Need HELP with quick meals at home

[DnA2010]

Also keep bread in the freezer- take out what you need.

For me food snob doesn't mean someone who likes fast food/take out- rather the opposite- so he is more of a picky eater? I think for change you are going to need buy in from him that you are going to make this change for the health of the family (and pocketbook as you mentioned )
You don't want your kids getting used to eating so much junk food that they won't eat real meals right.

I think I would sit down with him and get 5-10 meals from him that he will eat- work from there

 

[DnA2010]

Also, check out the "Eat At Home 3" thread- I get lots of meal ideas from there

 

[LuckyBelle81]

For me food snob doesn't mean someone who likes fast food/take out- rather the opposite- so he is more of a picky eater?

I know it's counterintuitive. He would rather eat bone marrow and foie gras but if that's not available he has a soft spot for greasy go to's. It's either 5 star or no star. I don't get it either.

 

[barkley]

Thanks, I will try that. I have never cooked a corned beef much to the shame of my very Irish Dad so maybe this year I'll surprise him!

What would I put in there with it to get the flavor?

the ones we get come with a small seasoning packet included.

we went to Costco yesterday and got a few. got home and while I was putting the groceries away dh set up the pressure cooker. total cooking time-1 hour. came out great.

 

[aprilchem]

My pressure cooker is my lifesaver when it comes to quick meals in my house - I use it 3-4 times a week. I have an electric InstantPot and use it to make indian curries, roasts, poached chicken, macaroni and cheese, etc. As someone said earlier in the thread, you can cook a whole chicken in 30 minutes in a pressure cooker. And if you get an electric one you start it and walk away, so the time you're cooking can also be used to do other things.

 

[LuckyBelle81]

As someone said earlier in the thread, you can cook a whole chicken in 30 minutes in a pressure cooker.

That's amazing!! I'll have to look into those. How big are they? Like the size of a crockpot??

 

[DnA2010]

That's amazing!! I'll have to look into those. How big are they? Like the size of a crockpot??

Yup mine is! Well more like a stock/soup pot

 

[aprilchem]

Yep, mine is about the same size of a crockpot - probably a little smaller, in fact, since it's round and not oblong. I LOVE my pressure cooker and couldn't live without it!

 

[Hikergirl]

the ones we get come with a small seasoning packet included.

we went to Costco yesterday and got a few. got home and while I was putting the groceries away dh set up the pressure cooker. total cooking time-1 hour. came out great.

I just got back from the store with a corned beef and saw that it came with the season packet.
Thanks for the advice, looking foward to trying it out in Thursday!

 

[QueenIsabella]

Corned beef doesn't always come with a seasoning packet. If you try it again, and happen to not get one (different brand), just check any basic cookbook, pinterest, anything like that.

To the Op--does your DH cook? You might want to enlist his help. I would couch it in terms of the whole family eating cheaper and healthier. In fact, it might be fun to have the whole family pitch in on meal planning and prep, especially if you try doing prep on weekends. IIRC, your kids are too young to prepare actual meals, but look to the future--a 12yo could preheat an oven and put in a casserole, for example, or put on water for rice or pasta.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I know it's counterintuitive. He would rather eat bone marrow and foie gras but if that's not available he has a soft spot for greasy go to's. It's either 5 star or no star. I don't get it either.

He may like the mouth feel he gets from animal fats. Bone marrow, foie gras, and greasy food all provide that mouth feel in different ways. He may prefer pork fat, beef tallow, or lard as a cooking oil vs veggie ones (since the fats he loves at 5 stars are all meat based and the fats at fast food have had chemical "meat components" added to them). Pork fat will provide more fullness in the mouth (and is easy to get by frying some bacon, straining the grease and then just keeping it in the fridge til you need it). Coconut milk also does a great job mimicking the mouth feel from a non-meat perspective, so he may really take to those quick Thai recipes I mentioned...

I know it sounds kinda crazy, but mouth feel can make all the difference in loving or being "meh" about a food...

 

[LuckyBelle81]

He may like the mouth feel he gets from animal fats. Bone marrow, foie gras, and greasy food all provide that mouth feel in different ways. He may prefer pork fat, beef tallow, or lard as a cooking oil vs veggie ones (since the fats he loves at 5 stars are all meat based and the fats at fast food have had chemical "meat components" added to them). Pork fat will provide more fullness in the mouth (and is easy to get by frying some bacon, straining the grease and then just keeping it in the fridge til you need it). Coconut milk also does a great job mimicking the mouth feel from a non-meat perspective, so he may really take to those quick Thai recipes I mentioned...

I know it sounds kinda crazy, but mouth feel can make all the difference in loving or being "meh" about a food...

That makes sense! I did keep bacon fat refrigerated for a while...can't really remember why I stopped. Thanks for the info!!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Biggest help is keeping a recipe folder in email and an actual list somewhere to browse and remind yourself of all the recipes you already know. Once I started using a "what's for dinner" pad from Michaels everything got so much easier.

Tonight was chicken soup with broth made from the bones & leftovers from a grocery store roast chicken we had yesterday, put all veggies in the broth too & just keep cooking. Strain bones and all, add soup veggies and another meal is done. I set aside some of the white meat for a lunch sandwich for my husband tomorrow. One $5 chicken means 2 meals for 4 plus a lunch or 2- bigger family double to 2 chickens. Extra chicken can also go into a chicken enchilada or a quiche

 

[LovesTimone]

A well stocked pantry, refrigerator & freezer can make all the difference for getting meals to the table quickly. Knowing what's in there is half the battle.

