Your best "Throw Together" meal. - Page 2

[madskye]

I am the Can Queen.

Veggie chili--with a can of diced tomato, can of kidney or black beans, diced onion, and TVP. So fast and cheap!

Enchiladas--roll up the leftover chili in a tortilla with a little cheese. Pour a can of enchilada sauce over OR puree a can of diced tomato with cumin and make your own enchilada sauce.

French Provencal Pasta--1 can diced tomato, 1 can white beans, plus 1 box of small pasta (ditalini, shells, tubetti) add water to cover pasta and some dried rosemary crushed between your fingers. Let it cook down to a pasta-stewy consistency.

Black Bean soup- Two cans black beans with broth and garlic and simmer stovetop with herbs of your choice. Blend 2/3's and add back to pot. Serve over white rice.

[napless]

Quesadillas - with refried beans, fried onions and cheese for sure, and then whatever else is here: avocado, leftover chicken or beef, green or red pepper....

[Pinoikoi]

bacon ranch pasta salad.

my 11yo LOVES this and there are variations on it.. usually it consists of..

wacky mac (spiral pasta made with veggies that are different colors)
leftover chicken
leftover veggies diced (pepper strips, broccoli, peas are the preferred veggies for this)
chopped leftover cooked bacon

bring to a boil, and rinse in cold water. Then stir in ranch dressing and serve cold. It is delicious and uses up whatever you have sitting around.

Dp's- fried rice. He sticks whatever in his fried rice.. rice, scrambled eggs, veggies, leftover meat.. TONS of variations. My kids eat it up.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by mommajb

eggs
corn muffins and beans
pasta and jarred sauce or simple tomato topping
curry (coconut milk, peas and onions, curry powder) and rice
pb balls (peanut butter and dried milk) and fruit
almost anything wrapped in a tortilla

I can't do pb and j if they had that for lunch or oatmeal if they had that for breakfast

Can you give me specific instructions for the peanut butter balls? When I was a kid I went to a school where the lunch lady could REALLY cook. She made little peanut butter bars that were slightly sweet and only a little sticky.. I would really like to find the recipe... wonder if this is similar?

[BetsyS]

We had one of my quick meals this week--moors and christians. You cook black beans, white rice, and you make a sauce for the middle of the plate.

For the sauce, I brown ground beef, add a can of tomato sauce, then season with salt, pepper, and whatever sounds good. Usually garlic, Italian seasoning, and sometimes cumin (but easy on the cumin).

I sometimes buy the preseasoned black beans in a can. That makes this meal really easy, and it cooks in the time it takes for the rice to finish. So, less than 20 minutes start to finish.

Dh isn't such a fan, but he'll eat it, and my children love it.

[honeybunmom]

Beef Noodle Casserole - my own recipe:

Start the water to boil your noodles and pre-heat the oven for 350 degrees.

Chop 1/4 to half green bell pepper
1/2 onion
Saute
Add ground beef and brown it. Seaon with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano
Drain it.

In a casserole dish mix cooked noodles and ground beef. Add in 3/4 - 1 jar of garden vegetable pasta sauce.

Cut 1 8 oz block of cheese into smaller cubes and toss in.

Heat the dish for about 20 minutes or until cheese is all melted.

Ta dah! Family loves it. Grind it up in baby food grinder and 9 mos old eats it up, too.

I'm loving Shepherd's Pie these days, too, for an easy meal.

[mbtmom2000]

These are a hit it our house:

Chicken Tacos--- shredded chicken , 1 can diced tomatoes, cumin, dark chili powder, - add fixings like cheese, lettuce, pico or salsa, sour cream. Wrap in tortillas and serve

Egg and Cheese sandwiches--- scrambled eggs , cheddar cheese on toast with mayo or miracle whip

Chicken and Yellow Rice Skillet-- shredded chicken, turkey kielbasa, pepper-stir fry mix, yellow rice mix and chicken broth

Quick Red Beans and Rice--- 2-3 cans small red beans, rice, onion, chicken broth, cajun seasonings. Serve with jiffy muffins

Breakfast for dinner

Quesadillas

Stir Fry-- shredded chicken, frozen veggies, Melissa's Yakisoba Stir fry noodles, homemade stir fry sauce

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup-- chicken broth, carrot discs, onion, shredded chicken, peas, noodles

Lemon Pepper Tilapia Nuggets--- mix 1lb tilapia with lemon pepper seasoning, dip in egg and panko bread crumbs. Bake 350 for 10 mins or until fish flakes. Serve with a quick cook couscous or rice and a veggie

[columbusmomma]

Great thread
Subbing

[PoshPlayground]

Potatoes with cheese and eggs.

