QUICK 'N' EASY meals

[pacific breeze]

When the clock's ticking and your stomach's growling, what do you come up with?

[Fonzarelli23]

Ahh---this exact scenario happened last night. I threw the ingredients for french onion soup in a pot, and made a wedge salad (lettuce, blue cheese, bacon) to eat in the meantime. "Quck, not too filling and soup is good comfort food!

[UndercoverGator]

One of my kids favorites is Sweet and Sour Hotdogs. Takes 20 minutes to make, it's cheap, filling and has a good balance of veggies. I've also substituted ham for hotdogs in it a few times and it's good. Not gourmet but something quick and easy for if you have kids.

1 pkg hot dogs sliced 1/2 thick
1/2 cup cut up bell pepper
1/2 cup cut up celery
1/2 cup cut up onions
4 slices bacon
1 minced clove of garlic
1 - 16 ounce can of pineapple chunks with the juice they're packed in
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp chili powder
salt, pepper, red pepper to taste.

Fry up the four slices of bacon. Once bacon is crispy remove it from the pan and put aside for later. Using the bacon grease stir fry the onions, pepers, celery and garlic until just cooked. Crumble up bacon and add in. Add remaining ingredients and allow to come to simmer on stovetop. Serve over cooked rice.

[Lani]

Omlette.

2 eggs, a tiny bit of milk, spring onions, asparagus, a bit of two minute noodles, mushrooms, spinach, tomatos, some basil and pepper.

Cook the two minute noodles. I like to add some light salt vege stock to them. Lightly cook the mushrooms, spring onions, asparagus and spinach, then in the same pan pour the beaten egg/milk/basil/pepper mixture. When that side is lightly cooked (still runny so there's lots of mixture still to push to the middle) fork some noodles on the top. After you've pushed all the micture to the middle and its filled to the sides and cooked properlly - flip.

Pushing the mixture to the middle means the egg cooks faster and more thoroughly.

On this side while its cooking the rest of the egg and the noodles, slice tomato. If you've done the top side properlly it wont take long for the otehr side to cook. So flip it back and spread the sliced tomato on one side, add some grated cheese if you want. I do sometimes.

I tend to press the halfed omlette a little for it to stcik together a little.

Then flip it in half and put it on a plate.

YUM. Omlettes are always my fall back meal.

My other favourite thing is a warm salad. Cook some asparagus, carrot in the microwave. While you're doing that mix together a can of mixed beans (chickpeas, redkidney beans etc) with some salsa. Get together a salad of mixed lettuce, tomato, cucumber, the lightly cooked carrot and the lightly cooked asparagus. I also like to add whatever I have around - things like...squash, blueberries, rockmelon whatever. And then put the bean mix ontop. you should only add a little bit of salsa so it isnt a big mess and also dont heat it too much, just a little to make it warm.

[calendargurl]

macaroni and tomatoes

all you have to do is cook some elbow macaroni (any kind of pasta would work) and drain it
while it's still warm add a can of diced tomatoes (with the liquid in the can) so the pasta warms them up
add a big spoonful of butter/margarine whichever you prefer
sprinkle some garlic salt and some pepper and mix together. it's sooo good!
and it's good warm or cold.

[Tiara]

corn on the cob, mmmmmmm I love it.

10 minutes in a pan of boling water and voila!!!

[Algernon]

Originally Posted by calendargurl

macaroni and tomatoes

all you have to do is cook some elbow macaroni (any kind of pasta would work) and drain it
while it's still warm add a can of diced tomatoes (with the liquid in the can) so the pasta warms them up
add a big spoonful of butter/margarine whichever you prefer
sprinkle some garlic salt and some pepper and mix together. it's sooo good!
and it's good warm or cold.

I do this same thing! Only I don't put butter or margarine on it, I just top it with some mozerella. I LOVE tomatoes. No one in my family will eat this but me, so it's a great lunch for me.

Lately I've been doing it this way: whole wheat rotini, boiled and drizzled with a touch of olive oil. Toss with canned diced tomatoes that have already been warmed with garlic, pepper, and oregano. Then toss with shredded mozerella and finely diced white onion. OMG so so so good.

[UndercoverGator]

I'll have to try that! I love tomatoes.

Sometimes I make something here with pasta. You start with any type of pasta and boil it up. While the pasta is boiling you chop up one onion and one garlic clove and saute them in a small amount of olive oil. Drain the pasta and add the garlic/onions and whatever you have left over, like cooked carrots or peas, chopped ham, etc.. After stirring in that you add a small amount of butter, two beaten eggs and a handful of shredded mozzerella cheese.

[sweetrebel]

Originally Posted by calendargurl

macaroni and tomatoes

all you have to do is cook some elbow macaroni (any kind of pasta would work) and drain it
while it's still warm add a can of diced tomatoes (with the liquid in the can) so the pasta warms them up
add a big spoonful of butter/margarine whichever you prefer
sprinkle some garlic salt and some pepper and mix together. it's sooo good!
and it's good warm or cold.

This also works great if you use mac n cheese and rotel tomatoes (canned tomatoes and green chilis)...

Also cook some pasta-toss with Italian Dressing-I use the kind you mix in the cruet-top with some parmasean cheese...quick easy and actually really good!

[Algernon]

Here's another quick and easy that I often eat for lunch. Just microwave a cup of instant rice according to package directions and then stir in a can of tuna, a small bit of butter, salt and pepper. MMMMMMMMmmmmmm, I think I'll have that tomorrow...

[hotncmom]

Chili! One can tomato sauce, some ground beef, one can chili beans, and a package of Mild Chili seasoning, simmer for a few minutes, viola! And it's cheap too. I buy Walmart brand (Great value) sauce, beans, seasoning, and use part of a package of ground round, it's probably $2.50 total for a pot of chili.

I also roast a bunch of chicken breasts (bone-in, skin on) at once and have one or two meals of the large sliced roasted pieces, then I pick the bones clean and freeze the pieces. The large pieces go in a pasta, the smaller pieces I use for soup or I use them as meat in quesadillas, all of which are quick and easy since the longer part of roasting the chicken is already done!

[Fonzarelli23]

That chili sounds really good hotncmom!! And easy too--I think I'm gonna have to try it!

[chuckpony]

instead of macaroni I use rice with my canned tomotoes. and I like the tomatoes that have the zesty chilis or onions & peppers in them.
I just sprinkle a little basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

[A*O]

Pick up phone
Dial 9598 3133
Order Family Four Seasons Pizza with extra anchovies and olives (they are healthy OK?)
Wait 20 mins
Send kid to answer door and pay the man
Eat

[Femmefatale]

I have THE BEST recipe EVER --its the only thing i know how to make
all you need it


LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN
one french baguette
oven setting 350- 400degrees broil (depending on ur oven for which temp)



one stick of land-o-lakes salted butter (must be salted)
2 lemons
2-3 whole chicken breasts (with the bone and skin still there)
Salt
Pepper


Take a pad of butter and grease the entire pan and sides (do not use any substitute)

Place chicken breasts in pan

Squeeze lemons on chicken breasts and on bottom of pan

Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper on breasts

Take the stick of butter and cut into pads

Place each pad on chicken breasts AND in pan ( put as many as possible on the breasts themselves)

Cook for one hour

All the butter and lemon and chicken fat will form a sauce at the bottom of the pan u can dip the bread in