A quick and easy (and very flexible) "pantry" meal to try - tell us yours!

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Some people call this goulash, some use it as a base for Shepherd's Pie (American style) and some call it hamburger stew. But, regardless of its name, it throws together quickly and is pretty darned good. But - before I share it with you, I'm going to initiate the discussion. Someone recently asked a similar question, but I'll add a twist (I hope). If you were to go to your pantry, fridge and/or freezer right now, what kind of meal could you put together in under an hour that could be used in more than one way? You know - something you like, but if you serve it the same way all the time, it will get old and boring. Tell us about it, please? There are lots of us who could use new ideas!! Now, here's my meal: [i]1 lb of ground beef (beef mince) - this could also be ground turkey, chicken, pork or vegan meat 1 14.5 oz (411 grams) can mixed vegetables without potatoes 1 pkg of dry beef gravy mix (or chicken, turkey, pork or a vegetarian variety) diced raw onion, quantity to your taste (my mother is "reactive", so I keep it minimal) Brown the meat with the onion, season according to your tastes (I used Adobo seasoning, plus salt and pepper), then add the mixed vegetables. Sprinkle the gravy mix over the top and stir all together until blended well. Add the required water (per gravy mix) minus the amount of juice that was in the vegetables. If you forget, it's fixable. Stir it all together until it thickens to the right consistency. If it's too thin, mix some flour and water together until they look like heavy cream and pour enough of that in to thicken the gravy.[/i] While all of this is going on, I also made Rice-a-Roni. I used beef flavor, but you can use whatever flavor matches your meal. While the rice was simmering to fully cook, I was finishing up the "stew" and making sure it was thick enough to enjoy. Now - here's how I can switch it up. I can put that same stew in the bottom of a baking dish and top it with mashed potatoes (can be instant for this exercise) and stick it in the oven to heat through and brown the top. I can put it in a thawed pie crust and top it with the other crust for a quick and easy meat pie (in the oven at 350F for 45 minutes to an hour). I can serve it over biscuits or leave it a bit thin and drop dumplings into it, put a lid on and cook the dumplings through. I could add an 8 oz can of sliced mushrooms and a little sour cream and serve it over buttered noodles (a take off stroganoff - although, personally, I'd leave out the mushrooms, but use mushroom gravy). So, again - what can you put together out of YOUR pantry today that could also be served in other ways to keep it from being boring??? Tell me all about it.