What are your super quick go to meals?

[Anonymous]

Frozen shrimp are great when in a pinch.

Layer in a baking pan thawed shrimp, good tomato sauce (jarred is okay when you are just trying to get by), and feta. Broil and serve with crusty bread. (I add spinach to this a lot of time and ideally use my own tomoto sauce with lots of garlic, onion, and basil.)

[Anonymous]

I am all about maximizing frozen products that can reheat quickly and turning them into something new. It's very useful to keep certain things in the freezer at all times for quick use in a pinch.

Keep a large bag of frozen corn kernels and frozen peas in the fridge for quick microwaving for a couple of minutes, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper... Instant veggie side. The peas also taste amazingly fresh.

Tofu is also very quick to prepare if you have it handy. I usually keep a packaged block of tofu in the fridge at all times, for that reason. You can usually buy a pack that stays fresh for a month. Stir fry with whatever vegetable is handy (or those frozen peas, if you have no fresh ones) and garlic and oil and salt. Add oyster sauce or sriracha if you're feeling fancy.

Salad is also always easy and quick. I think the key to making it taste like fancy salad rather than boring home salad is to chop it finer than they come in the pre-washed bags, use "fancy" additions like jarred roasted red peppers or marinated artichokes or kalamata olives and make your own dressing (even just lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper are good).

Chicken nuggets are also an easy addition to a salad or a quesadilla. Chop it into pieces before adding and it's not like a chicken nugget at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chicken breasts or pork chops -- brown first, then dump in crockpot with a jar of barbecue sauce poured over the top. Simmer all day on low and serve at dinner.

Frozen turkey meatballs (I like trader joe's) with either marinara from the jar or sweet and sour sauce (heinz chili sauce and small jar of apricot jam). Cook either on stove for 20 minutes or better yet, in the crackpot on low all day.

Chicken breasts marinated in balsamic Italian salad dressing

Lol, as our household's resident crackpot, I don't think I would be a good container for cooking meatballs!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicken breasts or pork chops -- brown first, then dump in crockpot with a jar of barbecue sauce poured over the top. Simmer all day on low and serve at dinner.

Frozen turkey meatballs (I like trader joe's) with either marinara from the jar or sweet and sour sauce (heinz chili sauce and small jar of apricot jam). Cook either on stove for 20 minutes or better yet, in the crackpot on low all day.

Chicken breasts marinated in balsamic Italian salad dressing

Lol, as our household's resident crackpot, I don't think I would be a good container for cooking meatballs!

Good catch! I didn't even see this typo in my post.

[Anonymous]

Tuna "casserole": box of pasta (any shape), 1 can condensed mushroom soup (Healthy Request if I can find it) then refill can with milk, 2 cans tuna. Cook pasta and drain. Add soup, milk, tuna. Warm. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and garlic powder to taste. To make it "fancy," microwave frozen peas while pasta is cooking and add them to the pot.

Frozen breakfast or refrigerated "fat" sausages, with frozen veg and near east rice

Kraft macaroni and cheese per package directions

Hot dogs (nitrate free makes me feel less guilty) with frozen veg

Roast beef in crock pot: roast, seasoning packet for Good Seasons salad dressing, bottle of beer. Cook on low all day.

[Anonymous]

LOL my phone always wants to correct "crockpot" to "crackpot." Just shows you what the vast majority of Americans are typing these days?
-Stirfry with rice. Some kind of meat (frozen shrimp, strips of chicken, beef, or pork, scallops, even a couple scrambled eggs, plus assorted veg. Stirfry then add some soy, siracha, gojuchang, oyster sauce, whatever. Serve over rice (in micro or crockpot if you don't have a rice cooker. now is not the time for snobbery).
-Roast a whole chicken in the crockpot - skin doesn't come out crispy but otherwise works. Then you can use leftovers for chicken salad, etc.
-we do this probably once ever two weeks. Dinner consists of cheese, crackers, grapes, maybe some grape tomatoes, sausage, prosciutto and melon if we're lucky. Great thing is these items can all live in the fridge for a few days at least, so it's a good gap-filler.
Congrats OP!

[Anonymous]

oh, also pulled pork in crockpot.

one pork shoulder/butt roast, about 3-5 lb or whatever will fit in your crockpot. Add a bottle of WF Carolina style barbecue sauce OR a can of soda, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and a can of diced or crushed pineapple (sounds weird but stay with me here). Cook on low all day - the pork can even be frozen. Shred meat with forks, return to juices. Serve on buns with "real" bbq sauce, condiments, cole slaw, etc.

[Anonymous]

I like to get a rotisserie chicken from costco, eat it straight one night, and make chicken salad the next. 10 minutes the first night (carving, steaming a vegetable, maybe making a little couscous or instant mashed potatoes), and 15 minutes the second night (to pick the chicken and chop the other ingredients).

My daughter LOVES sausage-- bratwurst, chicken pesto, all of them. Those are pretty fast. You put them on to cook first thing, then make the salad. 20 minutes from door to table.

Meat-beans-rice. First night, make-your-own burritos. 20 minutes. Second night, quesadillas. 10-15 minutes. Third night, anything left over goes on a pile of corn chips and covered in shredded cheese. 3 minutes.

