your easy go-to meal

[rebcoola]

Baked potato bar..just bake potatoes and random leftovers on top.

Kielbasa and potatoes just chop and throw on pan or in air fryer.

[prairiewindmomma]

37 minutes ago, EmilyGF said:

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.

My teen boys tonight are each having a full chicken breast (like 8+ oz), 1.5-2 cups veggies, bread, and then they will snack again in a couple of hours. One of my boys regularly eats a couple of hard boiled eggs and a piece of fruit as a snack a couple of times a day. The other makes full sandwiches + eats bowls of carrots or snap peas between meals. For a while he would eat 3 oz of cheese or a cup of nuts on top of that too. One is underweight, the other is low average. My teen daughter eats more normally, in terms of volume, but if I fed her popcorn she’d finish it off with a couple of hard boiled eggs or a yogurt because popcorn, even with toppings, is too full of carbs to keep her stable.

I believe you, that your kids are satisfied with popcorn, but my mind is a bit blown. It’s nowhere near my experience. 
 

 

 

[math teacher]

Easiest would be breakfast for dinner:

Eggs/sausage/cheese cooked together-could add toast and fruit

French toast and bacon-tomorrow's dinner, actually

 

[whitestavern]

I'm a meal planner, so it's rare that my pantry is empty or I have no idea what I'm making for dinner. That said, if there's some change in plans, pasta or eggs are usually the answer. Or ordering a pizza. 

[Selkie]

A huge salad (we always have loads of prepped salad ingredients in the fridge) and naan bread

Burrito bowls (had these tonight) - brown rice or riced cauliflower with taco lentils, roasted sweet potato, corn, guac, and salsa

Buddha bowls - brown rice or another whole grain with crispy tofu, roasted veggies (I throw a bag of frozen veggies in the oven), spicy chickpeas, and a drizzle of sweet chili sauce and teriyaki balsamic vinegar

[Drama Llama]

. . . 

Edited October 26, 2021 by BaseballandHockey

[Corraleno]

My 2-minute meal when the kids were younger and we were running late for practice was a protein smoothie they could drink in the car (banana, peanut butter, almond milk, Orgain chocolate protein powder, ice cubes)

"Eggsadillas" — quesadilla with a fried egg inside

Breakfast burritos with scrambled eggs, cheese, salsa, black beans, and leftover potatoes, or bean & cheese burritos with leftover rice

Bag of TJ's fried rice plus frozen edamame tossed in a skillet for a few minutes 

Pasta salad — seems fancy but other than cooking the pasta, the rest is just opening bags/cans/jars and throwing it all in a big bowl: bag of arugula or other greens, can of cannellini or garbanzo beans, jars of marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, and capers, and some parmesan. Dress with some of the flavored oil from the jars and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Works equally well warm or cold, so it's great when you have lots of people eating at different times, and it keeps well in the fridge. (It's a great last minute potluck meal, too, and if you use vegan parmesan, or serve the cheese on the side, it works for vegan & dairy-free folks as well.)

Not exactly cheap but definitely fast, healthy, and zero effort: my college kid who doesn't cook and has very little spare time (plus limited freezer space) eats a lot of Indian food that comes in shelf-stable microwavable pouches (Madras Lentils, Chickpea Masala, Everyday Chana, etc.). He orders them by the case from Amazon and just dumps a pouch in a bowl with a cup or two of brown rice (either frozen or shelf stable) and some frozen spinach, pops it in the microwave, and has a healthy, filling, high protein meal in two minutes.

 

 

[Bootsie]

58 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

That's what I was thinking.

If I actually have 5 minutes, we have sandwiches.  If I have 6 we have sandwiches on toast, or if you're DS11 toasted waffles.  He loves pb and j on toaster waffles.  

I have lots of pretty quick meals, but I consider those school night dinner, not emergency dinner.  

Emergency meals at my house when the kids were home usually occurred when things were so busy I didn't get to the store because of a doctor's appointment, getting stuck in traffic, or something else.  Or an accident happened in the kitchen and dinner was on the floor (which as happened more than once.) If I had fresh bread for sandwiches for the entire family, it wouldn't be considered an "emergency" to me--the emergency would have been I didn't get to the store to get bread.  

