Really Fast Dinners

[snowangel]

Steak.

And a baguette with cold butter.

What could be faster?

Faster yet if the steak is leftover and eaten with one's hands in front of the fridge. I always make more steak than we can eat in one sitting.

[steverino]

"Breakfast for Dinner"

French toast. Saute some Krakus boiled ham lunchmeat with it. Or salami.

Omelettes - good with almost anything in the fridge thrown in.

[NVNVGirl]

Angel hair with chopped tomatoes, garlic , basil and EVOO.

Like Katie Loeb I make tons of pesto and freeze it along with grapefruit juice that I use for vinaigrettes. Use the pesto for lots of stuff....pesto butter, put on boboli, on pasta, frozen ravs

I make and can chutneys, sauces and relishes....they come in handy when you just dont' want to do anything

Mrs. T's Pierogies....with sauteed onions and garlic

And when I'm REALLY desparate.....tuna and noodle casserole (well, not even casserole...just boiled noodles, albacore tuna and a can of mushroom soup mixed up together....yeah, I know most people destest it, but I love it

[tanabutler]

If it were low blood sugar motivating me, I'd whip up some eggs and toast. By the time the toast has popped, the eggs are ready (scrambled with cheese or over-mediYUM).

If I have a bit more time, a salad with hard-boiled eggs (which I keep on hand), cheese, meat and sprouts/tomatoes/grated carrots piled up is good.

A "leisurely" quick meal would involve frozen pasta (artichoke tortelloni, e.g.) with some quick-sautéed garlic, tomatoes and herbs in EVOO, or just unsalted butter and herbs with salt/pepper.

There has to be protein or my blood sugar will bottom out again, and you do not want to meet my Evil Twin.

[FoodZealot]

Steak.

When I saw this, I could hear the collective sound of eGer's across the globe smacking their foreheads along with me. A thread killer, as far as I'm concerned.

Steak is good steak.

~Tad

[bilrus]

Last night I made fresh pasta with my new pasta roller attachments (granted not fast, but I froze a batch for later use).

I then tossed it in browned butter with some fresh sage, salt and pepper and a little grated Parm. Very good and took about five minutes from fridge to plate.

[mixmaster b]

mmm...fresh pasta...

Okay, so you will all be very proud of me. Last night, pan-grilled a decent piece of tuna til med rare, made a quick lemon compote (thin sliced 1 lemon, boiled with a bit of water, tots of sugar, lots of salt,removed from heat, added a clove of minced garlic and the pulp and juice from another lemon), heated up some white beans (made by the SO over the weekend) with some thyme, sautéed a big bunch of broccoli raab with garlic and red pepper flakes. Damned good, under 20 minutes.

And I had the sense to grill extra tuna, which will go into some sort of salad or maybe a pasta dish tonight.

[Rebel Rose]

What are your favorite 10-minute meals? What do you like to make when you're too tired/broke/bored/busy to really cook?

We like frittatas, especially during crush when we're working 16-hour days and sometimes aren't done cleaning the press until 2 am. Scramble some eggs, throw in whatever we have from the garden or vegetable crisper, pour it all in a round non-stick pan, sprinkle with cheese, and bake until the middle is set and the edges are crispy. Voila!

Please suggest your favorite fast dishes that use only fresh ingredients, healthy staples like pasta, beans, etc., and maybe one din-in-a-tin food. For instance, I made a salad yesterday with mixed greens from a bag, fresh arugula, tomatoes, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and topped it with crab from one of those cool foil packets. Very handy.

[jgm]

If it's gotta be fast, it's either hard or soft boiled eggs with butter, salt and pepper, accompanied by buttered toast.

Another favorite is spaghetti with butter and parmesan. (Yes, you do detect a trend here.)

Oh, wait, you said healthy!

Ease up on the butter a bit. The pasta can be done with olive oil.

[Smithy]

Our 10-minute meals are called "leftovers" or "cheese sandwiches".

The fastest thing we can do is pasta, tossed with sun-dried tomato pesto (a household staple), olives, some sauteed red peppers and mushrooms if we have them, and garlic (of course). This dish can also have chicken if it's handy and we feel like taking the time to saute it, but the meat isn't really necessary to this dish. The dish so far sounds quite healthful, doesn't it? So then I must confess that often, having taken it that far, I'll build an Alfredo sauce around it all. So much for low-cal.

Somewhat less quick, but easy and cheap, is chicken pilaf. Saute cubed chicken, add garlic and let it cook slightly, add rice to brown, then add broth and seasonings. Half an hour later, chicken pilaf is to be had.

Quick but not necessarily cheap: saute salmon filets, deglaze with lemon juice and wine, build a mustard and garlic sauce around it. This works with other fish too, and just depends on who gets to pick the fish. The salad can be built while the sauce is reducing.

[Paris M]

One of two options for the super-fast supper - omelette with whatever is on hand or a slice of whole grain bread smeared with butter or a soft blue cheese with a side of fruit and coffee.

