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Solutions:
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- Meals
in Minutes
- by RACHEL
PAXTON
No matter what
your schedule, you're going to end up preparing a meal on the
run every now and again. I try to keep the ingredients for several
quick and easy meals on hand so I'm not in a bind when I'm rushed
for time and have to throw a quick meal together. Here are some
of my family's favorites:
Tomato Soup
& Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
I always keep
several cans of Campbell's condensed tomato soup and saltine
crackers on hand. Just add a can of milk or water to one can
of soup and you're in business. My husband prefers his grilled
cheese sandwiches prepared with butter in the skillet, but I
often leave out the butter completely by first toasting the bread
in the toaster oven, adding the sliced cheese, and then microwaving
until the cheese melts.
Stir Fry
There are a
number of generic frozen stir fries on the market now that are
very reasonably priced. I have to pick through them to find a
vegetable combination my family likes, but there really are many
to choose from. You just add your choice of beef, chicken, pork,
or shrimp, and it only takes about 10 minutes to prepare in the
skillet. I add a little soy sauce for extra flavor.
Spaghetti
I always stock
up on jars of spaghetti sauce when they're on sale. I prefer
to make my own, but when I'm pressed for time these jars of sauce
come in really handy. My family of three only eats about half
of the sauce at one time, so I freeze the leftover sauce (the
cooked hamburger added), and the next time it just needs to be
thawed out and added to the cooked spaghetti noodles. We used
to throw away a lot of leftover garlic bread, but I found that
especially when we're not planning on having spaghetti ahead
of time, toast with butter and garlic powder is a very acceptable
substitute. We actually decided we liked the garlic toast better
so I don't even bother with the garlic bread anymore. Just add
a salad and you have a complete meal.
Chicken
Burgers
I often run
across frozen breaded chicken patties on sale. These make a great
quick meal, any time of the day. They can be eaten alone or on
a hamburger bun. Just add mayonnaise, lettuce, and maybe a slice
of tomato. We like to eat these with frozen french fries and
maybe a jello salad.
Author:
© Copyright
2002 Rachel Paxton
Rachel Paxton is a freelance
writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook
containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes,
gardening, organizing tips, home decorating, holiday hints, and
more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.
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