Emergency go-to meals would need to be something that didn't require anything with a short shelf-life.  Pasta and jarred sauce and frozen veggies come in handy in those situations.  I also try to keep something like a can of crescent rolls, biscuits, or box of crackers that I don't have to worry about being moldy.  

[alpacawalker]

If nothing was planned or it's late or I'm tired, the meal is usually a fritatta using whatever veggies are in the refrigerator or fried rice again using whatever I find in the fridge. We always have eggs or leftover rice.

[Jann in TX]

For quick family lunch or dinner:  tacos.  I keep pre-cooked personal-size packets of seasoned beef and turkey in the freezer (I make up 1-2 pounds of each at a time)  We are 5 minutes away from crispy tacos and less than 2 minutes away from soft tacos (I have other fixings around all the time). LOVE my vacuum sealer for this!

We can also do nachos-- line cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper, add chips and top with a packet or two of meat and then lots of shredded cheese... jalapenos go on part of it.  Broil until cheese is melted  (just a minute or two). Serve with salsa and sour cream.

For DH and I at dinner-- my quick meal is thin pork chops-- season with Morton Season All on one side and McCormic Montreal Steak Seasoning on the other.  Pan fry in garlic-olive oil... about 6 or so minutes.  Serve with big salad or other raw veggies.  If I can wait 15 minutes then I will serve with steamed veggies and rice.

 

[dsmith]

I usually have some frozen brown rice on hand, so I do that with Fillo's or A Dozen Cousin's beans on top. I add avocado and Tajin - yum!! But I'm the only one who eats that around here. For the rest of the fam it's usually hamburgers and/or hot dogs, homemade chicken pot pie or about 5 other things we keep in the freezer, spaghetti with jarred vodka sauce, open face not-grilled cheese (toast bread, add tomato slices, cheese, sprinkle of pepper and oregano and put under the broiler) or various leftovers. We always have homemade soup in the freezer to bulk up lighter meals. Oh, and Trader Joe's shakshuka is a current easy favorite. I just bought 8 boxes of it the other day.😁

[Storygirl]

We eat some of the things that have been mentioned. Tonight, we were going to have a Costco rotisserie chicken, but it was pink inside when we cut it, so we had to pivot. We had a package of hamburger buns, so I made shredded chicken sandwiches. Two cans of chicken, drained, mixed with one can of mushroom soup and heated through, stirring to break the chicken into smaller bits. I add some bread crumbs if it's too sloppy. Serve on the buns. I don't use canned soup for anything else, but I keep some on hand for emergency chicken sandwiches. It's all pantry ingredients (plus the buns, which I sometimes have stashed in the freezer).

 

[Eos]

Pasta with olive oil or butter, black pepper, cheese.  We always have these in the house.  Better with veggies of course, and best with bitter greens from the garden.

[SKL]

The easiest pantry meal we have is oriental noodles.  Just add hot water, wait 3 minutes, and eat.  It comes in many flavors.  One of my kids likes to add sliced boiled eggs to her spicy Ramen.  We normally have a bunch of boiled eggs ready in the fridge for various uses.

[Laura Corin]

Omelette and whatever veg. we have.

[Kassia]

4 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

My teen boys tonight are each having a full chicken breast (like 8+ oz), 1.5-2 cups veggies, bread, and then they will snack again in a couple of hours. One of my boys regularly eats a couple of hard boiled eggs and a piece of fruit as a snack a couple of times a day. The other makes full sandwiches + eats bowls of carrots or snap peas between meals. For a while he would eat 3 oz of cheese or a cup of nuts on top of that too. One is underweight, the other is low average. My teen daughter eats more normally, in terms of volume, but if I fed her popcorn she’d finish it off with a couple of hard boiled eggs or a yogurt because popcorn, even with toppings, is too full of carbs to keep her stable.

I believe you, that your kids are satisfied with popcorn, but my mind is a bit blown. It’s nowhere near my experience. 
 

