Favorite QUICK go to meals? (20 min or less)

cardiacmommy

fallingwave wrote: »

Single mom. Trying to fit work, gym, time with my kiddo and healthy food into each day... Looking for ideas on your quick go to healthy meals.

Tonight I roasted some asparagus and Turkey kielbasa. Simple, doesn't need tending too. Looking for low carb with high protein and veggies. Fast clean up is a definite plus

I highly recommend the instant pot. It's an electronic pressure cooker. I bought one about 6 months ago and wish I'd have known about then 20 years ago. It's like a fast crock pot. I typically use the saute mode first and cook some kind of meat and maybe onions or peppers then add a sauce and pressure cook about 20 minutes. Add some rice and cook 4 more minutes. I like it because I don't have to stand there and babysit it. When it's done cooking it goes to Keep warm.
I've made spaghetti, chili, soup. Cook chicken tenders with a gravy packet then side of veggies. Beef chunks with sauteed veggies and Mediterranean seasonings (lemon, garlic and Italian seasoning and some beef broth) then add rice for a delicious rice bowl. Cubed steak with onions and mushrooms and a packet of low sodium gravy mix. Serve over mashed potatoes or cauliflower. Brown hamburger meat and add a box of dirty rice mix and some veggies. Chicken with a jar of Curry sauce, once chicken is cooked add in rice and serve a side of naan. Kielbasa with peppers and onions, saute then add a can of beans, some rice and broth and cook for 4 minutes. Can't get much quicker than that.

I even found a spring form pan that fits perfectly and holds medium tortillas and i made a taco pie layering taco meat, beans and cheese.

I also bought a steamer basket for it and it steams veggies perfectly. You can also use frozen meat in it. Frozen chicken breasts would take about 25-30 min.

One day we had lunch guest and my husband put a roast in the Crock-Pot for 5 hours on high. We came home and it was barely cooked and tough. Threw it in the ip for 30 min and it was tender! The ip is very good at quickly making meat tender. It saved our luncheon.

The possibilities are endless and I can usually dice what I need and have it set to start pressure cooking in about 10 minutes. Set it then forget it.

There are tons of recipes on Pinterest and YouTube. You can also use it to steam veggies or cook perfect boiled eggs. You can also add water to bottom then cook your items in another dish inside of it on the trivet to keep your pot clean.I use mine almost every single night. I don't know how I ever lived without it!! I used to make my husband do most of the cooking because I loathed it. Now I cook every dinner because it's just so easy. You can make desserts in it too but I don't eat sweets.

Very worthwhile purchase and I will be giving it as wedding presents from here out.

Alatariel75

beachpleaze wrote: »

Alatariel75 wrote: »

Cut a pocket in a chicken breast, stuff a triangle or 2 of laughing cow cheese in there, close it up, brown each in a saucepan (one only big enough to hold the number of chicken breasts you have flat on the bottom), then pour a jar of salsa over, put a lid on it and simmer until cooked. Serve with veg, or salad, or whatever you want.

Sounds delish!! Approximately how long do you let it simmer? Thank you!

About 15 minutes, on low unless the breasts are really big. It's REALLY good!

amusedmonkey

Alatariel75 wrote: »

beachpleaze wrote: »

Alatariel75 wrote: »

Cut a pocket in a chicken breast, stuff a triangle or 2 of laughing cow cheese in there, close it up, brown each in a saucepan (one only big enough to hold the number of chicken breasts you have flat on the bottom), then pour a jar of salsa over, put a lid on it and simmer until cooked. Serve with veg, or salad, or whatever you want.

Sounds delish!! Approximately how long do you let it simmer? Thank you!

About 15 minutes, on low unless the breasts are really big. It's REALLY good!

How do you close it so the the cheese doesn't leak out?

2wise4u

I did this last night to clean out the fridge and it was soooo delicious!

About 1/4 cup Chopped Onion
Leftover chicken (deboned) - I had about 1/2 a baked chicken leftover and pulled the meat off the bones
1 can of black beans (undrained)
1 can of corn (drained)
A couple of cups of cooked Jasmine Rice - any rice will do
Fresh Mushrooms

I sauteed the onion, threw in the mushrooms and let them cook for about 5 minutes then tossed in the chicken, beans and corn. I let that cook together for about 15 minutes then tossed in the rice for about 5 minutes and was done. If the mix dry, just add some water to the black bean can and add it until you get the consistency you want.

This was my way of cleaning out the fridge and not letting leftovers go to waste. It was absolutely delicious.

NewMeSM75

I got my Instapot Wednesday. I love it.

I have 4 kids but two at home during weekdays (5 year old and 14 year old)

Another great idea is when you cook, make extras to transform into another meal. Such as cooking enough chicken for dinner then transform leftovers as whole grain pasta with chicken and veggies for example. Usually doesn't take much time or effort to cook extras.

I decided to make meal kits for my instant pot this weekend. 1)Pizza pasta using turkey pepperoni 2) Pork chops with side of sautéed veggies 3) Orange chicken with brown rice 4) tenderloin with sides 5) steak sandwiches (I normally will put my steak meat over a nice salad.

Oh since you're looking for low carb. I saw a picture on IG. It's a cheeseburger salad. Lettuce, tomatoes, diced pickles, diced onion, crumbled ground meat, 2% cheese. I use a light 1000 island I make. It's really good.

NewMeSM75

amusedmonkey wrote: »

Alatariel75 wrote: »

beachpleaze wrote: »

Alatariel75 wrote: »

Cut a pocket in a chicken breast, stuff a triangle or 2 of laughing cow cheese in there, close it up, brown each in a saucepan (one only big enough to hold the number of chicken breasts you have flat on the bottom), then pour a jar of salsa over, put a lid on it and simmer until cooked. Serve with veg, or salad, or whatever you want.

Sounds delish!! Approximately how long do you let it simmer? Thank you!

About 15 minutes, on low unless the breasts are really big. It's REALLY good!

How do you close it so the the cheese doesn't leak out?

I normally use toothpicks to close mine.