home-cooked meals.

Few people have the time, after a long-day's work, to spend hours in the kitchen preparing gourmet dishes for dinner.

Instead, most will simply settle for take-out from their favourite restaurant or will microwave a pre-cooked frozen entree when they get home.

But there are delicious meals that can be prepared in about a half-an-hour -- and some even make maximum use of convenient kitchen tools like handy microwave ovens.

*** MICROWAVE -- 20 MINUTES SHANGHAI PORK STEW 1 pound boneless pork, cut into 1 inch cubes 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon grated orange peel 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 cup water 1 can Campbell's beef broth 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup carrots sliced 1 inch thick 1 cup peppers (sweet red & green) cut into 11 inch strips IN 3 quart microwave-safe casserole, combine pork, garlic and orange peel.

Cover, microwave on high 7 minutes or until pork is no longer pink, stirring once during cooking. Drain.

Stir cornstarch and water until smooth. Add to pork mixture along with remaining ingredients. Cover; microwave on high 9 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring once during cooking.

*** MICROWAVE CHICKEN ORIENTAL 1 pound boneless chicken breast 1 cup soy sauce 1 tablespoon cornstarch 2 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon vinegar 1 teaspoon ground ginger 2 green peppers, cut into thin strips 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced 1 garlic clove, minced CUT chicken breasts crosswise into thin slices. In 3-quart casserole, combine soy sauce, next four ingredients, and 3 cup water. Add green peppers, celery and garlic. In covered dish, microwave on high 5 to 6 minutes until mixture begins to boil, stirring once.

Add chicken, cook covered on high until chicken loses its pink colour, stirring twice.

Recipes from The Continental Society of Bermuda Cookbook.

*** VEGETABLES PAELLA 1 tablespoon olive oil 25 grams/1 ounces butter 2 medium onions, chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 medium leek, thinly sliced 1 medium aubergine, chopped 1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced 50 grams/2 ounces petit pois 325 grams/12 ounces long-grain rice 1 beef tomato, skinned and chopped 825 millilitre/11 pints Vegetable Stock 1 or 2 sachets of saffron strands Salt and black pepper HEAT the oil and butter in a large paella pan and saute' the onions and garlic for 4 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables, except the tomato, and saute' for a few minutes more, stirring well.

Lower the heat and add the rice. Stir again, then add the tomato, stock and saffron and seasonings. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the rice is tender (about 15 minutes), adding extra stock as needed.

*** CHINESE EGG AND NOODLE STIR-FRY 225 grams/8 ounces egg-thread noodles 1 tablespoon sunflower oil 4 spring onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed Knob of root ginger, peeled and finely chopped 50 grams/2 ounces bamboo shoots 25 grams/1 ounces water chestnuts, sliced 50 grams/2 ounces cashew nuts 50 grams/2 ounces button mushrooms 1 tablespoon dry sherry 100 grams/31 ounces fresh bean spouts 4 medium eggs, lightly beaten Salt SOAK the noodles according to the packet instructions while you cook the stir-fry.

Heat the oil in a wok or non-stick frying pan and stir-fry the spring onions, garlic and ginger for a minute.

Add the bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, cashew nuts, mushrooms and sherry and stir for a minute. Add the beansprouts, egg and salt and cook, stirring, until the eggs are scrambled.

Drain the noodles and serve the stir fry on them.

Recipes from: Slim & Healthy Vegetarian.

*** PEPPER STEAK 1 pound sirloin steak 1 tablespoon paprika 2 tablespoons butter 1 clove garlic (crushed) 1 1 cups beef broth 1 onion (cut in strips) 1 scallion (sliced) 1 cup green pepper (cut in strips) 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 cup water 1 cup soy sauce 2 tomatoes (cut in quarters) CUT steak in thin strips. Sprinkle with paprika and allow to stand while preparing vegetables.

Brown steak in butter. Add garlic and broth. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir in onion, scallion and green pepper. Cook covered for about 5 minutes.

Mix cornstarch with water and soy sauce. Stir into the meat mixture. Simmer stirring until thick. Add tomatoes. Cook for about 2 minutes more. Serve over rice.

Recipe from the Bermuda Cookbook.

*** TURKEY-BROCCOLI STIR-FRY 1 pound turkey breast tenderloin, cubed 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon sugar 3 cup fat-free chicken broth 2 tablespoons grated ginger root 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil 1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup) 1 small red bell pepper, sliced (1 cup) 3 cups broccoli flowerets 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce 4 cups cooked hot rice.

MIX turkey, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and 1 cup of the broth. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes.

Remove turkey from marinade; reserve marinade. Heat 1 cup of the broth to boiling in nonstick wok or 10-inch skillet. Add ginger root and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute. Add oil, remaining 1 cup broth, the turkey, onion and bell pepper to wok; stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes or until turkey is white.

Stir in broccoli. Cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender and turkey is no longer pink in centre. Stir in hoisin sauce and marinade. Heat to boiling; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Serve over rice.

*** SOFT TURKEY TACOS WITH SPICY SAUCE 8 fat-free flour tortillas (7 to 8 inches in diameter) 1 cup fat-free chicken broth 1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup) 1 small red or green bell pepper, diced (1 cup) 1 cup whole kernel corn 1 pound lean ground turkey 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce or soy sauce 1 large jalapeno chili, finely chopped (2 tablespoons) 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro HEAT oven to 300 degrees. Wrap tortillas in aluminium foil. Heat in oven 15 minutes.

Heat broth to boiling in nonstick wok or 10-inch skillet. Add onion, bell pepper and corn; stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.

Add turkey and garlic; stir-fry 2 minutes.

Mix fish sauce, chili and brown sugar; stir into turkey mixture. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until liquid is evaporated. Stir in cilantro. Spoon scant 1 cup turkey mixture onto centre of each tortilla; roll up tortilla.

Recipes from Betty Crocker's Low-Fat Low-Cholesterol Cookbook.