Quick, Cheap, and Easy

[shel]

Originally Posted by DoryD

Oh, and I really like the Amy's Organic [...] No-Cheese veggie pizza with sweet onions, artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers on a whole wheat crust with a balsamic vinegar sauce instead of the normal tomato. I sprinkle some fresh grated parmesan or asiago on it before cooking and it's soooo good (and healthy, too).

Is this the one? Looks ust wonderful, and the ingredient list is great.

[phoenix 12]

Rice a Roni While that is cooking pound out a chicken breast put under the broiler, or on top of the stove. The chicken breast doesn't have to be totally thawed out either. 15-20 mins your out & eating. When I was a single Dad this worked many nights.

Mike

[shel]

Originally Posted by phoenix 12

Rice a Roni

Absolutely a product I will not eat ...

Thanks for jumping in with your sugestion, though.

shel

[shroomgirl]

cheap, fast eats.....dolmas, either fresh or better jarred from TJ's.....they carry cuke sauce, but I prefer my own. Hummos....cheap too.....Tj's good, made from canned hummos is cheap and fast....dillweed, garlic, parsley, lemon, salt (no cumin). We keep frozen Naan or non-pocket pitas around for quicky meals. Really Fast Pizzas.

Personal Cheffing is all about filling a fridge/freezer in a short amount of time....within 3-4 hours, shopping, prepping, cooking, cleaning is done.....freezer/fridge filled. Kinda late to be mentioning for the holiday rush, though it's probably the most delicious, economical route to go......
larger quantities divied up into portions and frozen.

*one of my haut cuisine buddies clued me in on making tuna noodle casserole....buy the tuna in olive oil and use the oil.....alot of flavor.....

[shel]

Originally Posted by shroomgirl

cheap, fast eats.....dolmas, either fresh or better jarred from TJ's.....they carry cuke sauce, but I prefer my own. Hummos....cheap too.....Tj's good, made from canned hummos

Didn't know TJ's carries dolmas. Will have to take a look. I love good dolmas. There are a few delis around that carry their own home made versions, but none are better than my friend Sosi's. She and her sister, Sonia, are Armenian and grew up in Jerusalem, and both are excellent cooks, especially of middle eastern food. I've been trying to get Sosi's recipe for her dolmas ... she just smiles at me in response to my begging.


I love good hummus - make my own frequently. Have tried TJ's - not to my liking, but not bad.

shel

[DC Sunshine]

Originally Posted by shel

Braised steak and onions comes in a can?

Sure does - don't know who might make it over there, but "Kraft" make it here - its delish

As for the instant potato - I'm a fan of "Deb", but again, it might not be over there either. I'll send you some

[shel]

Originally Posted by DC Sunshine

Sure does - don't know who might make it over there, but "Kraft" make it here - its delish

As for the instant potato - I'm a fan of "Deb", but again, it might not be over there either. I'll send you some

I checked and could not find braised steak and onions, or similar items, except in Australia and NZ. Seems like it may be local to you guys. In any case, I don't use Kraft products, but the idea of such food in a can is certainly intriguing. I'd buy a can to see what it's like. I think I've seen canned meatballs here.

As for the 'taters, while I appreciate your offer, there's no need to go to the trouble of sending some. There are two or three brands here that are pretty good - no chemicals and preservatives to speak of, reasonably tasty - for instant potatoes - and readily available. There are even one or two brands sold in "health food" stores - gotta chuckle at that idea.

Thanks so much!

shel

[DoryD]

Originally Posted by shroomgirl

*one of my haut cuisine buddies clued me in on making tuna noodle casserole....buy the tuna in olive oil and use the oil.....alot of flavor.....

