What’s your favorite quick fix dinner?
It’s been a long day, work has totally kicked your butt, you are cranky and hungry and tired. What do you throw together for dinner? What is easy and delicious and requires practically no effort on your part? And most importantly - makes you feel all better?
For me, on days like that, my standard go-to meal is cannellini beans mixed with minced sweet onion, minced garlic and Italian parsley, tossed with S & P, olive oil and lemon juice. It takes 5 minutes, start to finish, is tasty, and really does make me feel all better.
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29 Comments:
Breakfast for dinner! Scrambled eggs, bacon, and tater tots make everything better.
ride&cook at 7:20AM on 01/29/08
for feeling better after a long day: grilled cheese and tomato soup made with milk.
for feeling better AND being broke: eggs over easy on rice with seasoned fish sauce and cucumbers.
protest at 7:44AM on 01/29/08
Pasta with butter & parmigiano; cheese scrambled eggs with toast
Lilla at 7:59AM on 01/29/08
Hmm... probably oatmeal. Mixed with anything ; )
StudentStomach at 7:59AM on 01/29/08
I love the breakfast for dinner suggestion. My mom would always make pancakes when we got home in the evening from the drive back from a trip. You can never go wrong with a stack of fluffy pancakes or rich french toast.
luswim06 at 8:12AM on 01/29/08
I make Alton Browns baked beans minus the beans and long cooking time, ok I tweak his recipe alot, but I make up the sauce and freeze it in single batches, so on a bad day I pull one out open a can of beans, and dinner is ready. I know it's not the great long cooked type but the flavor is there (I up the amount of peppers) and it's quick and easy. besides for just 1 person, the whole lb of beans is just too much to eat before they go over, and who has time to babysit a pot of beans for 8 to 10 hrs?
huney_bumper at 8:21AM on 01/29/08
this would have been easier if I was single, but since i have to cook for my husband and he wouldn't hear of eating a meal w/o some type of meat in it or anything like pancakes for dinner; I am always happy if I take the time the night before to marinate something (i.e. I have bbq chicken wings marinating in the fridge that I can just pop in the oven when i come home from work tonight) that I can throw into the oven for a low-prep meal. And while whatever I've prepared the night before is in the oven, I can spend that time making side dishes (veggies, soup .. we're Chinese, so every meal is multi-dish/multi-course!).
mrsbao at 8:50AM on 01/29/08
I found this recipe recently and suggested it to my husband when I was away on business - he was getting home late to three hungry children aged 14, 12, and 8, and had something to go to an hour after getting home. Kielbasa pasta - boil a package of egg noodles - when they are almost done, toss in some cut up asparagus or brocolli.. Saute an onion in butter/oil and add a pound of sliced up kielbasa. Cook until the onion is soft and the meat browned (one of the kids likes it REALLY crispy). Mix two cans of mushroom soup with a can of milk. Pour it into the onion/kielbasa mix and heat. Drain the pasta/veg mix and toss the whole thing together. Parm cheese is optional.
It's fast, it's kid friendly, it's tasty - and with a salad, it's a pretty complete meal. Just don't check the sodium levels!
Maureen at 9:46AM on 01/29/08
I always have those frozen black bean burgers on hand, so I toss one of those into the oven along with a handful of oven fries. I serve the bean burger on a toasted multigrain English muffin topped with black olive tempenade, feta, fresh spinach (prewashed, from a bag) and sliced red onion. Delicious! But what I'd really rather do is order a pizza to be delivered.
elizabethw at 10:07AM on 01/29/08
I love french toast or rice, beans and with a little salsa and a warm flour tortilla.
evilchefmom at 10:17AM on 01/29/08
Mac and cheese (Annie's -- I know, I know, it's boxed, but at least it's organic) with lots of broccoli and a little bit of turkey- or soy-sausage. Or a tuna melt. Or almond butter and sour cherry jam on whole-grain toast. Or "eggs in the hole."
CookiePie at 10:23AM on 01/29/08
I try to keep these ingredients on hand; they store well and come together for a very satisfying quick dinner: Hot cooked pasta (we prefer farfalle--bowtie--or penne, but any type will work) tossed with jarred pesto, lots of julienned sun-dried tomatoes and chunks or slices of pepperoni. To reduce the fat content of the pepperoni, sandwich it between paper towels and warm it for a few seconds in the microwave. Blot away the fat and toss with the hot pasta. As for the sun-dried tomatoes, I buy them already julienned in a large jar of olive oil. Store them in the fridge and they keep for ages.
Serve with a quick salad, and you've got a complete meal within 20 or 30 minutes.
You can add all kinds of ingredients to a basic pasta and pesto dish: chopped onions, grape tomatoes, canned artichokes, black or green olives, different chopped or sliced meats. Experiment!
Editmom at 10:43AM on 01/29/08
Ling Ling vegetable potstickers with some frozen edamame or Annie's mac and cheese with fresh broccoli or frozen peas are some "convenience" foods we turn to in a pinch. Otherwise, a frittata with whatever veggie and cheese we have on hand makes a tasty, quick meal.
mainegirl at 12:02PM on 01/29/08
I like a frittata or omelette made with assorted veggies and cheese and a tossed salad. My kids love grilled cheese and tomato soup or tuna sandwiches and vegetable soup when they are not feeling well.
coffeefrappe at 12:18PM on 01/29/08
Vegetable Fried Rice.
