When Good Ideas Go Bad

Tonight’s dinner was supposed to be highlighted by a lovely maple-glazed squash dish, but the whole thing turned into a bit of a snafu (make that, snafood), and I had to go for backup.

No, I did not order a pizza. Sometimes, that is indeed my backup plan, and you know what? Sometimes that’s my only plan. But tonight was different. I was in the mood to cook, I was ready to cook, and because it’s Farmers’ Market day, I actually had lots of fresh ingredients on hand.

But then we stayed too late at the library, and then Dove fell on her face for the umpteenth time today and had to be consoled for a while (I hate the pre-cruising stage. Hate. It.), and then I could not, COULD NOT cut the bloody squash. It was ridiculous. My knives suck, but not that bad, and I’m weak, but not that weak. It was just a very stubborn early-season acorn squash.

Anyway, the point is, the squash finally got cut up into pretty little flower-like slices, but by then it was really much too late to have to shove it in the oven for 45 minutes. So, into the fridge it goes for tomorrow night’s main event, and now my kids are really getting hungry and I have to go to for option 2. luckily, I am a big enough loser in the kitchen that I have become an expert at backup meals. Quick, healthy, tasty (if unconventional and a tiny bit desperate) meals for when your originally good ideas go bad. 

A few of my faves:

- Omelets. All you need is a few eggs and some things to throw in the middle of ‘em. Cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, asparagus, bacon, chicken – it’s so easy to serve a meal like this. If you can’t make a pretty omelet, don’t worry about it – a scramble with all the good stuff in it is just as tasty.

- Grill. I have to thank Chris’ father for introducing me to his unorthodox methods. For this recipe he pretty much takes absolutely any cooked meat (salami, sausage, leftover chicken, whatev), throws it in a skillet with onions, mushrooms, olives and anything else he can find, and voila – Grill. Being a bit of a stir-fry snob, I would never have done this. But it’s yummers, so thanks Father-In-Law.

- A la Carte Platter. What have you got? Got some eggs? Good – hard boil them, and onto the platter they go. Tomatoes? Cukes? Carrots? Broccoli? How ‘bout cheese? A little Bocconcini or mabe some Havarti? Put it on there. Hmmm… are those multi-grain Triscuits I see? Nice. Oh look, picked beets! Pea-shoots! Who doesn’t love pea shoots? You see where I’m going with this, right?

- Pancakes. You’ve seen my super-healthy pancake recipe, right? Well, if you have any left, fire ‘em up. If not, go ahead and make some more. If you only have plain ol’ buttermilk pancake mix, that’s ok too; just trade some of the liquid called for for yogurt, and add whatever fruit you have on hand to the batter.

- Quinoa. Quinoa is so, so, so easy to make, and is super healthy and tasty. It cooks like parboiled rice, in a one-one ratio and takes less than 10 minutes. I like to use chicken stock instead of water, and then use it as a base for a salad – add green onions, black beans, avacado, tomatoes and some lemon juice and salt. I promise, no one will leave the table hungry.

There. Now there’s no excuse to call for that pizza. Sorry. 

*SoundBITE*
Sprouted foods, like pea shoots, offer high-density nutrition. Sprouting food releases many of the enzymes needed to digest it, which means that proteins have already begun the transformation into amino acids, starches into simple sugars like glucose, and fats into a simple fatty-acid form. And of course, since sprouted food was most often originally a bean or legume, they remain chock full of fibre and water - and you know what that's good for.

Comments

[nomotherearth]

I'm a big fan of the A La Carte Platter. Big Fan. I will have to try Grill. Sounds right up my alley.

Here's a new last minute meal that I made recently: French Toast and Mashed Banana Sandwiches. Yum! Even better with chocolate chips.

I also like Gnocchi as a really quick kid-friendly pasta.

[kgirl]

Good point NoMo - there is always pasta. I think I left it out because I make it so often it doesn't seem like backup, but great suggestion. Quick, and easy to load up with veggies.

oh I'm like'n the a la carte concept...good one.

I am crazy for Quinoa- love love love it.
Bonus that Lulu loves it too.