[Anonymous]

A rice cooker is very easy and a great investment. We chop sausage or pour frozen veggies in with the rice. Can also be an easy way to steam fresh veggies.

[Anonymous]

Tortellini with Eggplant and Peppers
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/tortellini-eggplant-peppers-00000000006873/index.html
You can leave out the red pepper if you prefer things not quite as spicy

[Anonymous]

I like all of these suggestions. I have three super-fast ten minute meals for when I forgot to plan anything and get home late.

Quesadillas- tortillas, refried beans, cheese, salsa, side of frozen vegetable (peas and green beans are usually around) = This meal is done and on the table ten minutes after I walk in the door.
Family Tapas - time to clean out the jars from the fridge door! put out bowls of salsa, teriyaki, greek yogurt, hummus, even peanut butter, put out pita or bread cut into triangles, crackers, slices of cheese (string, deli, whatever), baby carrots, cucmber, apple slices etc. Honestly, my 5yo begs for Family Tapas night. Just make it sound exotic and exciting and she eats it up
Soup- buy good quality boxed or canned soups, or make your own and freeze when you have the time, I heat this up and serve it up with a couple of whole grain rolls fresh from the oven (http://www.alexiafoods.com/products/artisan-breads/whole-grain)

One of these three meals is onmy table at least once a week.

[Anonymous]

We sometimes make a ground beef/veg mixture.

Ground beef (usually lean), garlic, sometimes onion. Add broccoli or green beans at the end. Add soy sauce, or some combination of soy/brown sugar... OR Soyaki sauce from Trader Joe's. Usually serve with TJ's microwave brown rice or regular brown rice if I am out of that.

If you have the Soyaki sauce from TJ's, you don't even need the fresh garlic or onion, which truly makes it a 10-minute, 1 skillet meal. Just use the sauce sparingly, you don't need as much as you might think, and it's high in calories. So tasty though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We sometimes make a ground beef/veg mixture.

Ground beef (usually lean), garlic, sometimes onion. Add broccoli or green beans at the end. Add soy sauce, or some combination of soy/brown sugar... OR Soyaki sauce from Trader Joe's. Usually serve with TJ's microwave brown rice or regular brown rice if I am out of that.

If you have the Soyaki sauce from TJ's, you don't even need the fresh garlic or onion, which truly makes it a 10-minute, 1 skillet meal. Just use the sauce sparingly, you don't need as much as you might think, and it's high in calories. So tasty though!

PP here. Meant to mention that this also works with cut up chicken breast. Sautee or bake first, cut up, mix with the above.

Or, pasta, broccoli, garlic, olive oil and/or chicken or ground meat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hot sandwich rolls. Buy a roll of Pillsbury pizza dough in the refrigerator section (where biscuits, croissants, etc are). Unroll so that it is wider than it is tall. Layer your favorite combination of lunchmeat and cheese. Roll from the bottom up. When you get to the end, pull the dough over the edge of the meat and cheese. Lay out on a baking sheet and bake according to the instructions on the roll. Slice so that you end up with spiral cut sandwiches. A few combos that I like: roast beef with horseradish cheddar (and if my mustard-hating wife isn't eating, I put mustard on it as well), Ham and sharp cheddar, turkey and pepperjack. Also, when making for parties, I make two and then I bend them with the ends touching so that it becomes a sandwich ring. Looks great coming out of the oven and then I put it on a big cutting board with a knife and let everyone cut slices the size they want. I make two "flavors". Very easy and very good and quite good for dinner. Recommend that you get your deli meats from the deli rather than the prepackaged ones. The deli meats are slightly moister and work better. The prepackaged ones are slightly drier and get moreso when baked.

I know this is a really dumb question but can I put mayo and/or mustard on this before baking it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hot sandwich rolls. Buy a roll of Pillsbury pizza dough in the refrigerator section (where biscuits, croissants, etc are). Unroll so that it is wider than it is tall. Layer your favorite combination of lunchmeat and cheese. Roll from the bottom up. When you get to the end, pull the dough over the edge of the meat and cheese. Lay out on a baking sheet and bake according to the instructions on the roll. Slice so that you end up with spiral cut sandwiches. A few combos that I like: roast beef with horseradish cheddar (and if my mustard-hating wife isn't eating, I put mustard on it as well), Ham and sharp cheddar, turkey and pepperjack. Also, when making for parties, I make two and then I bend them with the ends touching so that it becomes a sandwich ring. Looks great coming out of the oven and then I put it on a big cutting board with a knife and let everyone cut slices the size they want. I make two "flavors". Very easy and very good and quite good for dinner. Recommend that you get your deli meats from the deli rather than the prepackaged ones. The deli meats are slightly moister and work better. The prepackaged ones are slightly drier and get moreso when baked.

I know this is a really dumb question but can I put mayo and/or mustard on this before baking it?

I'm not the OP of that comment, but these sounded so good I made them last week with turkey and swiss. Was leery about baking with mayo though, so I just made a dipping sauce of mayonnaise and Grey Poupon and served alongside. They were delicious.