Your quick 'n' easy go to meals

[false_aesthetic]

I'm interested in what ya'll cook up when you're in a pinch, short on time, just don't wanna cook, etc.

My go-to is a lemon-ee thing that can be applied to chicken, turkey or fish (salmon, tilapia, etc)

juice from 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
several pinches of dried rosemary
1-4 diced gloves of garlic
whisk up.

place in container of choice (mine is ziplock bag) with meat of choice. let sit 20min - 2 days. Bake, grill, fry etc. accompany with whatever veggies are in the fridge and wild rice or quinoa.

Often I'll buy several lbs of chicken breast when it goes on sale and immediately put a few breasts in this stuff then throw it in the freezer.

[Brandon White]

This is probably lame and not ever count because there is no cooking or culinary expertise required:
Salad w/ cold cut meats (ham or turkey) rolled up, advocates, tomatoes, almonds or whatever else I can find. that's what I eat 90% of the time when I'm home alone for long periods of time.

[sonny]

You got it false aesthetic!

i don't know nothing about any gourmet, but quick and easy is my game.

i always keep these things on hand and see what happens:

pre-cooked wild rice/quinoa/barley/millet
pre-cooked BEANS! (curried, mashed, plain, whatever)
farm eggs
bacon fat and/or olive oil
a proper spice set (must include garam masala, cumin, and turmeric that isn't shit)
SALSA!
tasty kraut or some spicy sprouts
veggies (zucchs, peppers, tomatoes, squash, anything i can get my mitts on)
good onions and garlic, duh.
goat cheese or something nice and sharp
fresh flat breads for mop-up (ethiopian injera takes the cake)
lots of leafy greens piled on top of what was just concocted (steamed, just slightly)

even though i basically eat this everyday
i never get tired of it.

visiting the head some hours later makes me happy too!

[Too Tall]

How quick is quick and how easy is easy?

When I'm in a hurry and have almost nothing fresh or wholesome in the fridge there are two "go to" food destinations that work.

First is to round up whatever leftovers you find in the fridge and warm them or saute or steam dice...whatever and re-season. That gets tossed into the pool with eggs, you always have eggs, that are seasoned and tossed into an hot SS pan with olive oil and butter...quickly whisked to distribute the oil/butter and quickly covered for 1 mins. than gets an topping of Parmesiano Reggiano and now under the broiler VERY close to the elements for 1 mins and rested for 5 mins. Served with stale bread ;)

Second "go to" fast meal when I have nada in the fridge not even week old veggies is an classic take on an classic Italian pasta. In a SS pan saute smashed whole garlic with cracked pepper, take the garlic out and set aside since they have give up their garlic love to the oil. Now lower heat and add two cans of anchovies, drain and add to the pan. "Melt" the anchovies with an fork and as soon as they are incorporated with the olive oil lower heat more and add more olive oil. Taste and adjust oil.

The leftover pasta or whatever you have avail. cooked a little more firm than al dente is tossed into the pan with your anchovie/garlic. Add smashed whole garlic and serve in a pile. Shave the remnants of the Parm Regg. you've been planning on passing on to your 6 yrs. old niece, you only live once hommes.

PS - There is NO Chance you have fresh flat leaf parsley to garnish this dish so fake it with clelery leaves from the bunch that has turned into science fiction from your (haha) vegetable bin.

Enjoy.

[Jonathan]

I make pizza dough, 30-40 at a time, individually packaged to freeze. I leave a few frozen ones on the counter when I leave for work. The longest time sink is getting the stone in the oven hot. If you're counting calories they are super reasonable if you limit the meat and stick to fresh veggies for toppings.

[false_aesthetic]

Keep it goin guys.

Quick n easy ≥ 30min prep-start to mouth.


TT Imagonna try that anchovie thing. Just gotta wait till the gf goes away. She theatens to take away the nookie when I bust out canned fish other than solid white tuna.

[caleb]

Rule #1 for me is to make big batches of food on the weekend that can be reheated for lunch and/or dinner throughout the week. I also freeze some of each batch so that I can pull it out later for variety. Having frozen leftovers saves us from having to do much "emergency" cooking.

If we're actually out of homemade food we usually keep some frozen tamales from a good local place around. Otherwise we go out or order delivery. That's not often, though. As I said, for us the key is keeping a stock of food around to avoid food emergencies.

[R.Liverman]

I boil a bunch of chicken breasts for about an hour, let them cool, shred them and then put them in the fridge. Prep time is minimal as is cleanup. Sometimes I use it cold on a salad, mixed with scrambled eggs (parent and child!), or fried in a pan with some oil and hot sauce. It's the easiest way to prep a bunch of protein that I've found. This also works for beef and pork.

