Your Back-Pocket Easy Meals - "Big Bang for Buck"

Cooking Discussions Recipes
21

That coconut/tofu/kale dish sounds good! Going to try when weather cools off a little.

Some quick standbys:

Pasta with tomato-tuna sauce–sauté garlic to taste in olive oil; when pale golden, add can of diced tomatoes. Simmer then add herbs (basil, or mint, or parsley, or none), and chopped green olives. Turn off heat, add can of drained and flaked Italian tuna in olive oil, mix and add to cooked pasta.

Riff on Eggs in purgatory-- sauté chopped eggplant in olive oil; add chopped bell pepper, garlic, zucchini, and a can of tomatoes (or fresh tomato)…simmer, add fresh herbs if desired, then make wells in then mixture in which now to crack eggs. Cover until eggs are cooked. Sprinkle within sheeps feta, parm, or ricotta salata

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22

When I was in grad school while working full time, I found that ingredient prep was (for me) the fine line between eating homemade and calling for takeout.

For example: ground turkey / beef package divided into half and flattened before freezing meant meat sauce for pasta could be prepared using frozen homemade tomato sauce while the pasta boiled and the broccoli steamed.

Separating a package of chicken thighs into 2-serving portions and freezing them with a marinade (yogurt/indian spices, lemon/herbs/olive oil, harissa, zhoug, etc) enabled some version of broiled or pan-grilled chicken with little effort, and the meal came together in the time it took to steam or sauté a vegetable side.

I still do a lot of these things, especially the chicken/fish/meat marinading and batch cooking & freezing some foundation items.

I also use my little PC a lot to speed up fussy recipes - indian curry bases, all-in-one rice dishes (chicken&rice/biryanis/pulaos/pilafs/risottos), beans/lentils, even pasta sauce (a riff on the MH tomato/onion one with butter is hands off and takes maybe 15 mins). I’ve tried all-in-one pasta dishes in the PC - definitely quick, and the texture is good once you get the timing right).

Fish & shrimp are always a lifesaver - same rotating marinade idea as the chicken, but even if there’s no marinade, a salmon fillet takes 12-15 mins hands-off time to low-temp roast in the toaster oven, and the marinade can be a sauce on top instead.

Rice/quinoa is always a bulk-cook item - if I’m making it, I might as well make enough for the week at one go, and I’ll plan 2-3 meals around that.

In general, I’ll try to cook 2 meals worth even though I won’t eat them two days in a row - something I made on Monday is new again by wed/thurs - or I’ll freeze the second portion to pull out in a week or two, when I’ll be happy to rediscover it!

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23

Asian style omelet on rice - saute chopped onion, minced green or red chillies in some oil. Add beaten egg with salt and pepper. Cook until lightly browned on both sides. Cut into pieces and eat with white rice, soy sauce and Asian chilli sauce. (This is my teenage son’s favorite way to eat eggs)

I can whip up dal in 20 minutes in my pressure cooker/Instant Pot. While the dal is cooking, I heat up frozen parathas (sometimes we have keftiver rice, in which case we eat the dal with that).

I try to cook on Sunday for Monday and Tuesday. Those were my busiest days at work, so that way, I didn’t have to come home and figure out dinner after my long day.

I also make extras of time consuming things, like chicken biryani, rajma (kidney beans curry), and homemade marinara. I freeze the extras for nights when I’m working late or won’t be home for dinner.

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24

Like the Asian omelet!

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The capellini cooks in three minutes but I usually take it out at 2.5.

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26

A couple pounds of braise-able pork or chicken (pork shoulder, chix thighs, whatever’s on sale), salted, peppered, and browned, plus a can of El Pato spicy tomato sauce and a splash of water, covered and cooked at a bare simmer until the meat is falling apart. Super easy and lots of flavor.

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27

Oh yes.

28

Nice!

29

Good tips, thanks!

30

Since the pork verde appealed, a bit more detail:
6-7 lbs boneless country-style ribs, each cut in 2 or 3 pieces
2 jars Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde (mild)
1 jar Trader Joe’s Hatch Valley Salsa (spicier, or just use another jar of the mild one)
Brown meat on a couple of sides in cooking fat of choice, then throw in crockpot with salsas and resist the temptation to add water or salt, cover and cook on high for 2 hours, then low for another 2 or 3 hours till tender. Best refrigerated overnight so you can skim the fat off (there will be plenty), then reheated. NOTE: you can skip browning the meat and it will lose a bit of flavor but still be very tasty and a bit more tender and shreddable. Freezes beautifully.

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31

In hot weather, I avoid pots of boiling water if at all possible. Just enough boiling water in the electric kettle, pour over coucous, cover, and in 5 minutes there’s pasta, or close enough.

Leftover plain couscous can pinch hit in frittatas or stirfries.

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32

Omelettes . . . we always have eggs, some type of cheese and veggies. Meets the protein/dairy/veg threshold in less than 10 mins. Bonus is easy clean up.

Stir fry. I always have chopped peppers and onions in the freezer and various sauces in the fridge. Even if the protein is still frozen, you can slice it and cook it on high heat. And rice doesn’t take long. Another pretty easy clean up.

My local meat market roasts its own beef and also sells the jus. Add some provolone, rolls and their pre-made healthy salad (kale, blueberries, walnuts, etc. with a raspberry vinaigrette). Heat the jus and meat; melt the provolone in the roll–voila, a hot roast beef sandwich with a side salad and only one pan to clean . Very lazy, but better than drive-thru.

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33

That reminds me okonomiyaki is a good one, even faster if you buy the cabbage already shredded. And you can use basically whatever other veg and protein you want.

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34

Thanks! Need to try chicken in milk. I have marinated it in herbed buttermilk before and liked it.

35

Thanks for those additional tips!

36

I’m going to +1 on omelets or frittatas.

Also simple salads are super fast, I’m thinking of simple tomato, onion, burrata salad. Batch made potato salad with shrimp.

Ding ding, reminds me of a favorite go-to, Fushia Dunlop’s shrimp omelet (sorry for the horrible writing, I’m on my phone and can’t look anything up). Actually, most shrimp or scallop dishes can be super quick.

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37

Scrambled eggs with vegetables and cheese. Spaghetti with lots of garlic and cooked broccoli. Tomato and red onion sandwiches. Quesadillas with black bean, corn, green onion salad on the side. Couscous with fresh tomatoes (in season), onions, fresh mozzarella, sweet peppers, etc. Grilled vegetable sandwiches.

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38

I was thinking a quick pasta as well. Casio e pepe, carbonara, aglio e olio, which are all riffs on what seamonky suggested.

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39

Did someone mention rotisserie chicken yet? Easy meal for the night of grocery shopping, with plenty of leftovers of lunches or repurposed dinners - my favorites are quesadillas, chicken salad, dark meat in thai/moroccan/indian sauce - and finally soup from the carcass and bones and lots of veggies. Or a stovetop “roast” of pieces, which takes maybe 20 mins vs roasting a whole bird.

+1 on all the egg ideas. In addition to omelettes and soft scrambled eggs, chawanmushi is a favorite. Also eggs cracked straight into ready curries or sauces of various origins, or over a vegetable hash or stir-fry. Batch-cooked boiled eggs are also great to throw into a sauce in a pinch.

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40

Eggs, why did that escape me?!! They are the perfect quick meal.

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