Fry up some potatoes in olive oil. when they are soft, then add cheese and a couple scrambled eggs. Throw in some veggies if you like.


Grilled cheese sandwiches and soup

Goulash...some ground meat, pasta and tomato soup or sauce. Cook meat, boil pasta, toss it all together. Add a veggie if you want or serve it on the side. We normally serve a bowl of fresh fruit with it.



Tuna noodle casserole....can of tuna, some egg noodles, cr of mushroom soup. Cook the noodles and then mix it all up. VERY fast meal. serve with a side veggie.




Forgot the infamous egg salad sandwiches! The granddaughters devour them!

[almadianna]

paella of sorts.

rice with leftover meats and veggies thrown in.

[zoebugsmom]

-fajitas
-beef & Bean burritos
-spaghetti & meat sauce
-tacos
-homemade chicken nuggets w/rice & veg
-english muffin pizzas

[my2girlz]

quesadillas
goulash (meat, noodles, tomato soup)
grilled cheese and tomato soup
nachos
pancakes
scrambled eggs
homemade pizzas on flatout bread (on the grill)
homemade pizzas on english muffins

[MrsD08]

Spanish Rice--1 lb of lean ground beef, 1 can diced tomatoes (no salt added and no seasonings), 2 cups minute brown or white rice. Brown the ground beef, add the tomatoes and cook until warm, add the rice and 1 cup of water. Cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes until rice is cooked. Season with pepper and lemon juice.

Some kind of pasta with tomato sauce

tuna casserole

salmon casserole--uses a lot of prepared/packaged food, but we love it....1 can of skinless boneless salmon, 1 package deluxe mac and cheese, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 1 cup of frozen peas, 1/2 sleeve of ritz crackers. Cook mac and cheese as directed on box, remove from heat and add in salmon, soup and peas. Mix well. Transfer to a sprayed baking dish and top with crush crackers. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Mmmmmmm.

Salmon burgers

Fish sticks or chicken nuggets with french fries.

[becoming]

We do chicken & rice on days like these. We just boil chicken breasts in seasoned water with frozen seasoning blend (onions, red peppers, celery), then shred them up & add them to cooked rice. It is really tasty if you use plenty of seasoning.

Other easy throw-together meals are spaghetti with meat sauce (just brown some ground beef & add your favorite jarred sauce) or breakfast for supper.

[punkrockmomma]

We always have a jar of some sort of Indian simmer sauce, boneless chicken, rice and naan on hand for nights I want something fast. The simmer sauces are really good, and made with good ingredients. I have been able to find them at all the grocery stores around here in the international food isle.

Frozen ravioli, there are some really good ones out there, a jar of Newman's sauce (usually alfredo that I doctor up with fresh basil, and garlic), a salad, and garlic bread. I always have a sliced loaf of Italian bread in the freezer, so I can pull out what I need for garlic bread.

Hamburger strognoff. The recipe I used to make was a lot faster then the one I make now, because I finally found a recipe that doesn't have canned soup in it, but the ones with canned soup in it are fast.

I've actually taken to using my crock pot more during the week so I don't have to do a lot of cooking after school. This is a real time saver in the evenings, and it gives me more time w/DD after she's been in day care all afternoon, instead of in the kitchen cooking.

[cyncyn]

Originally Posted by AniellasMommy

What do you make for dinner in a pinch on crazy days? What meals can you throw together in a few minutes, and always have the stuff laying around for?

