I like to eat well. In theory, this could take a lot of time, but I find that by focusing on incredibly simple meals with a few ingredients — many of which can be stored for months — my husband or I can make dinner in less than 15 minutes of hands-on time per night. The key is stocking up on frozen meats (pre-marinated if you wish) and pantry staples and sauces during once a month trips to a grocery store. Then you supplement with quick stops for fresh produce (or have such things delivered). Mix and match what’s in your kitchen and voila! A healthy dinner is served — usually in 2 pots or less. Some recent winners:
* Teriyaki pork tenderloin with asparagus and mushroom risotto. Ingredients: pre-marinated frozen pork tenderloin, asparagus, box of flavored risotto, can of mushrooms.
* Salmon with soy-maple glaze, green beans and brown rice. Ingredients: frozen salmon topped with soy sauce and maple syrup, green beans and boil-in-the-bag brown rice.
* BBQ pork chops with peaches and toasted pine nut couscous. Ingredients: frozen pork chops topped with BBQ sauce and cooked with cut up peaches, box of flavored couscous.
* Angel hair pasta with mushroom-marinara sauce and salad. Ingredients: pasta (cooks in 3 minutes!), jar of sauce, extra mushrooms cut up and thrown in, plus salad-in-a-bag.
* Red-pepper pizza with salad. Ingredients: frozen pizza, red pepper cut up and baked on top, salad-in-a-bag.
* Baked chicken with apples and leeks. Ingredients: chicken, apples, leeks. Shocking! Bonus points for soup starter of lobster bisque. Ingredients: can of lobster bisque soup.
Breakfast is cereal, milk and coffee, with fresh fruit thrown in depending on what’s in season. Everyone is on their own for lunch but I buy frozen Healthy Choice type meals for myself. Snacks: string cheese, almonds, dried apricots, Wasa crackers with peanut butter. Dessert is dark chocolate, pudding or ice cream. Throw in some red wine and things start to feel pretty decadent!
Well, this one certainly didn’t get enough attention. I’m giving these a try! Thanks Laura. 😉