What is your favorite 'throw-together' dinner?

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

What do you throw together when you are out of time, feeling lazy, or maybe haven't been to the grocery store for a while. And I'm not talking cereal. :) I need some new ideas.

 

My easiest two yummy meals are:

 

spaghetti (jarred sauce, browned hamburger, whole wheat noodles... I add extra veggies to the sauce if I feel like it)

 

tortillas (I love the uncooked ones from Costco--I just heat them on the griddle on my stove, no oil), browned chicken strips, cheese, lettuce, and tomato or salsa. (I also like making beef taco meat.)

 

I desperately need to get a better meal plan going. My oldest now has Tae Kwon Do 3 evenings a week and it is doing a number on my meal cooking. :)

[Alice]

Anything with pasta...whatever veggies, cheese, leftover meat etc that we have in the fridge. (Spinach, pine nuts, feta or chicken, peppers, parmesan or mushroom, peppers, salami).

 

Omelets...again with whatever we have to put in them. (My husband is much better at making them so that's a bonus too.)

 

I think the easiest though for me is the crockpot which takes some planning. But that is truly "throw-together". Usually chicken and some kind of sauce (BBQ, we love some prepared Indian curries we get at the grocery store, spaghetti sauce all work well) , veggies if we have them.

[angela in ohio]

Mix cooked ground beef (we keep this in the freezer) and pizza sauce in bottom of 8-in square baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese and refrigerator biscuits (flattened.) Bake. We usually make two for dinner. It is the easest (and probably least healthy) meal I make, LOL!

 

We always keep frozen vegetables, instant brown rice, and frozen cut-up chicken breasts on had, so that becomes dinner if I run out of everything else.

[abbeyej]

Curried red lentils (the ones that are actually yellow when you cook them), brown basmati rice, and curried spinach. This is my "I haven't been to the grocery store and have nothing fresh left" meal -- since it uses dry lentils, dry rice, dry spices, onions if I have 'em, and frozen spinach (with plain yogurt, if I have some, but it's not 100% necessary). It takes about 40 minutes total, due almost entirely to the cooking time for the rice (the lentils take just a little less time).

[Serendipity]

Here's one we all like:

 

2 boxes of Annie's white cheddar macaroni

1/2 to 1 pound of ground beef

1 to 2 Tablespoons of dried minced onion

1/2 c frozen peas

bottle of green Tabasco sauce

 

Prepare the macaroni and cheese. Brown ground beef with minced onion (add salt and pepper to taste). Combine mac and cheese, seasoned (browned) ground beef, and peas. Serve in bowls. Add green Tabasco sauce to taste.

 

The green Tabasco is the key to this dish. :)

 

My other quick dinner:

 

Tyson's breaded chicken tenderloins (from the frozen section)

mashed potatoes (these can be made early in the day)

veggies of your choice

jarred raspberry chipotle sauce

 

Make mashed potatoes early in the day and put in refrigerator. OR you can make instant. I make homemade. Cook chicken in oven as directed on bag. Heat potatoes. Heat veggies. Throw on a plate with a small serving of sauce of choice: ketchup (for the kids) and/or raspberry chipotle sauce.

 

Here's another quickie:

 

1 pork tenderloin roast (a pound, or so) These come in a package of 2 at Sam's.

1 box stuffing mix

cranberry sauce from a can

veggies of choice

 

Rinse tenderloin in cold water and pat dry. Place on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with Kosher salt, pepper, crushed Rosemary, and powdered garlic (not too much). Drizzle with olive oil, then rub oil into roast. Wrap in foil. Place on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for an hour. You can prepare the roast early in the day and throw it in the oven in the afternoon. Prepare stuffing mix and veggies of choice. Slice cranberry sauce. Serve roast with raspberry chipotle sauce or mango habanero sauce.

 

***

 

I would also suggest using the crockpot. You can make roast beef, corned beef, ham/bean soup...you could also prepare brisket. I marinate mine overnight and bake it all day. It's easy to throw together sides.