[iheartoffal]

At work sometimes I'll just throw a whole bunch of veggies in a sautee pan with some chicken stock and seasonings (no oil or butter), cover it, and let it steam for a few minutes and serve it with a piece of grilled chicken. Simple, quick, healthy, and tasty!

[ghostrider]

If it's gotta be fast, it's either hard or soft boiled eggs with butter, salt and pepper, accompanied by buttered toast. 

Another favorite is spaghetti with butter and parmesan.  (Yes, you do detect a trend here.)

Oh, wait, you said healthy! 

Ease up on the butter a bit.  The pasta can be done with olive oil.

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I do spaghetti (or other pasta) con aglio e olio all the time, with a healthy dose of fresh Italian parsley to add color, a bit of flavor, and a systemic counter-agent for the heavy garlic aroma.

[carswell]

Stir-fried rice, usually in it's purest form: rice, egg and green onion.

Insalata di tonno e fagioli: 1 can white kidney beans, drained; 1 can tuna packed in olive oil, drained; 1/2 bermuda onion sliced thin; extra virgin olive oil; red wine vinegar; freshly ground pepper. Sub home-cooked beans and/or leftover grilled tuna if you've got any; soak the onion in several changes of water if you've got time.

Salade canaille: salad made with whatever's in the fridge (lettuce, crudités, olives, cooked potatoes, leftover meat/fish, cheese, etc.).

Arugula salad dressed with EVOO and lemon juice, topped with black olives, parmesan shavings and crispy broiled pancetta.

Salad of baby spinach, green peas and goat milk feta dressed with EVOO and lemon juice.

Any number of pasta dishes, though most take 12-15 minutes...

[Ari]

Couscous is so quick - I boil the appropriate amount of stock, stir in whatever vegetables I have on hand until they're tender-crisp, then pour in the couscous, give it a stir, put the lid on the pot, and set it aside for 5 minutes while the couscous absorbs the water. You could also add meat or seafood. Sometimes I saute garlic, onions, ginger, or whatever else sounds good before I add the stock. It ain't pretty, but it's quick and does the job.

Variations on miso soup (with vegetables, tofu, pasta, or whatever else you want to add) are another standard meal-in-a-bowl for rushed evenings at my house.

[Rebel Rose]

We love pasta, too, jgm. My favorite is penne, and when I'm really, really tired all I can eat is plain penne with butter and Parmesan--maybe a little garlic and tomato. We generally avoid eating lots of carbs, especially potatoes and flour products, but when I'm exhausted I crave starch. And with a growing teenager in the house we have to have some carbalicious foods around. There's also the fact that pasta is just so quick, and it doesn't need to be the whole meal.

From my cookbook:

Pasta is a staple in our household.  How can you not have a whole shelf devoted to good semolina pasta?  It’s quick and easy, can be topped with anything, packed in a tub for the kids’ school lunch, makes an instant midnight snack, doesn’t smash the other groceries in your bag, doesn’t have an expiration date, and is really, really cheap.

We also make bruschetta on a regular basis, especially when I have no idea what to make for dinner. I'll just start warming some olive oil and garlic and chopping vegetables.

We call this freeform version of garlic-infused olive oil “bruschetta” (pronounced broos-ket-ta) only because we don’t know of any other Italian term that really describes it.  Traditionally, bruschetta is an olive oil, tomato, and garlic condiment served on slices of toasted baguette.  We’ve taken it beyond the traditional parameters by throwing in whatever our garden gods bestow upon us—broccoli, yellow fingerling squash, tomatoes, asparagus and herbs. 

The beauty of this combination, aside from crisper-raiding possibilities, is rich aroma, colorful presentation, and versatility.  Basically, you’re just sautéing vegetables in olive oil and garlic.  Bruschetta can be served over meat, potatoes, pasta, eggs or even toast. 

Tortillas are another household staple, especially since we have a perpetually hungry yet hypoglycemic teenager. Beans, cheese, eggs, tomatoes, whatever--roll it up in a tortilla and microwave it for 40 seconds and you've got a healthy, filling snack. Even a warm tortilla with a little butter and salt is good. I like mine with just butter, salt and tomatoes. We never buy corn dogs, tater tots, frozen Mexican foods, etc. Aside from all the junk in that type of processed food, we'd go broke feeding him.

[munchymom]

My go-to for a fast meal is hummus - it takes about 5 minutes to whip up in the food processor, another 5 to slice some tomatoes and cucumbers, and set out with some bread, olives and feta cheese. Fritattas and omelets are great too.

[Jake]

Any type of salad and fish (or any other protein) on the grill. Quick, easy and healthy. Hummos and accompaniments as munchymom suggests is a frequent quick meal as well. So is edamame and miso or noodle soup.

