Friday, January 3, 2014

quick meal ideas

i don't know about y'all, but i think having an arsenal of quick-to-make meals can be a lifesaver.

i'm lucky to have a husband who currently cooks 90% of our meals, but if i happen to forget to buy an ingredient, or it's the weekend and we don't have a set meal plan, i am always thankful for a familiar meal that takes less than 30 minutes to make.

here are a few of my favorites:


  • breakfast for dinner: we always have eggs, grits, and pancake mix in the house. we also typically have bacon, so we can have a good breakfast made in about 15 minutes.

    even though my mom is probably disappointed by this, i make only instant grits. i actually don't think i've ever made "real" grits. oh well, these taste good to me! i love the cheese flavored kind from quaker.

    as for pancakes, we always have one of the "complete"/just add water mixes in the pantry. i try to always buy whole wheat if it's available. whole wheat mixes are becoming more and more common, so these are increasingly easy to find!





  • almond butter & banana sandwiches: i know a lot of people enjoy peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but if you've never tried it, i highly recommend subbing in almond butter instead. i buy the crunchy version, and it is too good for words with some ripe bananas and a little honey.


  • black bean burgers/frozen veggies: i don't eat frozen burgers very often, but i am always so thankful i have them in a pinch. i eat these mostly when michael isn't home, or for lunch at work. in fact,  just this week i didn't have leftovers for lunch so i took a black bean burger, stuck it in the freezer at work, and warmed it up for a minute and a half. voila! instant lunch.

    frozen vegetables are also used all the time in our house. we typically do all of our grocery shopping on the weekends, so depending on the quality of the fresh produce in the store, it might go bad by friday. we always have a few bags of veggies in the freezer so we don't miss our veggie side with dinner. a few favorites: brussels sprouts, broccoli, and the standard target "italian blend".



  • spaghetti: spaghetti might be michael's favorite meal we ever make. if not his favorite, it's in his top 5. we always have some sort of whole wheat pasta on hand, and 9 times out of 10 it's spaghetti or angel hair. i also try to keep an extra jar of pasta sauce in the pantry (or make your own! see this post for my take on gwenyth paltrow's simple tomato sauce). i prefer my spaghetti with ground beef/turkey and mushrooms, but even if we don't have either of those on hand, noodles with sauce will always work. pair it with a veggie side and you have a meal!

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