I always keep on hand stuff for taco's, nacho's, burrito's - chips and salsa, a bag of Tyson chicken strips, soft tortilla, seasoning and veggies

Frozen meatballs are so versatile, you can make homemade and freeze in portion size or keep a bag or two of already prepared on hand. I make 100 meatballs at a time to freeze while it seems like a lot it really takes no time to do and the reward is great. I do make 2 sizes, larger ones for red sauce, or adding into stroganoff, small ones for meatball subs, or adding for topping for homemade pizza. Keep a jar of marinara, pizza sauce on hand.

Use left over veggies for a Quick pot pie or Sheppard's Pie - You can use pie crust or a couple cans of crescent rolls for the top just roll out.

Grilled cheese and soup is always a quick fix.

Bake ahead, muffins, banana breads, pound cakes, and freeze so you just have to take out, thaw for breakfast the next morning or dessert for dinner that night. I would portion them 4 muffins in a freezer bag that way I could change flavors daily so no-one would get bored. With the bread and cakes I would cut in half and freeze, this way nothing went to waste.

 

[scrapquitler]

I always keep a ham steak in the fridge for quick meals. It lasts a long time without being frozen, and since it's already cooked, you can even just dice it up and toss it into a salad or something, so it's really fast. My husband likes to cut it in sticks and pan fry it with a little worchestershire sauce and black pepper, then have a steamed veggies and some rice. I like to put it in a salad or tossed with some pasta. Or I heat it up and serve it with scrambled eggs and fruit.

 

[powellrj]

The new pressure cookers come in different sizes like crock-pots do. You can get a big one or a small one. I have a 6qt and love it. Also a rice cooker can come in handy. Make a big pot of rice on Sunday and then you can use it during the week to make things like stir fry, fried rice and red beans and rice.

 

[arminnie]

Being from South Louisiana most of my recipes start out with the Trinity - onion, celery and bell pepper. I buy the basics as Costco and use my food processor to cut up the ingredients. I package it in 1 cup portions and freeze it. When I cook a ham I chop some of it up. I'll cook beans in the pressure cooker (dried are much cheaper than canned and taste better). I'll grab frozen Trinity, chopped ham and precooked beans and throw them in the crockpot for some terrific beans.

The other day I made a Cajun Courtbouillon. I had Trinity in the freezer, roux in the refrigerator and canned tomatoes. It was simple to put it all together quickly. The fish or shrimp will then poach in the liquid in minutes.

 

[LuckyBelle81]

Being from South Louisiana most of my recipes start out with the Trinity - onion, celery and bell pepper. I buy the basics as Costco and use my food processor to cut up the ingredients. I package it in 1 cup portions and freeze it. When I cook a ham I chop some of it up. I'll cook beans in the pressure cooker (dried are much cheaper than canned and taste better). I'll grab frozen Trinity, chopped ham and precooked beans and throw them in the crockpot for some terrific beans.

The other day I made a Cajun Courtbouillon. I had Trinity in the freezer, roux in the refrigerator and canned tomatoes. It was simple to put it all together quickly. The fish or shrimp will then poach in the liquid in minutes.

I rarely cook without the Trinity! Born and raised in Mobile, lived in NOLA for several years, and now I'm in MS just above the LA line. Love the idea of pre-packaging and freezing the ingredients. Great idea! Thanks!!

 

[stayhomemom77]

I didn't read all the replies, so apologies if these are repeats...but this is what we do on nutso nights where the plans either don't exist or have fallen apart:

• use naan as a pizza base and make simple individual pizzas (15-20 mins start to finish)

• canned soup and grilled cheese

• can of refried beans, some shredded cheddar and some tortillas makes bean burritos...add a salad and dinner is done! Sometimes we cook in the oven, but sometimes we just heat the beans in the microwave and assemble in a flash! (5 to 25 mins)

• breakfast for dinner--eggs in a variety of ways...pancakes, french toast, toaster waffles, oatmeal (5-15 mins)

• I always keep things like frozen pizza, chicken fingers, french fries, fish sticks etc on hand for those nights when rip and dump is all I can manage!

• Subs and chips/salads are a fun choice

• We have what the kids call "a party" where it's a mixture of cold cuts, cheese, buns, salads, veggies and dip, pickles, olives, any hors d'oeuvres we happen to have on hand, fruit, crackers etc...basically we pull a meal together out of finger foods, throw it out like a buffet (hence the name "party") and everyone helps themselves. (5-20 mins)

• butter chicken sauce (from a jar) over rice and peas-sometimes with, sometimes without the chicken-and naan can be on the table in about 25 minutes
• hot beef or chicken dip sandwiches (10 mins)
• pasta (20 mins)
• homemade hamburger helper (20 mins)
• hot dogs (10 mins)

 

[Tulips05]

A few things I do:

When I'm already making a meal that is easy to freeze (casseroles, lasagna, spaghetti sauce, chili, etc), I make double and then put the extra in the freezer. It doesn't really take that much longer to make the extra and it saves lots of time and money on a busy night.

When I find chicken on sale for a great price, I'll buy a bunch. Then I'll boil some, shred it, and freeze it in small bags to make things like casseroles, pasta dishes, etc a little faster to make. When we grill chicken, we grill extra and cut it up into strips and freeze in small portions. It's easy to pull out a little at a time to add to things (salads, chicken tacos, etc). We do a lot of chicken because it's usually cheaper and healthier than beef.

Also I try to keep track of any leftovers we have in the fridge, if there's anything we aren't going to be able to use before it gets old, I freeze it in individual servings so it's easy to pull out and heat up quickly.

I keep a list of everything in my freezer & deep freezer so I can keep track of it all. As we use something, I'll mark it off, or if I put something in the freezer, I add it to the list.