Fast food...at home.

[Sibling Chatty]

What is your favorite quick-fix meal?

Ours is sausage dressing...pan fry a pound of breakfast sausage, mix in a packaged stuffing mix--if you sautee onion with the sausage, all the better.

However, there's more to life than sausage (Dan would say 'Yes, other meats') and I'm wondering what everybody else does for their favorite fast meal at home?

[The Meromorph]

Three frequent standby's (for me, my wife has different needs and tastes).
Spam and beans.
Smoked sausage (cut up into small slices) sautees wth onions and green peppers. Sometimes with parboiled redskin potatos cut into chunks and sauteed in with it.
Omelet and beans.
Two for both of us that I usually do.
Sautee a couple of chicken breasts cut into bite sized peices. Make a roux (butter and flour), add water and curry powder to taste. Throw in the sauteed chicken and cook until thick (a few minutes). Serve over rice or french fries.
Ham fried rice. Ham, egg, peas, onions, leaks, celery all diced and added to the rice. Season with soy sauce.
(We often have a tub of rice boiled in bulk and kept in the fridge).

[Kiyoodle the Gambrinous]

My favourite "fast-food" are pancakes. All I need is 1/2 litre milk, around 300g of flour and one egg and voila, in a few minutes I can make the little bastards...

Although it's very rare that I have all the ingredients at home (no problems with flour, but the eggs and milk can sometimes be a problem).

But there's (almost) always some bread at home, so I can always make at least some toast.

[Aggie]

Pho or a quick mockery thereof, or anything based around 'fresh' udon (in the sealed packs).

Everything else involves kimchi I think....  kimchi fried rice (all you need is rice and kimchi!), kimchi hotpot - the ultimate quick meal is simply reheated rice with kimchi and kim (salted roasted seaweed) on the side.

_{but I ruined the kimchi by oversalting the cabbage} 

[goat starer]

the five minute feast (healthy version - the unhealthy version is a bacon and egg sandwich)

fresh pasta (from the chiller section at the supermarket. I have never used my pasta maker)

marlin steak

tomato and olive pasta sauce (buy it or make it in bulk)

mozzarella di buffala

pine nuts


fry marlin steak, heat sauce, cook pasta, pan roast pine kernals

assemble so it looks like this.....


      sprinkle of pine kernals
            pasta sauce
        Slice of mozzarella
              marlin
             Spaghetti   
(________________________________)

Done well this should take 5/6 mins max. Looks terribly impressive, tastes nice.

[Kiyoodle the Gambrinous]

I forgot one important fast-food:

Beer.

It takes only a few seconds to open it (of course, if you can't find an opener it can get tricky, if you don't know how to open a beer without an opener - a lighter is always good to be handy for just that occasion).

And it is almost like food.

[anthrobabe]

my absolute favorite fast "food" is
microwave pop-corn! I like to put parmesan cheese on it and hot sauce( yes it is too good!)Sometimes I put on some dry ranch dressing powder ( like Hidden valley in the packet) and hot sauce. Mixing in some M and M's while it's still hot is really good ( no hot sauce needed).

I like beans on toast ( really).

Eggy skillet- take 1 or 2 leftover baked potatos and cut into chunks, in a large non-stick pan heat some oil and when hot add the potato chunks, add some chopped onion if you like onion, cook until browned.  Next add some chopped up meat items( like hot dogs ,spam,bocca grounds, ham, etc), and heat, then make a "well" in the center and pour in 2 or 3 beaten eggs. Mix it all together and cook completely. Takes about 10 minutes max. Oh you can add leftover whole kernel corn also.

[Bluenose]

Scrambled eggs on toast.  Takes about 5 minutes.

Take 3 eggs per person, add a dash of tabasco, some fresh chives from the garden, a handful of grated cheese and a little salt and pepper.  Beat until combined.  Heat frypan over a moderate heat and melt a decent knob of butter.  Pour in egg mixture and cook, stirring with egg liffter as egg cooks - does not take long.  Serve on hot buttered toast. 

[Pachyderm]

Pile of onion. Pile of tomato. Slice, and arrange in a pretty pattern. Drizzle really good olive oil over them, cracked black pepper and sea salt. If possible, feta cheese.

Hot griddle. Steak. Season with your favourite herbs. Cook to taste.


Eat. Smile. Promise to do the dishes...

[ivor]

Easy French Toast. 

Eggs beaten, a tiny bit of vanilla, a little orange juice and cream (Milk is okay).  Wisk together.  White bread, preferably stale, sliced to taste.   Dip bread in egg mixture, thirty seconds on a side.  Fry in a medium-high heat skillet in butter or margarine until golden brown and delicious.  Bake ten minutes at 350 degress.  Optionally sprinkle with a little cinnamon and powdered sugar.

Easier Spaghetti Sauce.

Add cubed pepperoni to any off the shelf spaghetti sauce you really like to make it better than Mommy's...

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

Noodles or rice with butter and salt and pepper.

Slice tomatoes, salt, pepper, add parm or Romano, nuke for ~20 seconds.

Salsa and chips.

Scrambled eggs with mozzarella and salt and pepper and milk. And Tabasco sauce. 

[Aggie]

Rice rolls... the pre-made sheets of rice noodle with the shrimp and scallion in them.  They're cheap, keep for ages in the fridge, and pan-fry up in a matter of minutes.  Also can be microwaved even more quickly.

I likes 'em with hoisin and sriracha.


Lately my quickie meal has been also been fruit in the blender with yogurt and a half-carton of pasteurized egg splooge white.

[Lindorm]

Panic Pasta:

Boil pasta in lots of water.

While the water for the pasta, and eventually the pasta itself is boiling, throw some minced garlic and red onion in a small skillet or pot with a splash of olive oil and let them wilt.

Add some other veggies if you have them -perhaps some diced courgettes or eggplant, olives or bell peppers. Tinned anchovies are not a vegetable, but they are also good in this. Let the whole mess fry some more.

Add a few diced tomatoes, a splash of water or wine, perhaps some tomato paste (Not ketchup, for all that is holy!) and most definitely a healthy splash of harissa.

Let the whole thing come to a boil, boil for a few minutes and then add a tin or two of tuna, and a perhaps a few spoons of capers.

Drain the pasta, toss it with the sauce, adjust the flavouring and serve forth. Shouldn't take more than 15-20 minutes at most.

Enjoy!