With two daughters under 5, Nicole Straight is a busy person and by her reckoning, just about everybody else is, too. She is also a big believer in sitting down to a dinner of real food. To her, a busy schedule and sit-down dinner are not mutually exclusive. It doesn’t matter if you’re single, a couple, or have a bunch of kids to feed.

That’s why she started Time to Eat!, her business of cooking classes promising meals that are ready to eat in 15 minutes. She offers them in her Westport home, in your home, and from now through March at Christopher Peacock Cabinetry in Greenwich.

“Time to Eat is 15 minutes from prep to plate,” Nicole said. “When you go to a class nothing is prepared. In a parent’s world every minute counts. Everybody has something else to do.

“People are tired of doing the restaurant thing,” she continued. “There’s a real interest among people in cooking and using their kitchens. If you have young children, it’s important for them to see you in the kitchen,” Nicole added. “Kids can’t appreciate cooking and food if all they do is eat take-out or frozen food.”

Nicole promises that in her classes, “there’s no trickery, no gourmet ingredients.” While it is a demo class – there’s no hands-on cooking by students – participants eat everything Nicole makes in class. She also brings her students around the stove for a close-up look at certain techniques, such as telling when shrimp are cooked.

“What’s the secret to doing it fast?” I asked. “Cook everything on high,” Nicole answered. She wasn’t kidding. One of her recipes involves poaching chicken in foil at 500 degrees in the oven.

“Keep some convenience items on hand,” she went on. “Frozen shrimp and scallops take two minutes to defrost in a bowl of hot water and shrimp take 45 seconds to cook. I just recently found frozen garlic.” Pre-made polenta, which can be sliced and quickly sauteed in olive oil, and couscous, which takes five minutes to cook, are two more of Nicole’s favorites.

Cooking skills are not essential when taking one of Nicole’s classes. In addition to instruction, she also sends people home with a comprehensive pantry list so they can stock up on food basics that will make their lives easier. “I think people feel really empowered by my classes,” she said. “I try to appeal first off as a mother, then a chef. I don’t want people to feel intimidated.”

Nicole went to cooking school in Tuscany, and she has worked as a personal chef, but most of what she knows about home cooking she learned from her grandmother. “What I learned from my grandmother is the kitchen is a great place to be, a comfortable place to be, a safe place to be,” Nicole said. “Good things come from the kitchen.”

Nicole maintains a Web site at www.time-to-eat.com. She offers classes at her home during the week, with a maximum of four students. At someone’s house, she can accommodate classes up to 12. In-home cooking classes are very popular with couples and groups of friends, she said.

At Christopher Peacock Cabinetry, 2 Dearfield Drive in Greenwich, classes will be offered on Thursday mornings, from 10 to 11:30, on Dec. 8, Jan. 19, Feb. 2, Feb. 16, March 9 and March 23. Menu listings are on the Web site. You can register online or by calling 203-221-8306.

You can also catch Nicole on Channel 8 (WTNH) every other Saturday morning at 7:50, offering more 15-minute meals. Her next appearance will be Nov. 12.

Curried Chicken Salad with Almonds, Dried Cherries and Moroccan Dip

• Athens mini phyllo cups
• prepared curried chicken salad
• toasted slivered almonds
• dried cherries/cranberries
• curry powder
• fresh cilantro leaves
• Moroccan dip

To be prepared in advance:

Combine chicken salad with slivered almonds and halved cherries.  Keep refrigerated in a Tupperware (two days).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place phyllo cups on a cookie sheet and add a scant teaspoon of chicken salad. Bake for five minutes or until phyllo cup is golden. Remove from oven and add a dot of Moroccan dip. Serve warm.

Teriyaki shrimp with couscous and arugula salad

• 10-12 frozen, peeled, cleaned and deveined raw shrimp
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1 bag washed arugula
• 1 box of couscous

Defrost shrimp in a bowl of hot water. Once thawed (about four minutes), pat dry and add a teaspoon of olive oil into a large nonstick pan on high. When the oil shimmers, add the shrimp and turn when pink starts appearing on the sides, (about 45 seconds on each side). Add teriyaki sauce to the shrimp and serve.

Boil 1 1/2 cups of water or chicken stock, add a teaspoon of olive oil to pot. When water boils, add couscous, turn off heat, and cover until ready to serve.

Turkey scaloppini with sauteed mushrooms, capers, and lemon juice

• 1 Tbps. butter
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbps. garlic paste
• Thinly sliced turkey
• 1 package sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup of capers
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Season turkey with salt and pepper; place butter, olive oil, and garlic paste in a pan over high heat. When mixture has melted, add turkey and cook about two minutes on each side. Add washed, sliced mushrooms, capers, lemon juice and shake pan occasionally for about 3 minutes, or until mushrooms have become a little brown.  Remove from heat and serve.

 Thinly cut veal, chicken or filet of sole work beautifully in this dish. For extra flavor, add a handful of washed spinach leaves and 1/2 cup of halved cherry tomatoes after adding the mushrooms.