your easy go-to meal

[EmilyGF]

I'm trying to increase my rotation of REALLY easy meals from the pantry on tired nights.

About once a month, I make "popcorn for dinner" - air-popped popcorn with three different toppings (peanut butter-based, cheese-based, and sugar and cinnamon). The kids and even the hubs love it. 

What do you do when your pantry is pretty bare and your energy is drained (and you aren't going to get take-out)?

Emily

[saraha]

Spaghetti with green beans on the side. I always have pasta, canned sauce and canned green beans in the pantry and everyone in my house can fix it

[AmandaVT]

Veggie burgers (we like Morningstar or Impossible) and frozen french fries. 

[HomeAgain]

Pasta carbonara, with or without pancetta.  We always have eggs, long pasta, and parmesan in the house.

Second would be rice bowls.  Rice, canned beans or tofu, whatever veggies are available, and herbs/sauces/garlic.  We've done them Mediterranean, Mexican, Chinese.. it's usually how we end up using up leftovers.

[Dynamite5]

apples and peanut butter

[Kassia]

Popcorn night sounds like so much fun!  I want to do that! 

[Annie G]

Spaghetti and eggs. Cook spaghetti noodles and drain. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and beat one egg per person, plus one or two extras. When butter is hot, add spaghetti. Add eggs, stir until they scramble. If I’m feeling fancy I sprinkle Parmesan on top. 
This has been our go-to for dinner when we’re about to leave on a trip/arrive home from a trip, or before payday…for going on 60 years now. 

[Clarita]

Macaroni and Cheese (usually we don't have macaroni though so it's really penne and cheese). We make the sauce from scratch so we use whatever cheese we have on hand, flour and butter.

Fried rice. 

These two dishes are nice because you can always make them into throw other leftovers in there for a more well rounded meal. Mac and cheese can be dolled up with panko and pepper sprinkled on top and placed in the oven. Fried rice can be dolled up with fancy sauce (like XO sauce, random chili sauce) or just fancy leftovers.

[Ditto]

Our easy go-to meal is pasta.  Usually just with butter and possibly garlic powder.  Eggs- either fried or scrambled with toast.   I also always keep cans of refried beans and taco shells for easy tacos.  

50 minutes ago, EmilyGF said:

peanut butter-based,

Do you have a recipe for this?  I am very intrigued and would love to try it!   I also never thought about sugar and cinnamon for popcorn, but now can't wait to try it.  Thank you.

 

13 minutes ago, Annie G said:

Spaghetti and eggs

I just read your recipe to my teen and she can't wait to try it.  Thank you.

[Kassia]

17 minutes ago, Annie G said:

Spaghetti and eggs. Cook spaghetti noodles and drain. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and beat one egg per person, plus one or two extras. When butter is hot, add spaghetti. Add eggs, stir until they scramble. If I’m feeling fancy I sprinkle Parmesan on top. 
This has been our go-to for dinner when we’re about to leave on a trip/arrive home from a trip, or before payday…for going on 60 years now. 

This sounds really good.  Does the spaghetti get crispy or chewy like that (I'd prefer it that way over right out of the pot)?  

 

6 minutes ago, Clarita said:

 

Fried rice. 

 

At the risk of sounding stupid, how do you make fried rice?  The only thing I know is that it's best to use leftover rice but don't know what to do beyond that (I should find an easy recipe).  I'd love to make my own.

[Miss Tick]

7 minutes ago, Kassia said:

At the risk of sounding stupid, how do you make fried rice?

I cook two cups of rice.

Saute a chopped onion

Pour some mixed frozen vegetables into the pan to thaw

Add some chopped ham that I froze in 1/2 lb packages

Mix in the rice

Add equal amounts of soy sauce and fish sauce (about 2 Tbs each) Fish sauce is worth having for this recipe alone, plus it is so salty it is unlikely to ever go bad.

Squoosh everything to the sides of the pan and pour two lightly beaten eggs into the gap, then cover the pan until the eggs set

Stir and serve

 

This is my usual meal for the night before grocery shopping because it is all pretty shelf stable.

