How many times have you found yourself in this predicament? You've been engrossed for hours - either working or catching up in Facebook or making entries into your latest blog page (Uh-hem.) What do you do? Order pizza? How many times can you do
THAT in a month? Make dinner reservations? Nice alternative if your budget and points tracker allow that. Sometimes you just have to pull it together with what you've got on hand for ingredients and time. Here we list our best "Last Minute Suppertime Solutions." This list will keep growing so bookmark it and check back in again often.
P.S. - I'm now keeping this list in my purse - so if I'm out driving when this 4 o'clock "OMG thing" hits, I can make a quick market stop if need be.
Ideas by "In Search of Green"
Some of my solutions may not work for everybody. I've got a husband who is very easy to please - (the poor man was never fed dinner during his first marriage) and I have a daughter who has developed a very eclectic palate. She ate sushi and guacamole as a baby. Today - she knows more about food than most people her age and she is also conscientious about healthy eating. She's happy with an apple for dinner at times. So I feel your pain if you have others to feed who either "Need it hot" or say "Where's the beef?" or "What
IS that?" when served something that strays from the "Norm." Hopefully something here will work for you.
1.
Homemade Soup from the Freezer (Read my article on
Lentil soup) I keep a stockpile of 4-serving containers of frozen soup in a stand alone freezer. I try to defrost in the morning but if I forget and it's close to dinner time - I thaw it in its container in a big pan of hot water until the frozen mass can slide out. Heat the frozen mass in another pan on low. Cook up some pasta in a separate pan to add later. Add grated cheese, chopped fresh parsley, dollop of sour cream maybe - depending on the soup. {Total time 10 Minutes}
2.
Apples and Cheese or Peanut Butter or Almond Butter. Don't laugh. This really is what we do sometimes. If you have some raw carrots or celery - add that to the plate. {Total time 3 Minutes}
3.
Greek Egg Lemon Soup from scratch. If you have some chicken broth on hand and some eggs, lemons and small soup pasta - you can whip this up in under 10 minutes. I will post a recipe in the "Soup's On" page later. You can also look this up on the internet. It's so easy I can make it from memory. Serve with bread and salad and you have a full meal. {Total time 10 Minutes}
4.
Hummus Pita Pockets - this is the easiest one of all if you have hummus in stock or you can pick some up on your way home. My problem is my "easy" husband only likes 1 kind of hummus. {Trader Joe's tri-layer} so I can't do this unless I'm already stocked up from a Trader Joe's run. I cut the pita in half and spread the hummus inside and fill with salad mixture or any raw vegetables. It's completely healthy and filling even though it doesn't look like a lot of food. There's carbs, fat and protein and it keeps you from getting hungry later - which some of these other solutions don't do as well. {Total time 5 Minutes}
5.
PBJ's - don't laugh {Total time 2 Minutes}
6.
Greek Salad - I buy Kalamata olives in a foil pack from DeMoulas and keep in stock for these emergencies as well as Ken's Greek salad dressing. {Watch out for MSG in the dressing} I can also make my own greek dressing but that's another post. If you do not have feta cheese, lettuce and at least a cucumber (more joy if you have tomatoes) in stock - you can get all of this in a grocery store run. I'm not sure if the feta can be frozen so it can be stocked up. I'm going to experiment. Serve with pita bread. {Total time 10 - 15 Minutes}
7.
Veggie Burgers - I now make my own veggie burgers and freeze to stock them but you can buy Boca or Garden burgers. They fry up in minutes. Boca has come a long way and they are very lo-cal. My favorite though is Garden Burger Portobello. I always have those sandwich thins in stock or in the freezer{they look like squished hamburger buns}. Serve with condiments and a side of raw veggies - carrot sticks etc. {Total time 10 Minutes}
8.
Linguine with Clam Sauce - I always have pasta in stock as well as Snow's minced canned clams. In a fry or sauté pan - heat some olive oil - sauté some chopped garlic, add 2 cans of minced clams juice and all. You can add some lemon juice and/or white wine, dry or fresh chopped parsley and oregano. Meanwhile, boil the linguine until al dente. Drain and serve with clam mixture on top. Add fresh grated Romano cheese. {Total time 10 -15 Minutes}
9.
Canned Soup and Sandwich - there are healthier lo-sodium canned soups out there that I stock and use in a pinch. Sandwich can be whatever you like and have ingredients for: Grilled Cheese, PBJ, Cold Cuts, Leftover Chicken, Hummus Pockets, Avo & tomato. {Total time 7 Minutes}
10.
