Quick, Cheap, and Easy

[shel]

This is the time of year when I can get pretty busy, and this morning, facing an empty fridge and a desire for something hot and fast, I stopped in at the local TJ's and picked up some canned soup and chile, some beans, and a few similar odds and ends. I made some franks and beans for lunch - certainly fit the quick, cheap, and easy requirement, although, even with adding a bunch of flavor to the beans, the results were still low-tier for taste. Maybe the canned soup, with the addition of some fresh veggies, would be better.

So, what would you suggest for some quick, cheap, and easy meals, dishes in which there's little or no cooking involved, heat and eat stuff, ideally one pot or skillet prep, for those times when a person is working 14 hours a day, or is on a tight budget at the end of the month?

Maybe some frozen dinners that can be zapped in the microwave would be acceptabe. Any suggestions for those?

shel

[DC Sunshine]

My favorite canned lunch - Braised Steak and Onion. Zap in microwave, have with toast or make some instant mashed potato (I can hear the groans now hehe) but it takes like 2 mins tops and I love it.

[Suzanne]

If one is on a tight budget, frozen dinners is probably the worst way to go! Those things are !@#$%^&*()_+ expensive, especially in relation to the nutrition you get from them. Fresh food is just sooooo much less expensive, not to mention tastier and better for you.

When I'm really stuck, I can always put on a big pot of water for whole-wheat pasta, and while that's coming to a boil, wash and chop up some vegetables and sauté them in a little olive oil with garlic. Even if I only have celery and carrots and onions, that can be tasty. And goodness knows, the prep work is relaxing. Then when the pasta is cooked, I just drain it and toss it with the vegs. Add a little grated cheese (I pretty much always have Parmesan, Romano, cotija, feta, and/or Cheddar ) and bingo!

Then of course, there's always spaghetti carbonara, if I have bacon and eggs.

And don't forget cooking up a big pot of dried beans, then adding flavorings to the part you reheat, and serving them over rice. Quick (once you have them cooked, and even that doesn't require much active time), delicious, and healthy.

[kuan]

I like buckwheat noodles with raw garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil.

[shel]

Originally Posted by DC Sunshine

My favorite canned lunch - Braised Steak and Onion. Zap in microwave, have with toast or make some instant mashed potato (I can hear the groans now hehe) but it takes like 2 mins tops and I love it.

Braised steak and onions comes in a can?

I've often made what I call a vegetable smoosh - instant mashed potatoes mixed with steamed veggies like broccoli, zucchini, carrots - whatever is handy. I like 'em with corn as well - a favorite is broccoli, corn, maybe some squash, and the 'taters. Add a little olive oil, pepper, and I'm good to go. Totally forgot about the instant 'taters. There are some decent brands here, free of chemicals and additives. Make 'em with water, or milk, or butternilk.

Thanks for reminding me.

shel

[shel]

Originally Posted by Suzanne

If one is on a tight budget, frozen dinners is probably the worst way to go! Those things are !@#$%^&*()_+ expensive, especially in relation to the nutrition you get from them. Fresh food is just sooooo much less expensive, not to mention tastier and better for you.

When I'm really stuck, I can always put on a big pot of water for whole-wheat pasta, and while that's coming to a boil, wash and chop up some vegetables and sauté them in a little olive oil with garlic. Even if I only have celery and carrots and onions, that can be tasty. And goodness knows, the prep work is relaxing. Then when the pasta is cooked, I just drain it and toss it with the vegs. Add a little grated cheese (I pretty much always have Parmesan, Romano, cotija, feta, and/or Cheddar ) and bingo!

Then of course, there's always spaghetti carbonara, if I have bacon and eggs.

And don't forget cooking up a big pot of dried beans, then adding flavorings to the part you reheat, and serving them over rice. Quick (once you have them cooked, and even that doesn't require much active time), delicious, and healthy.

There are a few frozen dinners I've tried that are pretty decent. Not the standard supermarket stuff. True, they can be a little spendy, but they definitely qualify as fast and easy. There are some decent ones made by Amy's, a local company, organic, good ingredients, and I can often get a $1.00 off coupon for 'em.

And egg dishes ... scrambled, omelets, fritatas ... forgot about them

Yep, the ww pasta thing works pretty well. There's usually some veggies here, even if only frozen, and I try to have a few cans of tomato sauce on hand. In fact, I made a ww pasta and veggie tomato sauce dish a few days ago.

Often there's frozen brown rice in the freezer. I make up a big batch and freeze the rice in 1-gallon size freezer bages, laid flat on the floor of the freezer. I just break off a chunk, add some fresh, or even frozen, veggies, zap it in the microwave, add soy sauce, oyster sauce, seasoning, whatever and there y'go.

Hmm, I can nuke some taters and add frozen or fresh veggies, some olive oil or butter, and there y'go. Quick, fast, and cheap.

I've got to try making beans. Have only done so once, and the results were pretty good. Beans with rice is a nice combo, again, add some veggies, and bada-bing.

Thanks, Suzanne, you helped get my brain in gear!

shel

[shroomgirl]

quesadillas....refrieds and cheese...onions etc
gyro bread aka non pocket pitas with veg/cheese for quick pizza
winter squash soup takes about 25 minutes, from start to finish.....cheap, good eats and leftovers can be nuked

my sister in law makes spaghetti sauce (jarred) and adds veg, serves on rice/noodles......

nachos.....made some with makeshift salsa last week, in the mood for rotele and only had scraps of cheese + cream cheese, canned tomatoes, chili flakes, onion, granulated garlic (love you Penzeys).....
well and canned beef from a local coop that went assunder, good meat....no seasoning just chunks of cooked beef.....so meaty, cheesey, spicy tomatoey goo with tortillas....not only took care of odds and ends in the fridge but also the pantry.

