my go-to meals
ok. on friday, misfit asked what my daily dinners were, and whether i cook during the week or more on weekends.

well here goes. i'm kinda embarrassed about this, cause our typical meals aren't very healthy. i would like very much to cook more on weekends, but more often than not, there'll be a family (or friend) obligation or something, and honestly, we're lazy, so if there isn't an obligation, we usually loaf. back when i was unemployed it was great! not so much financially, but we were eating better. also, we don't plan ahead very well. heh. actually not at all, really. so now that i've written the disclaimer, here goes.

* i always try to keep a bag of frozen broccoli in the house (and only wholefoods' 365 brand. all other brands have too many hard / stringy stem bits) so in a pinch, and if i feel i need something green, i'll throw that on to steam and use that as some sort of side dish. maybe like a burger or something. i also keep some of those fancy green beans in the freezer too. i'll throw them on to saute, and use those as a similar side dish.
* speaking of burgers, quite a few of our meals in the past few months had been trader joe's masala burgers topped with either their india relish or the peach chutney i had canned into perfectly sized 4 oz jars. (perfect for 2 burgers) with a side of broccoli or steamed edamame.
* chana masala. open 2 cans (yes, cans, we're talking convenience and no forethought here) of chickpeas, a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, some of patak's biryani paste (i use maybe a tsp. maybe more) and i almost never remember to put the rice on before starting on the chana. so sometimes all we eat is the chana itself. :-( good thing chana is tasty.
* meatball sammich or spaghetti and meatballs. sometimes i'll make my own sauce with a can of diced tomatoes and tomato paste and a shiitake-ton of oregano, some basil, ground fennel, marjoram, onion and garlic powder (i know, i know. i even have that garlic in a tube. so sorry to blaspheme) as well as some nooch and spike. if i have them in the house, and the time/energy to chop and saute, i'll throw in some chopped onion, red, orange or yellow pepper (no green. i hate green peppers) and mushrooms. maybe zucchini if it's there. then after they're sauteed, start in with the tomatoes etc.
but.... if it's in the house and i'm feeling extra super lazy, i'll open up a jar of classico pasta sauce (and keep the jar for canning soups and stuff) and throw the frozen meatballs in there (usually it's trader joe's meatballs. i think i like those the best) and if we're eating it with pasta, it'll either be regular spaghetti or rotini. i love rotini. how it's got all those folds to trap the sauce. mmm.
* black bean sausage soup. open a can or 2 of black beans, chop up a package of tofurky italian sausages into chunks (i slice them lengthways into quarters before chopping them across) toss them in there, and put some water or a can of diced tomatoes in, and it's done really quickly.
* nachos (and to a lesser extent, tacos) i have a jar of uncheese cookbook's nacho mix in my cupboard. i multiply the dry ingredients by 2 or 3. depending on how many nachos i see in the near future. (cause if i leave it too long, the flour would go rancid and ruin the mix) so all i have to do is scoop out 1/4 cup of the dry mix, add 1/2 c water, 1 tbsp oil, a squirt of mustard and a little scoop of miso, and get on with the recipe. i then mix up the toppings. whatever we have in the house. black beans, salsa, chopped tomatoes, lettuce. i really like old el paso's sauces. they have just the right flavor. and i like to keep fantastic foods' taco filling in the pantry for days like this. back when i was unemployed, we'd eat homemade burritos. those were so good. but they take so long to make.
* chili. every so often, i'll make chili, but it's not a go-to meal per-se. but i'll make it from time to time on a "go-to"esque meal night.
* breakfast for dinner. fry up some gimme lean and tempeh bacon make some toast or pancakes, and if there are potatoes in the house, we'll make some homefries.
* gimme lean sammiches. yep. just what it sounds like. sometimes we'll have bagels to put them on.
* when i have a bunch of veggies in the house, i'll make vegetable soup. i recently purchased a 24 qt stainless steel stockpot from a restaurant supply store, and 2 weeks ago, i made a ridiculous amount of vegetable soup. it was great!
* i'll also make stir frys (again, often forgetting to make rice) frozen broccoli, frozen fancy green beans, carrots if i feel like cutting them up. onions, peppers, and whatever sauce we feel like making. it usually involves sesame oil and hoisin sauce. but the other ingredients are up for grabs.

so there you go. my go-to meals. not very many fresh vegetable based meals. i guess that's a symptom of being a 1-car household. the grocery store is only a mile away, but like i said, i'm lazy. :-) i only ride my bike to get to the train station to get to work. and that's only really cause i'd rather take 7 minutes to get there instead of the 17 walking would provide. (my socks and heels thank me, that's for sure)