Time saving, simple meal ideas - do you have any?
By Wendy
@jerzgirl (9384)
United States
May 4, 2009 2:29pm CST
Haven't we all had times where we had to pull a meal out of nowhere that was more than deli sandwiches or bacon and eggs? Or where we just didn't feel like cooking, but still needed to?
Well, I have a couple that I've used through the years that I still enjoy - sometimes on purpose.
Do you like meat pie (sometimes called potpie)? But, you just don't have time or energy to be cutting up meat and veggies to make the stew to put in the pie?
Then, if you have a large can of beef stew on hand and a couple frozen deep dish pie shells, you've got your meal! Pour the stew in one shell and use the other shell to top it off. Serve with salad or apple sauce or whatever simple side you want. This is also a good way to use leftover beef stew if you don't want to have it twice. Freeze it or bake it (350 degrees for 45 min to an hour).
Do you have chicken broth and tortillas? Then you have the makings of southern style chicken and dumplings. Use a pizza cutter to cut the tortillas into strips, shake them with some flour, and drop the strips in the boiling chicken broth until they cook through and the broth thickens. You can add leftover chicken, torn into pieces, to the broth as it cooks, if you want.
Leftover meatloaf? Then you can either slice it and reheat in a pan with a few sides of your choice or you can make open-faced meatloaf sandwiches and top them with gravy with a side of ready-made mashed potatoes. Cold meatloaf sandwiches are always good, I think.
Leftover roast beef? Or even leftover steak? Not enough for another meal but too much to toss? Grind it up in a food processor or grinder and add it to spaghetti sauce for a wonderful, meaty faux bolognese. The flavored roast will add to the sauce flavors.
Leftover ham can be ground up and mixed with pickle relish and mayo (maybe a touch of vinegar) for a nice ham salad for sandwiches.
So, how do you save time and energy in cooking? Share your ideas with us.
3 responses
@dreamweaverjan (3471)
• United States
9 May 09
Hey ya Girlfriend: I'm trying to catch up some posts here (G)!
what was it I used to nick name you in our emails?? oh yeah duh!
WENDY CROCKER...LOL!
Did you ever write up
on one of the writing sites this idea like this post and the emails you used to send me about recipes and quick short cut versions??
I'm so behind in everything anymore....
Great ideas there
@jerzgirl (9384)
• United States
9 May 09
Hey, there. Welcome back. No - not this one, I didn't put anywhere else. I only did the one on the different kinds of milk gravy on RS. And, don't you know that the same method is used to make cheese sauce??? DANG!!! I could have put that there!!! Unbelievable!!!
@marguicha (230334)
• Chile
5 May 09
I always cook from scratch so what I do is to soak the whole package of beans or lentils. It´s easy as I put them to soak in warm water and then use the presure cooker. I freeze them and take them out as needed. With lentils I just have to fry some minced onion and spices and add cooked rice.
@jerzgirl (9384)
• United States
5 May 09
I'm not a fan of lentils, but they're so tiny, they don't take as long to cook as other beans. I've had them in Indian cuisine and don't like them at all. But, what spices do you add to yours? Do you cook with black beans as well? I know black beans are very popular in Venezuela - are they used as often in Chili?
@derlilaStern (1756)
• United States
4 May 09
I never would have thought of the beef stew into the pie shell! That is a great idea!
One of my favorites for leftover pot roast: Keep the juice from the crock pot. When you are ready for your quick and easy meal, dump the juice into a sauce pan. Cook some egg noodles in the juice. Add some of the leftover meat. It is a super easy beef and noodles! Its almost like stroganoff, but with juice instead of gravy.
We will often use leftover chicken to make a chicken caesar salad. Quick and easy with hardly any clean up!
Any leftover meat and veggies can also be frozen to use in your next soup! No waste and a delicious soup when the time is right!
@jerzgirl (9384)
• United States
4 May 09
I like the beef and noodles idea. My problem is that I use the broth in the crock to make the gravy for the meat. I've also let the meat cook until it falls apart and shredded it in the broth for some really nice roast beef sandwiches. Great flavor when you've used onion soup mix.