Shel, you have farmers in the bay area raising gigianti beans.....I got some fresh at Ferry Plaza in Jan a couple years ago. There's a larger variety of dried bean grower selling at Santa Monica market, I'll see if I've still got their contact info. It's a joy to see fresh shell beans at a market, they are hard to raise....just so dang labor intensive, that most farmers go with bush varieties.

[shel]

Originally Posted by shroomgirl

quesadillas....refrieds and cheese...onions etc
gyro bread aka non pocket pitas with veg/cheese for quick pizza
winter squash soup takes about 25 minutes, from start to finish.....cheap, good eats and leftovers can be nuked

my sister in law makes spaghetti sauce (jarred) and adds veg, serves on rice/noodles......

nachos.....made some with makeshift salsa last week, in the mood for rotele and only had scraps of cheese + cream cheese, canned tomatoes, chili flakes, onion, granulated garlic (love you Penzeys).....
well and canned beef from a local coop that went assunder, good meat....no seasoning just chunks of cooked beef.....so meaty, cheesey, spicy tomatoey goo with tortillas....not only took care of odds and ends in the fridge but also the pantry.

Shel, you have farmers in the bay area raising gigianti beans.....I got some fresh at Ferry Plaza in Jan a couple years ago. There's a larger variety of dried bean grower selling at Santa Monica market, I'll see if I've still got their contact info. It's a joy to see fresh shell beans at a market, they are hard to raise....just so dang labor intensive, that most farmers go with bush varieties.

Your ideas are good ones, but some are a liitle labor intensive for the times when I'm swamped. I like the quesadilla concept - it should be easy to make some variations with ww or other tortillas and some veggies - maybe something pizza-like as well. I'm trying to cut down on cheese this year. I'll buy a big chunk and then, by the time I get around to making something with it, there's hardly any cheese left - nibble, nibble, nibble

I've been looking for a good source for lima beans to make a traditional sort of succatash. That's a real comfort food for me.

shel

[kuan]

Originally Posted by shel

I'm trying to cut down on cheese this year. I'll buy a big chunk and then, by the time I get around to making something with it, there's hardly any cheese left - nibble, nibble, nibble

shel

No sympathy from me here.

[shel]

Originally Posted by kuan

No sympathy from me here.

Bought 1/2 wheel of reblochon before the weekend to use in making tartiflette, and also bought a BIG chunk of gruyere for sandwiches, fritatas, and grating. The gruyere never even made it home! It was sooo good, though.

shel

[shroomgirl]

Fresh Gigiantis are like limas on steriods......

Cheese,......it just seems to multiply in my fridges.....we do a ton of cheese platters, courses at events/dinners....so manchengo, parmesan, guyere, always Chevre (freezes exceptionally well), cream, are around.....then the odd rounds of brie, st. nectaire, or st brillion appear....all of a sudden it's cheese overload....the British have a cool way of dealing with odds and ends of dry cheeses....grate, mix with butter and good dry sherry, a pinch of dry mustard and you have yumminess.
Well and there's always "house" mac and cheese....never the same mix of cheeses twice

[shel]

Originally Posted by shroomgirl

Fresh Gigiantis are like limas on steriods......

Boy, they sound great! We used to have succotash every now and then in my grade school cafeteria - I may have been the only kid going back for seconds <LOL>

Cheese,......it just seems to multiply in my fridges.....we do a ton of cheese platters, courses at events/dinners....so manchengo, parmesan, guyere, always Chevre (freezes exceptionally well), cream, are around.....then the odd rounds of brie, st. nectaire, or st brillion appear....all of a sudden it's cheese overload....the British have a cool way of dealing with odds and ends of dry cheeses....grate, mix with butter and good dry sherry, a pinch of dry mustard and you have yumminess.

Alton Brown has a recipe that's similar: Fromage Fort Recipe It lends itself to a lot of flexibility. The only chance I have of making it is to get lots of bits and pieces of cheese from the Chhese Board in berkeley, and use 'em to make the concoction.

shel

[A Boy Who Cooks]

Happy Holidays!!

How about....

• Shepards Pie
• Mac n' Cheese
• Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
• Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

All freeze OK, and can be prep'd with minimal time and effort.

You'll find the time to do these, and the results will be worth the effort.

Take Care

Bill

[greyeaglem]

The fastest thing I know of is creamed tuna on toast. Take one can drained tuna and mix with 1/2 can mushroom soup and about two tablespoons milk. Zap in nuke 90 sec. while your bread is toasting. Butter your toast and voila! Hot meal in 90 sec. For those of you who are going get snooty about the mushroom soup, just remember, it's the duct tape of the kitchen.

[phatch]

Leftovers are the first line of defense. Most of my meals serve us twice.


Macaroni and cheese. As well as pastas of most sorts. In the time it takes to cook pasta, many different sauces can be made.

But in just a bit more time, I can make biscuits and sausage gravy from scratch.

The chef salad is perhaps one of the quickest.

If you're willing to consider canned goods, you can create an acceptable red flannel hash from two cans of corned beef hash and a can of shoe string beets. Some extra seasonings and maybe some eggs. Not the best version, but pretty good and very quick.

Similarly, some good canned black beans, some chicken stock, a little garlic and onion sweated in olive oil lemon juice and you're on your way to a black bean soup. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream. Not deeply nuanced in flavor but pleasant all the same.

Hummus with toasted pita. Canned goods help out here too.