need inspiration: whats your favorite quick go-to weeknight supper?
 

Ugh. I never know what to fix and I get tired of the same stuff over and over. We both work and we just want something quick we can put together at 6 pm and have to eat. We often eat frozen ravioli, or spaghetti, or make a Boboli pizza.

What do you throw together for a quick meal?

Know how you feel! Once a month or so I do up a batch of stuff to pop in for a quick dinner. Our fav are mini meatloafs, baked potato and steamed veggies or salad. I make a big batch of meatloaf and freeze them in mini loaf pans. Even bought the loaf style pan for this purpose. We have a vacume sealer so I bag them by 2 and its perfect for my "don't have the energy to do anything supper".

Burritos or rather Kind-of-burritos. Start with tortillas (flour or cornmeal) Use any left over cooked meat you have (or seafood), add raw or quickly sauted veges, left over rice or cubed cooked potatoes or canned beans, some sort of sauce you have in the fridge (like hot sauce, or a little creamy salad dressing or even some left over gravy). Roll the items up and put in a Pam sprayed baking dish then cover with a can of cream of mushroom or chicken soup, sprinkle whatever cheese you have on hand. Cover and bake in the oven for 20-ish minutes at about 350. Fast, easy, uses up bits and pieces from the fridge. Don't think of a burrito as just a Mexican food item, relegated to only traditional Mexican food items - think of it as a vehicle to a fast and fun meal. Perfect with a fresh green salad

I made green enchiladas tonight. Very easy to make and if you use canned chicken breast it's faster. I buy a frozen green chiles, corn tortillas, green chili sauce, shredded cheese and what ever chicken you prefer. I put the sauce in a shallow bowl I dip the corn tortillas in the sauce saturating them. I then take them and and line the bottom (ex: I use 6 on each layer for a 9x13in pan or 4 in a 8x8in pan). Mix cooked or canned chicken shredded in a bowl with green chiles. Top the layer of tortillas with chicken mixture then a layer of cheese. repeat 2 more times and bake at 350 till cheese is melted thru. All takes 1 hour or less. serve with veggies, salad

I like to make omelets. I'll scour my kitchen for leftovers and toss "whatever" into the omelet.

Oh ... to make ahead of time and freeze, then pop in the oven.

"Western Burgers"
Brown ground beef and drain fat. Add 1 small can of sliced black olives for every 1 lb of beef. For ever two lbs of ground beef cube 1 large "loaf" of Velveta cheese and stir cheese cubes and olives into the beef. Cook on low until the cheese is melted. Spoon beef mixture onto buns and wrap in foil. Freeze.

To re-heat, heat for 40 minutes at 250. Pair with a fresh veggie or salad and you have a meal!

Back when I used to work, husband and I barbequed chicken, ribs, etc., and froze them. Then when we got home we threw a potato in the micro open a can of something green , salad and viola, a good meal; I still make a big pot of vegetable soup or chili on week-end and put a lot in freezer. I made an angel food cake with caramel icing yesterday. always good. But we office in our home and 2 sons and a grandson work with us so I cook big meal every day at noon, so we always have left-overs.

this time of year we often stick something in the crock pot in the morning before heading out- when we come home the house smells so good and dinner is ready! we cook roasts, soups, chili, stew, today we did a pork roast in the crock pot while i sewed- they come out so very good!
we very seldom eat any frozen meals, or processed foods-
some of my favorite (1/2 an hour) meals--- lemon caper salmon with wild rice & fresh asparagus
parmesan chicken with spaghetti
shrimp or crab chef salads with french bread or garlic toast
tacos / burritos/ enchiladas/ jambalya

there are so many- we work long hours so are pretty good about getting home & putting together something that is easy clean up & fairly fast (1/2 hour to 45 minutes) we have a cupboard full of cook books- and browse them---finding new things to try- (friends call me an 'extreme cook') because i put together some pretty elaborate meals---but they are not difficult - too time consuming- or make too big of a mess- sit & look through some cook books- or browse the on line ones- you can put together some amazingly wonderful meals in 1/2 an hour that are good for you and really good :)

soup. 2carrots,3celery,1onion,any kind of meat(optional)6 bouillion cubes,chick peas 1 can,cover with water plus 2 inches salt and pepper, fresh basil or dried to taste, 1 can tomato paste and 1 can diced tomatoes. Cook 1/2 hr on medium heat.
You can top with grated or shredded cheese. It is good just by itself.

The crock pot suggestion above is great. We do one where we do a package of boneless/skinless thighs and/or breasts . Chop an onion and put it on the bottom of the crock pot, add the chicken pieces, cover with a can of cream of mushroom soup, and a light dash of dried dill (or fresh if available). Cook all day on low. That night shred the chicken right in the crock pot and serve either on kaiser type rolls or over rice. It will make a lot so depending on the size of your family you should get easily two meals out of it. The second night we generally mix the left overs with canned chicken broth and fresh veges for soup.

When I worked. before I went to work I would put a couple of chicken breasts in the crock pot along with a couple potatoes and some carrots and cover with golden mushroom soup and cook all day. When I got home from work supper was ready. After the clean up I could get right to the sewing room.