BLT's - Who doesn't love a BLT? To me - this is the kind of meal most people forget about making and every once in a while - something reminds them of it and they say - "Hey, how about BLT's for dinner tonight?" Our problem is we won't eat regular bacon - the nitrate processed kind. So I either stock up my freezer with Trader Joe's Turkey Bacon (very Lo-Cal and tasty) or Nitrate-free Bacon from Wholefoods. Serve with chips or I use dehydrated Apple Chips from Costco as a side dish. {Total time 10 Minutes}
11.
Frozen Ravioli with Marinara - who could complain about this meal? Keep some frozen ravioli stocked up in your freezer or pick up some at the market on your way home. They boil up in 8-12 minutes depending on the size. As far as the marinara sauce goes - it's sacrilegious for an Italian to tell you to use sauce from a jar - so we won't go there. It only takes 5-10 minutes to whip up a simple marinara while the pasta water is boiling. 1 or 2 cans Pastene Kitchen Ready Tomatoes,{Pastene brand is key!} Olive Oil, chopped garlic, 2-4 tsp sugar, salt & pepper, a little basil, oregano and parsley. {Total time 15 Minutes}
12.
Panini - this is a glorified hot sandwich. If you have the luxury of owning a "Panini Press" all the better. If not, this can be cooked on a griddle or fry pan. Bread, Cheese, Veggies or leftover meat or cold cuts. Assemble - butter the outsides of the sandwich and grill in the Panini Press or on the griddle - cooking each side at a time. If you have a brick handy - cover it with tinfoil and use it to weigh down the sandwich on the griddle. Before serving open up and add favorite condiments. I'll bet Pete's Praline Mustard Sauce would be good in some paninis. I'm trying that next! Serve with raw veggies, chips, grapes, apple slices - either raw or dehydrated. {Total time 10 Minutes}
13.
Tuna Melt on Bagel Halves, English Muffins or Grilled Bread - OK - this sort of falls in the above "Panini" category - however since the term "Tuna Melt" has existed far longer in the average American's food vocabulary than the word "Panini" - I tend to think of Tuna Melt as a separate food category. More basic and "All-American" and not so intimidating a concept as "Panini" can be for some. Grill it up or melt under a broiler if using toasted bagel halves or English muffin halves and serve with pickles and chips. I like to put my chips inside the Tuna Melt after its cooked. :) {Total time 10 Minutes}
14.
Baked Loaded Potatoes - OMG I love these! This can be quick if you use the microwave. We love our baked potatoes with the skin crunchy and nothing achieves that better than baking in a 500 degree oven for an hour. So if it's 4 o'clock and you have an hour to spare - scrub 'em up and get them in the oven while you prep the filling and topping ingredients. Ideas: Cottage cheese, grated cheddar or any fav cheese, steamed broccoli, bacon (we use TJ's Turkey Bacon), Sour Cream, Butter, Chives ... Serve with a side salad and put Wendy's to shame! {Total time ? - depends on whether you nuke or bake}
15.
Frittata, Omelet or "Asparagus and Eggs" - Don't get nervous about the Italian word "Frittata." After all "Omlelet" is a French word and you've been saying that your whole life! :) Frittata is basically a thin omelet that is not folded in half but flipped over to cook on the other side. Some frying pans make this job easier than others. I tend to make mine thicker instead of making individual thin fritattas so I can serve everyone at the same time. But thicker is more challenging to flip. Our fav dinnertime ingredients to add to the egg batter - Par boiled potato slices, Par boiled asparagus, grated Romano Cheese - Otherwise known as "Asparagus and Eggs." Zucchini is a great option as well as sautéed onions and red pepper slices. Be creative. Anything will work here. Serve with a side salad or in Italy they serve the salad underneath a thin frittata! {Total time 15 Minutes}
I'm still thinking............
Ideas by "Vike"
Very Easy Sweet & Sour Chicken
Here's a quick and delicious chicken recipe. the plate looks nice when served with braised greens (dandelion, kale, swiss chard, whatever) and millet. Use leftover chicken cut in chunks, or saute some chunked chicken before you start the rest of the recipe (I have never used leftover).
Step 1: toast sesame seeds in a dry pan until browned and just starting to smoke. Remove from pan and let cool.
Step 2: In same pan, saute sliced jalapeno & garlic in olive oil until soft
Step 3: Add a tablespoon (or 2) of Braggs aminos or soy sauce to the garlic mix, then add 2 or 3 spoonfuls of orange marmalade (use the kind made with oranges, sugar, + pectin only for best orangey flavor)
Step 4: Add the pre-cooked (or leftover) chicken, stir to cover with the glaze and cook just until the chicken is hot.
Step 5: arrange chicken on plate, sprinkle toasted sesame seeds over top of chicken and greens. Garnish with sliced green onion, if you wish. Done.{Total time with leftover chicken: 10 minutes - If you have to cook the chicken first, add 10 minutes.}
