What is the simpliest dinner you can make that would still be considered a decent meal?

[rrneck]

I'm not known for my culinary skill. This is about as close as I can to get to simple good cooking. Don't laugh, I'm not dead yet.

Lettuce
Tomatoes
Feta
Vinager and Balsamic oil
salt
pasta
pesto
red wine (merlot)

fridg to tummy about forty minutes

[MiddleFingerMom]

1. Caprese salad

.
.
.
One of my FAVORITE meals... simply fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, olive oil,
and I add balsamic vinegar -- can't imagine it without the vinegar.
.
.
.

[rrneck]

2. Ah,

A man of singular good taste and elegant rationality.

[Lucinda]

22. If i could only have one meal a day for the rest of my life

I would probably choose caprese. Yum.

[Flaxbee]

37. if you toss in a good baguette, I'm there. caprese and baguette. perfect.

[Lucinda]

44. Yup!

Good bread is a wonderous thing.

[HopeHoops]

45. I'm with MFM on that one - simple, nutritious, and yummy.

You can use feta. Same sort of meal.

[rug]

3. Cheerios.

With blueberries.

[rrneck]

21. Simplicity with panache. nt

[HappyMe]

26. Wheaties!

[applegrove]

4. I have been making a cobb salad in these last few weeks. Avocado slices, grape tomatoes, bacon,

green onions, hard boiled eggs, sliced honey almonds, grilled chicken, and cheese like old cheddar or gorgonzola. Balsamic dressing. Yummy.

[freshwest]

7. Cut the meat and dairy and dressing and I'm there.

Or give me some spring greens, tomatoes and avocado with fresh lemon juice squeezed on it. And I'm done. Maybe some toasted olive bread on the side, too.

[rrneck]

13. When I read your post this is what I see...

I have been making a cobb salad in these last few weeks. Avocado slices, grape tomatoes, [font size=10]bacon[/font], green onions, hard boiled eggs, sliced honey almonds, grilled chicken, and cheese like old cheddar or gorgonzola. Balsamic dressing. Yummy.

I'd even eat avocado if it involves bacon.

[applegrove]

19. LOL. That is my favourite part too.

[Brickbat]

5. Crusty bread, room-temp Havarti, and a glass of wine.

I don't fuck around.

[rrneck]

14. I had to look up Havarti.

It sounds good. I'd be hard pressed to avoid some lettuce and tomato on there as well. And maybe olives.

[mysuzuki2]

6. chicken nreast in the over (350 for 45 minutes)

a potato in the microwave for 8 minutes and frozen corn boiled 5 minutes. Prep time about 5 minutes.

[rrneck]

15. As a son of the south

the term we would apply to that would be "larruping". Shit, that's down home cookin'.

[pokerfan]

8. rice and beans

and steamed veggies in my rice cooker. Prep time: about five minutes. Cooking time: about an hour.



http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/11/the_pot_and_how_to_use_it.html

[cliffordu]

12. Great column.

[pokerfan]

25. Thanks to Roger Ebert

I'm steaming everything these days. Rice, veggies, oatmeal, meat, grits. Ebert even wrote a cookbook: http://www.amazon.com/Pot-How-Use-Mystery-Romance/dp/0740791427 Though I don't have it. I do have the ultimate rice cooker cookbook: http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Rice-Cooker-Cookbook-Porridges/dp/1558322035 and can vouch for it.

[rrneck]

16. Yep. I steam veggies m'self.

But I don't have the specialized equipment. I just use one of those basket thingies. Taters, carrots, red pepper, onion and whatever else I have lying around. It's a clean meal. All you have to clean up is a pot with some water in it and a plate. One of my faves.

[grasswire]

9. an omelet can be elegant

A simple omelet, a simple salad = decent dinner.

But a simple pasta is also decent. A small piece of good grated hard cheese, some snipped basil or parsley, a drip of olive oil if you have it, some butter. There you have it. Less is more.

