Dinner in A Pinch

[Texasmujer]

Breakfast Dinner: I put a pan of canned biscuits in the oven, a package of precooked sausage patties or links in the microwave, and scramble some eggs. Fresh or canned fruit rounds out the meal. (This is my kids' favorite dinner!)

Quick shepherd's pie: ground beef mixed with cream of mushroom soup topprd with cream of mashed potatoes and a veggie in the iddle.

I usually have the ingredients for French toast on hand, and I can whip it up in a jiffy.

Haystacks: corn or tortilla chips topped with kidney beans, seasoned with onions and spices, shredded cheese, and chopped lettuce and tomatoes.

Frozen ravioli with Newman's Own Sockarooni Sauce---and, of course, French bread.

We have a smorgasbord. There's always leftover fruit, cheese and other staples in the fridge and pantry. We put everything on the counter and make up plates of whatever looks interesting. I'm so hungry when I get home from work it's tough not to just dig in to whatever I can eat quickly rather than cook.

Canned soup or stew with tons of frozen vegetables and herbs and spices added. I always have some kind of bread---cornbread or herb bread---
on hand in the freezer to accompany the meal

My old standby is tuna noodle casserole. I mix a can of cream of clery soup, 2 cups of milk, 2 cups of peas, 2 cans of truns, a bit of dill and garlic, then add 3 cups of cooked egg noodles. I bake it for 20 to 30 minutes while I gewt ready for the rest of the evening. The best part: I only have a spoon and apan to clean.

Frozen chicken pot pies, broccoli and garlic bread, plus a bag of salad greens. Potpies are cheap and filling, and other parts of the meal can be prepared while they heat.

[wild-in-tent]

Tuna Salmon ring

1 pie crust (I make up several and freeze them ...when I know I need them I thaw what I need the night before)

1 tin salmon, 1 tin tuna, 1 tsp tarragon, garlic mayonais to moisten, 1 cup of shredded chedder cheese ..mix together put it down the center of pie crust,....roll it into a roll and close and pinch both ends ..cut slashes (about the size of one slice) curl both ends in and bake at 350 degrees until pie crust is done....delicious! I use this as an appetizer at Xmas as well.
Can also simply put this in a pie and bake

Cinnamon Roll French Toast....cut a cinnamon roll in half and dip both into egg and fry a bit, then finish in the oven.....one roll makes 2 french toasts....and it is simply delicious...use the old fashioned cinnie rolls without icing.....
I make up a batch and freeze and use as much as I need when I need it

Invest in a panini maker.....use french bread, cheeses and meats such as ham, cappicoli, corned beef, turkey and chicken slices, beef, tomatoes, green pepper rings, lettuce or fixings of your choice...make a mayo up ie garlic or pesto mayo...and make a good soup....grill and go....yumm!

[kathyv]

Here's something we like.

Rice.

Melt a tablespoon of butter or heat some oil in a big skillet, lightly brown however much rice your family will eat. Remove from heat and now you can get creative! We like this with browned ground beef or ground sausage, a package of enchilada powder seasoning mix, the juice of 1 lime and water to cover it all. Shove the whole thing, with a lid on it, in the oven and bake at 350 for about 20-25 min, Stir and see if it's done, if not add a bit more water, if it is dry and bake another 10 min. When it's done, squeeze another lime over it all and serve with a salad.

You can use chicken in it or leave the meat out if you like, it's good that way, too. Use as taco or burrito filling if you like.
Add stroganoff powder (and sour cream after it comes out of the oven) for a different flavor.
Use curry and an assortment of goodies like raisins, coconut, nuts, apples, shrimp for another kind of rice.

This basic white long grain rice is easy and pretty fast and tastes good enough to make you look really good in the kitchen!