Enjoy.

[dang]

Go to: my kids love pasta with "daddy sauce." There's nothing especially original about daddy sauce. It's a slight variation on a classic quick recipe that you can find in Marcella Hazan's "Classics . . . " and, very likely, many, many other cookbooks. An onion, a handful of baby carrots, a celery stalk, and a red or yellow pepper go into the food processor. Ultra-mince (mulch). Saute in olive oil for a couple of minutes and then toss in some minced or mashed garlic for another minute. BTW, don't skimp on the quantity of oil -- it's not just to prevent sticking, it's an ingredient. For quick, when we don't have great (or ample) fresh tomatoes, I grab four cans of good diced tomatoes -- three go into the food processor for a quick puree and one goes into the pot in diced form. Add a cup of white wine if you have a bottle open. Simmer. Add salt to taste (more than you might think, but less than Marcella says -- mea culpa). For a wacky variation, add some fresh basil at the end -- when you combine the sauce with the pasta. The whole thing takes twenty minutes. With the old stove, the sauce was ready by the time that the pasta (dried) was ready. Now that I've got 22k BTU open burners on my range, I can boil water more quickly, but you get the idea.

[Jason Musgrave]

Dang - that sauce sounds good, will have to try it.

"quick 'n' easy" here means a banana and a handful of almonds and raisins...

[weiwentg]

I do bean-based dishes a lot. I just did a navy bean salad with a can of tuna, olive oil, artichoke hearts, capers and some shredded arugula. Usually I make a batch of stuff, and then have it several days in a row. Or freeze some.

I try to do my bean dishes from dried beans, which obviously means you need to soak the beans overnight and boil them. But it's a lot less salt than canned.

[giordana93]

ok, I'll bite (sorry). this is longer than most "short" recipes, but prep time is short and it's a real meal, all in one pot, and great for leftover meats: jambalaya.
2 onions
2 sticks celery
1 bell pepper
1+ lb meat--any combo, from leftover pork chops to kielbasa, to shrimp, duck, whatever. great for chicken legs or breasts that haven't been deboned because the meat will fall off the bone by the end and the bones flavor everything to boot. leave meat out if you're veggie only
1 large can tomatoes (28 oz) optional, but me likey
2 cups converted (parboiled) rice
in a largish pot (5-7 qt), heat some oil, chop onions and throw em in; as they cook, cut up celery, and add to pot. then bell pepper. let it all cook as you prep (dice, coarsely chop up) your meat. don't need to cook the veggies down too much, so total saute time is around 5-10 minutes. throw in the can of tomatoes (buy pre-crushed or squeez 'em yourself. a good place to subsitute Rotel if you like spicy), some spices (salt--about 1.5-2 tsp, black and red peppers, your usual spaghetti sauce spices, maybe a bay leaf or two, or sub bouillon for some of salt), followed by rice and an extra 3.5 cups of water or stock (actually the empty can of tomatoes is about the right volume), give a quick stir and cover on low for another 15-20 minutes, throwing the meat in at some point. I usually put mine in near the end so it doesn't dry out too much, but if you've got a meat that likes to be cooked to get tender, or bone-in chicken or chops, get it in from the start. total prep is maybe 15 minutes, and you can wash up or have a beer while it simmers. parboiled rice is key b/c it can be stirred and tolerates inexact water measures, plus it cooks faster. start to finish is usually about 40-45 minutes and a great way to pass leftover meats, or a smoked sausage for a quick one pot, no-technique required meal
also good in the camp in a dutch oven set near the coals. mmm.

[brucew]

This one takes about a half-hour, start to finish (assuming your meat is already thawed). I have this about once a week.

• 1 pound of critter--I've used beef (both ground and stew), chicken, pork, lamb
• An onion or two--yellow or white
• A green pepper
• 1 15oz can of diced tomatoes
• Frank's Red Hot sauce
• 1 15oz can of broth
• Rice
• Butter or margarine
• Salt

