Favorite meal with minimal cooking

chadya07

various sandwiches or toasted seed bread with cream cheese and either smoked fish or prosciutto with tomatoes and capers.

Need2Exerc1se

rbfdac wrote: »

I suppose I should have added that I am a pescatarian! I didn't figure I would get so many responses including meat, haha. I love all of these recommendations, though. They definitely require more effort than I normally give, but it doesn't seem like it takes too much more time. I can always replace the meat with faux stuff.

On that note- does anybody have any favorite vegetarian/pescatarian quick meals that they love?

Broccoli is great stir fried with shrimp, peanuts and/or tofu. Shrimp or egg fried rice.
Baked, poached or grilled fish is so quick and simple to cook. Even the thicker steak like fish only take a few minutes, since they are best served medium to rare.
Omelets and frittatas are also super quick and easy.
Hummus, baba ganoush or tofu sandwich wraps (just add leafy greens and whatever other vegetables you like).
Silken tofu mixed with fresh herbs also makes a great sandwich spread or veggie dip that takes about 2 min to make.
Crumble firm tofu into store bought marinara/pasta sauce and serve over pasta or squash.
Stuff pasta shells with a mix tofu, fresh herbs, spinach and fresh mozzarella and top with marinara.

seltzermint555

Some of the stuff you named is my favorite, actually!

But another quickie household staple is frozen vegetable dumplings (Assi Vege) from the Asian supermarket along with baby bok choy. So delicious...chop 1-2 heads of baby bok choy and toss in a little water (like 1/4") with 7-10 little dumplings in a microwave safe container. Keep the lid slightly open. Heat 3 min. Steamed to perfection.

I usually mix up some sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey & soy sauce (sesame seeds optional) in a container to use for several times. It's really good with just a little poured into the bowl on top of the dumplings & veggies, and the mixture lasts fine in the fridge for a week to two weeks.

Stormy_Monday

I don't have a ton of time to cook either, but I love chicken . . . so I'll usually cook a few breast at a time (enough for two to three days) and keep it in the fridge.

My favorite quick meal is baked chicken, sauteed peppers and onions, avocado, plain Greek yogurt and salsa. I'll eat it plain or in a wrap, depending on my carb macros. I have cravings for Mexican food all the time, and this does the trick !

AllOutof_Bubblegum

I'm not sure if this counts in your book as "minimal" cooking, but I LOVE my cheesy chicken rice casserole. It's so easy, and the only real cooking is the rice, which, if you have a $15 rice cooker, is really no cooking for you at all.

Cooked white rice (about 4 cups)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1-2 cans chicken packed in water
however much shredded cheese you like, whatever kind
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together while rice is still hot, and enjoy the hot, gooey, comforting mess. It's so good.

I sometimes swap out the canned chicken for canned tuna, and the can of cream of chicken for cream of mushroom. It results in a different tasting dish, but just as delicious and easy.

KylaDenay

Easy caprese calzones - Store brought pizza dough. Mozzerella cheese, tomatoes and basil. Bake and dip in your favorite jar marinara sauce and side salad.

Easy eggplant parm - Slice an eggplant. Top with sauce and mozzarella cheese. Bake and serve with pasta or side veggie steamers.

Quinoa burrito - Cook a pot of quinoa (literally just put it in the pot, wait for it to boil and leave it alone). Then stuff a burrito with quinoa, black beans, corn, salsa, cheese, and avocado.

Grilled cheese and soup - Add all of your favorite veggies with some cheese for a lovely grilled cheese sandwich with a side of soup.

These are all easy with minimal prep and minimal cooking.

NewMeSM75

I personally love frozen tilapia. Sea Best is my favorite. I put in foil pack with slices of lemon and seasonings. Serve with pasta or rice. Maybe steamed vegetables. I preferably like orzo pasta with broccoli added when pasta is close to done. I find it good with the lemon fish.

Also, another favorite is eggplant parmesan. I slice eggplant or zucchini. Roast in oven with little olive oil and seasoning. At end, add a marinara sauce and cheese.

Wonton cups are also great. Put wonton wrappers in muffin tin, fill with different veggies and cheese. Mexican is good. Fill with corn, black beans, etc. Top with cheese. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Just some ideas.

Velum_cado

I have very little time in the evenings Monday - Friday, so on Saturday and Sunday I tend to make meals that create a few nights of leftovers, then fill in the gaps with regular quick meals.

The one that I do most often when I don't have leftovers available is a bit of meat (whatever I have that I feel like - chicken breast, fish fillet, or pork loin steak usually), microwave rice, and frozen vegetables. I'll also keep frozen pizzas on hand for when I really want to put in minimal effort.

sullus

Baked haddock. almost zero effort/prep and can be on the table in under 20 minutes

2 lbs haddock - have your fishmonger skin it.
- 1 c bread crumbs
- 1/2 stick butter

Preheat oven to 425 - 450
melt butter and mix with bread crumbs
lay fish in pan, cover with bread crumbs
put in preheated oven for 15 minutes, 18 mins max.

Tallawah_

Tuna pasta salad

Boil some Fusili pasta for 10 minutes, drain, add tuna, sweetcorn, your preferred mayo and mix. Sprinkle some cheese on top and eat. Love it!

