Default Foods and Fall-Back Plans
when you're feeling completely worn out or incredibly uninspired, is there a certain meal or food you know you can always pull out and be happy with?
I have the ingredients and amounts of them for the perfect individual salmon salad (made incredibly easy by trader joe's salmon pattys) always at the back of my mind. comes in handy when I realllllly don't want to think about dinner (but of course I want it to taste good!)
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20 Comments:
Pasta!
I always have several kinds of dried noodles on hand, and if I usually have some tomato based sauce in the freezer. If not, there are a few brands available in the jar that do a pretty good job with a few minor additions and adjustments in seasoning.
There's always some sausages, left over meat, or ground beef on hand if I want to make the meal more substantial, but otherwise all it needs to be complete is some decent bread and a green salad.
In fact, I made this last night after getting home later than usual. It couldn't have taken my twenty minutes from start to finish. (Take THAT RR!)
And in below zero weather, it really hit the spot!
srhcb at 10:14AM on 12/15/07
My fallback is usually orachetti and jarred chili (like Bush's).
DaveFaris at 10:39AM on 12/15/07
i normally have some aidells or trader joe's sausages in the freezer. i slice one into coins and saute it with onions and garlic. right before serving i sprinkle on a bit of sugar and some apple cider vinegar. with a salad, it's a meal i can put together in about ten minutes.
cybercita at 11:22AM on 12/15/07
For us it's pancakes.
Very lowbrow, I know, but they're even better when there's homemade applesauce hanging around. Add a pot of coffee and some sausages and it's cozy as anything. If we're lucky there are some clementines to follow it up with.
moibec at 1:26PM on 12/15/07
The frozen pizza from HEB. Their store brand, extra thin crust is the only suitably thin and crispy pizza we've found in this city, with a decently spicy tomato sauce, and it's only $2.99.
I get the supreme, then add more sliced mushrooms and peppers, sprinkle with oregano and chili flakes and a touch of grated parm.
Pretty tasty and less than 15 minutes. While it's in the oven, I might fix a simple salad.
Lacking a pizza, its then a matter of pasta (carbonara or amatriciana) or broiled fish fillets with rice or potatoes.
renzata at 2:20PM on 12/15/07
* Note: fish comes from the freezer and rice cooks by fuzzy logic. Thus, fallback (vs. treating ourselves to nice fresh fish or fussing over a stovetop pilaf)
renzata at 2:22PM on 12/15/07
I throw together a version of a chicken curry casserole my m-i-l makes. The base is mayo, curry powder, coriander, oj or lemon juice. Mix together, toss with cut up chicken breast and bake at 350 till cooked through...serve over couscous and dinner is on the table with out much effort. If I have artichoke hearts, I will put those in too. The curry base is also good mixed with prepared rice pilaf, cooked shimp, almonds and spinach. yummmm.
hammondcheese at 3:28PM on 12/15/07
Tortellini soup. A package of -usually- spinach, cheese tortellini cooked in chicken broth with mushrooms and red potatoes. One pot, no draining and very satisfying.
ccbweb at 3:36PM on 12/15/07
Cold Cereal with Milk.
If I feel the ever so slightest drive to put pan to burner, I'll make a quick marinara and boil some pasta. That's about it :D.
chiff0nade at 5:43PM on 12/15/07
Chiff---I agree with you...can't get easier than a big bowl of your favorite cold cereal & milk! With this snow storm today, oatmeal sounds pretty comforting, too :)
JEP at 6:24PM on 12/15/07
cereal and pasta seem to be the main contenders... I'm with you on the cereal, and the rest of my family would definitely be with you on the pasta.
when I eat cereal as a meal though, I always add stuff too it... chocolate and frozen blueberries are my favorites for sure.
