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Stir fries ~ can pick up already sliced veggies and meat at a grocery salad bar if you are pressed for time. Those frittatas mentioned above can use any extra veggies you didn't use in the stir fry.
Smoked sausage links or brats with jarred red cabbage, potatoes of any type, and rye bread.
Ham steak, canned navy beans, microwaved green vegetable
Rotisserie chicken turned into quesadillas, fajitas, or enchiladas, served with pico de gallo, guacamole, fresh salsa, black beans, or refried beans; or rotisserie chicken covered with barbecue sauce and served with deli potato salad and baked beans.
We use our George Foreman grill a lot. What we generally put on it are boneless pork chops or chicken breasts. Tonight for example we put a couple of breasts on it, seasoned with Everglades seasoning, made some red potatoes in the microwave and then cut them up and tossed them with butter and seasoning, and then steamed some broccoli as a side dish. The whole meal took about 20 minutes and probably cost $ 8.00 for my Son and myself.
We also cook Tilapia in the oven along with some scallops with stuffing that our local grocery store sells in shells, add a baked or sweet potato, and some vegetable for a side dish, and another 20 minute meal. So much healthier than a lot of other things we could make and pretty inexpensive.
Mussels are great for a quick meal. They're usually sold in a 2-lb bag for about $5 and they're open water farmed and sustainable, so good for the environment and budget as well. Perfect for 2 people. rinse the mussels of grit and pull off any beard.
Get your big pot out, and decide on your flavor profile, but for sure you'll need to dice a medium onion and saute in butter or olive oil until tender and add a couple of clove of crushed garlic.
If french, get about a cup of white wine (or juice of a lemon if you don't drink), some butter and a cup or two of chicken or seafood stock, shake in some tarragon. Bring that all up to a boil and throw in the mussels, put a lid on it and reduce heat to medium and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Always: Toss out any mussels that didn't open up. split the rest between two bowls and pour the cooking liquid over, serve with crusty bread.
If thai, a can of coconut milk and some red curry paste and stock, throw in some basil. Use lime juice instead of lemon. Serve over rice instead of with bread.
If Italian, you'll need to crumble up some Italian sausage and cook it with the onion, white wine or lemon juice, shaved fennel if you want/like it, basil and oregano. Sprinkle with a little parmesan if you like.
I was going to suggest mussels. Quick, inexpensive and easy. I get a kilo of Maritime Blue Mussels for $3.99. I make them French style, but in addition to the white wine, broth and garlic, I add some celery, cream, parsley and parmesan cheese. A nice fresh baguette to mop up the sauce with and you have a mean fit for royalty. Delicious!
If you want a REALLY quick and easy recipe that tastes like you slaved over it, here's my maple-baked salmon recipe. Everyone raves about it.
In an oven-proof dish, marinate a nice filet of salmon in about a third of a cup of real maple syrup, a few spoonfuls of soy sauce, some fresh grated ginger and fresh minced garlic. (never marinate fish for more than about 20 minutes. The flesh starts breaking down)
Slide the whole thing into a 350 oven until it flakes. Bake it uncovered if you want a thicker, more caramelized sauce. Serve with rice and salad.
That's it, that's all.
Unbelievably good. I have it on good authority that even fish-hating husbands like it.
Mussels are great for a quick meal. They're usually sold in a 2-lb bag for about $5 and they're open water farmed and sustainable, so good for the environment and budget as well. Perfect for 2 people. rinse the mussels of grit and pull off any beard.
Get your big pot out, and decide on your flavor profile, but for sure you'll need to dice a medium onion and saute in butter or olive oil until tender and add a couple of clove of crushed garlic.
If french, get about a cup of white wine (or juice of a lemon if you don't drink), some butter and a cup or two of chicken or seafood stock, shake in some tarragon. Bring that all up to a boil and throw in the mussels, put a lid on it and reduce heat to medium and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Always: Toss out any mussels that didn't open up. split the rest between two bowls and pour the cooking liquid over, serve with crusty bread.
If thai, a can of coconut milk and some red curry paste and stock, throw in some basil. Use lime juice instead of lemon. Serve over rice instead of with bread.
If Italian, you'll need to crumble up some Italian sausage and cook it with the onion, white wine or lemon juice, shaved fennel if you want/like it, basil and oregano. Sprinkle with a little parmesan if you like.
We don't get mussels quite that cheap, but they are pretty darn inexpensive. I have gotten to the place where we buy them, already seasoned and in a little butter sauce. We get them at Sam's or Aldi's. Last night that is just what we had, plus I cooked up a few shrimp. I put the shrimp on top of penni pasta with pesto, and made a green salad. Dinner took about 20 minutes and it was so yummy.
BTW, OP, you said things different than say, spaghetti, since when is good spaghetti a quick meal. I take all day to make ours.
another quick meal for us, is frozen pizza, doctored up. I don't like the store frozen pizzas but I do love to keep a Sams, Aldi's or Pappa Murphys' pizza in the freezer. We will add canned artichoke hearts, maybe a little more meat and/or veggies and top with decent cheese.
2 other suggestions that have already been made: grilled salmon, with a salad and maybe rice or grilled veggies and using your George Foreman or whatever. I have a Griddler, and I use it so much it looks like it is 20 years old, but it isn't even a year old. I don't think I have ever had anything I use more or enjoy more. I can cook a chick breast in about 5 or 6 minutes, with the lid down. At the same time there is room for grilled veggies.
Brown some grass finished ground beef or bison. Add some organic vegetable broth and alot of onions/garlic. Serve on toasted gluten free buns.
Some rice chips.
Bubbas pickles.
(I like a little ketchup on my sloppy onion burger) and fresh made lemonade sweetened with organic leaf stevia It's quick. And while cooking it smells *and tastes delicious.
Maybe a little coconut ice cream with cookie dough for dessert?
Or, BREAKFAST! Waffles and turkey sausage and some decaf coffee. I never have time in the morning. I love g/f waffles.
Last edited by hellothereIN; 08-06-2013 at 07:59 AM..
Reason: Thought of another one :)
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