survival mode meals

[esperanza]

What meals do you make when your family is in survival mode (energy/time wise, not financial)? I'm just finding it really hard to get my usual recipes made between work in the morning, toddler napping on me in the afternoon, dh working and in class, etc. I've realized I need to just figure out some really simple meals, and I'm looking for ideas!

No food restrictions.

[2sunshines]

Crock pot meals make dinner prep really easy.

Sticking to the basics. Baked chicken. Steamed vegetables. Rice in a rice cooker.

Of course hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled cheese -- simple quick no prep work meals like that always help.

[esperanza]

Yes, I love our crock pot. The problem right now is what to put in it. We buy beef from a farmer once a year. We still have some pieces from last year, but it's such a pain to prep them. They are big roasts, and for most of my recipes I need to cut them into pieces (so cut the fat out, defrost it enough to cut, etc). I keep putting it on my menu plan, and then I don't do it. The chicken I like to buy hasn't been on sale for a long time, so we don't have any of that either. Getting more meat in Nov. Ground beef is so much easier to deal with!

I was thinking about grilled cheese. I think I need that on the menu for next week.

[blondie]

Rice in the rice cooker with beans and steamed veggies of all sorts.
Pancakes/eggs/breakfast stuff.
Organic mac and cheese with a steamed veggie as a side.
"Fresh" LOL That's a category at our house- basically fruit and veggie and cheese trays

[blessedwithboys]

Crockpot meals- I can generally keep myself on track better in the morning, like chili, beef stew (cut up some of those roasts ahead of time and freeze them as cubed stew beef), meatballs, etc.

Things I can make with rotisserie chicken (sometimes it's actually cheaper than buying uncooked chicken ). I make chicken, cheese, and black bean quesadillas with it, or a curry chicken and broccoli casserole that I serve over rice that I make quickly in the rice cooker.

[mamacat]

blackbeans (canned)and rice.I keep some frozen chopped spinach or kale on hand to throw into things.Can spice up the black beans any way you like.grilled cheese is a good one - yummy when dipped into tomato soup

[jenny_islander]

Plain roasted chicken or turkey with microwaved vegetables on the side.

I usually have a bag or two of cut-up leftover chicken or turkey meat in the freezer. Boil pasta, put frozen meat in bowl, dump a jar or two of pasta sauce on top, nuke it. Serve meat pasta sauce on top of pasta.

Throw a couple of pizzas or a tray of lasagna in the freezer when they go on sale.

[mom23sons]

sausage gravy and biscuits or tacos---
Not very long cook time but I need to remember to get meat out of the freezer....

[Contented in FL]

Subbing! I think we've been in survival mode for two years....

Hang in there, Mama <3

I often grab tuna & olive oil (and some salt) in a pita. It's so incredibly easy to eat one-handed--if I don't overdo it on the olive oil


Eggs are actually quicker to scramble or fry than my mind says....

Hummus, pita wedges, baby carrots, green pepper slices (if I feel like I can get one cut up)

[jenny_islander]

Quick breakfast for one:

Toast 1 to 4 slices whole wheat bread, depending on how hungry you are and how big the bread is. Meanwhile, break 1 egg into a custard cup or ramekin. Add 1/3 cup water and a splash of cider or wine vinegar. Cover with a heavy plate and microwave up to 1 minute, depending on how dry you want your yolk. Repeat if you need a lot of protein today. Butter the toast as soon as it pops. Lift out the egg(s) with a fork, place on the toast, sprinkle lightly with salt if desired, and have open-faced poached eggs on toast or toast and egg sandwiches. (Just smish the egg down a little when you put on the second slice and you can have an egg sandwich. Add a slice of ham and a slice of cheese and you have an Egg McMuffin without the ooky stuff!) Have a piece of fruit with this and you're set.

[Virginia]

Eggs scrambled with cheese and turkey or ham (lunch meat that you just tear up into small pieces.

Throw chicken breasts/legs/thighs in the crockpot with some BBQ sauce or honey mustard or ranch dressing or italian dressing or buffalo sauce Yes, we've tried all of these Serve with microwaved frozen veggies and rice or store bought rolls.

English muffin pizzas in the oven or toaster oven- slice open, slap on some pasta sauce and sprinkle some mozzarella cheese/pepperoni/black olives/mushrooms and presto!

Popcorn and wine

Pasta with store bought sauce. Can throw steamed veggies, like broccoli, in, or shrimp (buy frozen and thaw).

[MaybeGracie]

I like to throw those roasts into the crockpot whole (and frozen, which I know is a no-no, but we haven't gotten sick from it yet, plus my MIL says it's fine and she knows everything ) with about half a cup of water. Then at supper time I just shred the meat and serve it on bread or buns with some of the drippings. If I'm really ambitious, I add green peppers, onions, and/or mushrooms to the crockpot.

With the leftover shredded beef, I make a quick beef fried rice the next day.

[cro]

We do lots of chicken & rice. Chicken in the crockpot (w/ whatever seasonings I'm in the mood for) and rice in the rice cooker.

My lazy meal is "egg puff" or Yorkshire pudding. It's just eggs, milk, and flour baked in a buttered pan - doesn't get much easier than that. I cut it into squares and the kids eat it as finger food. DS1 likes to spread peanut butter on his.

[esperanza]

Great ideas all! Thanks! So many posts about rice cookers. We don't have one, and we don't have a lot of storage space in our kitchen. Is it really that amazing?

When I'm not in survival mode , I should come back and add a few of our ideas. One easy one is a tuna melt. Bread/english muffin, spread tuna on top (mixed with mayo), and cheese on top. Put it under the boiler for a few minutes until the bread toasts and the cheese melts. Yum.

[Soliloquy]

Mexican salads. Big pile of greens on the plate, top with some cooked meat (I prep large batches of browned ground beef and/or chicken breasts), shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream. If I have avocados, olives, and grated carrots those go on, too. I try to also have the ingredients on hand.

We make fried rice a lot, too. Leftover rice, a few eggs, onions, fish sauce, whatever veggies I have, tamari, etc.

Those big roasts you can put into a Dutch oven with a little water, onions, carrots, etc. Salt it well and put it in the oven at 250 all day. The fat will cook off and it tastes better than in the crock pot, IMO.