Busy? I’ll bet you love one-dish dinners, concoctions created on a single rimmed baking sheet. Of course, slow cookers can be culinary heroes, but I appreciate that sheet pan cookery creates dishes that aren’t slow-cooker soupy.

Roasting, broiling or baking on a rimmed baking sheet produces textures that work hand in hand with more flavor. Meats are juicy and tender; vegetables are caramelized and subtly sweetened. It’s an easy, hands-off method.

The pan is important. I own four of them. They “live” in the lower of my two ovens and are used almost daily for some culinary chore. Often known as half sheets, sheet pans are sturdy and rectangular with a 1-inch lip on the four sides. Those shallow sides let hot air from the oven circulate and crisp the ingredients’ exteriors. Home-use size is usually 13 by 18 inches, though bigger ones are available.

I’ve chosen recipes for three one-dish dinners that I enjoy. They get rave reviews from kids and adults alike.

Sheet pan fajita flank steak with peppers and onions

This dish serves as a filling in warm tortillas with optional garnishes such as sliced avocado and cotija cheese. Before it makes its way atop a sheet pan, the meat is marinated for several hours in a garlicky, lime-scented mixture. Some of that marinade is reserved and not used for marinating; it blankets the colorful, sliced bell peppers and onions before they are roasted. An instant-read thermometer is a handy tool; you will want to boil the steak just long enough to reach 125 degrees for rare, or 135 degrees for medium-rare.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 pounds flank steak

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 to 4 limes)

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon chile powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Olive oil cooking spray

4 bell peppers (any color), stemmed, seeded, thinly sliced

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

For serving: 8 to 12 small (6-inch) tortillas, flour or corn

Garnishes: 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, sour cream, salsa, sliced avocado and crumbled (or grated) cotija cheese or queso fresco

DIRECTIONS

1. Place flank steak in a large zipper-style bag or shallow glass baking dish. In a small bowl, whisk together garlic, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, cumin, chile powder, sugar, pepper flakes and salt. Reserve 1/4 cup of marinade for the vegetables and pour the rest over steak. Seal bag or cover dish and refrigerate for 2 to 12 hours.

2. When you are ready to cook, preheat oven to 450 degrees with one rack about 4 inches from the broiler, another rack in the center position and another in the bottom position. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and mist it with cooking spray.

3. Toss peppers and onion with reserved 1/4 cup marinade in a large bowl and spread them evenly on prepared pan. Roast on center rack until softened and starting to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set the oven to broil.

4. Wrap a stack of tortillas in aluminum foil and set it aside.

5. Push peppers and onion to perimeter of the pan. Remove steak from marinade, allow any excess liquid to drip off the meat and place it in center of pan surrounded with vegetables. Discard marinade. Place pan on top rack and broil the steak, flipping it once, until it begins to char on the outside and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 125 degrees for rare or 135 degrees for medium rare, about 3 to 5 minutes per side.

6. While the steak cooks, place the foil-wrapped tortillas on the bottom rack to warm through. Once the steak finishes cooking, remove pan from oven and turn oven off. Leave tortillas in oven to continue warming while the steak rests.

7. Allow steak to rest, loosely covered with foil, for 10 minutes before slicing it thinly against the grain. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve the steak warm with peppers, onions and warm tortillas. Pass the salsa, sour cream, avocado and cheese at the table.

Source: “Sheet Pan Suppers,” by Molly Gilbert (Workman, $15.95)

Sheet pan sumac-dusted salmon with broccolini

The flavor bonus that ground sumac brings to salmon is a delight. Sumac is a spice with a tangy, citrusy flavor and fruity aroma. It goes with fish, chicken, avocados and salads. It is stocked at my local supermarket (Morton and Bassett brand) but is also sold online.

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon ground sumac, plus more for serving

2 teaspoons minced garlic (from 1 to 2 cloves)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

12 ounces broccolini, trimmed

3 clementines, mandarin oranges or tangerines, peel on, quartered

4 skin-on salmon fillets (each 1 inch thick)

3 ounces feta, crumbled (3/4 cup)

1 cup mixed tender herbs such as cilantro, mint and parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat broiler with rack 6 inches from broiler element. In a small bowl, stir together oil, sumac, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss broccolini and oranges with 3 tablespoons sumac mixture. Season with salt and pepper; spread into a single layer.

2. Broil, turning once, until they begin to brown in places, 4 to 5 minutes. Season fish with salt and pepper; brush with remaining sumac mixture.

3. Push broccolini and oranges to one side of the sheet pan; add fish to other side, skin sides down. Broil until salmon is cooked through, 5 minutes more. If salmon needs additional cooking, remove the other ingredients from the sheet pan. Turn the broiler off and set the oven to 350 degrees and return salmon to the oven on a middle rack to bake an additional 4 or 5 minutes.

4. Squeeze some clementine or tangerine or mandarin juice over everything. Serve topped with feta and herbs. Pass sumac for optional seasoning.

Turkey sausage with acorn squash and red onions

This dish weighs in with a balance of tantalizing flavors. Sweet turkey Italian sausages roast with skin-on slices of acorn squash and thin wedges of red onion. The squash and onions get a welcome amount of sweet caramelization, contrasting nicely with the juicy snap of the sausages. A thin coating of cheese (grated Parmesan or for a sharper contrast, Asiago) melts atop it all during the last 3 minutes of broiling. Out of the oven, chopped dried cherries or cranberries add an additional bit of flavor harmony.

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 medium-large acorn squash, halved, seeded, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1 medium-large red onion, halved top to bottom, cut into 1/2-inch crosswise slices or wedges

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

5 sweet turkey Italian sausages, 15 to 16 ounces

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves

1/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Arrange a second rack about 8 inches from the broiler element. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

2. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss squash and onion with oil. Spread out into single layer (most important for squash to be flat on the pan, not so much for the onions). Season with salt and pepper. Add sausages. Place on center rack in preheated oven. Roast about 17 to 19 minutes or until squash is tender.

3. Remove from oven. Adjust oven rack to 8 inches below broiler element if you didn’t do so in Step 1. Turn on broiler. Sprinkle cheese and sage over vegetables and place pan on rack under broiler. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbling, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle cranberries or cherries on top.