NSW at 12:18PM on 01/29/08
While my husband was out yesterday, I decided to have fish for dinner because he doesn't like it. So I started cooking rice; put together in a saucepan butter, lemon juice, finely chopped garlic and seasonings; put sauce over the piece of fish (tilapia fillet); and cooked the fish in the oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I microwaved frozen broccoli. It turned out to be a great meal, and fast and easy!
misseditor at 12:21PM on 01/29/08
1. baked potatoes with extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of fresh barley.
2. pasta with garlic, lemon zest and extra virgin olive oil
3. linguini with garlic lemon juice and anchovies
4. breakfast for dinner: black tea with a pinch of milk, cretan rusks with butter and cheese.
teacat38 at 12:31PM on 01/29/08
Gee. My tastes are simple when I'm tired. I just throw together a cheddar cheese quesadilla in a skillet, made with two whole wheat tortillas and a dash of chipotle powder on the cheese.
Susquehanna at 4:10PM on 01/29/08
Saute any vegetables on hand. Combine them with some meat if you want (I like to use canned white meat chicken). Stir into any flavor couscous, or plain couscous with a little parm melted on top. Relax.
This is also a great camping / hiking food.
lo82070 at 4:21PM on 01/29/08
My hubby's favorite (and therefore mine, since we're both happy!) is Pasta With Peas. I believe that Serious Eats did a little article about the joys of a simple dish of pasta (oriecchetti, linguine, whatever floats your boat) with some green peas and fresh parm and black pepper. Mmm...
sheeats at 4:47PM on 01/29/08
I have 3 go to favourites:
1. couscous or pasta with olive oil, garlic, chopped tomatoes and bell peppers, and minced fresh herbs.
2. cold soba noodles (either with dipping sauce on the side or mixed with sesame seeds, scallions, some soy sauce, mirin and sesame oil)
3. Hummus, tahini sauce and a plate of fresh vegetables (red onion, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers)+ garlic, parsley and olive oil
brooke29 at 4:56PM on 01/29/08
Lately, grilled cheese sandwiches, but usually it's frozen pork and chive dumplings, which doesn't really involve cooking but...uh, defrosting. -__-
roboppy at 4:56PM on 01/29/08
I go for a big bowl of Kashi GoLean Crunch with whole milk:)
JEP at 5:30PM on 01/29/08
Microwave 'baked' Sweet Potato w/ low fat cottage cheese, salt and pepper. YUM.
Or just pasta w/ olive oil, fresh garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and some parm... I have to have made this at least 1000 times.
MML at 8:46PM on 01/29/08
My favorite quick dinner is ravioli - any kind, but I usually keep plain cheese on hand - with broccoli, mushrooms, pesto and parmesan cheese. So easy and delicious, and it always looks so pretty on my plate!
woodenspoon at 9:43PM on 01/29/08
aidell's chicken apple sausages, sliced into coins and sauteed until brown on both sides, served over some polenta mixed with parmesan cheese and lots of garlic.
spaghetti carbonara: while the water's boiling, i fry a few strips of chopped bacon and an onion until the bacon's done and the onion's transparent. in a separate bowl, i mix some grated parm with an egg, lots of pepper,
and a handful of chopped parsley. drain the noodles, dump them into the pan with the onions, toss in the cheese and eggs and use tongs to stir it all up.
a big salad with romaine lettuce and whatever else is in the fridge and a tin of smoked oysters dumped on top.
cybercita at 10:21PM on 01/29/08
My go to meals are similar to some mentioned (I'm broke (and single!): scrambled eggs and toast, salad and a poached egg, or pasta with butter & nutmeg. But when I'm spending money on meat or cooking for more than myself, a big pot of spaghetti with meat sauce is pretty comforting after a long day! Probably because it was my mom's go to dinner too :)
LizNYC at 11:35PM on 01/29/08
Anything - I plan my meals weekly. Most of my dinners take less then 30 minutes to make and are always wholesome and delicious. They contain no processed foods/minimally processed and are all home made.
For example, this week I had:
- sweet potato and coconut curry with rice
- sliced tuna steak with veggies and chinese wheat noodles in garlic and black bean sauce
- forbidden rice with braised napa cabbage and szechuan spiced pork
- king prawns and vegetables in a chinese satay sauce stir fried with udon noodles
- pizza (yes, I make the dough at home too, ok this one actually takes longer than 30 minutes because I have to warm the stone up)
- pan fried trout with stir fried vegetables and brown rice
- chilli with polenta
And IF I'm really really lazy, I will get out some of the soup from the freezer I made earlier and microwave it until it's ready. I also have some chinese dumplings in the freezer, highly convenient when you want to make say szechuan noodle soup.
ssnmr77 at 7:10PM on 01/31/08
scrambled eggs with spinach (frozen) and slightly caramelized onion, with some spicy salsa and toast.
rllevy at 12:54PM on 02/03/08