[mathnerd]

Cauliflower crust frozen pizza and bagged salad with olive oil+vinegar+salt+pepper dressing.

Trader Joe's frozen vegetarian Indian and Thai meals.

Frozen burritos or frozen taquitos (home made - I make 2 dozen at a time and freeze them for emergencies).

Frozen fried rice (double your normal portions and freeze extras on baking sheet for later use).

Frozen pancakes 

Naan pizza - marinara or pesto on a garlic naan with any cheese (mozzarella or cheddar usually) in toaster oven

Overnight oats with almond milk, greek yoghurt, shredded apples, dry fruit, berries, nuts and almond butter - I make a batch of 6 small mason jars once a week and it is always in my fridge for a large snack or medium sized dinner.

Chia pudding with coconut milk and mango puree or cherry puree (I make a large batch of this once a week and it is always in my fridge for emergencies)

Sourdough bread with cheese, italian seasoning, sun dried tomatoes, olives and fresh tomatoes - baked in toaster oven for 5 minutes - it tastes a little like focaccia without making the focaccia.

Bagel pizzas

Spinach Ravioli that I buy from costco and keep frozen in a ziplock bag. Just dump it in boiling water for a few minutes and top with pesto if available or olive oil and salt and pepper. If I have parmesan cheese on hand, I will add that before serving.

Edited October 25, 2021 by mathnerd

[cjzimmer1]

frozen pizza

spaghetti

wonton soup (broth or boullion cubes, bags of frozen wonton/dumplings from costco), veggies (I keep lots of dehydrated veggies around so I can dump them in soup without doing an actual work the day I need them)

baked potatoes (I always have cheese/sour cream/butter, additional toppings will depend on energy level)

I also have jars of home canned beef on hand.  Dump in a pan to warm, serve over any leftover starch (toast, noodles, potatoes, rice) and add a veggie if I'm motivated enough

I also keep cooked/diced chicken in the freezer that can be dumped into those premade sauced noodle/rice mixes (like Knorr).  Again add veggie or fruit if motivated.

[Spryte]

Door Dash.

(Where’s the running away emoji?)

 

Otherwise, it’s one of a few easy options - some I don’t eat because I limit carbs, but various people in our house may eat any of these super easy “meals” from time to time:

-breakfast for dinner

-popcorn dinner (this is my favorite but we only do it once or twice a year). We do different flavors, and add sliced apples with sunbutter and a movie 

-Daiya Mac and cheese from a box

-grilled chicken tenderloins, black beans from a can and steamed broccoli

-various baked chicken dishes, the frozen tenderloins that don’t have to thaw

-sandwiches - deli meats, etc

-tuna - under the broiler with a slice of cheese on top and veggies

-spaghetti and jarred sauce (sigh)

-bean burritos

-nachos - giant plate of chips with lots of toppings

 

[regentrude]

Pasta with tomato sauce (canned tomato, onion, garlic, herbs, and some cream). 

Filled ravioli (either pumpkin/squash or spinach) I buy from the refrigerated case. 

[73349]

Scrambled eggs and peas.

[Pawz4me]

Scrambled eggs and roasted (frozen) veggies

[ScoutTN]

Breakfast - Eggs or oatmeal

PB 

Cheese toast

Nachos

 

[HS Mom in NC]

1. High protein pasta and a jar of pesto.

2. Pre-sliced, precooked spiral ham slices, salami slices, sliced/cubed cheese, crackers, whatever fruit is on hand. Meats are kept in meal sized portions in the freezer and can be warmed to room temp in the microwave if they're not in the fridge. We usually have either apples, cuties, or grapes on hand for snacking.

3. Hummus, whole wheat pitas, jarred artichoke hearts, fruit on hand. Hummus and pita are kept in the freezer and can be warmed to room temperature or a little warmer in the microwave.

[CTVKath]

Instant Pot frozen chicken tenders, rice and canned green beans

Browned ground beef mixed into jarred marinara sauce, pasta and canned corn

Breakfast sausage patties, rice, canned tomato/okra gumbo and canned black-eyed peas

Frozen shredded chicken mixed with BBQ sauce, canned baked beans and canned corn (or frozen creamed corn)

Frozen GF chicken tenders, pasta, marinara sauce and canned English peas

The formula I follow when I'm tired, out of sorts, out of ideas, out of time, etc. is any meat + rice + any canned veggie.

