenal of pasta recipes that require no chopping at all. These pasta recipes rely on ingredients that are already prepped and ready to go, like frozen corn, canned beans, and leafy greens that you can tear apart if you don't feel like getting a knife out. Dishes like soy and ginger steamed fish, white bean quesadillas, and lamb with herbs with delicious homemade pasta in this cookbook will prove that you don't need to have knife skills to make an excellent meal.