Quick!

Ok, time for a deviation from Italian... it must be done! I love Italian food and rarely get tired of it, but there are so many other amazing food selections! Now, I'm no Rachel Ray but I do work full-time, and I don't really care for fast food anymore, so a lot of times I want something quick! So here are some things I eat in a pinch. While I prefer from scratch, some things are pretty good from a box or can and it's worth the time you save.

Green Giant Broccoli & Cheese Sauce A lot faster than making your own and pretty darn good!

Knorr Spanish Rice This has a mild tomato flavor, I love it w/chicken and even as a side dish to calm down spicy mexican food.

Knorr Parmesan Noodles This one is a little spicy and again, great with chicken! I also like it with grilled shrimp and asparagus.

Pilsbury Crescents These often go on sale, but watch out, you might eat the whole tube!

Jiffy Mixes These are ALWAYS cheap! I particularly like the biscuit and cornbread ones.


When I'm in a hurry I usually make a meal with 3 basic parts: Meat, vegetable, and some type of carb--bread, potatoes, rice, etc. I eat a lot of fruit so I have to fit vegetables in at mealtimes. I use the George Foreman grill a lot when making a small meal for 1 or 2. Grilled or pan-cooked is faster than the oven any day. So you have to decide on a simple meat-- chicken, fish, beef, pork, shrimp (these cook so fast!) to start with. Then find some sides and be creative!

Grilled Asparagus
Buy some fresh asparagus. Snap off the ends, they will naturally break where the hard stems stop. Line a cookie sheet w/aluminum foil, place an even layer of asparagus on foil. Coat w/olive oil and your favorite spices (I personally like lemon pepper for this one). Bake at 375 degrees until tender. YUM!

Oven Roasted Potatoes
You can do this stovetop as well. Get some small red potatoes, or whatever you have on hand, cut into chunks. Coat with olive oil, rosemary, and lots of salt. Bake at 400 degrees until tender. This takes a while and is slightly faster in a sautee pan.

Grilled Pineapple
I LOVE this one! Get a fresh pineapple, trip the top and sides and slice. You can leave the core in. Grill it up on the stove or grill pan, and eat it all up!!! I love a slice on top of a big, juicy burger!

Basic Italian Salad
Get a head of Romane lettuce, rince and cut. Sprinkle with your favorite vinegar, then olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. It's really the only way I like to eat salad anymore. You can also try it with baby spinach, so good!

Snow Peas

I really don't care for most vegetables, but I would eat pounds of snow peas. They're the ones you usually find in stirfry and you can find them near the fresh ginger in the produce section. Sautee them up with some sesame oil and coat with soy sauce.

That reminds me...stirfry!!

I eat stirfry without rice sometimes to cut the carbs. If you want rice, go ahead. Otherwise, here's how I do it:

Buy a stirfry seasoning packet in the Asian section of your grocery store. It's the easiest way to go. Check the meat section of your grocery store, a lot of times they have pre-cut chicken, beef, and pork in chunks. You can of course use shrimp, my personal favorite! Then buy some veggies:

Broccoli
Snow peas
Bean Sprouts
Water Chestnuts
Carrots

Follow the instructions on the stirfry packet. Also makes great leftovers. Serve w/ramen noodles for more of a lomein dish.

Bunless Bistro Burgers!

I also love a well-seasoned burger, w/or w/out a bun. I usually don't have buns on hand so I just go without. Serve with a simple side salad and seasoned oven fries for a Bistro feel. So good!

Bleu Cheese burger: Add some pepper and bleu cheese to your usual burger meat and fry them up. It's a nice twist.

Hawaiian burger: add terryaki sauce to your burger meat, fry up and top w/a slice of grilled pineapple.

Southwest burger: add salsa to your burger meat for extra spice

I could obviously go on forever, so I will quit now. Hopefully I at least gave you some ideas! Tonight I had a pre-marinated Jenny O Tequila lime turkey breast, biscuits from a box and Green Giant frozen broccoli & cheese. Super good and it only took me 20 minutes to make.