Monday, August 14, 2006

Making Do on Mondays: cop-out dinners

Hello again, so despite being the most organized woman on the block, you may experience a day or two where things don't go according to plan and 5-6 o'clock rolls around, little tummies are rumbling and you have no idea what to make for supper! I will share a few of our "cop-out dinners" for such days, and I hope you will comment with yours. The only requirements are that it be simple and possible with basic ingredients on your shelf...

  • Pancakes and eggs. Our favorite and most relied upon cop-out. Who can complain about breakfast for dinner?! Most people have the ingredients for this and the kids are always excited to eat something sweet (maple syrupy delicious!)

  • Tex-Mex. Cook a pot of rice and mix in a can of chili... sprinkle with cheese and let it melt on top. Voila! We eat this with corn chips or rolled up in a tortilla.

  • Tuna Fish Casserole. A can of tuna, some macaroni noodles, a can of cream of mushroom... maybe some cheese... and peas thrown in. Easy to make and it can be nutritious too!

  • Quesadillas or "Tacodillas". I mentioned quesadillas in my food recipe page. Refried beans, salsa and cheese are all you need for inside the tortilla (crisped of course). A tacodilla is a term I made up for the same recipe onlly a bit heartier as you put in taco seasoned meat as well before crisping.

  • Hot Dish. This refers to basically anything thrown together and heated up. I use leftover meat or spaghetti sauce... cook up whatever kind of pasta I have on hand (we like rigatoni and ziti best)... throw in some cottage cheese or mozzerella, mix in any kind of marinara or make your own from tomato sauce + seasonings.... bake it for 20 minutes or so and you have your own little dish of whatchamacallit.

  • Jazzed Up Sandwiches. Basically, take any normal lunch-time sandwich and heat it up or grill it and it feels suitable for dinner! Even PB &J can be toasted (I like to put mine together and THEN stick it in the toaster oven so the insides are soft and the outsides are crispy). Also using alternative breads make it fun. We make tuna-melts sometimes by putting our tuna mix and a slice of cheese on an english muffin before heating it up.

So what are your "in-a-pinch" suppers?

-Ellie: Oak Harbor, WA

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one of us :: 1:10 PM :: 5 Comments

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