I’m a big fan of meal planning but even so, there’s often an occasion when I have to magic up a meal with just what I have in the house – usually when someone has eaten a key ingredient of the meal I was planning because they fancied it!
I do have a few standby recipes that usually save the day though….
Some sort of variety of Macaroni Cheese depending on what we have in the fridge.
I generally have some of my homemade tomato sauce in the freezer which is great with most things – mixed with pasta, as a base for tuna pasta bake or even with some grilled chicken wrapped in bacon (or not).
Toad in the hole is always a good last minute meal because I usually have some sort of sausages in the freezer although if not, you can make them with other meats too.
This is a great last minute meal as you just use up what you have – I love broccoli, potato and ham in mine!
These meals have stopped me reaching for the phone to call for a takeaway many a time!
What’s your favourite last minute meal?
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Great ideas! We love making our own tomato and oregano sauce to put with pasta and bacon.
great recipe I love this
Love mac and cheese. Always goes down well.
My last minute dash is usually a quick pizza
I love Toad in the Hole – one of our faves!
I totally forgot about toad in the hole, we haven't had it for months. The kids love it and will be really excited when I make again!
for us it would be chicken rice… we always have some chicken breast in the freezer so 15 min defrost, 15 min cooking and meal done
Anything with eggs is my standby meal – scrambled, poached, an omelette, boiled …..
It's spaghetti with ham and peas round here, pretty much one of the few foods I can guarantee my son will eat!
Lovely, comforting homemade quick meals – nothing better 🙂 I really love toad in the hole and struggle to find a decent recipe – reckon it's all in the tin myself.
Great ideas, thank you for sharing. We are huge fans of toad in the hole in this house. It is one of our firm favourites.
I love omelette as a quick and easy way to use up what's left in the fridge or if I have more time a quiche is great as I can just throw lots of different things in the filling. In case of a desperate emergency beans on toast is quick and always makes me smile
I always freeze a batch of homemade tomato sauce too, plus I usually have frozen veg handy too. Alternatively, I can rustle up something like a tortilla omelette or French toast as we've usually got eggs.
Oh yummy, I am going to try some of these x
Yes, frittata is one of my emergency meals too – always a good way of using up odds and sods from the vegetable drawer, same with Mac cheese – I often stick broccoli or a leftover carrot in that too!
I always have a jar of red pesto in my cupboard because I know that if I am stretched to find enough ingredients to make something with it is a great "combining" agent… add it to tomatoes for a pasta sauce, add it to halved, roasted aubergines with mixed veg to make a quick, tasty "stuffed vegetable" meal… the list goes on 🙂
great ideas, i freeze sauces i've made… pasta's always our last minute go to!
Some great ideas there. I usually have something in pasta related that I can knock up if needs be!
I too freeze tomato sauce its great for quick pasta dishes.Your ideas are good.