Emergency Meal Ideas

SailorSam

I think most of us could put together a quick decent meal in less time than it would take you to go the chippy; queue up and wait; then come home again.

trolleyrun

Risotto rice is always in my cupboard. The rice, a stock cube or two and herbs/spices can make a meal. I usually have a chorizo in the fridge as well, as it has a long shelf life and adds "something" to the dish.

I always have tinned tomatoes, sweetcorn and beans the thought of tinned meat gives me the heebeejeebies, I'm afraid. I'd rather not have meat than have it from a tin.

If you need a quick stir-fry sauce and like spicy food, this is lovely: one pot of chili flavour pots, honey, ginger paste and soy sauce, mixed with a bit of hot water (approx 1tbsp). Chuck in with stir fry and stir for a minute or two. Yummy

kboss2010

Grate and freeze cheap, large blocks of cheese. My bare-bones "I have nothing in" meal is macaroni cheese.

Ingredients:
Handful of Cheese
300mL Milk (keep powdered in for emergencies)
1 tsp mustard/mustard powder
Grated nutmeg
2-3 large tbsp of flour (to thicken the sauce)
2-3 cups Pasta
Salt and pepper to taste

MandM90

I always have risotto, rice, pasta, quinoa, bulgur wheat and cous cous in the cupboard.

Also always have tinned toms, spices, lentils, herbs and tinned beans/chickpeas.

So mine are:

Tomato and fridge bottom veg pasta
Chickpea tagine and cosh cous
Risotto made with LO veg, stock cube and a drop of noilly pratt/wine
Bean curry and rice

All else fails...beans on toast!!

LV_Sue

Tin of Heinz Big Soup, bought when on offer, (or equivalent) and some part baked rolls. We had that last night and thoroughly enjoyed it!

natbags

sardines on toast, baked beans on toast or our personal fave is flatbread pizza
Always have frozen flatbreads
just tomato paste let down with olive oil or water, spread lightly on flatbread, always have grated parmesan in the freeze (when i buy a block I always blitz it in the food processor and bag it up, because i would never use a whole block before it goes hard, it keeps really well)
add olives, chorizo (usually has a long life), anchovies, tinned mushrooms, sweetcorn, tinned ham etc or any combination or any other cupboard items
it takes 5-7 mins in the oven and can cook a few at a time

Lifes_Grand_Plan

Thanks guys, some good suggestions.

I suppose my option to add to this (that I didn't have in at the time) is a jar of pasta bake (suppose you could easily make your own though) that you just throw in a dish with some dried pasta and bung it in the oven for 20 mins.

Keep them coming though if anyone else has any suggestions

Steve059

This is my "emergency meal". Ideal for camping and caravaning, but not recommended for backpacking. It uses the water in the cans, so you could still make this if there was ever a problem with the water supply.

THREE TIN BEEF STEW

Makes 4 x 250ml bowls

INGREDIENTS

1 tin of stewed steak in gravy
1 tin of new potatoes in water
1 tin of sliced carrots or garden peas in water

METHOD

Open the tin of steak. Put the steak and gravy into a saucepan.

Open the tin of potatoes. Drain the water into the saucepan. Cut the potatoes into 2cm (1 inch) pieces. Add the potatoes to the saucepan.

Open the tin of carrots, mushrooms or peas. Add them and the water to the saucepan.

Stir thoroughly.

Put the saucepan on a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat until it is just boiling. Put the lid on the saucepan and continue to cook for 5 minutes until the potatoes are cooked.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Add a beef stock cube.

Add a teaspoon of dried parsley.

Use more than two tins of vegetables.

TIPS

If any of the potatoes are damaged, mash them up and add them to the saucepan. They will help to thicken the stew.

Ilona

I make big pans of veggie stew or curry, and freeze portions in margarine tubs. Take one out, put in microwavable dish and zap in microwave. Easy. Cook and freeze rice as well, or eat with a piece of bread. I have no need to go out and buy crappy junk.
Ilona

Change4Life

Hi Lifes Grand Plan,

It’s a great idea to use the foods that you have in your pantry to make tasty and healthy meals.

Our Smart Recipes app contains over 100 healthy, easy to make and calorie counted recipes, which may offer some inspiration. It also has a great ‘smart recipes’ function which provides suggestions for a day’s meals, and a shopping list function which makes it easy to keep track of everything you need, so you can plan ahead and keep your cupboard stocked with the essentials!

GS, Change4Life