Polenta is really easy to make and inexpensive and also delicious. It's just cornmeal, cooked like cornmeal mush. Stir in some butter, some parm, some grated citrus peel, and you have a delicious dish that you can embellish as you wish. And if there's any left over, pour it into a pie plate or shallow bowl and refrigerate. It will thicken, and then you can slice it and fry it in butter until crispy. Oh delicious!!

[rrneck]

17. I'd be tempted to go straight to the slice it and fry it in butter step. nt

[riderinthestorm]

34. We do this too. Omelettes are definitely on the dinner menu in our house. nt

[Kali]

10. beans and tortillas

for a little extra take corn tortillas and pile a handful of grated cheese on them and bake at 375 until mostly crisp and have a pile of those with your bowl of beans. one of my all time faves

[rrneck]

18. I've never tried to do any kind of bean thing, and I like beans. I'll give it a lash. nt

[OriginalGeek]

11. you are far more patient than I

I'da just made a sandwich. Probably 2. If I'm doing simple there's no way I'm waiting 40 minutes for it.

[rrneck]

20. Point you've got.

In my farming days some of the best meals I had were olive loaf and mustard from the country store in the middle of nowhere. Bubba didn't fool around when he sliced it either. He used to say, "Y'aint gonna read through it, yer gonna eat it."

While I was chewing on one of them once I noticed the white bread was turning black for some reason. Then I noticed I forgot to take my gloves off. But it didn't stop me from eating the sandwich.

[OriginalGeek]

39. lol, now you've got me hungry

and I JUST got back from Outback Steakhouse (wasn't my choice - my daughter had gift cards and wanted to take me and her mother out to dinner and I'm not one to look a gift meal in the mouth).

But yeah, olive loaf and mustard is a fine fine sandwich.

[unionworks]

23. Fish Sticks and seasoned fries

Pop in the toaster oven. Splash liberally with tabasco.

[RebelOne]

27. Now that makes my mouth water.

I haven't had fish sticks or fries with tabasco, but I will give a try because I love hot sauce,

[unionworks]

32. Don't forget

...the ice cold beer to put thefire out!

[icymist]

24. Homemade white sauce with smoked salmon on pasta

This is easy to make:
Take about a quarter stick of butter, a 1/3 cup of half and half, and about a finger of cream cheese from a 'hard' package. Wisk this together under a medium heat until all has disolved. Turn heat down to simmer and cover. Put the pot on with water to boil which will cook the pasta. Crush up some garlic cloves and put into this mixture. Take the smoked salmon out of the pack and crumble into the white sauce mixture. Keep covered. When water is boiling, place pasta into the pot of water. (I prefer linguime) Boil for seven minutes, stirring every now and then. When the pasta is ready, strain and then gently place into the pot of sauce, mixing this. Serve with a good pinot. Yummy!

[Doc Holliday]

28. It doesn't get much simpler

than Ramen noodles.

When I was in college, my roomie and I practically lived on the stuff....that, and macaroni and cheese. We were on a serious budget. Roomie being a salad nut, there were always small quantities of things to add to the noodles or the mac & cheese-- bell pepper, onions, olives, etc. Plus there were sometimes the occasional leftover hot dogs or link sausages to toss into the pot. Wash the whole mess down with sun tea.

But then roomie got a job at Pizza Hut. Pizza then became a food group.

Sounds horrible, but it got me through college. But that was 'long ago and far away.' I just can't eat that much starch anymore, or I'd be Steely Dan's Expanding Man.

[KamaAina]

29. Cracked crab and chardonnay

this is what you do (in Northern California, anyway) when you have that "Oh shit, company's coming over in 45 minutes!) moment.

