I’ve often marveled at those families where both Mom and Dad work and the children have myriad after-school activities, but who still manage to get a hot meal on the table and eat together at dinnertime.

Many evenings after work, I feel too tired to even want to look at the kitchen, much less make a meal from scratch.

This is when I’ve been known to fall into the “something frozen” trap.

It goes something like this:

Husband: I’m starving! All I had for lunch was that vegetable soup. What’s for dinner?

Me: Um …

Husband: What do we have thawed?

Me: Um … (thinking: Dang it! I forgot to take the chicken out!)

Husband: Well, tell me what you want to do, sweetie.

Me: Let’s just go by the store on the way home and get something frozen, OK?

And that can be embarrassing. I can think of more than one occasion where I’ve been in line behind someone who turns around, looks in my basket, and starts an exchange that goes something like this ...

Well-meaning reader: Hey, don’t you write a food column?

Me: Yes. Yes, I do.

Reader: I really do enjoy reading it. (eyes frozen pizza in basket) That’s what you really eat, huh?

Me: Well, no! I mean, well, yes, sometimes …

This recipe can save you from such mortification.

It’s easy, quick, healthy and inexpensive, and if you add a green salad and a quick-cooking veggie (think roasted asparagus or steamed green beans), you’ll have dinner on the table in only 30 minutes.

If you are not a fan of the sharp flavors of lemon and mustard, or perhaps you like them but not at their most pungent, then start with just a little of each and add more until it gets to your preferred taste level.

This recipe can be easily multiplied to make as many cutlets as you need to feed your family. Enjoy.

Rachel Chaddock’s column appears weekly in the Folsom and El Dorado Hills Telegraph. Reach Chaddock at rachels.recipes@yahoo.com.

Turkey cutlets with lemon-mustard pan sauce

2 turkey cutlets, about 1/2” thick

2 tsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup good quality chicken stock

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. unsalted butter

Season cutlets on one side with salt and pepper. Heat a large, heavy skillet (I use cast iron) over medium high heat. Add olive oil and heat until hot but not smoking. Add cutlets, seasoned side down. Sprinkle unseasoned side (which should be facing up) with salt and pepper. Cook cutlets for about three or four minutes, until browned. Flip over carefully and cook the other side. Remove to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

Still over medium-high heat, add the chicken stock to the skillet. Stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate the browned bits. Add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard, and stir well to combine. Continue cooking the pan sauce over medium-high heat until thickened and it reduced by about half. Add the butter and mix until fully melted and blended into the sauce. Pour over the cutlets, garnish with parsley and lemon slices if desired. Serves: One person per cutlet.