 

 

Two of sons are adults now and have always eaten like your teen boys.  They eat/need enormous amounts of food and calories.  One has a high metabolism and is very active.  The other lifts weights and is always trying to build mass so he wants lots of protein and calories.  I get kind of stressed when they are home because I'm not used to supplying/cooking food in those quantities anymore!  They are constantly eating huge amounts of food! Lots of chicken, turkey, eggs, rice, and veggies.  

[Carrie12345]

8 hours ago, EmilyGF said:

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

One of the reasons I don’t allow my pantry to get bare is because I’m often drained and our take out options suck, lol.

I like an occasional crackers, cheese, and pepperoni night.  
The kids can make grilled cheese and canned or frozen soup. Boxed Mac and cheese, with or without some frozen nuggets, stix, or whatever might be in there.   Other stuff too, but those are simple.
Tuna melts.  
Leftovers. Leftovers on rice if it needs to stretch.  
Instant oatmeal with fresh or canned fruit.  
Cold cereal with milk.  
My kids like cold oatmeal or cold cereal mixed with yogurt.  :::shiver:::     
A box of pasta and a jar of sauce.

I do keep precooked stuff in the freezer, so there’s always fixings for tacos, nachos, quesadillas, chicken over rice/pasta/potatoes, sloppy joes, or what have you.  
And we always have eggs. I was down to only 6 before I picked up groceries last, and it made me feel anxious. We’re almost never that low.
 

[Elizabeth86]

8 hours ago, Anne said:

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

 

 

Oh that sounds good. I love cabbage and I’ve never had it this way before. 

[Drama Llama]

. . . 

Edited October 26, 2021 by BaseballandHockey

[mmasc]

9 hours ago, Selkie said:

A huge salad (we always have loads of prepped salad ingredients in the fridge) and naan bread

Burrito bowls (had these tonight) - brown rice or riced cauliflower with taco lentils, roasted sweet potato, corn, guac, and salsa

Buddha bowls - brown rice or another whole grain with crispy tofu, roasted veggies (I throw a bag of frozen veggies in the oven), spicy chickpeas, and a drizzle of sweet chili sauce and teriyaki balsamic vinegar

Do you have a special way of keeping your lettuce/greens fresh? Ime, some lettuces tend to get brown quickly and the darker greens tend to get sort of slimy too quickly. I’d love to know how to keep them fresh for several days! I eat salad every day, but I always make it fresh at lunch bc of the lettuce issue. Pre-prepped would be awesome. 

[HomeAgain]

13 hours 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 like friends who introduced us to pasta "carbonara".  It turned me off from the meal for a long time until we had it as part of a multicourse meal in Italy.

I'm telling you, their way is delicious. Try beating the eggs and the Parmesan together, cook the pasta, throw the pasta in a hot bowl, and then pour the eggs on top and mix.  Add a little pasta water if necessary.  It produces a creamy sauce that is fully cooked eggs and cheese, but not scrambled.

[cintinative]

I am a meal planner so if I need an easy go-to meal (last minute) it is either because the meal was inedible, there weren't leftovers and I planned for them, or because I am totally exhausted. 

Pretty much our go-to meal in those cases is spaghetti with meatballs (from my freezer) or frozen pizza.  Sometimes I would make grilled cheese with canned soup (or pull soup from my freezer last minute), or make french toast.  I could also do mac and cheese from a box with ham from the freezer (I freeze portions around the holidays when ham is cheap).  Generally I have the stuff for those around just for the purpose of getting us through rough days.  Pre-Celiac I used to buy the frozen tortellini and I would make it with jarred sauce and cooked sweet italian sausage.

I do like tacos as an easy meal but we don't typically have lettuce so I couldn't pull it off last minute. 

