Quick & frugal meat optional meals

[desertpenguin]

My il's are coming to visit soon and my mil is vegetarian. I need some more ideas for quick & frugal meat optional meals that are high in protein. Hopefully nothing too ethnic cuz my il's eat a fairly plain diet without too much variation with the exception of Mexican food and rarely some American version of Chinese food. So far I have planned: spaghetti, chili, haystacks (tortilla chips topped with beans and/or meat, cheese, guac, etc), and burritos for lunches and dinners. For breakfast the only thing I can think of is eggs/potatoes/sausage. TIA!

[mamadelbosque]

Instead of spaghetti I like to do rigatoni w/ marinara sauce & sausage & peppers sometimes. Its *SO* easy and *SO* good!! (cook box of penne or rigatoni. Cook or warm up marinara sauce. Saute peppers till they're cooked (I cut'm into 1/2-1" sections first), then add some sliced banana peppers at the last minute to them. Serve. Delicious!!)

[dawningmama]

We have a vegetarian in our household so I do these "meat on the side" meals pretty frequently. Our quick options:

~pasta with sausage or meatballs on the side
~stir fry----limitless options here. I make the stir fry veggies and sauce in one pan and then chicken/beef/shrimp and sauce in a second pan. Brown rice or rice sticks (I'm gluten free) on the side.
~BBQ: hot dogs and burgers and veggie burgers or portabello burgers, fries or potato salad, crudite
~cold salads---greens and tomatoes and such with option cold meats on the side (ham, chicken, etc)
~Keilbasa sausage, pierogies, fake chicken nuggets, veggie side dish

Breakfast is pretty easy because you can keep the meats on the side (bacon, ham, sausage):
~frittatas
~potato & egg scrambles (i like to add black beans and cheese for more protein)
~egg & cheese burritos/sandwiches
~pancakes, french toast, waffles (We don't do these too often 'cuz I'm GF)

[ollyoxenfree]

For lunch/dinner:
- Soup. There are lots of vegetarian soups - broccoli and cheddar, potato leek, butternut squash and apple, borscht, carrot, cauliflower, roasted red pepper. On the side, you can serve cornbread, crusty rolls, biscuits, or popovers and a cheese plate with some cured meats if you really hanker for meat.
- Pot Pies - you can make up some with a veggie filling, and others with chicken or beef. You can make these ahead of time and freeze them, so they are very convenient.


Anything you assemble yourself is good for satisfying different needs:
- tacos with optional meat or ground chicken OR beans and rice,
- individual pizza with different toppings
- hearty submarine sandwiches with sliced chicken or steak or meatballs OR cheese and roasted vegetables


For breakfast - quiche or frittata, oatmeal, millet porridge, muffins and fruit salad

[desertpenguin]

Thanks everyone for the ideas.

[Aubergine68]

We are not veg, but I like salads and stir-fries with the option of toasted almonds, cashews or pecans instead of chicken/shrimp/beef.

Imo, adding toasted cashews in particular to a salad or stirfry is tastier and at least as filling as meat.

Almond butter is the favorite breakfast staple in our house. Amazing on toast, bagels or pancakes (or in pancake batter), with any kind of jam or spread, in oatmeal, etc.

[Zoesmama]

I agree on tacos. Prepare or get canned beans for your mil to use on her tacos in place of the meat. I have used kidney and use the same seasoning or just plain.

Spaghetti and meatballs is definitely an easy option. Sometimes it requires more pans going. My struggle is our stove is propane gas and the tanks run so much we avoid using the stove. I have learned you can boil noddles in an electric skillet because of this. But its hard to do so and have browned meat or meatballs without a second one. SO I think this year I'm asking santa for a 2nd electric skillet.

The best thing about those two options is cheese is easily omitted as well if she is dairy free as well.