Cook once and eat thrice!!!
.... cook larger portions on the weekends, and re-create them for weekdays and nights!

I don't look at it as Leftovers .... rather Planned Overs. It doesn't meant that it's the same thing re-heated, but instead giving them a new life in different menu items.

Its just the 2 of us, so while I do crock pot meals we do have a bunch of leftovers. But I'm sick of the crock pot stuff we like too, lol.

I think we ought to look into more salads with shrimp or crab, that would be super quick and easy...

In a casserole dish put 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, covered in your fav frozen vegy, dump a can of Campbells Mushroom soup (mixed with a can of milk) ......... bake til done........ prep time about 4 min tops!!!!

Not an expert at doing ahead, but one thing I do is double the amount of bacon I would need. And freeze the remaining. I bake the bacon and not fry it, so cooking more is easier than on top of the stove. I also cook more ground beef than I need and freeze, you can take it out and use for a lot of recipes. I freeze leftover gravy, too. It freezes well.
Another thing if I have too many mashed potaotes, mix up my leftovers with an egg, sour cream, shredded cheese, ontions and freeze it for a side to a future meal. Just a few ideas.

With the bacon it is so handy for all of us, to take a couple of strips out and warm in the microwave for sandwiches and salads.

One of our favourite go-to quickies is sloppy joes, done the way my mother in law made them. Brown 1 pound of ground beef, drain fat, add a chopped onion and cook until soft, you can add some celery too if you like. Pour in 1 can of Chicken Gumbo soup (no water), 1/2 cup of chili sauce (or salsa if you want a bit of heat), 1 TBSP mustard. Heat through and serve on buns with potato chips and pickles on the side. This has been my DH's favourite since he was a kid and I like it too, so do my boys.

Buy a crock pot and work your way through the cookbook. You'll never eat frozen again.

I always buy ground beef on sale. Then I cook it up when I get home, (you could do this on a weekend day), adding in garlic, onions and seasoning. I drain the fat and freeze, (I use freezer bags - quart size - and pat flat), when I need something quick I take one of these out of the freezer and make it into, chili, hamburger stroganoff, taco salad, sloppy joes, you get the picture, this way, the hardest work is already done.

Quick suppers
 

I sometimes make hot weinies and potato salad, or chicken and rice casserole for a Rice A Roni mix and instant potatoes. I make small pans of lasagna and freeze them.

I have a Tupperware microwave steamer - I put some dried herbes - I like a premixed herb du province, and season some chicken breasts. They cook 6 minutes per lb, and I cook some green veggies while the microwave is going. I'm really tired of this, but it's quite easy and I'm blessed with a husband who doesn't complain.

HOWEVER, one of his favorite dishes is called Chicken Correleone. In olive oil, saute sliced mushrooms, onions and garlic, even sliced tomatoes. Add Italian seasoning while it's cooking, and also add some white wine. Cover and let the flavors blend. Cook the boneless skinless chicken breasts in a George Foreman grill or in the aforementioned steamer, lay on a bed of rice or pasta, and spoon the vegetables on top. Mmmm....yummy! Don't forget the garlic bread!

I usually buy my hamburger in the "large" package. 8 to 10 lbs. I fry it, drain, rinse with water (to get most of the grease off) Then I freeze it in small freezer bags. It is ready to throw into chili beans, spaghetti, veggie soup, etc.
We like stuffed green peppers. So when they are on sale, I buy several, mix the hamburger with Spanish rice, steam the cleaned 1/2 shell peppers, then stuff with the hamburger/rice mixture, cover with tomato sauce, or a can of petite tomato bits and bake. 350 degrees about an hour. We have a great supper that night, and I freeze the leftovers. Easy to pull out 2 and heat in the micro wave. I have chopped these up after they are hot and put in the tortilla wrap.

Spag bol/ mac cheese/liver-bacon/sm haddock-poached egg-colcannon/sausage and mash-----all fairly quick and easy, but h/made soups made before can last 2-3 days served with crusty bread ,all fresh stuff ; cabbage soup/minestrone /celery stilton etc etc all nourishing and filling ,I don't believe in pkt/frozen/tins.

What is colcannon and what is in sausage and mash?

Tonight I am making Spanish rice from a box (the kind that uses a can of tomatoes) and adding chicken smoked sausage, paired with a spinach salad. High in salt but at least we are eating cooked tomatoes and spinach too.

Grilled sausages with mashed spuds and side salad. Vary the spuds by mashing in leek fried in butter or a generous dollop of whole grain mustard.

And now I'm laughing because I have just noticed I have put the same suggestion as Mayday. Good English grub, nice and easy and filling.

Colcannon is an Irish version of the same theme, cabbage mashed in with spuds, generally served with cooked ham or bacon.

Make sure there is plenty of salted butter mashed in with the spuds.

Then try swede mashed in with the spuds. Or a combination of mashed parsnips and carrots browned off in the oven or under the grill. All very easy and filling comfort food for winter.

