Squiggly Knife-Cut-Style Noodles 
These dao xiao mian–inspired instant noodles sell out fast at my Trader Joe’s, which is crawling with college kids. But I finally got my grip on them and, even if the watery soy-sesame sauce leaves something to be desired, it’s an easy base to build on. The ruffled noodles hold their shape and cook in four minutes, during which time I chopped up some cucumber, red peppers, and scallions. Then I cracked an egg yolk in the sauced noodles because I’m the girl boss of my own destiny (read that on a pillow once). If you have the ingredients, I recommend whipping up Hetty Lui McKinnon’s peanut butter sauce to make this 1,000,000 times better, using the soy-sesame sauce in place of the soy and vinegar in hers. 

Elements of Super-Fast Meals

Buttermilk Ranch
When you work in food media too long, you internalize things like: Store-bought dressing? Never! It’s so easy to make at home! Yeah, well, sometimes I don’t want to lift a finger (more than the three it takes to pry open my fridge). This ranch is so perfectly dilly, creamy, and garlicky that I’ll probably buy it every time I go to Trader Joe’s from the now into the hereafter. That’s right, I’m buying ranch in the afterlife.