Fast and Frugal dinners About This Page:

[saremca]

Originally Posted by unewillow

Oh man, I cannot tell you how many times we made a pan of these at college.

Bean and Cheese Burritos

2 cans refried beans
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
1 package of tortillas
1 can red or green enchilada cauce

Put beans in a microwave safe bowl and heat about 30 seconds to soften. Mix in about 2-3 handfulls of cheese. Put a couple tablespoons (or about 1/4 cup) of the beans onto the center of each tortilla and roll into burritos (tuck ends under when you put them into a pyrex dish). When all your burritos are in the dish, pour the can of sauce on top and then sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake in 350 degree oven for 20 min, uncovering for the last 5 min.

That was one of my kids favorite meals when they were little and we were broke. I would sometimes add cooked brown rice to the beans & cheese to stretch the filling a little more.

Pasta with White Bean Sauce

1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 15-ounce can white beans, drained and mashed
1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
1 box pasta, cooked according to package instructions

In a medium-large stock pot over medium heat, saute onion in butter until onion is soft. Add garlic and stir. Add the flour and stir to coat, until flour is bubbly. Add the milk, water, and chicken bouillon while whisking briskly. Continue to whisk and heat until mixture bubbles and thickens slightly. Reduce heat and stir in beans, heating through. Mash beans with a potato masher, or an immersion blender if you want the sauce really smooth. Add cheese and stir until melted. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Serve cooked pasta. You can sprinkle with parmesan or whatever you like to dress up your pasta. I usually serve this with a salad and a loaf of bread. I sometimes add shredded cooked chicken or browned ground beef or sausage or whatever I have on hand, but it's good all by itself too.

When cheese is on sale I buy a bunch, shred it in the food processor, spread it on baking sheets, and freeze. Then I portion it into freezer bags/containers and use it as I need it for cooking.

[jenifermg0]

Well, I tried the crock pot cooking of a whole chicken. The chicken is awesome - totally falling off the bone!! The broth doesn't have a lot of flavor, but I think with a little tweaking, I can make a great chicken soup. It has some chicken flavor, but it definately needs more seasoning.

[Pumpkinfrost]

I baked center cut bone in pork chops tonight on an aluminum baking sheet with a little olive oil rubbed on the sheet, then coated the chops with Uncle Joe's seasoning, paprika, pepper and garlic powder, covered them in foil, and baked at 390 for 1 hr, then removed the foil, baked for another 20 mins at 350. They were utterly tender and fell apart.

[Pax]

Steak tips and rice.

Start with 1- to 2-inch cubes of beef (doesn't have to be an expensive cut, eitehr).

Broil or grill the meat, and serve over a bed of plain white rice. Provide whatever condiments / seasonsings your family prefers for rice (soy sauce is my preference), and a vegetable side dish.

Seriously, it really is that simple. Everyone gets a bit of meat, and the meal can be bulked out with more rice (which is quite filling, after all). And at least in theory, it should work with many other kinds of meat - pork, chicken, maybe lamb ... ^_^

[guitardiva]

Chicken tacos,
6 large Chicken breasts
glove garlic garlic
small onion or onion powder
salt pepper
cumin
chili powder
cilantro

tortillas
assorted veggies to taste

Slice chicken breasts into small pieces. In a frying pan saute diced garlic (about a clove) and finely diced onions in olive oil . turn heat to med high and cook chicken until browned. add spices and mix thouroughly. cook about 5 minutes. Turn heat down and add water (roughly 1/2 cup) and let simmer for about 20 minutes.
Serve with rice and refried beans or black beans,and favorite taco sauce.
chop tomatoes , onions, lettuce , etc.. anything you like on a taco. You can do many of these steps the night before . You can even slice up the chicken before you put it in the freezer. These steps would save time on cooking day.
The whole meal takes about 45 minutes including prep.
healthier than beef tacos, tasty and filling. You can use the bagged frozen (raw)chicken too instead of fresh. No taste difference and often you can get the bagged chicken on sale pretty cheap.

[hldunlap]

I bought a bag of dried black beans and slowly cooked them in the crock pot. I always add garlic and a few other seasonings of choice. My dd's turned up their noses when I said I was making black bean tacos but they loved them. I freeze the black beans after cooking so thy just need to be thawed when you need some. A bag of dried beans makes quite a bit. I also use soft corn tortillas. I get out the electric skillet and place the tortillas on it to start heating. I then add shredded cheese , salsa and black beans. Fold over the tortilla and cook until the tortillas start to crisp. Once done we add tomato and lettuce. It is a great meat free alternative. They are very good with ground beef or turkey added to the beans, but the meat is not necessary and it is very cost effective!

