Said list is the way I survive most of the time as a single lady. I can't possibly keep up with cooking a 20-ingredient meal every day. I like to spend a little more time on those when someone else is going to help me eat it! Shortly after beginning to live on my own, I realized that I was not eating healthfully, and my body was rebelling against me for it. I was eating frozen dinners and pizzas and eat out, and.. yeah. It wasn't pretty. But I also couldn't seem to get myself to cook using my cookbooks every night. And besides the fact that I am in one of the most exhausting fields of work, most cookbooks I owned left me with way too much left over (and you can only eat left over lemon chicken so many days in a row...).
So, I came up with a "quick list" of foods that I could make and eat in almost the same amount of time and energy I was using before, but in a much more healthful way. So, for today, here are some of my most-used stand-by meals. They should be fairly quick and painless to get ready and clean up (I have also found that no matter how tired I am, it's always to clean up right away - not the next day... or the next).
Spaghetti (I always keep boxed spaghetti, "canned" spaghetti sauce (jars, really), and yummy frozen meatballs around)
Prep Time: as long as it takes the water to boil and the noodles to cook.
{I heat the sauce up in a small pan while the noodles are cooking, and throw the meatballs (precooked) in the microwave for a couple of minutes and then just add them to the sauce.} Best Part: you can have as much left over as you want. None? One? Two?
Worst Part: spaghetti sauce on your shirt.
Tacos (I always keep a can of refried beans, frozen ground turkey, taco seasoning, shredded cheese, and chips/taco shells around)
Prep Time: about 20 minutes
{I heat the refried beans in a small pan on low while the meat cooks. Once the meat is done, you can fix it up any way you want, with whatever you want or have in the house. I always make small containers of left overs, one in the fridge and then one or two in the freezer - the meat and beans freeze and reheat very well.} Best Part: this is something that is good in a minimalist sort of way (if you don't happen to have everything you usually want), but can be embellished with whatever you do happen to have - avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, etc.)
Worst Part: you have to remember to thaw the meat - this is not the best for a last-minute option just because a frozen thing of turkey (or beef) is as solid as a rock and takes about a day to defrost in the fridge - you can defrost it with water or the microwave, but it takes a while and doesn't seem to turn out as well to me.
Stir Fry (I always keep quick-cooking rice around)
Prep Time: about 15-20 minutes
{The easiest way to make a quick and tasty stir fry is to hit up the salad bar at a grocery store. They always have fresh, pre-cut produce, of which you can choose what you like in your stir fry and how much you'd like. It is also not as expensive (time or money wise) as buying a whole pepper or two, broccoli, etc., cutting it up and wasting half of it. Start the rice, steam the veggies (I use water, but you could use a little oil), add meat if you want (frozen, precooked shrimp does pretty well), and by the time your veggies are ready, your rice is ready as well. I like to use a stir fry sauce at the end to add a little extra flavor} Best Part: it's asian food. I love asian food. Does anything else need to be said?
Worst Part: no left overs - it doesn't reheat well (I don't like reheated stir fry... the meat always seems dry and the veggies soggy - but you can decide that for yourself)
This became much longer than I had anticipated, so I'm going to stop now. I'll write more later. Today, you got a VERY short "quick list" ... maybe next time I'll just actually give you a list! ;)
Happy cooking!
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