 

[alisoncooks]

I tried this upgraded ramen recipe recently. Not bad…but definitely follow the directions and use natural peanut butter. (Traditional pb doesn’t work well!)

https://www.budgetbytes.com/spicy-peanut-butter-ramen/

[EmilyGF]

10 hours ago, Bootsie said:

Emergency meals at my house when the kids were home usually occurred when things were so busy I didn't get to the store because of a doctor's appointment, getting stuck in traffic, or something else.  Or an accident happened in the kitchen and dinner was on the floor (which as happened more than once.) If I had fresh bread for sandwiches for the entire family, it wouldn't be considered an "emergency" to me--the emergency would have been I didn't get to the store to get bread.  

Emergency go-to meals would need to be something that didn't require anything with a short shelf-life.  Pasta and jarred sauce and frozen veggies come in handy in those situations.  I also try to keep something like a can of crescent rolls, biscuits, or box of crackers that I don't have to worry about being moldy.  

Bingo! Loaves of bread only last a day or two in our house, anyways. When I shop, I buy two, and they are long gone by the next shopping trip. I do stock up on tortillas, though, because they freeze so efficiently.

[Miss Tick]

7 hours ago, Storygirl said:

We eat some of the things that have been mentioned. Tonight, we were going to have a Costco rotisserie chicken, but it was pink inside when we cut it, so we had to pivot. We had a package of hamburger buns, so I made shredded chicken sandwiches. Two cans of chicken, drained, mixed with one can of mushroom soup and heated through, stirring to break the chicken into smaller bits. I add some bread crumbs if it's too sloppy. Serve on the buns. I don't use canned soup for anything else, but I keep some on hand for emergency chicken sandwiches. It's all pantry ingredients (plus the buns, which I sometimes have stashed in the freezer).

 

I bought canned chicken during pandemic times and I've been vaguely watching for ways to eat it. So far everyone is happy with my mixing two drained cans with salad greens, corn, black beans, cheese, a dressing of bbq and ranch, with crushed corn chips on top. But some day they will tire of this and I will need another recipe like yours in my back pocket. I don't usually buy cream of mushroom, but I can make a facsimile and with some added vegetables it would make everyone happy. Thanks!

[EmilyGF]

4 minutes ago, SusanC said:

I bought canned chicken during pandemic times and I've been vaguely watching for ways to eat it. So far everyone is happy with my mixing two drained cans with salad greens, corn, black beans, cheese, a dressing of bbq and ranch, with crushed corn chips on top. But some day they will tire of this and I will need another recipe like yours in my back pocket. I don't usually buy cream of mushroom, but I can make a facsimile and with some added vegetables it would make everyone happy. Thanks!

This is brilliant and a perfect pantry meal for when I desperately need to go to the grocery store.

Now, if only the canned corn would be available again... the grocery hasn't had it for months!

[Annie G]

1 hour ago, HomeAgain said:

This sounds like friends who introduced us to pasta "carbonara".  It turned me off from the meal for a long time until we had it as part of a multicourse meal in Italy.

I'm telling you, their way is delicious. Try beating the eggs and the Parmesan together, cook the pasta, throw the pasta in a hot bowl, and then pour the eggs on top and mix.  Add a little pasta water if necessary.  It produces a creamy sauce that is fully cooked eggs and cheese, but not scrambled.

I’m sure that’s what Mom was going for back in the 50’s when she was a new bride. She likely had it at a friend’s house (vibrant Italian neighborhood in the town she grew up in) but her version ended up more like scrambled eggs in pasta.

After Mom passed away, I went to Italy with my sisters and our dad and was so excited to try real carbonara. And we did, several times. But since we’d had Mom’s version for so long, the real stuff didn’t quite taste right to us. Delicious, but not the comfort food we grew up with. I should give it another try! Thanks for the nudge.

[KungFuPanda]

2 hours ago, BaseballandHockey said:

I guess there are two types of emergencies, ran out of food vs ran out of time?  I have more of the latter.

And the third type of emergency which is I Just Can’t/Don’t Wanna/Not Today, Satan. 
 

ohhhh, not a pantry staple, but quick. DH came up with it. Make fish tacos using tortillas, fish sticks, and a bag of that crunchy southwestern salad. 
 

