Your favorite 30 minute meal is......

[Unicorn.]

With school and outside activities starting back up, and all the threads about how much we don't want to cook or plan meals, I thought we could use a 30 minute meal thread. Maybe someone will be inspired, or at least discover a new menu item!

 

Spaghetti is our standy. Served w/ broccoli or green beans and a salad. Garlic bread if it was thought out ahead of time. Usually not though.

 

 

The current fave is corn-pone pie (or as dd calls it chili-pot-pie)

 

 

Brown ground beef, drain.

Add 2 cans Ranch Style Beans

Add 1-2 cans Kidney, or black beans (we've even used pork and beans in a pinch)

1 can tomato sauce (I've left this out before and it was fine)

I add chili powder, cumin and garlic to taste, but that's optional too (see why I like this- it's very easy and forgiving :D)

Cheddar cheese (or not)

Pour into greased pyrex and top w/ cornbread batter ( I use a box of Jiffy)

Bake until cornbread is done- about 18 minutes.

 

Serve w/ a salad

 

Your turn! :001_smile:

[eternalknot]

Our standby is a stir-fry. If using frozen veggies, it's a super-quick 10 minutes. If using fresh, it is still easily prepped and cooked well within the 20-40 minutes it takes for the rice to finish. Leftovers can be rolled into a wrap or served over noodles or a salad the following day. We don't add meat, but doing so wouldn't add too much time.

[flobee76]

one of our faves:

 

chicken & apple sausage

sauteed red bell peppers + onions

brown rice

[Daisy]

Fish tacos

 

Grill firm white fish like Mahi-Mahi. You can add whatever seasonings you like. I have a pre-made seasoning mix I like...

 

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp oregano

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

 

Serve in corn or flour tortillas with shredded cabbage, salsa, and sour cream. Add a salad and pineapple.

 

If you have more time you can make a Nectarine-Avocado Salsa

 

2 cups fine dice nectarines (or peaches)

1/2 cup red bell pepper, fine dice

1/4 cup red onion, minced

2 TBL cilantro

1 1/2 tsp lime juice

1 Tbl. minced, seeded peppers (jalapeno or hotter varieties)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

 

Refrigerate one hour

 

Add in one diced avocado right before serving.

[Belacqua]

Dice some chicken, toss it with a bit of curry powder, saute it, and add a can of coconut milk. Throw in some fish sauce and cashews if you're feeling frisky. Serve it over rice (ok, brown rice might bump the time up to 45 minutes, but I'm counting it as a quick meal, anyway!).

[BMW]

Fajitas... less expensive steaks, sliced thin, browned quickly, and stir fry bell peppers and onions, mixed together, tossed into tortillas... mmmmm

 

 

Not as quick, but very easy... chicken tossed in seasoning and put into the oven! Add in fresh veggies, salad and a pasta and we're all satisfied and it was minimal work!!

[Unicorn.]

Dice some chicken, toss it with a bit of curry powder, saute it, and add a can of coconut milk. Throw in some fish sauce and cashews if you're feeling frisky. Serve it over rice (ok, brown rice might bump the time up to 45 minutes, but I'm counting it as a quick meal, anyway!).

 

LOL, anything under an hour, is considered a quick meal around here. Spaghetti actually takes me about an hour- usually becuase I forgot to take the meat out of the freezer.

[Whereneverever]

Rice in the rice cooker, mine lets me steam veggies in the top. Served with chicken or fish, it's filling and fast.

[Classical Country Mama]

Saute a whole onion (sliced into rings) until it's gorgeously carmelized. Add sliced up turkey kielbasa and saute until carmelized too.

 

Serve over rice, with a canned veggie or handful of bagged salad.

 

Oh yeah. It's one of a tiny handful of go-to meals that my family will eat without discussion!

[Mejane]

Buffalo chicken salad:

 

Saute cubed chicken in butter or oil and add hot sauce to taste. Top a salad of romaine, carrots and celery tossed with bleu cheese dressing.

 

The whole thing takes about 20 minutes, and is like a more healthful version of Buffalo chicken wings. :001_smile:

[Gooblink]

A specialty of mine we call "Rice and Meat," or my husband affectionately refers to as "The Gulag Special."

 

Ingredients: Ground meat, rice, broth or water and whatever seasonings you have on hand.

 

Brown meat. Add dry rice and broth or water and seasonings. Cook 'til rice is done.

 

Serve with soy sauce. :D

 

Move over, Rachel Ray. Yum-O!

[Audrey]

My fave quick meal is nothing fancy, but it is very flexible.

 

Grilled steaks (any kind, marinaded or not)

Big green salad (any kind of lettuce, veggies and dressing)

Fruit salad (anything fresh, or a combo of fresh and frozen - one of my faves is frozen strawberries, thawed and tossed with banana slices and a bit of honey, nothing else).

 

In the time it takes dh to grill the steaks, I can do the salads. Takes maybe 10-15 minutes tops.

[MellowYellow]

These are great, thanks.

[BeckyFL]

Here's my favorite... I usually use regular rice when I'm in a hurry.

 

http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/MainDish/SimpleMeal.do?mealId=210&mealGroupId=1004

[Crissy]

Fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken and a green salad.

 

Alfredo sauce (my favorite recipe is linked above) is just so easy, and boneless, skinless chicken on the grill takes no time at all.

