The Elusive 30 Minute Meal

I’ve seen a couple of discussions on the interwebs lately about whether a homecooked meal in 30 minutes is possible. Many people cited the fact that when a recipe claims it will take 30 minutes, inevitably it takes more and I’ve noticed this phenomenon too. However, I will also say that without a doubt, there are some recipes that I can make start to finish, no prep done ahead in 30 minutes or less. Here are my favorites:

• Hamburger Mac ‘n’ Cheese – this is just an upscaled version of Hamburger Helper. You brown meat, add spices, milk and pasta and top with cheese. Usually when we do this, we cook up some crack broccoli in the oven. Since the main dish is so simple, I can quickly prep the broccoli and get it in.
• Loaded Potato Soup – This is an easy one too. The big “time” suck is cooking the potatoes and cauliflower. You just do both in the microwave while you bake the bacon for around 13 minutes. You can also fry it if that’s more you’re deal. Once the veggies are cooked, all you have to do is top them with milk and chicken broth and then use the immersion blender.
• Pizza Quesadillas – tortillas, butter, cheese, “toppings” and marinara to dip. We make them in the George Foreman, but a skillet is good too.
• BBQ Chicken Burritos – we tend to use canned chicken for this, but even with fresh, 30 minutes will do ya.
• Spaghetti – Put the pasta water on the stove right away. Brown the meat, cook the veggies (zucchini, yellow squash and mushrooms – I buy presliced mushrooms and quickly dispatch the others while the meat browns), add the sauce and warm.
• Stirfry – I speed this one up by having the rice cooker going right away and the vegetables (we use frozen stirfry mix) in the microwave. I heat a little oil, cook the meat, add the (mostly cooked) vegetables to fully warm and sauce it up.
• Sloppy Joes – Use the food processor to chop your veggies all together. Cook them, add meat and seasoning and while it simmers, toast the buns.
• Eggs + Muffins – I slam a batch of muffins together and get them in the oven right away. Then it’s just a few minutes to make some tasty eggs (with bacon!) to go with them.
• Burritos – can of beans, brown and season some meat, layer it with toppings on a tortilla or ….
• Breakfast burritos – this relies on having a few pans going at once, but if you can do that, you’re golden. Brown chorizo in one pan and cook hashbrowns in another. While the chorizo is cooking, beat the eggs. When it’s done, you just wipe out the pan and cook them up. Pile everything on tortillas with cheese and salsa.
• Paninis – much like a quesadilla, but using bread. We cook these on the george foreman too. Meat, cheese, veggies, pressed and toasty warm.

This is the (partial) list of stuff from 0 to dinner. The list of stuff you can accomplish with a little planning ahead or a crockpot … about 10x this one. And I’m still not talking tons of prep. Just a few veggies or a marinade. It really can be done!