[Milagai]

sundal (sauteed chickpea snack, south indian)

quick pasta

tacos (with veggie filling it is very quick and easy)

milagai

[rancho_gordo]

On many Sundays, I boil a chicken. I cut it into pieces (I can do this in my sleep now) and remove the skin.

1. The skin goes on a cookie tray and is baked at 250 until the fat has rendered out and the skin is cripsy. This can take hours. These go in salads and tacos, etc.

2. The chicken pieces, sans back (which goes into the freezer with other backs until I have 4 or so to make stock) go into a stock pot with onion and garlic and simmer until done. I eat the liver as cook's reward. Remove the pieces as they are cooked, obviously the breast first and so on. While this is happening, i'd also make beans so you have those for the week as well.

3. The liquid is strained and refridgerated and the pieces are cooled.

4. Now throughout the week, you can shred some of the chicken and fry it in the rendered chicken fat, add some dry cheese and salsa and make a great taco. You can add it to a sauce, you can add it to a salad. One chicken goes a long way.

5. The chicken stock (defatted and maybe reduced a bit) is the basis for a lot of soups and sauces. Extra gets frozen. Soup with 1/3 stock, 1/3 pureed tomatoes and 1/3 Rancho Gordo brand Heirloom Beans (sorry! Any beans will do!) plus seasonings takes minutes and is v. good!

This may sound like a lot of work but my point is a little prep (and not much) one night a week can make the rest of the week a snap. Chicken and Mexican is easy for me but maybe there's some clever variation on a pot roast or pork loin.

Is it healthy? The fat and skin might need to be monitored but it's all real food and I don't think a healthy person should worry too much about eating real food. But I have no science background to prove it.

[Tess]

Tofu, quickly pressed, pan-fried with available vegetables and soy-based sauce. Fish is even better but I always have some tofu around.

If you don't mind eating leftovers, you can do a lot by cooking extra. I have a lot of meals based on leftover baked potatoes )and skins of same-- someone in this house doesn't eat the skins). Also, when we roast corn on the cob I make a lot extra. Stuff like that. I put the potatoes or whatever else in a dish with other vegetables and top with some cheese or cut-up meat and herbs and either dress like a salad or run under the broiler.

Edited April 20, 2005 by Tess (log)

[Rebel Rose]

1. The skin goes on a cookie tray and is baked at 250 until the fat has rendered out and the skin is cripsy. This can take hours. These go in salads and tacos, etc.

Sinful. I love crispy skin. I've never thought about making it specifically for salads!

I'd forgotten about couscous and miso. I used to buy them more often when I was single--good for making quick, one-person meals.

And I heartily endorse making lots of vegetables. We usually barely steam them, so they're still bright and crunchy, which makes them more pleasant as leftovers. Say no to soggy vegies. Lunch was leftover broccoli with diced red and yellow peppers, warmed in the microwave and sprinkled heavily with sesame oil and sesame seeds. Served in a pretty bowl with chopsticks.

[JAZ]

I have a double-burner sized stovetop grill pan, and many nights I'll throw one or two boned chicken thighs (or fish) on one side and some vegetables on the other. I'll make a sauce if I feel like it, or wrap it all in a tortilla with some salsa.

[SuzySushi]

Salad -- mixed greens, baby lettuce, or baby spinach; other veggies in my fridge (cherry tomatoes or sliced tomatoes, sliced Japanese cucumber, carrots, sugar snap peas, etc); herbs (cilantro, basil, dill, as available from my fridge); top with cooked shrimp (I always have a bag of fully cooked, peeled tiger shrimp in the freezer), leftover meat or poultry, and/or cubes of cheese; sprinkle with dried cranberries; dress with bottled salad dressing.

Grilled, baked, or microwaved salmon. I buy a whole salmon fillet when it's on sale, cut it into serving-size portions, and freeze. If I'm cooking it in the microwave, it doesn't even need to be defrosted first -- cook on 70% power.

Grilled, sauteed, or microwaved chicken tenders (fresh or frozen).

Quick side dishes: couscous, orzo pilaf (saute in butter or olive oil, then add chicken broth to cover by about 1", simmer covered and do not drain), or kasha. I often cook extra rice and freeze it in individual portions, then reheat in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes per -- it doesn't have the fragrance of freshly cooked rice but is good in a pinch.

Southwest salad -- combine canned black beans (rinsed), canned corn or white or yellow hominey (rinsed), and canned diced tomatoes (drained) with some fresh cilantro and a vinaigrette dressing. Add chiles as desired.

[rancho_gordo]

Southwest salad -- combine canned black beans (rinsed), canned corn or white or yellow hominey (rinsed), and canned diced tomatoes (drained) with some fresh cilantro and a vinaigrette dressing. Add chiles as desired.

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Do you say these things to hurt me?????

Oh, right! This is a fast food thread.

Actaully that sounds very good.

An alternative, requiring a little bit of forethought, is to have the beans and hominy previously made and frozen. A little more hassle but justified by the superior flavor and texture over canned.