 

:)

[RoughCollie]

I add a bunch of sliced hotdogs, brown sugar, mustard, catsup and chopped onions to several cans of pork 'n beans and put it in a large casserole dish. I stick bacon on top and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour or so.

 

I serve it with plain white bread. Anyone who doesn't like it, starves.

 

OR I brown a pound of ground beef, add Ragu, cook spaghetti, and serve it up. My family does not seem to discern the difference between Ragu and the sauce I slave over that has fresh plum tomatoes and fresh everything else in it. If I'm feeling really frisky, I add a salad to the menu.

[Karenciavo]

Stromboli, I always keep Trader Joe's $0.99 pizza dough in the freezer and a block of mozzarell in the fridge. We throw in what ever meat and/or veggies are lying around and serve with salad.

[Kennedy in NE]

Seafood Chowder.. When I find fish, shrimp, or scallops at a great price I will buy a little extra and freeze it. When I need a quick meal I take 3 cans of cream of potato soup ( something I always have on hand because I use it in a few recipes) add milk , seafood ( I cut it into bite size pieces), pepper, butter and let it simmer until the seafood is cooked. Make some rolls or biscuits and we have a filling fast yummy dinner!

[Amy in NH]

Beenie Weenie - Frozen hot dogs cut up into a couple of cans of baked beans. Cook in pot on stovetop for 12 minutes, just long enough for rolls to cook in oven. Not totally healthy, but not completely unhealthy either.

 

Shrimp & Linguine - Frozen shrimp & frozen peas reheated in a can of Alfredo sauce, dump over linguine. Cook some Texas Toast in the toaster oven at the same time if you feel like it. ;)

 

Fish & Chips - Frozen fish sticks (Gorton's Beer Batter doesn't have any MSG) & Frozen French Fries. This only happens a couple of times per year at our house.

[KIN]

I sometimes make a meal in my crockpot the night before, stick it in the fridge, pull it out and plug in the next morning. Wah-lah! Supper is made! :) I'll add bagged salad, green beans and bread - or some kind of easy side!

[OnTheBrink]

I don't know what you'd call this, but I'll brown some ground beef, drain, add a can of fat free refried beans, some cheese and salsa and mix/heat through. I serve it in bowls with tortilla chips. It's sorta like nachos, but not nearly as pretty! It's filling and it's fast.

[Anne in Hawaii]

Black bean soup -- I almost always have the ingredients on hand, and it's quick & easy. My recipe is here.

 

Breakfast for supper is always a hit here -- eggs, bacon, & toast.

 

I try to keep frozen ravioli on hand. It cooks up quick and I can add spaghetti sauce if I have it.

 

I try to keep baggies of browned ground beef in my freezer, and I can make a meat sauce pretty fast out of that and toss it with whole-wheat pasta.

[Jenny in Florida]

My son also has an assortment of late-afternoon and evening activities this year. So, I understand the need for these kinds of meals.

 

Here's what I do in a pinch, when I don't feel like thinking too much:

 

I dice a large sweet onion and saute it in vegetable oil with one clove of garlic (also diced). I toss is a tablespoon or so of organic sugar and cook until the onions carmelize (adding a bit of water if necessary to keep things from sticking).

 

Then I add two cans of cooked black beans, drained and rinsed, and about 1/4 cup of mild salsa or picante sauce, along with a dollop (in my house, roughly equivalent to a couple of tablespoons) of margarine.

 

At the same time I add the beans, I start the rice cooker. Then I let the beans simmer while the rice cooks. During this time, I grate cheese for my husband and defrost some frozen corn niblets. If I have one on hand, I'll also chop a tomato.

