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Easy Weeknight Dinners

Discuss your fast favorites and see what others are cooking for those crazy, busy weeknights at the dinner table.

Emergency Dinner

Everybody has an emergency fallback-on dinner. Luckily I have a husband that's not picky. I cook breakfast for dinner creating omelettes that are stuffed with whatever veggies and cheese are on hand. Sometimes the combos become interesting. Apples, Cheddar and sausage is one you might like to try.

Karen
10/22/2007 6:25 PM
71 Replies to Emergency Dinner

I grew up in a chicken, rice and broccoli house. At least 3 nights a week we had some combination of those three things, so I always have a bag of individually frozen chicken breasts, some frozen broccoli and rice (at least 2 different types) on hand.  I moaned about it as a kid, but now I'm busily working too, I see how useful this holy trilogy can be.  I then just dress that stuff up with what's in the pantry (stir fry sauces, marinades, canned beans or tomotoes, etc).  I find a bag of fresh spinach can also be a life saver!

10/26/2007 4:25 PM

That is a great idea. It would be great way to use my rice cooker. 

Patty at Betty Crocker
10/30/2007 1:36 PM

What about dinner for breakfast?  Is that a good fallback plan?  I mean you already have steak and eggs, why not hamburgers and eggs?

10/30/2007 2:15 PM

 Did you mean breakfast for dinner? We have waffles or pancakes in our house a couple times a month. Kids love it!

10/30/2007 9:44 PM

At Red Robin, they have the Royal Red Robin burger, which is a cheeseburger with a fried egg on it. Delicious! I keep wanting to try making that at home. It doesn't sound like it would be good, but it is fantastic.

Everything in moderation... including moderation.
9/28/2009 4:58 PM

my hubby can be a 'problem child' as far as eating goes.  he hates veggies other than carrot sticks, corn on the cob and cole slaw.  one of his favorite meals is beef patties and eggs.  he prefers ground beef to steak. i have been able to get him off ground beef and into eating ground  buffalo served with either poached or scrambled eggs and toast!   i don't see anything wrong with the meal as log as it isn't every day!

5/27/2010 11:13 PM

PattyatBettyCrocker:

That is a great idea. It would be great way to use my rice cooker. 

I agree- great idea!

 

9/30/2009 11:00 AM
We must have grown up in the same house, except we cooked it all in Cream of Mushroom soup. My husband's emergency dinner is chicken breast, rice and mushroom soup. Pour it all in a pan and stick in the oven. It's now known as "Brian Chicken".
11/2/2007 8:05 PM

CAN YOU SUBSTITUTE THE RICE WITH ANYTHING ELSE? MY HUSBAND LOVES CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM SOUP BUT WILL NOT EAT RICE. YOUR RECIPE SOUNDS SO DELICIOUS.

1/11/2008 10:17 AM

Ladyh,

Have you tried cooking the rice in mushroom soup yet?  When you cook rice in soup or in a broth (chicken or beef etc.) the rice absorbs the taste and unless he has an issue with the texture he might be willing to eat it that way.

 Thanks for all the great hints for emergency meals!

Nancy aka sixlittlekitties

1/15/2008 10:36 PM

Just last week, my son (who is a great cook) made dinner. He was trying to put together a quick dinner because he was tired after working hard all day. He used boneless chicken breasts, sauteed in a skillet. While he had bow tie pasta cooking, he was grating some cheddar cheese. About 3 or 4 minutes before the pasta was done, he added 2 heads of broccolli florets, and then drained all in a collander. Then he mixed the pasta, broccolli, chicken, a can of cream of mush-room soup and about a cup and a half of cheddar cheese in the same pot he had cooked the pasta in. He cooked it until everything was hot and cheese was melted. He served it with a bag of salad greens with some chopped tomato and red onion. Not only was it fast, but it was very good. Hope you try it, I'm sure your family will love it. Janice 361

7/9/2008 11:28 AM

i have been trying to figure out how to make this for a long time!! how much rice? how many cans of soup?

