Monday, February 24, 2014

Quick Hearty Meals

After a hard ,busy day it's difficult to come up with a satisfying and nutritious meal.Sometimes you just have to cheat.What can be done is a mix of convenience and quick thinking along with quick cooking.A hearty dinner can be made and in just minutes. One of the best food stuffs to have in your kitchen is a chunky kind of soup.Both Campbell's and Progresso have these in a variety of different flavors.There's everything from Manhattan clam to pot roast to pasta e fragile and chicken dumplings.What you can do to add to these is put a cup of cooked rice or even orzo at the bottom of the soup bowl.Another idea is to serve a veggie rich salad with the soup .Add broccoli, peppers along with sliced onions and grape tomatoes .Finish with hot crusty rolls or a toasted baguette and it's a hot meal.Another idea is a quick chili using only chop meat , onion, tomato sauce and a dash of chili powder. cook and serve over polenta.Speaking of polenta, you can easily cook that up and mix in both Fontina cheese and butter.If you can't find Fontina then think about using Parmesan instead. A hot sandwich is both filling and easy to make.One of the simplest and the best is grilled cheese.You can use thick slabs of challah with a sharp cheddar.This can be turned into that diner classic,the happy waitress.Add thick,chunky slices of tomatoes along with bacon before you add the cheese.A croque monsieur , the French bistro variation, is another quick dinner that's both tasty and satisfying. Usually made with one slice of ham , you can layer it on thick for a heartier version. Those standards, hot roast beef and hot turkey are easy to make up, especially when you get the meat sliced at your grocery's deli counter.Use jarred gravy and put it all on Kaiser rolls.Serve with a side of canned veggies ,like green beans or succotash. It is hard to come with both a quick and nutritious meal.Cheat a little.Use ingredients that are already prepared and mix them with easy to make sides or bases.It's give you a dinner that's both healthy and hearty.

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