Tempted to go to the fast food counter for some quick dinner? Many people are.

Recently on Daytime Television I was in the kitchen with co-host Lindsay MacDonald and we put together a simple recipe for Halibut that will take you less than 15 minutes to make.

Here it is:

1 cup dried apricots
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dried bing cherries
1 and 1 / 2 cups white wine
3 tablespoons minced ginger
1 cup slightly chopped mint leaves
4, 6-ounce pieces fresh halibut fillets (or seabass or salmon fillets)
salt and crushed red pepper (or black pepper)
1 lemon
In a microwave-safe container, combine the dried fruit, 1 cup wine, ginger, and half the mint.  Cover and cook at full power in the microwave oven for 2 minutes.  Can be done 8 hours before cooking with all food refrigerated.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place fish flat side down on a baking pan, then sprinkle with salt and red pepper or ground black pepper.  Add all the fruit both around and on top of the fish.  Add the remaining wine around the sides of the fish.  Place in the oven, and roast uncovered until the fish just begins to flake, about 12 minutes.  Transfer to dinner plates.  Squeeze lemon juice on fish.  Garnish with remaining mint.  Serve.

This dish is around 400 calories per serving. Compare with a 1/4 pound hamburger with cheese (about 410 calories) add the medium french fries (another 400 calories) and a coke (200 calories) and you can see the difference.

So next time you think you don’t have time to cook– and want to go out to dinner instead- try this recipe. If you don’t have fresh Halibut fillets available you can try any fresh white fish.