If you and your family are super busy, this doesn’t mean that you can’t have the tastiest meal you could ask for! Sometimes cooking implies complicated recipes, hours and hours of cooking, and a ton of ingredients.

When you barely managed to get home on time, or finally finished with that spring cleaning you’ve planned to do for so long, or you simply had a busy schedule for the day, it’s too much. Looking out for the needed ingredients, spending hours, and guarding the oven can turn out to be exhausting. That’s why we thought you’d like to try a couple of recipes that only need 4 ingredients.

Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches

If your loved ones are huge fans of pulled pork sandwiches, you should definitely try this recipe. Usually, at family dinners, nobody can get enough of this root beer-braised version.

How to:

• Place roast in a 4- to 5-qt slow cooker. Add some root beer, cook, cover, and leave it on low until the meat is tender, 8-10 hours. Remove the roast, and then cool slightly. Discard cooking juices, then shred the pork with two forks and return to the slow cooker. Stir in barbecue sauce. Cook and leave it covered until heated through about 30 minutes. Serve on rolls.

Air-Fryer Crispy Curry Drumsticks

These air-fryer chicken drumsticks are so rich in flavor! They are crispy on the outside, and juicy on the inside, which makes them the perfect combo. You can also add some red pepper flakes besides all that curry powder if you want to spice things up a bit. I generally prefer serving them with chicken-seasoned pasta and boiled broccoli, but that’s just me!

How to:

• Place the chicken in a large bowl, then add 1/2 teaspoon salt and enough water to cover everything. Let it stand for 15 minutes at room temperature. Drain and pat dry.
• Preheat the air fryer to 375°. In a separate bowl, mix some oil, curry powder, onion salt, garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then add chicken and toss the coat. In separate batches, place the chicken in a single layer on a tray, in an air-fryer basket. Cook until the chicken reaches 170 degrees (you can check that with a thermometer), for about 20 minutes. If you like, you can sprinkle some cilantro on top.

Honey-Mustard Glazed Salmon

Trust me, with this recipe, you won’t have to fish for compliments anymore! This spectacular honey mustard salmon is a total heartbreaker!

How to:

• Place the fillets, skin side down, on a greased baking sheet. In a very small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard, honey, and salt, and spoon over the salmon.
• Broil 3-4 in. from the heat, until you notice that the fish is soft. You can test it with a fork. Usually, it shouldn’t take longer than 12 minutes.

Skewered Ginger Shrimp with Plums

Sweet, and extremely tasty, these shrimp skewers boast a ton of flavor with only four ingredients. Throw them on the grill for a rapid dinner, or even a tasty potluck dish.

How to:

• In a big bowl, combine shrimp and plums. Drizzle with 1/4 cup marinade, and then toss the coat. You can thread the shrimp and plums on 4 metal or wooden skewers.
• Add a little bit of oil on a rack, because that’s where you’ll grill the skewers. Cover them over medium heat until shrimp are turning pink, 6-8 minutes, and then turn occasionally and bast frequently with what’s left out of the marinade in the last 3 minutes of cooking. Serve with some green onion or sesame seeds.

Margarita Chicken

Our margarita chicken is not only soaked in flavors of garlic and lime, but this tasty chicken is also ready to reach wherever the coals are hot! Add some roasted corn and lemonade and you’ve got yourself the perfect recipe for a Sunday afternoon.

How to:

• In a bowl, mix the margarita, lime juice, and garlic. Add 1 cup marinade into a shallow dish, then add some chicken, and turn everything to coat. Cover and refrigerate, for 2-4 hours, and then refrigerate the marinade that’s left, too
• Drain chicken, while you discard the marinade. Sprinkle the chicken with some salt and pepper, and place it on an oiled grill rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat, until you see the thermometer showing 165 degrees.

Ranch Pork Roast

Are you a new cook? Because if the answer is yes, then this is the perfect recipe for you to start your career as a chef! Just kidding, it’s enough to cook for your family, to be truly appreciated! The leftover meat is so tender and full of flavors, that you’ll definitely use it in many other recipes!

How to:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If you prefer this way, tie the pork with some kitchen strings at 2-in. intervals, to facilitate the roasting without losing its shape. Combine the next 5 ingredients, and rub them over the roast. Place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, and then add 1 cup of water into the pan.
• Leave it uncovered to bake until the thermometer shows 145 degrees. This should last around 55 minutes, and then let it stand another 15 minutes before slicing.

Slow-Cooker Barbecue Pulled Pork Sandwiches

“Foolproof” is the perfect word to describe this barbecue pork recipe. It only requires four ingredients and a slow cooker, and you’ve got yourself a fabulous sandwich with just a little bit of effort.

How to:

• Place the pork in a slow cooker, and add Dr. Pepper over the top. Cover everything and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours, until the meat is tender
• Remove the meat, and let the slow cooker cool down. Discard all the cooking juices. Shred the meat with 2 forks and return to the slow cooker. Add the barbecue sauce, and heat it through. Serve it on buns.

Saucy Grilled Pork Chops

No one said it’s easy to cook pork chops…but this recipe is definitely making things better!

How to:

• In a dish that you can safely insert into the microwave, add butter and cover it until is melted. Then, add some brown sugar and lemon juice, and stir everything to dissolve the sugar. Keep 2/3 cup for drizzling later
• Brush the pork chops with the remaining sauce. Grill, covered, on an oiled rack over medium heat or broil 4 inches from the heat, for 5 minutes on each side of the chop, until the thermometer shows 145 degrees. Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.
• Stir the sauce to combine and gently reheat if it’s necessary, and drizzle it over the pork chops. Serve with some lemon if you wish.

Sesame Cilantro Shrimp

For those days when you feel like eating something tasty but without all the fuss of cooking, you can always rely on this recipe.

How to:

• In a big nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp dressing over medium heat. Add all the shrimp and cook while stirring for 1 minute
• Stir in the remaining dressing, and cook everything uncovered, until the shrimp turns pink for 2 more minutes. For serving, squeeze some lime juice over top, and sprinkle with cilantro. If you want, serve it with some rice.

Apple-Glazed Chicken Thighs

This apple-glazed chicken thighs recipe is ideal for those who are very picky with what they eat. It’s SO tasty, everyone loves it!

How to:

• Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. In a big skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken on both sides, and then remove from the pan.
• Add the juice and thyme to the skillet. Bring to a boil, while stirring. Cook until the liquid reduces. Return chicken to pan, cook, covered, over medium heat for 4 minutes longer or up until you see on the thermometer showing 170 degrees.

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