:]
gretchenx5 at 8:15PM on 12/15/07
Soup and sandwiches or quesadillas -- the soup is a quickie version with prepared stock, some chopped carrots, celery and onion (or frozen veggies if fresh are gone or time is too tight), maybe some rice or pasta
Scrambled eggs or frittata, side of fruit (canned pineapple in a pinch)
Tuna melts (open face, cheese melted under the broiler) and crudite
World's fastest pulled chicken sandwiches -- this is weird, but it's surprisingly effective: shred some canned chicken breast (I know, I know, but it actually works really well for this purpose, and you're the only ones I'm admitting this to), mix with some bottled BBQ sauce (we like Gayles), heat and pile onto toasted buns (I always have some in the freezer) or over hot corn bread; if there's cabbage in the fridge, I whip up a very simple slaw to go on the sandwiches
LoCo at 12:07AM on 12/16/07
I keep a lot in the freezer. But if I had to cook something and was not feeling over inspired I would say the one pot meals work best. Chili, goulash, stew, soup, pasta sauce with just ground meat.
My husband likes a hot meal on the table when he comes home. He is a good man and I give him what he wants. Every now and then I make breakfast for dinner. Frittata, chicken or turkey sausages with hash browns. Sometimes ricotta pancakes with sausages and a honey citrus syrup I make on the stove top.
I also do a few dinner salads, spinach, chicken, carne asada.
I also make a wicked fajitas which takes hardly anytime, but you have to marinate the meet for at least 2 hours.
JerzeeTomato at 4:50AM on 12/16/07
The most recent meal like this was just some soba and shiitakes in miso broth, with carrots and celery. It was pretty simple; just simmer the noodles and dried mushrooms in enough water to cover. Meanwhile slice a some carrot into thin pieces, and add them to the pot. Cube some tofu, and slice some celery thinly. Once the pasta and mushrooms are cooked, mix some soy sauce and miso into the water. Add the tofu, and then top the bowl with the raw celery. A a nice, hot, one pot meal, for the cold weather, ready in about 15 min.
Other meals like this tend to use pasta and something from a can. Linguine with oil packed tuna with parsley and capers in pretty good.
Nicholas H at 10:30AM on 12/16/07
My old standby is scrambled eggs with whatever veggies/cheese I have around with toast.
I also keep tons of stuff in the freezer. I often make pots of soup and freeze them in individual portions for the days I feel lazy. I will also freeze extra pasta sauce or chili so its just thaw and eat. Grilled cheese is another lazy option, usually eaten with frozen veg. I also keep a bag of asian veggies and shrimp in the freezer, so I can whip up a stir fry in moments. Couple that with the wholegrain brown rice from Uncle Ben's Bistro Express (2 minutes in the micro) and you're all set. Obviously its not as good as when you chop the veg yourself and cook the rice properly, but hey, it takes no time and its healthy!
psychsarah at 9:28AM on 12/17/07
Super lazy standby - Pasta and either Tomato/Butter/Onion sauce (Marcella Hazan) or Rao's Marinara sauce (from their cookbook). Whenever I make either sauce I do it in bulk and freeze it. Which puts me in the enviable place of almost never having to open a bottle of store bought sauce.
chisai at 9:45AM on 12/17/07
Ravs and broth -- This has been a go-to meal more times than I can count-- it is a staple in the geographic area I am from. It is meat tortellini (home made either by me or someone I know. I always have a few bags in the freezer.) The tortelinni is added to boiling chicken broth and cooked until done. It is served with a grating of fresh parmesan and a simple tossed salad. It is quick -- yummy -- and easy.
lakeloverhh at 11:59AM on 12/17/07
Pasta and red sauce. Even shagged after a 10-hour workday I can whip it up and be very, very happy.
HunterAnglerGardenerCook at 2:59PM on 12/17/07
Sauteed veggies (whatever's left in the fridge) tossed with a whole wheat pasta. Can never go wrong!
sheldel at 4:33PM on 12/17/07
Pasta is definitely our fall back too! It's just so easy. We eat ours with meat sauce, OR I boil up some premade pierogies.
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 10:56AM on 12/20/07