Family Feasts
Yesterday I had the great fun of opening a package containing a few ‘proof’ copies of my new cookbook. This is the uncorrected advance copy edition that was handed out at book expos this summer– there are a few odds and ends of typos. But it is a fully bound book that contains all the recipes, cooking tips and money saving help. Anybody interested in winning a copy? If so, leave a comment telling me your favorite meal to make when your cupboard is almost bare and you really need to go to the store. (Mine would have to be something with pasta and tomato sauce, since I almost always have those ingredients around.) On Saturday I’ll choose a random commenter to win the book, so get those comments in!
It would have to be breakfast, but with a diabetic son, I am very careful to not run out of staples.
Beans and rice, rice and beans. But, we doctor it up: http://www.goodcheapeats.com/2009/06/good-cheap-eat-beans-and-rice.html
I would have to say eggs and toast…
The most common one is baked potato bar. We usually have potatoes on hand and then can use whatever is available for toppings (often leftovers)
Beany-cheesies: beans, cheese, and a tortilla.
Oh Mary, I’d love to win your book…
My favorite go to meal is paninis. I take bread, shredded cheese from the freezer and whatever I have to put inside (sauteed zucchini or squash, onion, hummus, sun dried tomatoes, anything). Then I squish the sandwiches in a pan until both sides are crispy (flipping once). Yummy!
My favorite fall back meal is using whatever beans I have on hand(canned or dry) cook em, spice them up Mexican style and eat them in tacos shells or tortillas, again whatever I have on hand! We always have beans, spices, salsa, rice and tortillas or shells on hand.
tortillas! I almost always have all the fixings.
Chicken spaghetti in the crock pot!
When we have leftover BBQ chicken, I cut up into tiny pieces, add black beans, mexicorn, green chiles, and a little more BBQ sauce, heat it up in a saucepan and serve in tortillas with cheese and maybe guac on the side. We call it Tex-Mex burritos!
That’s so exciting for you (about the cookbook)! Congratulations!
My favorite is hamburger gravy – it requires hamburger, flour, milk and either bread or mashed potatoes.
How exciting!
Fallback is definitely pasta. Only takes 20 minutes!
I’d love to have your cookbook.
Fried eggs and toast / quick & easy.
Either breakfast for dinner or pasta and tomato sauce… It looks like I’m not alone!
My kids love Chicken Alfredo. Boil some noodles…any kind! Drain the noodles into a strainer that has frozen peas and left over chicken in it (cooks/reheats them both with the boiling water. Pour on some heated Alfredo sauce. Easy to make with a bit of butter, flour, milk and left over cheese. You can eat at this stage or put some shredded cheese on top and bake until melted.
When there’s nothing in the cupboard and I need to get the kids some dinner quickly (they’re little and eat before DH gets home) I make them porridge (oatmeal).
I am so excited about your book. We are a family of 5, soon to be 6, and I look for everyway to trim my grocery budget. My go-to meal is pinto beans and homemade tortillas. We have a 25lb bag of beans that we are never going to see the end of (so it seems). The tortillas just require flour, baking powder and shortening, which I also have bulk quantities of. If I am out of flour, I would make beans and rice. Thanks!!!
I usually end up with hamburger gravy because you can put it over almost anything, toast, rice, pasta or potatoes. It’s fast and easy too!
Congratulations on your new book!
My boys like scrambled eggs the best so I do that when I have nothing left.
By the way, did you ever see my review on your first book?
Pancakes or grilled cheese. For some reason I always have pancake mix, cheese and bread available.
oooo…yes I want a copy!!! k…when we are at the bare bone stage I make dahl. simple recipe lentils, can of diced tomato’s and some coconut milk (or shredded coconut if I’m out of milk) spices which are always on hand…a pot of rice and presto and amazing meal, super cheap, really satisfying and dangerously good.
I can’t wait to read your book (weather I win it or buy it)
congrats again on its pending release!
Pizza. You can put almost anything on it.
How exciting about your cookbook!
i have a couple fall-back meals:
spaghetti
seasoned baked chicken breast with rice and veggies
Well, since we live 1 minute walk from a large supermarket, we rarely have this problem! But if it did, it would be noodles and frozen dumplings.
ummm Wendys? hahaha I make some kind of frozen chicken. We always seem to have it in our house.
I’m a pasta girl as well, but have been known to make “whatever tacos”, meaning, “whatever I have left”.
My fallback meal would have to be burritos. We always have at least tortillas, beans, and cheese; so at the very least I can make bean and cheese burritos. Then I can add in tomatoes, meat, onion, avocado, taco seasoning, lettuce, etc if I have them.
grilled cheese and tomato soup.
I like to make pasta with butter, sauteed garlic and some parmesan cheese because I always have those things in the cupboard/fridge.
My son loves “Dipping Eggs” which is just an omelette (cheese only) with ketchup to dip it in. We almost always have a couple of eggs on hand.
I know things are bad when I feed everyone peanut butter and jelly burritos for dinner!
My two go to meals are toast with scrambled eggs, and yellow pancakes…
Glad you saw the review. I hope it generates more people reading your book.
lentil soup! garlic, tomato sauce, lentils, salt and pepper…
yum!
Definitely the breakfast-for-dinner idea always works at my house. But we also often do quesadillas because there’s usually tortillas and cheese and beans, but a new favorite go-to meal is your Italian Salmon Pasta. In fact, we’re having it tonight. Yummy and easy!
My go to meal is tacos! Always buy the beans, hamburger and cheese in bulk so as long as I have a tomato/lettuce, I’m good. It is fast and easy to fix too. Would love to win a copy of your cookbook.
Ooh! Pick me! Pick me! Um, my go -to meal would be either a simple stir-fry (usually some kind of meat in freezer, rice and a few veggies) or pasta with sauce of some kind (often tomato, but occasionally something like lemon chicken with capers. I usually have a half-eaten jar of capers in the fridge).
My kids favorite meal is “make your own pizza” and I usually always have the stuff for it. I buy flour and yeast in bulk and tomatoe sauce whenever it is on sale… so I always have some.
Meal….well, sort of….cereal, or nachos.
Pancakes or soup! I always have neough odds and ends to make some kind of soup.
Definitely “baked” pasta. I always seem to haev some grated cheese in the freezer and then everyone oo’s and aw’s about how good it smells when it’s cooking. It’s my little secret.
My Sane Woman’s Guide is in the mail and I can’t wait to read it!
Beans and cornbread. I know it’s generic, but I always have the stuff and it’s become one of our favorite things. I have been doing some creative things with lentils and rice lately, too.
Mine would be Om Rice, taught to me many years ago by a Japanese girl who worked for us. Add to cooked rice any veggies and chicken or chopped sliced ham or other cooked meat you have, add a little tomato ketchup and warm through. Make a 2 egg omelette in a large pan, add some warmed mixture to the top of one side of the omelette and carefully transfer to a plate and fold the rest of the omelette over the filling.
Yum
xc
Breakfast for supper……eggs, pancakes, grits. Usually there is atleast one of these items in the pantry.
chilli or speghetti or “poor mans feast” – I found it on youtube it was done with a 92 year old(or something like that) and she talks about what her and her family ate during the depression. it’s a beautiful thing.
Rice and beans or pizza
Popcorn! We always have popcorn kernels on hand, and we enjoy cooking up some homemade kettle corn.
Pancakes! With chocolate chips inside or maple syrup on top.
My fallback meal is waffles or cheese omelets.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup, or toast and eggs.