A great easy soup is either a can of chicken breasts or even better is left roasted chicken the pre cooked ones from the grocery store. Add a can of corn, a can of beans, a van of rotel tomatoes. Do not drain any of the vegetables. Add some SW seasoning and let simmer for 15 minutes. Throw in a bowl with some tortilla chips and top with cheese.

Brown 1 lb. ground beef, add 1 packet Lipton dry onion soup mix and 1 can Campbells cream of mushroom soup. Mix well and simmer until heated through. Serve on hamburger buns. Add a salad and microwave baked potato. My family loves this. It is a quick and yummy meal.

Quiche ~ Beat your eggs, add frozen brocc (rinse in warm water and drain well), onion, mushroom, salt/pepper, cheese(shredded),can add bacon bits, sausage, etc, spray pan, preheat oven bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes. You can also use this recipe and put it in a crust if desired.

Buy a George Foreman grill with removable plates. Our family cooks on it almost every night. We have 2 chicken nites, 2 red meat nights, and 2 fish nights each week. Nothing takes more than 12 minutes to cook. While meat is grilling, heat up some frozen veggies, butter and toast some bread in the toaster oven, make rice or instant mash potatoes, cut up some fruit. In less than 20 minutes you can have a great healthy meal. Clean up with the removable grates is very easy. The hubby loves to grill and I do the other stuff. Great time to unwind and chat before dinner.

Here's my fav... I take the pre-cooked frozen grilled chicken breasts (breaded ones work well too). Then, get Hunt's diced tomatoes with the green pepper, onion and celery in it, the bag of mozzerella cheese and protein enriched angel hair pasta with frozen steamed veggies or side salad.

Heat everything up according to the packages, put the pasta on the plate with the sauce then cheese on top, put the chicken breast on the plate, then sauce and cheese - veggies and it looks like/tastes like you spent a long time on it, but I go from walking in the door to dinner on the table in 20min. : D. Enjoy.

Make on the weekend and reheat the night you want it
Chicken pot pie
1 box refrigerated pie crust {found in the sectionwhere butter, cheese etc is}
1 small can green beans drained
1 small can kernel corn drained
8 oz sour cream
1/2 can onion rings.
2 or 3 chicken breast cooked and cut up in bite size pieces
mix altogether in a bowl
pour into pie crust in a deep dish
layer the 2nd crust on top
bake at 350 for abt 40 min. maybe 50 min.
let it cool before cutting into pie wedges
i also season it with poultry seasonig while boiling or baking the chicken, and add more to the mixture before putitng it in the pie shell.

We like salmon croquettes: Flake a can of salmon, removing bones and excess skin; add 1 egg, crushed saltine crackers and seasonings (salt, pepper, dill, onions, etc.). Mix, form into patties and fry in olive oil until crispy and brown. Heat a couple of cans of veggies (or use frozen) and dinner is ready. We usually have enough for lunch leftovers the following day.

I love eggs and toast at night. Eggs anyway with sausage, toast and sometime gravy. Delicious Also something inthe crock pot and you get left overs for other nights. Roast with carrots, potatoes and onions. Soups, stews, ribs, the possibilities are endless.

This is one of our favorites too! It works with pork chops and round steak as well.
Sometimes I omit the veggies, stir in a bit of sour cream while i cook noodles and make it into a stroganoff.

I also cook with planned leftovers in mind. Easy to do cause i'm still in the "cook for everyone" mode even though it's just two of us.

Hello Beth from Beth
This recipe is wonderful and easy.
Spicy Enchilada Chicken Soup

3- Cooked Chicken Breast (Cubed)
1 can Campbell’s cheddar cheese soup
1 can Campbell’s Cream of chicken soup
2 cans green chili enchilada sauce
1 soup can of milk
2 can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can black beans (drained and washed)
1 bag plain of the round tortilla chips
Shredded cheddar cheese.

Cubes cooked chicken… place in sauce pan add all other ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes serve hot

Pour soup into individual bowls over tortilla chips and top with shredded cheddar cheese
Enjoy.

Corn Chowder Excellent

8 Large Potatoes (Peeled and Cubed)
2 Cans of Swanson chicken broth
1 Large onion, chopped
1/4 Cup Margarine
2 Cans (14-3/4) Cream Style Corn
8 oz Real Bacon Bits or 6 strips of bacon cooked crisp
Crumble and plce in soup.
2 Cups of Milk
1 -16oz. Colby cheese more or less depending on your taste

Place potatoes in a large cook ware; cover potatoes with chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until potatoes are tender. (Do not drain potatoes.) I mashed my potatoes but left a few in cubes. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute onion in margarine until tender. Stir in corn and bacon bits; heat through. Add corn, colby cheese, and milk to potatoes and stir till cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
Yield: 12-14 servings.

Tonight we are having Salsa chicken. I put frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot this morning and dumped a jar of salsa over them. Cooked them on low all day. When I got home, I started some rice in the rice cooker. In just a few minutes we will have a scrumptious dinner. I also make Swiss steak with a chuck steak and several cans of diced tomatoes. Serve that over rice, also. Yum Yum!!