Semi-Homemade Meals, Anyone?

[TOMama]

I searched and couldn't find a similar thread. . . but if there's alreadly something like this, let me know!

My DC gives me around 15 minutes to prepare dinner... So cooking from scratch isn't an option most of the time. I'm always looking for easy, yet nutritious meals that I can whip up in a nano-second.

I've found some great shortcuts at Trader Joes & Price Club, but I know there is more out there that I haven't discovered yet!

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Here are some of my favorites so far--


Thai or Indian Curry for Two:

TJ's Thai or Indian Curry Simmer Sauce

Make Jasmine or Basmati rice in rice cooker

Defrost a handful of green beans (from TJ frozen section)
Cut up 2 chicken breast, 1 potato, green beans & 1 bell pepper**
Saute meat & veggies in a little EVOO
Stir in simmer sauce & cover to heat
Serve over rice

With the Indian Curry, I'll usually serve it with Naan (from the frozen section) and one of the boxed Indian side dishes (lentils, garbanzo beans, etc.)

**Sometimes I'll double the chicken & veggies and use 1/2 with one sauce for one day and save the remainder for another day. The sauces make them seem like two completely different meals with very little effort.


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Chicken Alfredo

Boil pasta (I like linguine)
Alfredo sauce

Cut up chicken, mushrooms & brocolli (if I have any) and season. We like spicy so I use Joe's Cajun seasoning
Saute meat & veggies in a little EVOO and pour on Alfredo sauce
Cover to heat
I also throw in some dried red peppers since we Really like spicy
Serve over pasta

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Somewhat Healthy Pizza

TJ's Pizza dough (in frig section by cheese & deli meats). I like the herbed & whole wheat dough the best.

TJ's pepperoni or other sausage from deli section

TJ's pizza sauce - either in frig section or just a can of marinara sauce.

1 package of TJ's shredded mozzarella or Quattro Formaggio cheese

Veggies - container of mini bell peppers, crimini mushrooms, scallions/onions, etc.

Heat oven to 400 F.

Slice vegetables. Spray a pan with a little oil and heat veggies to get the water out.

While the veggies are heating, roll out pizza dough. I'm lazy so I roll it out between 2 sheets of saran wrap with a wine bottle. I don't have a pizza stone so I spray a regular baking pan with oil.

Poke holes in the dough with a fork. Spray a little oil on top and bake for a few minutes until it starts to brown (5-10 minutes)

Remove from oven & loosen crust with a spatula. Then layer pepperoni/sausange, vegetables & cheese.

Put back in oven until cheese is melted.


Oh, crying baby, I'll be back with more.

[Ohana]

We like the potstickers from Costco. They come in a huge bag and you can cook just however many you need. Ditto on their Ravioli.

I love a lot of the convenience stuff that's out there, but can't use a lot of it because of DH's BP issues and the high sodium content in the pre-packaged stuff. What works best for me is to cook like crazy on the weekend (when DH can help watch the kids). I usually make a big double batch of something and a crockpot meal on Sundays and freeze anything we don't eat that day. That way, I only have to defrost something in the morning and spend a few minutes heating it up after work.

I'm also really big on prepping stuff for tomorrow today. For example, if I make Chicken Divan, it calls for shredded cooked chicken breast. I'll cook the chicken breast when I'm reheating dinner tonight and toss it in the fridge. Then tomorrow, all I have to do is throw the casserole together and heat it up.

If you're limited on time, the crockpot can really be your friend. Here's (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29043) a thread with a ton of yummy recipes.

[boilermaker]

I'm a big fan of Real Simple magazine and their "Fake it, Don't Bake It" recipes. Here's a link to their site..

real simple (http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=browseResults&CONVENIENCES=Fake+It%2C+Don%27t+Make+It&subCatsListed=false)

Basically, they are recipes where you use store bought stuff to make homemade meals.

[skyblu]

I do this a lot!

First of all, I buy all of my cooking veggies frozen and pre-cut (even onions), so there's very little prep. Also, I rinse and separate meat into 2-portion sizes and put them in baggies before I freeze it, so that saves time, too. And if I know ahead of time that I'll need the chicken cubed or whatever, I'll do that too on the day I grocery shop.

A fave semi-homemade recipe in my house is my Ravioli Lasagna. I don't have exact directions, but in a baking dish I layer some meat sauce, a layer of cheese ravioli (I undercook them when I boil them so they won't fall apart), some Parmesan, then repeat the layers. If I'm feeling energetic, I may add a spinach and mushrooms layer.

[IrishEyes]

My big semi-homemade stuff is desserts. Here's one I made the other day that drew raves:

Angel lush with pineapple

1 angel food cake (bought made at the store)
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple in juice
1 3.4 oz pkg instant vanilla pudding and pie mix
1 cup thawed cool whip
optional: strawberries

Put can of pineapple in bowl (with juice), add pudding powder, mix well and sit for 5 minutes. Stir in cool whip.
Cut angel cake into 3 layers. Put 1/3 filling in between layers, put remainder on top, add strawberries to top.

Great spring dessert, and 10 minutes, max.

[Jer]

I just made one of these tonight!

Super-yummy mushroom soup:
3 slices bacon
1 pint boxed mushroom soup
About 2 tbsp dried fancy mushrooms (expensive, but they keep forever), ground

I fry up the bacon till it's fully crispy, then let it drain back into the pan (usually with some unstable contraption involving a fork precariously balanced on the edge of the pan). While it cooks, I grind up the mushrooms. After it cools, I cut it up into little bits, then pour in the soup and mushrooms. Cook it up for a few minutes and its delicious. Mmmmm, bacon fat!

[klanae]

For more recipes you could check out Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee on the Food Network channel or website.

[AmandaLeigh]

When I buy meat, I portion it out into meal size portions and freeze it in big freezer bags with the marinade, spices, ect. already on it. When it is time for the meal, I just thaw and cook (grill, saute, crockpot - it works for pretty much any method). Then all I have to do is steam some veggies or cook some rice. I sometimes even put the veggies in with the meat if the seasoning would go well with the veggies and dump it all in a saute pan or on the grill.

Quick Fix Meal on Food Netwoork also has some really great ideas.