Ohhhh...tuna noodle casserole...One of the few things I remember liking that my bio-mom fixed, LOL...I make it as much like hers as I can remember (and only, like, once every three years 'cause it's sooo bad for you):

Cook lots of big shells...put them in the bottom of a casserole.
Mix lots of tuna (yes in oil, but drained) with Cream of Mushroom soup, some garlic salt (ugg! but works with this, lol), and it seems like I try putting dehydrated onions in there, too (keep tasting til you get the flavor you want).
Put that on top of the noodles.
Throw a package of frozen chopped spinach on top of that (don't bother defrosting, LOL)
Layer a TON of American cheese on top.
Mix some milk with an egg (or maybe two) and pour over the whole thing.
Bake forever...(I don't know...maybe like 2 hours...It's been a few years since the last time I did this...)
Mix it all up into something that looks like a mess of tuna, cheese and green stuff and you've got yourself a casserole that tastes a LOT better than it looks.

I'm embarrassed that I even know how to do that, LOL...but what's good enough for your haute cuisine friend is good enough for me...he he

[shel]

I've never had a tuna casserole, noodle or otherwise. Question: how would the "same" dish work with better ingredients? or is this one of those things that needs to be at a certain level to taste good, like a green bean casserole with those canned fried onions?

Thing is, it sounds like it godd be pretty good cheap eats.

Happy Holidaze,

shel

[DoryD]

Originally Posted by shel

I've never had a tuna casserole, noodle or otherwise. Question: how would the "same" dish work with better ingredients? or is this one of those things that needs to be at a certain level to taste good, like a green bean casserole with those canned fried onions?

Thing is, it sounds like it godd be pretty good cheap eats.

Happy Holidaze,

shel

Oh no...this is one of those things that's best at its absolute worst, LOL.

And yes...cheap, very cheap, and it will last a week -- kind of like the pork tenderloin in the crock pot one.

[DoryD]

Originally Posted by shel

Is this the one? Looks ust wonderful, and the ingredient list is great.

Yep, that's it!! Mmm...going to get one out of my freezer for lunch now...

Put a little grated asiago on before baking...soooo yummy! Even the crust has a lot of flavor.

[shel]

Originally Posted by DoryD

Yep, that's it!! Mmm...going to get one out of my freezer for lunch now...

Put a little grated asiago on before baking...soooo yummy! Even the crust has a lot of flavor.

Great! I did a web search for the item and came across numerous reviews for it (as well as other Amy's products). This pizza received uniformly 5 stars and top grades.

The balsamic sauce sounds like it's worth playing around with ...

Some coupons should be coming my way soon, and when they arrive, this pizza will be the first item purchased.

There are some Trader Joe's pies that are pretty good as well. Have you tried their turkey strombolli pizza. I get that a few times a year.

shel

[DoryD]

Originally Posted by shel

Great! I did a web search for the item and came across numerous reviews for it (as well as other Amy's products). This pizza received uniformly 5 stars and top grades.

The balsamic sauce sounds like it's worth playing around with ...

Some coupons should be coming my way soon, and when they arrive, this pizza will be the first item purchased.

There are some Trader Joe's pies that are pretty good as well. Have you tried their turkey strombolli pizza. I get that a few times a year.

shel

*sigh...I have moved out of the No. VA area where I had one TJ's within 20 mins. of my house and one about to open within 10 mins. Now I'm in the mountains of Maine, about 2.5 hours from the nearest one.

My friend and I are actually planning a road trip to NH to go to the Ikea there, and the Trader Joe's, too...I'll have to check that one out when I go. (Also getting a case of 2 Buck Chuck, LOL.)

[shel]

Originally Posted by DoryD

My friend and I are actually planning a road trip to NH to go to the Ikea there, and the Trader Joe's, too...I'll have to check that one out when I go. (Also getting a case of 2 Buck Chuck, LOL.)

Ha. A lot of people laugh at two buck chuck, but I gotta tell ya, some of the stuff is pretty good for what it is. It ain't total plonk ... Compares very favorably to wines costing two and three times the price. I use it frequently for cooking.

shel

[Tasty Thoughts]

A few quick ideas:

Stuffed potatoes- bake potato (microwave if you want it fast), cut in half, top with a pinch of butter, cooked broccoli, and shredded cheese. Heat to melt cheese.

Caesar salad- with or without cooked chicken or steak (whatever is leftover from another meal)

Homemade corn chowder- all you need is frozen corn, potatoes, milk, onions, and some seasonings. Ready in 30 min.