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What 5 minute meal do you always have on hand?

757 views 18 replies 19 participants last post by  Llyra 
#1 ·
Just wondering what other people keep on hand to throw together at the last minute. On those days when you look at a clock and realize it's already 6 and dinner needs to be on the table in 15 minutes.

Standby around here is quesadillas - I always have tortillas and cheese on hand.

What do you always have on hand?
 
#2 ·
It's not exactly 15 minute quick but some sort of simmer sauce + a few cans of chick peas + naan in the freezer - all items which can be purchased at Trader Joes...

I guess it could be done in 15 but the longer it simmers the better so more like 20-30...
 
#4 ·
Tortillas
Cheese
Eggs
Frozen corn
Onions
Canned pintos beans (or leftover crockpotted dry ones)
Trader Joe's green salsa

I scramble eggs in a skillet, combine the onion and beans and heat in another. We then do make your own burritos. If we have avocados, tomatoes, or sour cream, those can go in too.

This is also my favorite camping dinner--but I use one small skillet and do one person at a time.
 
#7 ·
Our favorite quick meals are:

Breakfast: Pancakes, bacon, eggs on toast (I like salsa on mine!

Quesadillas
soup and sandwiches (I always have soup in the freezer)
cobb salad (salad with cheese, ham, bacon, hardboiled egg, pretty much whatever is in the fridge!
)
 
#9 ·
Scrambled eggs
Fritattas
Tostadas
Pasta tossed with garlic and olive oil
big salads (we use any left over meat plus veggies, nuts, cheese, dried fruit, etc.)
Hummus, pitas, carrots and cucumbers
Pizza - I keep homemade pizza crusts in the freezer
Grilled cheese with ham or bacon and tomatos

Great thread!
 
#10 ·
Soup and paninis. I keep quart and 2 cup sizes of different soups in the freezer, mostly what I call my tomato soup "base" which is just dump in a pot and add broth and cream to, unless I want to do creme fraiche in individul bowls after.

Stir fry with rice noodles. I always have an all purpose homemade asian sauce that I can thicken with alittle cornstarch for stir fry, or use as salad dressing.

Pizza here can be extrememly quick sometimes because I always have little dough balls in the fridge. My stone takes about 20 minutes to fully heat but the pizza cooks in under 10 minutes.

Breakfast like frozen homemade waffles, fruit and bacon for the kids/DH or little turkey patties I keep in the freezer.

Most things during the week for me have to be this quick but I plan ahead and do part of it morning or night before
 
#11 ·
5-minute meals:

tacos/burritos/quesadillas (I always have meat, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, tortillas, lettuce and avocado on hand).

breakfast meals - french toast (eggs, milk, bread, vanilla, cinnamon), omelettes (eggs, veggies, potatoes, cheeses, meats, whatever) and pancakes (the usual staples), breakfast burritos

BLTs (bread, bacon, lettuce, tomato), "ham bagels" (toasted bagels topped with cream cheese, American cheese and ham) and "famous sandwiches" (roast beef, provolone, green peppers sauteed and thrown on bun).

salads (topped with veggies and leftover steak, chicken)

"noodle salad" (chicken, artichokes, grape tomatoes, cubed cheese and CF dressing on pasta)
 
#13 ·
cous cous is really fast, i always have dried fruit on hand (figs, raisings, etc.) so a hand ful of those in some cous cous always works well.

eggs, omeletes, etc.

pasta and cans of tomato sauce to make our own sauce.
 
#15 ·
oatmeal
salad -store one "ready to eat" from their salad bar, add can of tuna or salmon and bread
pasta with a sauce mixed in
cheese toastie
jam on toast
baked beans on toast
soup and bread
anything egg based is pretty quick too
 
#16 ·
Yeah, egg something as we have hens.

Pasta tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper & steamed frozen broc florets.

Nut butter/bread/cheese/apples

And I don't always have it on hand, but sliced mozzarella on sliced tomaotes with oil & vinegar is less than 5 mintues to eating.

I also love sliced avocado on crusty bread.
 
#17 ·
omlettes, sandwiches, quesadillas, tomato caprese, some soup from the freezer with crusty bread, a fruit plate, a salad, leftovers, breakfast for dinner (esp french toast), humus and pitas with a salad, pasta with pesto and fresh tomatoes

In about 20 minutes I can whip up some more fancy things- like a stir fry (I pre-bag stir fry veggies in the fridge) or I'll roast some fish and veggies and make a salad.

I'm pretty good at a 5-15min meal when I need to be!
 
#19 ·
Black bean burritos are our standby. I keep flour tortillas in the freezer; they take only five minutes to defrost. Grate some cheese, heat a can of beans, maybe add some sauteed veggies (onion, pepper, sweet corn) if there's time, or just serve with chopped tomato.
 
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