[sakabatou]

30. Pasta, salad and breadsticks

[geardaddy]

31. Taco salad

Ground turkey
Canned tomatoes
garlic
onions
cumin

cook that up and put it on top of crushed tortilla chips and spring mix

top with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

[riderinthestorm]

33. Salmon, tilapia, or any fish broiled or sauteed in butter, white wine, lil lemon and some seasonings

steamed veggies - anything I have on hand from broccoli, green beans, peas, carrots or anything else tasty in the steamer together.
baked potato in the micro with any of the usuals on top: butter, s+p, cheese, sour cream.


My other quickie is pasta with alfredo sauce - takes about 5 minutes and I can add cooked shrimp or chicken, or leave it as is for my vegetarian daughter
1/4 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
I usually serve this with salad. I get the Texas Toast from Aldi and just put it in a pan to "toast" it - only takes about 5 minutes for that too. So the whole meal is done within 10 minutes tops.


My family actually loves french toast for dinner as well. I usually crack open a jar of homemade applesauce. Another 10 minute meal.

Of course the instant meal I love the most is take-out!

[AlecBGreen]

35. Spaghetti & clams

for 1 person (change as needed):

2 tbs olive oil & 1 pat butter into skillet, heat, add juice from one can of clams (Snow's brand is best IMO). Dice garlic (i add a lot!) while oo/butter/clam juice reduces. Add garlic, parsely, salt & pepper to taste. When noodles are done & drained & drying (to get sticky) add clams. Add noodles into skillet and stir til mixed. Eat with salt, pepper & fresh parmesean (sp?) cheese. DELISH! It only takes as long as the noodles require to boil. Its our go-to "Im hungry but dont want to cook" meal.

[AlecBGreen]

36. p.s.

dont add garlic too early or it will brown. If sauce reduces too much, add a little H20. Wine is good with it

[cherokeeprogressive]

38. Skillet Spaghetti...

Brown some hamburger.
Pour on some Prego.
Boil some noodles.

Season to taste.

[kwassa]

40. How do you define decent?

I've been quite happy with chips, salsa, and beer.

Though I do elaborate vegan dinners, too. Yours looks quite good, by the way.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

41. grilled cheese and tomato soup --

grilled steak, baked potato and toss salad.



peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cold glass of milk.

[femmocrat]

42. "Girlfriend Chicken"

I used to make this when one of the boys would bring a girlfriend to dinner at our house: Grilled (marinated, boneless) chicken breast, baked potato and salad. It's super easy, everyone seems to like it, and it doesn't take any time to prepare.

[jmowreader]

43. Depends on how big your spice cabinet is

Unseasoned carne asada (raw beef roast, thinly sliced) is your friend. If you're a vegetarian or vegan, there is probably a vegetarian equivalent but I don't know.

This is what I'm gonna do tonight:

Two slices carne asada, chopped into strips about one-half inch wide. If you can't get carne asada, get a smallish steak and slice it thinly.
One 8-ounce can tomato sauce. (I wasn't going to specify the size, but SOMEONE on here would come back with, "I made this out of a number-10 can of tomato sauce and it was a little runny...&quot
One tablespoon brown sugar
Salt and pepper
One teaspoon chile powder--which kind you get is up to you, but I don't keep cayenne in the house because all that's for is heat rather than flavor
One teaspoon cumin
One teaspoon basil
One teaspoon ground rosemary
One clove garlic
A little bit of chopped onion

Brown the meat, seasoning with salt and pepper as you do so, and drain it. Throw everything else in the pan and cover it. Put on low heat.

Boil water and cook pasta.

When the pasta's done, so is the meat. Drain the pasta. Put one on top of the other, and it really doesn't matter which way you go.

Serve with salad, veggies, etc., etc., etc.

[charlie and algernon]

46. Last night I just coated a couple chicken breasts with some store bought rub

baked them in the oven and steamed a bag of vegetables.

Took a half hour to make and it tasted great.

[madmom]

47. I always try to keep some kind of canned meat on the shelf "just in case", with this I can

whip up hot beef or chicken sandwiches in less than 10 minutes. If you have instant potatoes you can make beef Manhattan, beef and noodles many many things.