Need a dinner that is fast and cheap? Try the following suggestions on those nights when you just don’t have a meal planned, there is little food in the house, and you don’t want to eat out.
Breakfast for Dinner
In a pinch, breakfast for dinner can be a fun and fast way to get dinner on the table. Most of us have the ingredients right at hand, such as eggs, cheese, pancake mix, oatmeal, etc. You can also make pancakes from scratch with flour, sugar, baking soda and other basic ingredients. If you keep some frozen breakfast meat in the freezer, you can turn your pancake breakfast into something a little more hearty.
Pasta and…
Pasta is so very versatile. You can make a simple pasta dish or one that is more elaborate. It is also a great way to use up any leftovers that you might have in the refrigerator. Some favorite additions to plain pasta in our hour range from the desperate but good (brown butter–just heat up some regular salted butter in a pan until it starts to turn brown) to the custom (ricotta cheese and peas). Some other ideas of items to add to pasta include sausage or ground beef or turkey, canned or fresh mushrooms, fresh vegetables, lightly sautéed, a variety of cheese, tuna, chicken, and cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup.
Quesadillas and Tortillas
A stack full of flour tortillas, some cheese and whatever leftovers or panty items are available and you have a quick dinner in the form of quesadillas. You can make this dish with just the tortillas and cheese, or get creative and make something a bit heartier.
You can also use those tortillas in other ways, such as to make wraps. One of our favorite dinner in a pinch recipes uses chicken nuggets, cheese, lettuce, tomato and salad dressing or sour cream.
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