Mine is chili.
2-3 Cans of beans (whichever kind looks/sounds good)
1-2 Can Tomato sauce
(can add 1 lb. browned ground turkey beef or chicken, or not)
Onion (dried if I'm feeling lazy, or in a REALLY big pinch)
Garlic (again, sometimes dried)
Cumin.
Chili powder.

love it! That is just what I thought of when I read the thread title. I just made chili this week. So fast to make and then it can cook for as long as you want. I added a handful of cut corn to mine and made corn muffins. We ate it for 2 dinners, 1 lunch and have a bit in the freezer for later.

[calebsmommy25]

-My number one fall back is garlic knots and/or homemade pizza (garlic/red/always with spinach or kale and maybe onions)

Pizza dough recipe:

2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoons of yeast
1 cup of warm water
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt

Mix sugar and yeast with water. Allow time to get nice and frothy, normally 5 minutes will do. Mix flours and salt in bowl, add water and mix. Knead until forms nice ball. It only needs to rest for 20 ish minutes, if in a hurry. BUT if you have time to let it rest for an hour it is even better. Put on a pan, spread fav toppings and bake at 400 for 12 minutes.

*I've experimented before with all types of flour. Reg all purpose flour works well for the full 2 1/2 cups. Using all ww makes for a very dense dough, if nothing else is added to it. I found that the above proportions are the best.

-I always have some frozen soup from the freezer. Last week I took out some lentil soup, added some extra veggies and leftover taco meat and rice.

-Frittata with veggies. So easy, and healthy (you can use part egg whites if desired). Last week it was spinach, broccoli and onions.

-We normally keep atleast one container of sauce in the freezer. Makes for a quick meal to just defrost, add some pasta and veggies.

[lil_miss_understood]

Pizza pasta

3 cups uncooked macaroni or other small pasta
6 cups water (for cooking pasta)
1 lb ground beef OR ground italian sausage
1 jar pizza sauce OR
(6 oz can tomato paste
1 T olive oil
6 oz water
1 t oregano
1 t basil
1/2 t salt
dash pepper
dash Tabasco sauce
1 t vinegar)
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 onion, chopped

optional: 1/2 c shredded mozzarella
1 small can sliced black olives
1 small can sliced mushrooms

Put water on to boil. While waiting, brown meat in a skillet. Pour pasta into water and cook per instructions on package. Add onions to meat and saute until tender. Mix in pizza sauce and green peppers (also mushrooms, if using) and warm through. Drain pasta. Mix meat sauce into pasta, along with any optional ingredients. Sprinkle with mozzarella if desired.

[journeymom]

Originally Posted by AniellasMommy

What do you make for dinner in a pinch on crazy days? What meals can you throw together in a few minutes, and always have the stuff laying around for?

Mine is chili.
2-3 Cans of beans (whichever kind looks/sounds good)
1-2 Can Tomato sauce
(can add 1 lb. browned ground turkey beef or chicken, or not)
Onion (dried if I'm feeling lazy, or in a REALLY big pinch)
Garlic (again, sometimes dried)
Cumin.
Chili powder.

Wow, this thread is almost three months old.

Mine is chili, as well. That recipe above, plus oregano and a couple of fresh jalapenos. Canned chopped tomatoes instead of tomato sauce.

I always have cans of beans and chopped tomatoes in the cupboard. Always! I rotate corn bread, buttermilk biscuits or a loaf of sour dough from the store.

Pasta and meat sauce. Almost always have this on hand.

[lakeruby]

I haven't read all the other replies, but my "throw together" meal is STIR FRY!
So easy and delicious. I use whatever vegetables I have in the fridge -- greens (kale, collards, asian greens, etc), mushrooms, onions, garlic, shallots, radishes (these are suprisingly delicious when cooked!), thinly sliced turnips, etc. I throw in the mushrooms and onions first, then add the stems of the greens, the radishes, etc, and then lastly I add the chopped up green leaves and let it all get nice and hot and wilted. I season with some vinegar (i love brown rice and umeboshi), and maybe soy sauce or salt and pepper. It usually comes out tasting great, it's fast, and it's easy!

Also, I really like this recipe, which uses a can of beans, and onion, and spices: http://orangette.blogspot.com/2008/0...-tomorrow.html (scroll down for the recipe).