We eat the above over and over and over. Hmmm. Looks like we eat too many canned veggies!

[Annie G]

57 minutes ago, Kassia said:

This sounds really good.  Does the spaghetti get crispy or chewy like that (I'd prefer it that way over right out of the pot)?  

 

 

Growing up Mom just quickly tossed the spaghetti and eggs in together, so it did not. But I prefer it more toasted, so I do cook it til it’s a tad crispy. It just takes a couple minutes.

[Terabith]

Baked salmon and asparagus and sweet potatoes.  

Spaghetti with homemade sauce made from some chopped up veggies and canned tomatoes

[Elizabeth86]

Scrambled eggs and toast I suppose would be my lowest effort go to meal. 

[Annie G]

26 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Baked salmon and asparagus and sweet potatoes.  

Spaghetti with homemade sauce made from some chopped up veggies and canned tomatoes

We had baked salmon and roasted sweet potato chunks tonight. It’s our usual Sunday meal because it’s fast and super easy. the quickest meal I’ll make all week and the most tasty. 

[Clarita]

1 hour ago, Kassia said:

At the risk of sounding stupid, how do you make fried rice?  The only thing I know is that it's best to use leftover rice but don't know what to do beyond that (I should find an easy recipe).  I'd love to make my own.

Put some oil in your skillet/wok (I just eyeball it you have to coat your skillet). Wait until it's pretty hot (almost smoking). Put in egg first. Wait for egg to cook a bit (as much scrambled egg as you want but leave some uncooked egg). Then, put in the rice. Cook so your leftover rice is broken up a bit add other ingredients and soy sauce. Make everything hot and mix well. 

All ingredients to be put into the fried rice should be already cooked enough for consumption. Mostly this applies to meat. Another thing I had to learn the hard way is have all your ingredients ready. It doesn't take long to finish.

[prairiewindmomma]

Frozen chicken breasts in the instant pot + jar of sauce—curry, bbq, marinara, whatever

We have three teens and a tween—popcorn would never fly for a meal here. 

[Farrar]

Another who relies on spaghetti/pasta with jarred sauce. A salad if I'm really feeling it.

Box rice and canned beans

Scrambled eggs and toast

Grilled cheese and box or frozen soup

Salad and frozen garlic bread

Frozen dumplings or samosas and raw veggies

[SoCal_Bear]

I'm Chinese but all Asian cultures do this fried rice the same way. Always start with leftover cold rice. Freshly cooked rice has way too much moisture. Leftover rice has dried out and will stay separated when you are cooking it. We eat rice very frequently because I cook primarly Asian food, so I keep a container in the fridge to store leftover rice. 

 

Edited October 25, 2021 by calbear

[Granny_Weatherwax]

egg sandwiches - easy to do and customize

baked oatmeal - this was a recent find and has become a favorite this past few months

bean pot - a cool weather favorite - 4 types of beans, meat, onion, vinegar, brown sugar

meal in a bowl - kind of like KFC bowls - mashed potatoes, meat (either chicken or beef), corn, gravy

[Anne]

Taco cabbage is our favorite fast meal.  Sauté a pound of ground beef (throw in frozen chopped onions if available).  Drain.  Add about 3-4 cups chopped cabbage.  Add taco seasonings and a little water. Cook until done.

Easy, cheap, and good.  

Anne

 

 

[Bambam]

Breakfast as supper (eggs, bacon, biscuits, whatever we have)
Quesadillas (we always have flour tortillas and cheese of some sort - add in the little bits of leftover frozen chicken or brisket or whatever)
Fried Rice - any time we have rice, I freeze the leftovers.  Eventually you will have enough. Scramble several eggs, add in frozen vegetables (mixed or just peas and carrots), add soy sauce, done.
Bean burritos - again flour tortillas + beans (refried) + cheese if I have it 
Nachos - corn tortilla chips, cheese, beans, any leftover meat, maybe green onions/onions/pepper if I have some. 