[LauraGB]

Portobella Sandwiches

 

Oil a pan and cook 3-4 whole portobellos a few min on each side (or til tender). Remove them from the pan, add more oil, and saute a sliced green bell pepper, a red bell pepper, an onion, a crushed garlic clove, oregano, salt and pepper. While those are cooking, slice the mushrooms. When they are done, toss them back into the pan with the peppers and onion, and add a few dashes of balsamic vinegar. Pile it either into sub buns, pitas or between a lengthwise sliced cibiatta loaf, and top with smoked provolone. Pop them under the broiler til the cheese is melted.

 

We are having this tonight - but we are grilling everything, and I made homemade pitas. It's a favorite meal here. It's also really filling, so a salad and some grapes rounds it out. I think tonight I'm going to make a tomato and cucumber salad and use up some basil in it. In winter, I serve it with a brothy soup like French Onion. Also, to speed things up in the slicing dept, the food processor is great.

Edited August 25, 2010 by LauraGB

[StaceyinLA]

Not really low-cal, but it is awesome!!

 

Dice up boneless, skinless chicken breasts and sauté diced pieces tossed with some Tony's seasoning in olive oil, or any all-purpose type seasoning if you can't get Tony's.

 

Meanwhile, spread either fresh spinach, or thawed frozen with juice squeezed out, into a 9x13 glass baking dish. If you use fresh, put it thicker since it will cook down.

 

Spread the cooked chicken onto the spinach. Pour a pint of whipping cream all over it. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 20 min. Then top with fresh, grated cheddar and bake till bubbly (about 5 more min). Amazing!!

 

 

This one relies on canned items, but not junky ones - it is SUPER fast!

 

Dump into 9x13 glass baking dish: 2 cans drained beans (I like pintos), 1 can drained corn (or frozen equivalent, which I prefer cuz I buy organic), 1 small can tomato sauce, and that same sauce can of picante. Tear up 6-8 soft corn tortillas into pieces and stir everything up. Top with grated cheese and bake 20 min at 350. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, etc. Yum!

[Penny from Tenny]

Quiche (frozen pie crusts of course), salad, and maybe macaroni and cheese mainly for the kids - I prefer fruit! 30 minutes from start to finish :D

[Photo Ninja]

Cook dried cheese tortellini

When it is almost done, toss in some broccoli

Drain when tortellini and broccoli are done

Top with a jar of Alfredo sauce

When I have cooked chicken around, I cube and toss this in, too.

If you have ingredients handy, make some garlic bread.

[Mejane]

Here's another:

 

Broil a pint of cherry tomatoes until collapsing. While they're in the oven, boil a pound of pasta. Throw in some asparagus tips for the last few minutes (length of time depends on how crunchy you like them.) Drain the pasta and mix in the tomatoes and a bit of olive oil. Season with S+P and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

 

Twenty minutes start to finish. :001_smile:

[*Jessica*]

I love to make a double or triple batch of Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos for the freezer. On hectic evenings we can just microwave them to reheat and have a salad on the side. It really doesn't get much faster than that, although they do have to be made in advance for it to be so quick! The recipe states that it takes 50 minutes from start to finish if you're making them and baking them to eat right away.

[hsmom3tn]

Tacos :)

[KidsHappen]

Ours is greasy spaghetti. I believe other people call it pasta carbonara (sp?). Takes all of 20 minutes including the time for the water to boil. Sometimes I just boil up some penne and let everyone pick their own sauce, choices include cheese, marinara or pesto. We also frequently have a veggie and fruit platter for dinner or sometimes just a salad. Vegetarians are easy to feed which is good because I don't cook. :001_smile:

[Tina]

Salmon patties, fried potatoes and pork and beans or coleslaw

[i.love.lucy]

Here's another:

 

Broil a pint of cherry tomatoes until collapsing. While they're in the oven, boil a pound of pasta. Throw in some asparagus tips for the last few minutes (length of time depends on how crunchy you like them.) Drain the pasta and mix in the tomatoes and a bit of olive oil. Season with S+P and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

 

Twenty minutes start to finish. :001_smile:

Now THAT sounds awesome! Doing it this week!

[Unicorn.]

Thank You! We had this tonight. I added a chopped apple to the sausage/onion/bell pepper, and served it over fettucine. It was really good! It got 4 of 5 stars here. We told the one dissenting vote that she's crazy!

[Unicorn.]

Thank you!! I can't wait to try some of these this week.

[Wendi]

This is one of my recent favorites: Hungry Man's Macaroni. I usually make garlic bread while the pasta cooks.

 

Also quick and easy:

Saute cooked shrimp (thawed) with broccoli florets, a little olive oil, and a lot of garlic. Serve with rice or noodles.

 

Wendi

[Kirch]

Sausage and Spaghetti

 

Sautee 1 small chopped onion and pre-sliced mushrooms (8 oz package). After a few minutes, add 1 lb sliced smoked sausage. When sausage is almost done, add 2 chopped roma tomatoes and Italian seasoning to taste. Turn off heat and let stand for a few minutes. Mix well and serve over (or stir into--we usually just mix it all up in a big bowl) angel hair pasta and top with parmesan cheese. I usually serve with salad and garlic bread if I have time (or have it in the freezer!).

[Barb_]

I love to cook when I have a couple of hours to pour a glass of wine, put on some music and experiment. Really? How often does that happen?

 

So about 1-2 times a week I find myself returning to this book:

 

Desperation Dinners: Homecooked Meals for Frantic Families in 20 Minutes Flat

 

I also recommend their "Desperation Entertaining" for bigger families because the basic recipes serve 8 or so.

 

The recipes rely on a lot of dehydrated onion and powdered garlic to cut down prep time but I just substitute fresh when I have the time and inclination and raise the prep time to maybe 45 min or so. The recipes are flavorful and easy to adapt for individual family tastes or willingness to do a little more chopping.

 

Barb