This cookbook will help stock the pantry and manage meals you can make with 5 ingredients

What if you could get delicious, healthful meals on the table quickly, using just five ingredients and a few pantry staples? Would you be interested in those recipes?

I am. Which is why I've been keeping a new cookbook close at hand. "Five-Ingredient Dinners" is as close to a sure thing to an easy meal as you'll find. It's from the folks at America's Test Kitchen in Boston (Random House, $29.99) publishers of Cooks Illustrated and producers of TV shows including "Cook's Country" on PBS.

This new book features more than 100 dinner recipes developed by their test cooks in their own homes.

That's key to me. I don't want to go shopping and buy ingredients and then stand over the stove for a failed dish. That can happen with recipes you find online. They're not always exact, scientific or good. The risk is gone with the team that tests and re-tests recipes until they get it right.

The first recipe I tried was for Sausage and Peppers but it wasn't for dinner. It was for a crowd of men. I made five batches in no time. Instead of making the polenta, I served the sausages with long rolls and they were a hit. One of the details was to add half a cup of water and I have to say, I think it made a huge difference in keeping the sausages from drying out.

The sausages are a perfect tailgate food that you can make ahead and warm on your grill lined with some aluminum foil. So these recipes can be adapted for more than dinner.

Salmon is featured in a number of recipes and what a healthful way to deliver those omega-3 fatty acids and protein. You won't find an easier dish to make for dinner than the Pan-seared Paprika Salmon with Spicy Green Beans. That is unless you opt for the Grilled Salmon with Charred Red Cabbage Slaw.

There are recipes for pork chops, chicken soup and a beef ramen dish that is made with the noodles from one of those inexpensive packages college kids favor. (You toss out the broth packet.) Meatless Monday recipes is a full chapter as is Chicken Every Way.

But this cookbook also offers a guide to stocking a perfect pantry so you aren't running out to grab this and that at the store.

Dig in: Everything you need to know about RI's iconic 'stuffie'

There's also a Use It Up feature that helps you not waste food. Say you have some pesto in the fridge. There are three recipes listed to use up that fresh basil mix. One is a Grilled Vegetable Platter which is a seasonal delight.

If you want to get cooking, cut down on takeout, and deliver a ton of flavor, you can't lose with these recipes.

Polenta with Sausage and Peppers

1 cup instant polenta

1½ pounds sweet or hot Italian sausage

1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin

1 small onion, halved and sliced thin

1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

Staple Ingredients:

Unsalted butter

Table salt

Pepper

Bring 4 cups water to boil in a large saucepan. Whisk in polenta, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in 3 tablespoons butter, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, place sausage in a 12-inch nonstick skillet and cook over medium heat until browned all over, 6 to 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, add bell pepper and onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes, ½ cup water, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Simmer until sausage registers 160 degrees, 4 to 6 minutes.

Top polenta with sausage and pepper mixture. Serve.

Serves 4

Total Time: 20 minutes

Pan-seared salmon with Smoked Paprika and Spicy Green Beans

4 (6- to 8-ounce) skin-on salmon filets, 1 inch thick

1¼ teaspoons smoked paprika, divided

1 pound green beans, trimmed

6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

½ cup jarred hot banana pepper rings

Staple Ingredients:

Extra-virgin olive oil

Table salt

Pepper

Pat salmon dry with paper towels and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Place salmon skin side up in skillet and cook until well browned and center is still translucent when checked with tip of paring knife and registers 125 degrees (for medium-rare), 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to serving dish and sprinkle with remaining ¼ teaspoon paprika. Wipe out skillet with paper towels.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add green beans, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring often, until green beans and garlic turn spotty brown, about 6 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook until green beans are crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in banana pepper rings and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Serves 4

Total Time: 30 minutes

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: New America's Test Kitchen cookbook highlights 5 ingredient meals