If it takes more than 15 mins your doing it wrong!

NewMeSM75

+ 1

Love tuna pasta salad.

climbing_trees

Veggie omelette. Scramble eggs and mix with a bag of frozen vegetables. Top with cheese if you're feeling decadent

jenluvsushi

An "easy" thing I make is to always have cooked ground turkey or lean ground beef in my fridge. I simply add it to salads, lentils or make wraps with it (tortilla/cheese. etc). I toss it in eggs too. I cook in bulk on the weekends and then nosh on it during the week. I don't know if you can sub it with fake meat....but that's my quick go to.

melimomTARDIS

microwave baked potato, topped with bbq sauce, side of canned baked beans.

frozen cheese pizza plus salad

scrambled eggs, toast, and salad.

pancakes (hungry jack complete mix) with cut up fruit, yogurt

LoneWolfRunner

Chinese take-out

CarrieCans

Pickled everything! My favorites are cabbage with carrots or tomatoes with cucumbers. My 10 year old loves pickled beets with onions.

I love to chop up whatever raw veggies i have and then i make a dressing of 2 parts water, 1 part vinegar (any kind you want) and 1 part sweetener (sugar or whatever you want), mix up enough to keep everything covered. It makes a great side dish or you can even steam shrimp and add it along with the veggies if you don't mind them a little tangy too.

Because vinegar raises the acidity, you can make up a bunch of containers of different things at the beginning of the week so you have something different every day or just make one huge bowl that can last for weeks in your fridge. Everything stays sooooo crisp!

Oh someone mentioned baked potato. Those are great but do not make them in advance. Reheated baked potatoes are notorious for botulism and that's deadly.

tomatoey

Not a massive fish fan, but quick seafood things I've liked
- smoked herring on toast
- pan-fried trout, lightly breaded (I'm sure you could try it with oat flour instead of refined white, and maybe use paper towels to absorb a tiny bit of the oil )
- scallops or shrimp with olive oil, garlic, paprika and lemon with kale or spinach
- mussels
- low-cal frozen fish (breaded, tbh, but I try to pick healthier products)

Other
- pasta, when I have no time. I might throw some broccoli in there for the last six minutes of cooking, and/or whatever meat I have on hand, or cherry tomatoes, or I'll cook up some mushrooms and zuchini on the side. Or I'll just have spinach salad with it
- rotisserie chicken saves my day, too
- eggs
- a can of soup with half a can of beans or lentils thrown in (for days I'm seriously out of juice); other half goes to a salad the next day
- just antipasto - cheese, bread, spreads

The rest of my go-tos all involve beef.

Alatariel75

My quick dinner is simply grilled meat and a salad. I mix up the salads, sometimes greens with feta, balsamic, and oil, or a coleslaw type thing, or a mexican type salad with lettuce, capsicum, cucumber, corn and salsa.. The meat I just sprinkle with a mix of spices and grill. Different meats, different spices and different salads make it not boring and there's hardly anything quicker than chucking some meat on the grill.

SnuggleSmacks

I think most people missed the part where you specified being a pescetarian. Fortunately, seafood cooks very fast.

I buy large bags of frozen fish, usually flounder, talapia, salmon, cod, swai, and Mahi Mahi. Get the ones that are flash-frozen and wrapped individually. That way you can just throw one into the fridge to defrost overnight, or drop it in a bowl of cold water under the tap for about 20-30 minutes to defrost while you're doing other things. Shrimp also cooks very fast, and you should get the peeled, deveined kind to save time (tail or no tail is a question...the tails add flavor, but it does take time to pop them off when you eat them)

To cook, you can sautee, broil or even microwave with your favorite seasoning sprinkled on top and a squirt of lemon or lime. At most, this takes about 12 minutes for thicker pieces of Mahi and salmon, much less for thinner filets.

For sides, do you have a rice cooker? It's a great way to cook dried rice, quinoa and lentils without having to watch to prevent burning. Just put it in and do something else while it cooks, about 20-30 minutes for most types (a little more for really hard brown and red rices).

There are specially made steamer dishes for the microwave. They usually come in 3 pieces, a base which holds water, a basket with holes to hold the veggies but let steam through, and a cover. You can get them in all sizes. They're also good for steaming your seafood.

If you get the rice cooker, you can also experiment with adding veggies and seasonings to your rice, lentils, and quinoa to make a one pot meal in 30 minutes. Just add what you want and add a little more water. Make sure the veggies are in small bits. I often add shredded carrots and finely chopped onion to my rice before cooking.

These days, you can usually find veggies in the produce department in microwaveable steamer bags. All sorts of french beans, sugar snap peas, cubed butternut squash, baby asparagus, baby carrots, etc., sometimes in mixes, and sometimes with seasoning included. If there's no seasoning, all you need is a little butter and salt and pepper, maybe a little garlic depending on the veg.

Alatariel75

I think most people missed the part where you specified being a pescetarian.

Yup, totally missed that. Though I do eat a lot of fish, and a salmon or snapper steak cooks quickly, adopts seasoning well and is just as nice with a salad.