Rotisserie chicken from Sam's plus microwaved sweet potato/white potato or instant mashed potatoes (not a fan, but they are handy emergency food) + whatever frozen veggie there is. 

When I make pizza crust, I make and pre-bake extra and freeze them. Sometimes that is supper - pull it out, add sauce, cheese, meat if desired, done. 

[lynn]

My favorite go to....quick stir fry.Sauted vegetables,  add rice or quinoa, any left over meat, teriyaki or soy sauce  or

Saute vegetables add scrambled eggs and make an omelet.

[Farrar]

Reading through these responses, some of these are things I also do, but I do not consider them my easiest, bottom of the barrel meals. They're a step up, lol. They take actual effort or more than five minutes of my time.

[alisoncooks]

Eggs and toast

Noodles with butter and Parmesan 

White rice with sliced, cooked sausage or kielbasa plus kidney beans. All served together. Sometimes with salsa or sriracha over top. 
 

Cubed Spam (cooked with soy sauce) over rice. Also good with sriracha. 

[Kassia]

2 minutes ago, Bambam said:

Nachos - corn tortilla chips, cheese, beans, any leftover meat, maybe green onions/onions/pepper if I have some. 

 

Another stupid question (I am really helpless in the kitchen)...so if I have all the ingredients for the nachos, what's next?  How do I actually cook them?  Spread the chips, then the beans and some cheese and then what...?  How long in the oven and for what temp?  

I'm sorry for all the questions! 

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

1 minute ago, Kassia said:

Another stupid question (I am really helpless in the kitchen)...so if I have all the ingredients for the nachos, what's next?  How do I actually cook them?  Spread the chips, then the beans and some cheese and then what...?  How long in the oven and for what temp?  

I'm sorry for all the questions! 

 

 I warm up the chips separately and for just a few minutes.

I brown the meat in either chili or taco seasoning. I heat the beans separately. Cheese is either heated in the microwave (if I'm using something like Velveeta) or just grated and sprinkled on.  Onion, peppers, etc are all either chilled or room temp.

Put the heated chips on a plate, top the chips with beans and meat, then add the cheese, and other toppings.

[mmasc]

“Noodle soup” using just two things:

This and this. Aldi has German egg noodles and my regular grocery store has them too (for a very normal price, not like the Amazon link above!)

[alisoncooks]

We do nachos too. Spread out chips, plop refried beans (from a can) over, then shredded cheese. Throw into the oven until melted. (I put them in a cold oven and turn it on to 350. Once the oven reaches temp, they’re usually done.) Top with whatever: salsa, sour cream, etc.  

*aluminum foil or parchment is handy for these. 

Edited October 25, 2021 by alisoncooks

[Frances]

Some sort of eggs, usually soft boiled or scrambled, on toast with defrosted blueberries on the side. 

[Emba]

Tacos

spaghetti with meat  sauce

beans and cornbread

Black beans, salsa, and eggs with rice (1 Can black beans, 1 cup salsa, bring to a simmer in a skillet, make 4 wells in the mixture and crack an egg into each, cover and simmer about 5-10 min until eggs are desired done-ness.)

Fried egg sandwiches

All of the above with canned veggies or salad on the side. 

Edited October 25, 2021 by Emba

[Bambam]

16 minutes ago, Kassia said:

Another stupid question (I am really helpless in the kitchen)...so if I have all the ingredients for the nachos, what's next?  How do I actually cook them?  Spread the chips, then the beans and some cheese and then what...?  How long in the oven and for what temp?  

I'm sorry for all the questions! 

 

I see a couple of others have answered too. But there are so many ways!
I typically heat the beans in the microwave just to warm them a little (maybe 30 seconds?)
I'm heating the oven to 350-400. 
Sometimes if I have a little leftover frozen enchilada sauce (yes, I freeze in baggies if we have any leftover), I'll warm the meat in the skillet with this stuff. Just adds extra flavor, you know? 
I put aluminum foil down on my cookie sheet, spread a nice layer of chips over it (yes, there will be holes and some will be doubled up), sprinkle cheese, then meat and beans, then sometimes more chips, then cheese, more meat, more beans.  I don't know that the order of the stuff you are going to heat really matters as long as chips are on the very bottom!  - You can also microwave this - but it would be individual plates not the mess for everyone.  The oven crisps the chips up too - which is nice and you do not get from the microwave. 
Put in oven till cheese is all melty (5? minutes - it doesn't take long)
Pull it out, use pancake turner to put on plates, let people add toppings (sour cream, guacamole, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, salsa verde, whatever)

And eat. Throw out Aluminum foil and remember the time you didn't use this and what a pain it was to clean the pan. 