If you’re brand new to fried rice and aren’t confident you can time everything just right, there are cheats to make it better. Even though it’s a quick meal, it does take a little experience not to scorch/overcook some things while undercooking others. To make it foolproof and delicious, use rice that’s been in the fridge a day or three. Don’t forget to use garlic and ginger (a garlic/ginger past exists if you really want a shortcut).  You can fry the ingredients a few at a time so they’ll be perfect. Flash fry your meat, then remove it to a bowl. Fry your eggs, remove it to a bowl, fry your veggies starting with the ones that take longer to cook (carrots) then remove THOSE to the bowl. THEN dump in your cold rice and fry it how you like it. Keep it moving and add some soy sauce for flavor. When it’s ready, dump everything back in and combine. 
 

I get that it’s not authentic, but if you didn’t grow up watching your parents make this dish, or cooking at such high heat,  it’ll help you turn out a successful meal until you get the hang of it. For me, adding cabbage was the real trick to getting it to taste as good as the restaurant. The cabbage is important and you can use frozen, shedded cabbage and it’ll taste just as good. 

[JennyD]

1 hour ago, EmilyGF said:

 

Now, if only the canned corn would be available again... the grocery hasn't had it for months!

I wish I could send you some!  Months ago I ordered a case of canned chickpeas from Costco and they sent me a case of canned corn instead.  Every now and I then I look at all the cans and feel obligated to try and use one but chickpeas would have been so much more useful.  

[marbel]

13 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

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

Would you mind describing this to me - your ingredients, doesn't have to be a specific exact recipe (unless that's just as easy)?  My mother used to make something that seems similar and I've been thinking about that lately. I *think* it was ground beef, cabbage, and tomato in some form - maybe sauce? Probably some onion?  Things I've seen online never seem to fit; they seem to have too many ingredients based on what I remember about my mother's cooking or the cabbage rolls made by my Polish grandma and aunties (like cheese, which strikes me as odd but may be a perfectly normal ingredient outside my experience).

Our emergency dinner is quesadillas, because there is never a time we are out of tortillas or cheese. Almost always have some refried beans around, but they are not necessary. Basically grilled cheese sandwich with a different form of bread.  

I try to keep salad greens around and there is usually something around to make it more of a meal. Some leftover frozen roast beef or ham, or a little deli turkey... though I can do without meat.

Tonight I'm making a vegetarian chili that has all pantry ingredients that we typically have around. 

 

Edited October 25, 2021 by marbel

[mmasc]

2 hours ago, SusanC said:

I bought canned chicken during pandemic times and I've been vaguely watching for ways to eat it. So far everyone is happy with my mixing two drained cans with salad greens, corn, black beans, cheese, a dressing of bbq and ranch, with crushed corn chips on top. But some day they will tire of this and I will need another recipe like yours in my back pocket. I don't usually buy cream of mushroom, but I can make a facsimile and with some added vegetables it would make everyone happy. Thanks!

I have some canned chicken on hand as well, and made chicken salad with it. It turned out pretty good, especially if put on good quality bread or croissants. 

I used well-drained canned chicken, Mayo, red grapes sliced in half, pecans, and sliced green onions (green part mostly), and black pepper. 

[Annie G]

33 minutes ago, mmasc said:

I have some canned chicken on hand as well, and made chicken salad with it. It turned out pretty good, especially if put on good quality bread or croissants. 

I used well-drained canned chicken, Mayo, red grapes sliced in half, pecans, and sliced green onions (green part mostly), and black pepper. 

LOVE chicken salad made like that. The grapes and pecans are So yummy in it. Sadly, my family won’t eat any of it…

[Kassia]

Any other ideas on what to do with canned chicken?  I bought a bunch of cans for dd for college for her freshman year when she didn't have a kitchen and she hardly used any and now they are home.  I don't know what to do with them.

ETA - my family doesn't like mayo so no chicken salad.

Edited October 25, 2021 by Kassia

[Selkie]

4 hours ago, mmasc said:

Do you have a special way of keeping your lettuce/greens fresh? Ime, some lettuces tend to get brown quickly and the darker greens tend to get sort of slimy too quickly. I’d love to know how to keep them fresh for several days! I eat salad every day, but I always make it fresh at lunch bc of the lettuce issue. Pre-prepped would be awesome. 

