EASY tf meals, one pot or otherwise

[abharrington]

so i am back to school and finding my time short these days. what are your easy, quick TF meals? i don't mind cooking once or twice a week and eating tons of leftovers. we love that. we do lots (maybe too much!) of fried eggs and fruit and almond butter sandwiches. also cheese and fruit. i would love some new ideas for beans. we love those too. TIA!!

[thedomesticdiva]

When I cook beans, we usually have them at least 3 times. The first time is bean soup. The second time is chili. The third time is bean tacos - with hard shells. We also do burritos, seven layer dip, and refried beans. Black beans can be made into black bean salsa and served with cheese quesadillas. You can also make a salsa from black-eyed peas, that is called Texas Caviar.

I try to cook up a lot of ground beef and freeze it. Then the second time, it makes a quick meal. You do not have to freeze it, but I do because sometimes I forget about it.

Roast chicken is the same way - sometimes I cook up 2 - both on a bed of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other veggies. Then I pick the bones, and save the chciken for other meals, such as casseroles or chicken salad. Then I put the bones in a crock pot for stock.

Sara :

[PreggieUBA2C]

If you have some time on the weekend, you could make a bunch of pizzas to freeze. I can't think of a meal that uses less than two pots

[snowbunny]

My favorite is pot roast in the crockpot: take a decent roast and put it in the crock pot with whole peppercorns and bay leaf and fill it with water. Let it crock over night on low and in the morning add celery, carrots, onion, garlic and potatoes.

[Attached Mama]

I just got a book from Barnes and Noble called 1001 Soups and Stews: One Pot Meals Most of the recipes can be converted to TF very easily by substituting a healthier oil or full fat homemade stock rather than store bought etc.

Also check your library or bookstore for crockpot cookbooks. It's great when you have to be out to throw it all in the pot the evening before, and then stick it in the fridge. Merely take it out and plug it in, turn it on in the AM and come home to delicious smells and dinner all ready. I bet most of the soups and stews in the above book could be made in a crockpot easily too. Sometimes it says to pre-cook the onions and garlic, but I"ve found if you chop them small enough and have them cooking for at least 8 hrs they are fine. I don't always pre-brown meat either. But if you cut it up a bit it will end up softer.

Good luck!

[quietserena]

baked chicken and potatoes
pot roast
big pot of bean stew

we've been eating a lot of omelettes lately... i'm too tired (pregnant? lol not yet there...) to really cook

[PreggieUBA2C]

Oh yes, I had forgotten that leftovers are always 1-pot meals- put meat and veggies into a casserole dish, cover with eggs and bake, add grated raw cheese once out of the oven; or meat and veggies in pie crusts, bake and serve with yogurt or tomato sauce or chili sauce, etc... I always correct the spices, herbs, and salt before cooking, but otherwise, I make a lot of leftovers meals and they are always easy. I had in my head that I wasn't sure how to make a 1-pot first time meal, but I don't own a crock pot and I always have leftovers turning over to make meals with. I probably make three 'fresh' dinners per week.

Some leftover meats are nice in full-meal salads, and I make a lot of eggs- hard-boiled, scrambled, over-easy served with biscuits, etc....

Everything is as buttery as is tasty and we eat a lot of eggs and cheese in place of meat because the cheese and eggs we can buy are much better quality than the meats

[yitlan]

My EASY TF meals:
chicken or roast and potatoes in the crock. Throw 'em in with whatever seasonings you like, turn it on low and it's ready when you are.
Sausage and rice. Soak rice all day and turn on to cook (I use a rice cooker). Throw sausages on top of the nearly cooked rice to cook them. If I have broth, I add broth to the water at some point. Serve with sauerkraut or kimchi or pickles.
quiche. I use leftovers and throw them in the egg mixture. I don't make a crust, making this dish quite easy!
Big Salad. Use leftover meat for a heartier dish. Or hard boiled eggs.
Noodle Soup. I make broth regularly, so it's easy enough to boil up some rice noodles, heat up the broth and add some kimchi. You can make it that simple, or add meat, eggs, veggies.
Rice Soup. Use leftover rice, throw in warm broth. To get fancy, add some coconut milk and/or green curry paste. Again, any leftover meat works, too.
Tortilla casserole. Sprouted tortillas, layered with cheese, salsa, beans and/or meat. Serve with salsa and sour cream. I do this in the crockpot or prepare it and throw it in the oven later in the day.

[vegmom]

Lately I have been loving protien salads. Ie. egg tossed in salad, tuna/salmon in salad, liver in salad (add salsa and yummy!), warm beef in salad (add yummy gravy), chicken salad, shrimp salad. I like to have salad 1-2x day.: