The Way We Eat When Busy

So, after five years of being in school and married (aka, living without a meal plan), I have developed a list of quick and fast meals. Initially, we ate stir fry EVERY DAY for lunch since I could make it, eat it, and clean up from it in the 40 minutes or so we had before returning to class (assuming the rice was ready). Since then, the list has expanded a bit to include other good, albeit not gourmet, quick meals. I've been revieweing the master list as I start thinking about freezing food to have on hand after the baby comes, so I thought I would share a few of our most used meal recipes. Everyone is busy at some time or another, right? Fair warning: these are still one step up from "I have NO time," (which around here produces cereal, bread and fruit, or a frozen pizza). The following do require a little bit of prep work or a stop at the store on the way home, but then they allow for very quick lunch or dinner prep & cooking time. I generally start with one cooking day where I boil chicken and boil rice (up to 1 hr cooking time) while cooking a pot roast (3hr total), which then provides an inventory for future meals.

Start with: NOTHING PREMADE and a not-so-well stocked pantry. Let's face it...empty fridges exist and cooking prep days sometimes don't. Quick and not-so-fast-food options resulting from a five minute run through the grocery store are:

Rotisserie chicken and a bag of salad or bread for sandwiches. This usually leaves leftovers...yum.
Pita bread or french bread, tomato sauce, a bag of shredded cheese, oregano, and a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes or so...pita pizzas.
Spaghetti, the old standby.
Vegetable alfredo pasta. 1 box of any kind of pasta, a few boiled vegetables, and a can of alfredo sauce. Frozen garlic bread cooked in the toaster oven (5 min) adds alot. Again, make alot and have leftovers.
Bacon, eggs, toast, pancakes, omelettes, waffles...any combination of breakfast food.
BLT or grilled cheese sandwiches.
Quesadillas (tortillas, mont.jack cheese, tomato/onion/zucchini/whatever), on baking sheet, top rack of oven on 400, approx 5 minutes.
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Start with: FROZEN SHREDDED CHICKEN. Boil/simmer chicken breasts and thighs, if you like dark meat, with skin in a pot with lots of salt and a bay leaf or two. Generally, the water level should just cover the chicken if you are trying to gague the right amount for flavorful broth later). Once chicken is cooked through - 30-45 minutes- discard skin, debone, and chop or shred into little pieces. Freeze in portions of approx. one breast or two thighs...otherwise you have to make ALOT of food when you pull it out. Save the broth in a separate container. (Defrost both as needed by moving servings to the fridge the night before use or using the "quick defrost" microwave setting). If not adding the chicken to a recipe with some sort of sauce or juice, I usually brown it (3 minutes, tiny bit of oil in skillet) for better flavor. You could start with a plain rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and chop and freeze it...

Makes:
Chicken noodle soup or stew or broth for some other soup of choice. Defrost broth, boil noodles and carrots and whatever else you want, throw in some shredded chicken.

Mexican chip dip. Defrost 1 serving chk. In a pot mix with 1 can cream of chk soup, 2 cans of drained beans (great northern are good), 1 can rotels tomatoes, 1 small can of corn/1c frozen corn. Rice will stretch it a bit farther. Stir all until hot (10 minutes) and serve with tortilla chips. Svs 2-3

Tacos or Cuban hash. Defrost chicken and throw in skillet with chopped onions. Season with lime juice and stir until browned. Serve with a side of black beans or corn. Eat in warmed tortillas with any toppings you like or with rice. Stir rice right into pan with chk and onions for best flavor...and then I add the corn to the pan, too.

Chicken salad. Mix with mayo of choice and whatever you have on hand - grapes, nuts, etc. Basil is a good addition. Eat with crackers or on bread.

Chicken on salad. Defrost and brown in skillet...eat over salad.

Barbecued chicken sandwiches. Defrost, mix with BBQ sauce on stovetop (fastest) or mix and set in hot oven for 20-30 minutes (tastes better). Serve with rolls/bread.

White chicken chili (cheater version). 1 serving chicken, 2 cans beans (1 drained, 1with juice), 1 can stewed tomatoes (or fresh chopped tomatoes) or 1 can/cup corn, 1 package McCormick White Chicken Chili, 1 c water. Mix all in pot, simmer 10 minutes.

Chicken Pita Sandwiches. Stuff pita with chicken, spinach/lettuce, tomato, avocado, green pepper, black beans (cooked, obviously). Sprinkle with lime juice before eating.

Chicken alfredo pasta. Defrost chicken and brown. Boil vegetable(s) (zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus...etc), boil pasta. Mix all with alfredo sauce of choice.

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Start with: SLOW ROASTED BEEF. 325 degree oven, combine chuck or rump roast of any size with 2c water and 1-2c broth (beef or vegetable) and 1-2 onions, chopped. Once cooked, I usually serve pot roast for dinner and shred the remaining beef to put in the freezer. Pour liquid over the beef before freezing so you have some broth to work with once defrosted. Again, store in small portions. If you defrost the beef and it looks dry, use canned beef broth or a tomato and water broth to moisten it.

Makes:

Pot roast. Cook three hours with vegetables. Combine broth with a few scoops of cream of mushroom soup on stovetop over low heat; scoop out 1/2c or more of mixture and mix with flour, then slowly stir back into pot to thicken gravy. Repeat with flour until gravy is desired thickness.

Beef stew. Chop beef and vegetables and mix into broth (with or without mushroom soup). Add barley or rice to stretch it. If not just using leftover pot roast, I like to add rutabaga alongside the potatoes and carrots while roasting the beef. Freezes well.

Shredded beef sandwiches. Defrost meat. Brown beef in skillet (can add worsteshire sauce or some dry wine for flavor). Make up a bit of gravy or juice for dipping and eat on rolls or bread or over egg noodles.

Tacos. See above...throw some cumin in with it while browning

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Of course, you can make casseroles, soups, and other meals (borracho beans!)as well to just heat and eat...I just find that on average, these two starter meals- chicken and beef- go the farthest and offer the greatest diversity through the week, so that on Thursday I'm not thinking "I DON'T want this soup ever again. Ever." Having meat ready to go after just a few minutes in the microwave makes it more likely we'll eat one of these variations of a "Real Meal" rather than eating cereal or apples and peanut butter...which does happen often enough anyway. Feel free to post your recipes as well...it's nice to change it up sometimes.