[Starbright]

I don't know if this is a given or not. Maybe everyone has tried this one...I don't know. Anyways, I take frozen or fresh chicken breasts and pour Italian dressing over top of them, and let them marinade in the fridge. Then I put them on the grill. I love the taste of them. Yum.

[B.M.]

Some of my "quick" meals:

Enchilada's

brown 1lb ground meat
optional: add diced onions into meat
drain and add taco seasoning to meat
mix in 1/2 lb shredded cheese to meat
pour meat into tortilla shells
pour a can of enchilada sauce over the meat filled with tortilla's
heavily sprinkle shredded cheese over top
bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is 100% melted

** I usually put a few on a separate pan w/out the sauce for those that prefer just burrito's.

This meal can be prepared start to finish in 30 minutes....

[Pax]

Here's one my g/f cobbled up, and calls "Stir Fraud":

Cube and saute some chicken breast (in butter or margarine); prepare some white rice; and finally, prepare one or more vegetables (like peas, green beans, and similar).

Mix the rice and vegetables, serve the chicken on a bed of that mixture, and provide whatever seasonings or condiments your family likes on their rice, e.g. soy sauce.

[FanOfMickey]

That sounds nice and easy Sean!! Thanks for sharing!

[KimmyAnn1147]

One quick cheap meal we LOVE:

head leaf lettuce
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
15 or so green olives
one can corn
1-2 cans tuna (better if in oil)

Layer onion, corn, olives and tuna on top of prepared salad lettuce. Serve with olive oil and salt and pepper or other dressing.

Quick stuff rocks!

[wheezie]

Great thread!

[Her Dotness]

Originally Posted by Pax

Here's one my g/f cobbled up, and calls "Stir Fraud":

Cube and saute some chicken breast (in butter or margarine); prepare some white rice; and finally, prepare one or more vegetables (like peas, green beans, and similar).

Mix the rice and vegetables, serve the chicken on a bed of that mixture, and provide whatever seasonings or condiments your family likes on their rice, e.g. soy sauce.

Regular stir-fried rice is just as easy but best if you use day-old steamed rice. If it's been refrigerated for a day, the rice sticks together and has more body when fried than freshly cooked rice.

You can also use any kind of leftover cooked meat or seafood (or make it vegetarian if you'd rather). Just dice or tear it into smallish pieces.

Chop as evenly as possible any raw or cooked veggies you like. Raw ones will go in first, cooked ones after the meat.

Heat a 12" non-stick skillet or a wok over medium-high heat.

Add about a tablespoonful of cooking oil (NOT olive oil, too strong a flavor) for every two cups leftover rice. Just guess. Doesn't need to be exact. You don't want so much the rice looks obviously greasy, only enough to keep it from sticking badly. Sticking slightly gives the rice a nice brownness some people really like (that's me!)If you added a little too much oil, no worries. It will taste okay anyway.

Stir constantly, adding whatever finely chopped raw veggies you like. Carrots need to go in right away. Others don't matter as much as to when they're added.

Add any chopped, cooked veggies or stir in a few frozen peas or corn kernels. These cook pretty quickly so don't overcook them unless you like veggies beyond barely tender.

Add cooked meat and/or seafood, cooking only until heated through.

Taste often as you go to see if things are as cooked or warm as you like.

Sprinkle on soy sauce to taste and stir well if you like an even coating. Or, it's just as tasty with a sprinkle of salt to taste instead which doesn't color the rice.

Add sliced green onions last if using, green part included, as they cook from only the heat of the mixture. Dish up speedily after onions have gone in to keep the bright green color.

Dump onto plates or into soup bowls and shovel it in with forks or chopsticks, adding soy sauce or Japanese hot pepper (shichimi togarashi) as desired.

[Her Dotness]

Originally Posted by jenifermg0

Well, I tried the crock pot cooking of a whole chicken. The chicken is awesome - totally falling off the bone!! The broth doesn't have a lot of flavor, but I think with a little tweaking, I can make a great chicken soup. It has some chicken flavor, but it definately needs more seasoning.

Put a batch of sliced onions, carrots and celery, seasoned with s&p, in the bottom of the crock pot first. (About one med. onion, two medium carrots and two celery ribs, depending how much of each you like.)

Set the chicken atop that and add only a half cup of water or white wine.

Tons of flavor!