This one is about real food.

No scallops of veal or veal of scallops, no soupcons of creme anglaise or artistically arranged swirls of demi-glace.

This one is about real food, the food you cook when you come home after your commute was longer than your work day, when you have to take one kid to hockey practice and another to Girl Scouts and another to band practice, and you’re pretty sure you only have two kids.

I asked my colleagues about their go-to foods, what they cook when everyone is hungry and they just don’t have the time or the energy or maybe even the ingredients to make their usual Tuesday-night foie gras terrine.

They responded with delightful, easy-to-make ideas that tasted great. Each one, incidentally, included a starch, a source of protein and vegetables.

Even the most exotic of the responses is simple, because it makes use of prepared items you get at the store. Tikka Masala Naan Pizzas begins with premade naan flatbreads, which you spread with tikka masala sauce straight from the jar.

This dish works so well because that jarred sauce can be awfully good, if you like spicy food. And while store-bought naan can’t match a freshly made sample from a restaurant, it is certainly good enough for our purposes.

I added cooked chicken and mushrooms, topped it with shredded mozzarella cheese and added a few leaves of spinach, more for visual appeal than flavor. A few minutes in a hot oven melted the cheese and browned the edges of the naan.

It was an easy-to-make Indo-Italian masterpiece.

Sticking to the Italian-ish theme, I next made Hahnilini. This is clearly the creation of a woman who has two children: It is fast, efficient and filling. It looks nice, and it tastes good, too.

Hahnilini begins with a pretty form of pasta — bowtie, shell or fusilli (which the recipe’s creator calls “scroodle noodles”). This you boil as usual, but a couple of minutes before it will be done, you add some broccoli to let it cook with the pasta.

Genius, right? You drain the pasta-‘n’-broccoli and toss it with chunks of cooked chicken, garlic salt, butter and shredded Parmesan cheese.

Next up is instant ramen with a difference. Take your standard packet of ramen — I bought one for 25 cents — add broccoli, poach an egg in it and top it with butter, scallions, sesame seeds and, um, American cheese.

The recipe is an adaptation of one from Los Angeles chef Roy Choi that ran in the New York Times. It’s Korean comfort food, said Choi; it is how he used to eat ramen when he was growing up and still loves to eat it today.

The addition made by my colleague is the broccoli, which rounds out and deepens the flavor, and provides nutrients to an environment that is otherwise as rich in sodium as it is in taste.

And finally, I made a quesadilla defined less by specific ingredients than whatever you happen to have in the fridge. That’s what happens when you’re pressed for time and you need a go-to dinner.

I included broccoli (left over from the other recipes), plus mushrooms and tomatoes, plus, of course, shredded cheese — Colby Jack.

It was good. That’s the advantage of a What’s in the Fridge Quesadilla. Pretty much anything you use is going to taste fine.

Tikka Masala Naan Pizza

• 4 naan flatbreads
• 1-1/2 cups prepared tikka masala sauce
• 4 chicken thighs, cooked and diced
• 6 large mushrooms, sliced and sauteed
• 1-1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach, washed

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place naan on baking sheets and heat 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread with tikka masala sauce. Top with chicken, mushrooms and cheese. Place whole leaves of spinach on top. Bake until cheese is melted and naan is browned at the edges. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 642 calories, 24 g total fat, 10 g saturated fat, 168 mg cholesterol, 47 g protein, 63 g carbohydrate, 13 g sugar, 5 g fiber, 1,338 mg sodium, 315 mg calcium

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Hahnilini

• 1 pound bowtie, shell or fusilli pasta
• Florets from 1 head broccoli, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 2 to 3 cooked chicken breasts, diced
• Garlic salt, to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. During last 2 to 3 minutes of boiling, add broccoli. Drain.

Add chicken, garlic salt and butter; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Toss. Serve on pasta plates, bowls or regular plates, and tell your family to be happy about it. Serves 4 to 6.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 640 calories, 13 g total fat, 6 g saturated fat, 82 mg cholesterol, 41 g protein, 87 g carbohydrate, 4 g sugar, 5 g fiber, 821 mg sodium, 178 mg calcium

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Perfect Instant Ramen

• 3/4 cup broccoli florets
• 1 pack ramen noodles with flavor packet
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 2 slices American cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 scallion, green part only, thinly sliced on the bias

Bring 2-1/2 cups of water to boil in small saucepan. Add broccoli; cook 2 minutes. Add noodles; cook 2 minutes. Add flavor packet; cook 30 more seconds (save on sodium by using 1/2 packet).

With broth at a low simmer, carefully add egg. Do not stir; pull noodles over egg and let sit 3 minutes to poach.

Transfer everything to a serving bowl. Add butter, cheese and sesame seeds; mix. Garnish with scallions. Serves 1.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 732 calories, 44 g total fat, 22 g saturated fat, 257 mg cholesterol, 27 g protein, 58 g carbohydrate, 4 g sugar, 4 g fiber, 2,607 mg sodium, 672 mg calcium

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What’s in the Fridge Quesadilla

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 flour tortillas
• 1 cup cooked broccoli florets
• 4 sliced mushrooms, sauteed
• 1/2 large tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese, such as Colby Jack

Heat oil in skillet until hot; add 1 tortilla. Cook 1 minute, then remove.

Place other tortilla on skillet and scatter evenly with broccoli, mushrooms and tomato. Top with cheese. Place first tortilla on top, oiled-side up. Cook 1 minute until bottom tortilla is nicely browned.

Flip quesadilla; cook until cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes. Cut into quarters; serve immediately. Serves 1.

Note: These fillings are only suggestions. Use whatever you have in the refrigerator.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 485 calories, 20 g total fat, 7 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 19 g protein, 60 g carbohydrate, 4 g sugar, 3 g fiber, 659 mg sodium, 456 mg calcium