IMHO, you can substitute whatever you have on hand here. Have leftover fried potatoes (diced) - add those too. Have a little bit of leftover rice - add that too. Have leftover grilled onions - toss that on there too. No enchilada sauce? - maybe try a little bit of bar-b-q (not sure about this one, but possibly) Have cabbage? - slice some and toss it on there after cooking to add more crunchiness.  Black olives are a nice touch too. 

 

[KungFuPanda]

A frozen box of pierogies, kielbasa, and onions fried in one big pan until everything is hot and the pierogies are golden brown. The trick is to add the meat when the pierogi is almost done. We serve ours with sour cream and canned beets on the side or a bag of salad. A bag of salad is my answer to a lot of panic dinners.

I’ve also been known to go by Costco just for the rotisserie chicken. I can’t really make it any cheaper than they do and it’s just so easy. 

[EmilyGF]

23 minutes ago, Farrar said:

Reading through these responses, some of these are things I also do, but I do not consider them my easiest, bottom of the barrel meals. They're a step up, lol. They take actual effort or more than five minutes of my time.

And some of them require non-shelf stable ingredients.

I like all the egg ideas, especially eggs with pasta. Great idea!

This is for those nights when chopping vegetables is too much and the last loaf of bread was eaten days ago.

39 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Frozen chicken breasts in the instant pot + jar of sauce—curry, bbq, marinara, whatever

We have three teens and a tween—popcorn would never fly for a meal here. 

Hmm, I have a teen who runs cross country and a teen who swims, as well as a tween and two others. I make a ton of popcorn and the toppings are pretty heavy (peanut butter + butter, 5 oz cheese + butter, cinnamon sugar + butter). But, I'm sure if I did it too much they wouldn't see it as a treat anymore.

[Bootsie]

Pasta 

Some type of eggs/bacon

Soup pulled out of the freezer

PB&J or grilled cheese sandwiches

Cheese, salami, and raw veggies

Pigs-in-a-blanket

I also try to keep a ham steak in the fridge--it has a relatively long shelf and can be heated under the broiler quickly and served with frozen veggies.

[mom31257]

pizzas made on frozen garlic bread (bake one side for about 5 minutes, flip over and put the toppings on and bake another 5-6 minutes

easy taco soup from the pantry (canned corn, black beans, and chicken, jar or two of salsa, ground cumin; heat through add cilantro if you have it)

Beefy Mac & Cheese: Saute ground beef with onion. drain, add worcestershire and ketchup to taste. Cook a box of mac and cheese (sauce not powder) and add the cheese, add the beef mixture. (I can't eat the cheese so I keep some of the noodle out for myself and add the beef to them.)

 

[KungFuPanda]

A linguine with clam sauce recipe that takes canned clams is delicious. The sauce is ready in the time it takes to make the pasta. 
 

Tonight I made a cabbage roll casserole. I’ll probably never actually roll them again. That ship sailed years ago. 
 

Also, Trader Joe’s orange chicken is a staple. 

[KungFuPanda]

Ohh, one more . . . I think cream cheese mixed with smoked salmon, capers, and red onions, then served on a toasted bagel is a gourmet meal. 🥯 

[EmilyGF]

LOL, I think you guys go grocery shopping a lot more than I do! A lot of these sound great, but there's no way I'd have these things in my house the day before shopping day!

[JennyD]

Fried rice.  I always have leftover rice in the fridge and frozen mixed vegetables in the freezer.  I also keep those Dorot frozen cubes of ginger and garlic in the freezer.  

[Drama Llama]

. . . 

Edited October 26, 2021 by BaseballandHockey