9/30/2009 3:16 AM

The standard at my house growing up was hamburger hotdish.  Hamburger, cream of enter soup in cupboard here, and rice.

2/28/2008 11:55 AM

The cheddar and sausage is awesome. I like having omlettes for dinner ecspecially with picante sauce poured over the !!!!!!!!

10/30/2007 6:23 PM

I always try to keep a bag of frozen chicken breasts in the freezer to make my favorite emergency meal.  Lay 4 to 6 chicken breasts in a 9 X 13 inch baking pan.  Spread a can of cream of mushroom soup over them.  Grate 2 cups of your favorite cheese and sprinkle that over the chicken and soup.  Then I make a box or two of stuffing mix according to the directions but 1/2 cup short of water.  Spread this over the whole cassarole and pop in the oven for 1 hour.  Its a great warm meal in a hurry.  Hope you enjoy it. 

11/6/2007 2:15 PM

rosiecheeks115:

I always try to keep a bag of frozen chicken breasts in the freezer to make my favorite emergency meal.  Lay 4 to 6 chicken breasts in a 9 X 13 inch baking pan.  Spread a can of cream of mushroom soup over them.  Grate 2 cups of your favorite cheese and sprinkle that over the chicken and soup.  Then I make a box or two of stuffing mix according to the directions but 1/2 cup short of water.  Spread this over the whole cassarole and pop in the oven for 1 hour.  Its a great warm meal in a hurry.  Hope you enjoy it. 

 

what oven temp?

11/11/2007 7:35 AM

I usually keep a bag of frozen cooked ravioli and my favorite jarred pasta sauce on hand. I put them together in a casserole dish with some grated mozzarella and  bake for 20 min at 400 F. Yummy baked cheese ravioli. You can also add some frozen meatballs in the casserole under the cheese.

Something I also make is Turkey kielbasa and bavarian style kraut. Just brown the sausage in  a skillet being careful not to burn and then cover with a can of bavarian style kraut. Add 2 tbsp of butter to the skillet and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Serve with honey mustard and good hot dog rolls from the bakery.

Anything Mexican is fast and easy. Just brown some chopped meat with some taco seasoning. Then chop some onions, tomatoes and shred some lettuce and place on a platter. Heat the taco shells or burrito wrappers and serve family style with some sour cream, shredded cheddar or jack cheese and  salsa on the side. If you like taco salad just add lettuce, tomatoes, onions and broken tortilla chips to a large bowl. Add some hot taco meat and shredded  cheese and mix together. Combine equal amounts of sour cream and salsa and use as a dressing. Serve immediately.

English muffin pizzas were always a hit when I was a kid and my grown teenagers ask for them often. Split one package of English muffins in half and spoon one tablespoon of jarred pizza sauce over each of them . Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and some pepperoni or canned mushrooms. Bake at 400F for about 10-15 min until cheese is bubbly.

 

11/21/2007 7:15 PM

In our house it is always "Tater Tot Cassarole".......We always have at least 3 of the 4 ingredients on hand.  It is very simple to make.  Heat tater tots according to bag directions in a 13 X 9 cake pan.  Brown 1 1/2 lbs. hamburger ( we use ground turkey) with some chopped onion, or just season with onion powder if you don't have onion.  Drain, add 1 can cream soup, we use cream of chicken, but you can use cream of mushroom, cream of celery for a different taste.  Pour the meat mixture over the cooked tater tots and cover with shredded cheese.  We generally use mild to sharp chedder but I guess you can use Monterey Jack, or even Mozzerella.  Pop it back into the oven and heat it about 10 mins or till the cheese is melted. 

 

Jen

12/10/2007 10:09 AM
What could I do if all I have are leg-quarters? Does anyone use those in any recipes? My family is tired of plain ol' baked chicken. Any ideas? I would appreciate any help...Sad
12/12/2007 12:22 AM

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