1. Brown meat in a 12" skillet. Use some oil for chicken.
2. Make a fist on your cutting board. Now dice enough onion to make a pile about the size of your fist. Do the same with the green pepper.
3. When browned, pour off extra fat from meat, retaining just a bit so nothing sticks, return to stove
4. Spread the diced onion and peppers over the critter. Reduce heat a little. Cover and let sweat.
5. Make the rice. My microwave has a Rice button. It's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Otherwise, use the stove top method.
6. Pour broth into bowl (or pan if using stove-top method), add butter or margarine, and salt.
7. Using the broth can as a measure, add 5/8s of a can of rice. It needs to end up a touch on the dry side, so more than the half you'd usually use. I shoot for 5/8s and don't cry if I go over to 3/4s
8. When the onions and peppers have sweated a little, spread canned tomatoes on top.
9. Add Frank's Red Hot. I pour in about 4 teaspoons, but put in as much or how little you want. Re-cover and simmer another five minutes.
10. Remove cover, stir, let the juices reduce, stirring occasionally.
11. When rice is done, add contents of skillet to rice, mix and eat.

[devlin]

My super slack arse go to meal is home grown poached eggs on big chunks of toasted wholemeal. Pretty plain compared to some meals here but it only takes 5 mins.

[giordana93]

My super slack arse go to meal is home grown poached eggs on big chunks of toasted wholemeal. Pretty plain compared to some meals here but it only takes 5 mins.

ok, since we're going that route (kinda the op anyway, right?), I'll see your poached egg and raise it to true fast food: put bread in toaster; crack egg in bowl with one stir of fork and microwave about 15 seconds as you pull salsa out of fridge; pause and give one more stir to egg, then another 15-20 seconds and a dash of salt and pepper; grab bread coming out of toaster, throw on salsa, maybe a slice of cheese, hot egg and consume. about as long as it takes to toast the bread, and nothing better when you're hungry. mmm. hey, it's lunch! my dad turned me on to the poach an egg in 30 seconds in the m-wave. it works (a little cooking oil or butter in the bowl doesn't hurt) bon appétit

[WadePatton]

ultra quick and simple and done all too often.

base: your favorite restaurant-style tortilla chip topped with Pace Picante (choose your heat, i eat the red top) or your favorite picante/salsa.

add any, all, or none of: spinach/romaine, chopped onion, jalepeno-or any other pepper, fresh tomatoes (never ever the supermarket objects that look like tomatoes), cilantro, avocado, browned/seasoned venison, frijoles refritos, grated cheese, etc.

leave off or limit the avocado, meat, and cheese when concerned with fat/calorie intake. otherwise the only component heavy in fat is the chip. bake your own tortilla chips (prepared or home-made) for less fat.

hey, i didn't get this figure on beer alone!

[jamesand]

Heated(toasted, steamed) corn tortillas topped with sliced avocado(or mash with some garlic/salt/pepa) maybe some cheese, maybe some hummus, and topped with raw strips of red cabbage. Quick tacos.

[devlin]

ok, since we're going that route (kinda the op anyway, right?), I'll see your poached egg and raise it to true fast food: put bread in toaster; crack egg in bowl with one stir of fork and microwave about 15 seconds as you pull salsa out of fridge; pause and give one more stir to egg, then another 15-20 seconds and a dash of salt and pepper; grab bread coming out of toaster, throw on salsa, maybe a slice of cheese, hot egg and consume. about as long as it takes to toast the bread, and nothing better when you're hungry. mmm. hey, it's lunch! my dad turned me on to the poach an egg in 30 seconds in the m-wave. it works (a little cooking oil or butter in the bowl doesn't hurt) bon appétit

Nice! Must give that a go.

[brucew]

I have a favorite microwave egg dish. I call them Egg Cups.

2 eggs
2 slices of baloney

Also requires 2 ramekin cups to cook them in, but I've also used coffee cups successfully. And, actually, the coffee cup handles make it easier to dump them out when finished, but it looks nicer (more PRO) in the ramekin cups.

Cut a slit in baloney from the center to the edge. Roll the baloney into a cone and nestle in the bottom of the ramekin (or coffee) cup. Crack egg into baloney cone. Give the yolk a little forkin'. Nuke two of them for two minutes. Invert on to plate and eat.

[zetroc]

salad - wash and tear up whatever lettuce is on hand, add kidney and garbanzo beans, croutons, whatever dressing is in the fridge, some chopped walnuts if it's blue cheese. this is often my dinner.

chilaquiles - heat a saute pan with a little veg oil. tear up some corn tortillas and toss them around with a spatula a bunch until they smell toasty. add some enchilada sauce (canned is fine, i like La Victoria, green or red depending on your taste), stir it around, add a little grated monterey, serve with black olives. cheap and it takes 20 minutes.

steak - room temperature ribeye, salt and pepper each side, add to hot pan. 2 minutes each side. rest for 5 minutes.