I get a big box of several varieties of greens from a farm each week. They are picked right beforehand, so they are very fresh. I wash all the greens, give them a good spin, and then roll them up in a towel to dry. Then I store them in ziploc bags in the crisper drawer.

We always eat the darker greens in the first couple days, since they're the most fragile. Then the next couple days after that are green lettuce, arugula, spinach, and watercress. We save the sturdiest ones (kale and Swiss chard) for the end of the week. 

I also grow microgreens and harvest them right before we eat.

[Drama Llama]

. . . .

Edited October 26, 2021 by BaseballandHockey

[Drama Llama]

. . . 

Edited October 26, 2021 by BaseballandHockey

[mmasc]

16 minutes ago, Kassia said:

Any other ideas on what to do with canned chicken?  I bought a bunch of cans for dd for college for her freshman year when she didn't have a kitchen and she hardly used any and now they are home.  I don't know what to do with them.

ETA - my family doesn't like mayo so no chicken salad.

I also used a can in my homemade chicken pot pie. It tasted fine in there. (Obviously not as good as leftover turkey or chicken, but dh and ds didn’t even notice, so it must’ve been a good sub 🙂 )

This is my normal recipe for pot pie. 

[mmasc]

2 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

One of my kids loves chicken salad with a mix of blue cheese dressing and buffalo wing sauce instead of mayo.  Both of them like caesar dressing and a sprinkle of parmesan.  

Also, chilaquiles.  

Yes!! I forgot about that! My SIL makes a Buffalo chicken dip at Christmas that uses canned chicken and it is SOOO good!

[bibiche]

Blended soup and a sandwich

Garlic soup with poached egg

Pasta puttanesca or something similar

Shakshuka 

Quesadillas

Tinned sardines

Pita sandwiches with baba ghanoush, hummus, etc.

(Vegetables and/or salad with all that aren’t vegetabley enough.)

Edited October 25, 2021 by bibiche

[Junie]

45 minutes ago, Kassia said:

Any other ideas on what to do with canned chicken?  I bought a bunch of cans for dd for college for her freshman year when she didn't have a kitchen and she hardly used any and now they are home.  I don't know what to do with them.

ETA - my family doesn't like mayo so no chicken salad.

One of our emergency meals (such as during a power outage with no refrigeration or method of cooking -- everything is electric):

 

canned chicken. sliced pepperoni (halved or quartered), and jarred spaghetti sauce -- all mixed together

serve in pitas or on rolls with shredded mozzarella

 

Depending on what's available in the house when the storm hits, we sometimes have to get creative with the bread and cheese

[PeterPan]

Frozen fish from Trader Joe's with a bag of their Quinoa Melange (yum)

Split Pea Soup in the instant pot. And we're talking pretty reductionist, like I throw in the rinsed split peas, a box of broth + water, and do or don't add anything else (ham, baby carrots, whatever). Puree when it is cooked, done.

Omeletes cooked in a Demeyer searing pan. It's sort of like a crepe pan. I beat say 3-4 eggs, add butter when the pan is hot, and *swirl* the eggs up the sides. As soon as they are into a solid that jiggles loose, I *fold* in half, place a little cheese, then *fold* again and slide onto the plate. Side with roasted or sauted veges (spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, whatever) and top with hot bbq sauce. Yum.

Are these all 5 minutes? Yeah. I've been dealing with viral pneumonia the last couple weeks and I've been doing those egg crepes (that's what I call them) over and over. I've been sauteing Power Greens from Kroger in the pan before I make the egg crepe. If you have leftover salmon, you could flake that in. I also brown off 3 pound packs of ground turkey, add taco seasoning, and freeze in 1 pound amounts in quart bags. So then I can chop boxed lettuce, throw on the warmed up meat from the freezer, throw in some canned pinto beans (just rinse), boom taco salad done. Or even more savage, make nachos and warm the meat with refried beans to throw on the side. I keep premade guacacmole from Walmart in my frig or freezer. It freezes exceptionally well and thaws quickly.