 

Once the rice and beans are done, I have choices: I can wrap them up in tortillas with the corn and cheese (for hubby) and grill them quickly on the stove. This is my husband's favorite. He eats the burritos covered in sour cream and yet more salsa. If I don't feel like burritos, or we don't have large flour tortillas on hand, we might go for assemble-them-yourself nachos. Or, if I have corn tortillas and a little extra time, I might make a casserole by layering the rice and beans between the tortillas and making a sauce with a can of tomato paste (thinned) and another couple of tablespoons of salsa.

 

In fact, that casserole just might be making an appearance tonight, come to think of it!

 

If I have time to plan ahead a bit, I'll use the crock pot. I do curried chickpeas or tomato sauce for pasta or seasoned lentils we spoon over toased hamburger buns.

 

Last night, we had baked potatoes with various toppings and corn on the cob. I washed the potatoes and put them in the oven before taking my son to his class. I also sliced a big onion and shucked the corn and put it in the pot. I asked my husband to turn on the oven when he got home from work (and set a timer to go off at the appropriate time so he wouldn't forget). So, when I got home, all I had to do was saute the onions (which hubby likes to put on top of his potatoes) and boil the corn.

 

--Jenny

[percytruffle]

Here's one I make somtimes when I'm low on supplies. I usually have organic ground beef in the freezer in one pound portions that thaw easily. I brown the beef, add a large dollop (I don't measure) of ketchup and one of mustard, then I add grated cheddar cheese and mix it all together. It tastes like a cheeseburger. We just eat it plain, but you could serve it on a bun, sloppy joe style, or over rice. Add a veggie and a fruit and there's your meal.

[TammyinTN]

Baked potatoes...cook 2 hours in oven on 350, salad from a bag and steak. I use Ree's recipe and cook them on the stove top. It takes less that 5 minutes to make the rub and get it on the steak, while heating the skillet. We do this once a week in our house. Everyone loves steak night and it's so easy on me. :D

[3littlekeets]

Stuffed Baked potatoes with whatever leftovers (bbq, pot roast, etc) or veggies and cheese we have. If the potatoes are small, big people get 2.

 

And, Panini. We use whatever bread or buns we have and brush them with garlic and olive oil, and fill them with any lunchmeat, cheeses, etc... Delish...:D

[nancypants]

Burritos or nachos. Sometimes, on a Friday, we will just have seven layer bean dip with corn chips for dinner! :D

[Guest Katia]

Frozen pizza. We all like a different flavor of Red Baron Classic, so I pick some up whenever they are on sale and keep them in the freezer. This is our family's favorite 'quick meal'.

 

Dh will fix a casserole with a mac and cheese box mix, peas, cream of....soup and whatever meat we have on hand. He's even used hot dogs before. It's always good.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

Thank you so much, everyone! You've given me some great ideas. I'll have to start taking down some notes/recipes. I appreciate it!

[Mrs. Readsalot]

I can throw together a dip in a flash. Our favorites are cheese, or crab or black bean.

[amanda]

Funny you ask, tonight I am throwing dinner together.We are having scrambled eggs with fresh tomatoes and fresh basil topped with moz. cheese and cresents. And probably a fruit salad!!

[mcconnellboys]

Well your description sounds like my every night, LOL. ALL my meals are thrown together like this, so I'll just tell you which ones I happen to be doing this week:

 

Last night, red beans and rice using canned beans and done in the crockpot.

 

Tonight, shrimp scampi beefed up with more spices and and served over spaghetti, with garlic bread.

 

Rest of week:

 

Sausage jambalaya (I often make salads as a side; I keep Romaine lettuce on hand and it holds over better than other types).

 

Honey bbq chicken breasts w/ baked beans (canned, doctored up).

 

And probably tacos. I use both soft and crunchy shells; set out a large variety of toppings so they can customize; and generally do either black beans, mexicorn, or both alongside. Sometimes I make Mexican mini-muffins, which are a type of corn muffin that's filled with Mexican cheese blend and mexicorn.

 

We tend to eat leftovers, eat out or fend for ourselves on the weekends.....

 

Regena