Gainesville Life

Great-tasting, low-hassle, healthy meals .... what are some of your favorite recipes?

I don't know about you all, but if I don't have any idea of what to make for dinner by 1 PM, chances are I'll be in the frozen foods section of Publix later in the afternoon getting one of those Stouffer's Family-Style cubes of wonder to pop in the oven for an hour. Which isn't a bad alternative, but those lasagnas are so heavy they could be WEAPONS!

Crockpot fare is the easiest, quickest way to have a scrumptious dinner ready when the troops hit the door.  My favorite, go-to recipe book is Fix it and Forget it Lightly...Healthy, Low-Fat recipes for your Slow Cooker, by Phyllis Pellman Good.  I use this cookbook at least once a week.  Right now I've got a pork roast in the crockpot....added 2 pounds of sauerkraut (rinse it first), a couple of chopped onions, 2 cups of barbecue sauce, and 1 cup of water (see Three Ingredient Sauerkraut meal, page 89).....you're supposed to cook it on low for 8-10 hours. Being that I FORGOT to put it in earlier, I torked that sucker up to HIGH, where I'll keep it for the next 3 hours or so, before turning back down to LOW until dinner.  Just add a bagged salad and VOILA! Dinner is served!

And speaking of bagged salad.....does anyone else think the person who came up with that concept should be knighted?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.....it's probably healthier to get the head of lettuce and rip it up myself....but something about running scissors across the top of a plastic bag and having sliced carrots, radishes, and green stuff tumble out into a giant bowl is so....so....EASY.

And I tell you what, EASY is healthier, and most times CHEAPER, than the drive-through meat options I revert to when time's running out on the clock and the family needs to be fed.

Another quick and tasty meal I like to make (and the kids like to eat....always a plus) is macaroni and tuna fish.  You've got your box of macaroni (whole wheat to make it healthier), you've got your large can of tuna fish, drained; you've got your chopped onions and your low-fat mayonnaise to slather into the steaming boiled pile of pasta and whatnot.....add a bagged salad to the side....and VOILA!

Quick...easy....CHEAP.....and not too shabby in the health department, either.

How about the rest of you?  Any quick, easy, healthy go-to recipes you can share with the rest of us?