So I'm less about the pantry and more about the freezer I guess. I will make double meals and freeze ahead (sloppy doe, chili, whatever). I typically keep 6 bags of that taco turkey meat in my freezer, so I always have something. It's just figuring out how to make what you like more convenient.

Edited October 25, 2021 by PeterPan

[Bootsie]

1 hour ago, Kassia said:

Any other ideas on what to do with canned chicken?  I bought a bunch of cans for dd for college for her freshman year when she didn't have a kitchen and she hardly used any and now they are home.  I don't know what to do with them.

ETA - my family doesn't like mayo so no chicken salad.

We have used it in soup, quiche, and alfredo-style pasta bake.

[KungFuPanda]

1 hour ago, marbel said:

Would you mind describing this to me - your ingredients, doesn't have to be a specific exact recipe (unless that's just as easy)?  My mother used to make something that seems similar and I've been thinking about that lately. I *think* it was ground beef, cabbage, and tomato in some form - maybe sauce? Probably some onion?  Things I've seen online never seem to fit; they seem to have too many ingredients based on what I remember about my mother's cooking or the cabbage rolls made by my Polish grandma and aunties (like cheese, which strikes me as odd but may be a perfectly normal ingredient outside my experience).

Our emergency dinner is quesadillas, because there is never a time we are out of tortillas or cheese. Almost always have some refried beans around, but they are not necessary. Basically grilled cheese sandwich with a different form of bread.  

I try to keep salad greens around and there is usually something around to make it more of a meal. Some leftover frozen roast beef or ham, or a little deli turkey... though I can do without meat.

Tonight I'm making a vegetarian chili that has all pantry ingredients that we typically have around. 

 

It's pretty much like making glorified hamburger helper.  I cooked the onions and ground beef together, added tomatoes and spices (salt, pepper, smoked paprika, dill, sage, and a pinch of cayenne . . . it's just whatever spices your heart wants that day).  My tomatoes were a leftover can of sauce from the fridge and a can of diced tomatoes.  I also added some leftover rice.  You can leave it out.  From here you can add about a head of sliced cabbage and simmer on low until it's as cooked as you'd like and be done.  You can taste as you go and add or cook out moisture to your liking, so it's rather foolproof.

Since I was making a ton of the stuff for leftovers and the freezer, I layered the cabbage in a lasagna pan, topped with half the meat/tomato mixture, then repeated.  I baked it for for 40 minutes, removed the foil, added cheese, and baked uncovered for another 20.  It was not the super-quick stove top version, but I was counting on this to be two dinners and several lunches. I freeze it in small round containers so I can reheat it in my Lunch Crock at work.  Since I started working, my stash of emergency freezer meals has been almost depleted and I wanted to remedy that.

If you google skillet cabbage rolls, you'll probably find a quicker, simpler recipe.

6 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

Isn't that the truth!

i am fortunate that we have now reached the point that if I really don't want to cook, I can make the kids do it. 

My older kid's go to when he's in a rush is chilaquiles.  If you already have sauce (frozen homemade, or from a can) and tortilla chips, it's super fast.  Add some kinda protein -- fried eggs, left over or canned chicken, black beans, some combination, maybe some cheese, maybe some veggies either cooked in the sauce or raw on top, and you've got a meal in a few minutes.

 

I used to just get take-out on these nights.  However, since the pandemic, we cooked at home so much that take-out doesn't taste good anymore.  Everything is just too salty and greasy now . . . and this is from a person who isn't afraid to deep-fry some things.

[Pam in CT]

Pesto pasta (w frozen pesto and dry pasta or pre-made tortellini)

Rice & beans & jarred salsa (if I have leftover rice)

Omelettes (with crumbled queso & leftover/canned black beans)

hack quesadillas (with pre-shredded jack cheese and leftover chicken bits)

Grilled cheese sandwiches (when I'm feeling Jane the Virgin energy...)

Tuna melts

Spanish tortilla (more like a frittatta with potato than Central American tortillas)

 

Some of these are happily accepted by my vegetarian kid but not husband; others by my husband but don't work for her.

