In related news, I'm about to clear out my fridge and make a meal plan and shopping list

[conuly]

Fridge clearing has to come first, because over the past two weeks between the family drama and the heat (omg the heat) nobody has cooked and now we need to clean the fridge.

So, anybody have any cheap-but-tasty recipes they'd like to share? They should be pork-free or at least pork-optional - the friend who needed the plane ticket and a place to stay doesn't eat pork, so we need to be able to prepare her serving without no matter what.

Recipes that are fast to prepare or use the slow cooker are appreciated.

Comments

[melannen]

Most of my basic meals like that are variations of Stuff On Rice, although they also work On Pasta and On Couscous and probably other things.

--cook enough rice to fill everybody up

--add to the rice pot:

--some sauce/flavoring (peanut butter + milk or coconut milk + hot sauce, canned orange/pineapple/fruit cocktail/condensed orange juice + hot sauce, canned condensed soup still condensed, quick homemade white sauce or cheese sauce, raisins + red wine/apple cider vinegar + cloves + brown sugar, garlic + butter, or whatever bottled sauce was on the grocery closeout shelf are favorites)

--some chopped vegetables or fruit (whatever you have that sounds good with the sauce you used)

--some protein source, already cooked (depending on the sauce, peanuts, tuna, tofu, canned chicken, canned beans or chickpeas, cheese, hot dogs are all good.) If you're using raw, cook it through first.

Heat in a covered dish (microwave or stovetop) until the vegetables are steamed. Serve.