"fast" foods?

[Summertime Mommy]

I have been slowly transitioning to a diet of more traditional foods, but I am having a problem when it comes to wanting something quick and easy, I always end up going out and buying frozen pizza or something What kinds of foods do you all make when you don't really feel like cooking dinner? I would love to get out of this rut.

[bagare]

What about taking a weekend (or even one day) and make up some emergency meals--like make a pot of chili or stew and package it into meal size containers. Then if you have a busy day, you can just defrost and heat up.

I love to make stuffed cheeseburgers--make thin patties and then put blue cheese, cheddar or even just butter along with maybe a few slices of cooked mushrooms, pinch two together so the filling is all closed in. Cook, and while it is cooking, put together a quick salad?

I am making meatza tonight and it sounds pretty quick. I will let you know for sure, but sounds like it would be on the table in 30 minutes or so.

Talking salads, what about prepping all your salad fixings and putting them into containers in the fridge, and then when you need a salad, they are all ready. I also hardboil a dozen eggs at a time so they are ready to go.

I am sure others will come along with other ideas, but I hope these help!

[zoebird]

most meals take me about 30-45 minutes to make.

but, we have tea first. this helps.

i cme home from work, and we have tea and cookies (or nuts or whatever else i might have made), and then at the end of tea time, i start cooking dinner. it's a slow, leasurely process for me--30-45 minutes--and then we have a nice dinner.

so, tea is usually 5:30 to 6, and dinner is around 7 or so. baby's bed time is at 8:30/9 (his normal time to go to sleep), and we might have a late meal too if we are hungry (generally, i don't; DH's metabolism is about 3k calories per day).

[Magelet]

Meal planning really helps a lot. Most of the time, it's less that you want something quick and easy from the get go, but because it's gotten too late, and your tired and hungry. With a meal plan, I already know what I'm making so I make it earlier.

However, in each week, I usually put a few "faster" meals (like pasta, grilled cheeses, stir fry) in each weeks meal plan, at least one. So if I really am too tired to make what's on the meal plan, I can switch days around and make the easy thing.

Grilled cheeses, or sandwhiches, or leftovers make really really easy meals.

[Teenytoona]

Meatza is a great faster meal. It might become my friday regular - because I'm too lazy on fridays to do much and we frequently end up doing pizza anyways and then I always am hungry/bloated/ feeling nasty afterwards.

I crock things for thursday nights - since it's our really really busy night. I get recipes off crockpot 365. Today I made Indian Butter chicken, but it was really more like Indian Coconut chicken. lately I've been doing alot of carnitas style meat and making tacos/taco salad when we get home on thursdays.

I've been trying to list my own "faster" meals too because I'm getting more and more itchy to get outside right after work and don't like to bother with alot of prep/cooking/sweating/etc I'd rather sweat pulling weeds, I think. The best I can think of are tacos, fajitas, stir fries and salads. Hamburgers and some kind of side usually go pretty quickly too.

I'm always game fore more ideas, though.

[raksmama]

Do you have a pressure cooker?
It takes me 30 minutes to make a yummy black bean stew. The beans, of course have been soaked before.
Grilled or baked fish is fast too!

[stephienoodle]

I just bought a case of Applegate Farms Great Organic Hot Dogs. They're 100% grass-fed & finished beef... so they can't be *that* bad for you... and they're so quick. They're pricey, but I could get them through our co-op for cheaper, thus the whole case. They'll last quite a while in the freezer.

[MyLilPwny]

Originally Posted by stephienoodle

I just bought a case of Applegate Farms Great Organic Hot Dogs. They're 100% grass-fed & finished beef... so they can't be *that* bad for you... and they're so quick. They're pricey, but I could get them through our co-op for cheaper, thus the whole case. They'll last quite a while in the freezer.

I have a small group of Traditional Food eating friends, and we all think that those hot dogs are healthy!

As for quick meals, I have a bunch of pemmican from U.S. Wellness meats. If I'm hungry, I'll just grab one out of the freezer and eat it (I like it cold right out of the freezer). Its an instant complete meal by itself.

[SuburbanHippie]

My favorite quick meal actually cooks all day. I put chicken in the slow cooker and top with homemade salsa, cumin, and sea salt. I shred it and put it on lime soaked corn tortillas with raw cheddar. Delicious! We have it a couple times a month. It's a big hit with my picky eaters.

[BedHead]

I fry liver. Takes maybe ten minutes.

[mom61508]

For snack or breakfast these are easy

3 eggs
1banana
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp sea salt
Blend and make like pancakes.

Or make some healthy muffins maybe and have those around for a fast snack.

baked drumsticks are always easy with a sweet potato lots of butter.
For lunch we often do snack plates with raw cheese wrapped in salami with pickle, fruit, gluten free cracker, and cashews or walnuts.

[FairyRae]

eggs (any way--scrambled, fried, etc.), bacon, a green smoothie.

I like to keep hardboiled eggs in the fridge to make a quick batch of deviled eggs or egg salad.

Italian sausage (my farmer has awesome pastured pork, already made into sausages) w/ peppers and onions--super fast and easy.

I also do the applegate farms hot dogs or organic valley (applegate farms are grassfed though so better).

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by mom61508

For snack or breakfast these are easy

3 eggs
1banana
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp sea salt
Blend and make like pancakes.

Ooo--I'll have to make these for ds--he might love them!

[velcromom]

The easiest way I've found is to fill the freezer with things you can throw together to create a meal. When you make one of these items, make enough for several more meals and put the remainder in the freezer -

broth, spaghetti sauce, chili, stew, enchilada sauce, rice or any grain, beans, stew meat, chicken meat, shredded pork, meatballs

Other items that freeze well - muffins, pancakes, waffles, french toast, pizza dough

Also when you have leftovers, freeze some in labeled containers. Use them for quick lunches or dinner if you don't feel like cooking. On thursday night if there are leftovers in the fridge from the past few days, it's Leftover Night. Then there's also Dad Makes Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Night, and I've gotten out of another night's cooking...

[CaraboosMama]

Planning dinners before I grocery shop helps! Breakfast for dinner is fast (eggs, bacon, etc). Using the Crockpot is good too...and then we usually have leftovers for lunches. If I do a roast chicken on the weekend, I do two that way we have leftovers for quick meals (chicken salad, some type of mexican/taco dish, chicken & rice casserole) and I have the carcasses for making stock/soup. If you can get good chickens near you for a reasonable price - it's pretty easy to stretch them for several meals so that you have one somewhat labor intensive dinner and then a few quick ones.