I will also repurpose leftovers into various vaguely "new" dishes (fried rice, rice bowl, shakshouka, egg casserole, etc), or just put leftovers out with a canned chicken or tuna salad and some nice fresh bread or (made out of nearly-stale bread) bruschetta.  Anything can be dinner so long as there's some bread and a fresh salad IMO.

 

[Bambam]

1 hour ago, Kassia said:

Any other ideas on what to do with canned chicken?  I bought a bunch of cans for dd for college for her freshman year when she didn't have a kitchen and she hardly used any and now they are home.  I don't know what to do with them.

ETA - my family doesn't like mayo so no chicken salad.

We have a restaurant here that makes a variety of chicken salads. My favorite is avocado. I don't know what the recipe is, but they use avocado in place of the mayo. So yummy. It will slightly discolor the next day, but it is still delicious. 

[Roadrunner]

Bread, butter, and cheese with a hot cup of tea is our go to meal when we need a 5 minute fix. I slice bread and freeze always, so at any given point I can pop them into a toaster.

Or fried potatoes in onions 

[PeterPan]

2 hours ago, Kassia said:

Any other ideas on what to do with canned chicken?  I bought a bunch of cans for dd for college for her freshman year when she didn't have a kitchen and she hardly used any and now they are home.  I don't know what to do with them.

There's a buffalo cream cheese chicken dip that is outlandishly good. 

https://www.hormel.com/Recipes/Buffalo-Chicken-Dip.aspx

I don't remember if this is the one that I made, because I had 3 different pins. But it's the idea. Salty but oh so delish. And think how virtuous you can be eating it with celery! 😂

[PeterPan]

3 hours ago, Annie G said:

LOVE chicken salad made like that. The grapes and pecans are So yummy in it. Sadly, my family won’t eat any of it…

Would they eat it *rolled* in lettuce or a wrap? We make a salmon salad and serve it with lettuce leaves to roll it up. Chicken should work just fine. 

I also have my family convinced it's normal to eat *burgers* in lettuce leaves, hahaha. So then you literally just cook a box of turkey burgers and have someone wash a head of romaine and you're done, booom, meat and salad. So bad. 😂

[Annie G]

1 hour ago, PeterPan said:

Would they eat it *rolled* in lettuce or a wrap? We make a salmon salad and serve it with lettuce leaves to roll it up. Chicken should work just fine. 

I also have my family convinced it's normal to eat *burgers* in lettuce leaves, hahaha. So then you literally just cook a box of turkey burgers and have someone wash a head of romaine and you're done, booom, meat and salad. So bad. 😂

Oh it’s not that- one won’t eat the grapes or pecans in it, while the other won’t eat it with Mayo. 

[Condessa]

Macaroni and cheese

Quesadillas, sometimes with black beans or leftover meat in them

Freezer Pizza

Pizzadillas (essentially a quesadilla with some pepperoni and marinara)

Pasta of any kind with jarred marinara sauce, also cheese and/or leftover precooked meat on top if I have any

Chili from canned black beans, chili beans, tomatoes, corn, and leftover precooked meat if available (I often cook extra chicken or ground beef when preparing meals so that I have extras for times like these).  Corn bread to go with it if there is time.

Kielbasa, often with Mac & cheese or cheesy rice or cheesy broccoli, depending on whether I have leftover rice to use, broccoli in the freezer, etc. 

Nachos

Salad bowls or rice bowls if there are leftovers in the fridge that could go into these, but not enough to feed the whole family a meal from.

French Toast

German Pancakes

 

If the crunch is my available time to work on prepping and not that the food needs to be ready right away:

Chicken Pot Pie-store bought refrigerated pie crust, can of cream of mushroom soup, leftover precooked chicken or 1-2 cans chicken, can of mixed veggies, can of cream of chicken soup, 2nd pie crust on top.  5 minutes prep time, but it takes 45 minutes to an hour to cook, so only useful in certain situations.

Edited October 25, 2021 by Condessa