Staple Meals

                                                                                     Photos by Donna Turner Ruhlman
I’m fascinated by what America eats at home—not by what people serve at a dinner party or the latest favorite recipe they’ve found, but rather by what America’s default meals are.  I’d love to know from readers, what are your staple meals?  What are the meals you return to again and again—meals that are economical, quick, taste good, feel good, meals you make without having to think much? (I don't know why I say America--I'm just as curious and maybe more about what staple household meals are in Australia and India and Japan!  If you're an overseas reader, please comment.)

One of our staples is roast chicken, once a week, usually on Monday.  With potatoes and green beans.  Or now that it’s summer, the above grilled chicken.  The potatoes vary (sometimes baked, sometimes roasted in the same grill the chicken’s in—a great strategy when the weather is really hot—sometimes fried, sometimes new with herbs) and the beans vary (sometimes with almonds, sometimes with lemon, sometimes reheated in bacon fat with dried chilli).  Sometimes I make a sauce for the chicken, sometimes just serve it with butter and mustard, or over wilted spinach.  But always chicken, potatoes and green beans.  Like this one from last night, grilled chicken, green beans with coarse salt, lemon juice and zest, and new potatoes with fresh herbs:

So what are yours?  I want to know the whole thing, not just pot roast or burgers, but what the entire meal is, and a little detail, if it's pot roast, do you braise it in stock, tomato sauce, etc.?

The above chicken has a great baste that my father created and that I’ve tweaked a bit.  I slide a knife down either side of the backbone of the chicken to remove it.  I flatten the bird out, salt it, flip it over onto a hot grill over direct heat (I build a fire in a Weber kettle with half the grill covered with very hot coals, and leave the other half of the grill bare) and cook it for ten minutes to get a nice seared skin (if the coals are very hot or if there's a lot of fat that will render, you may need to cover your grill at this point--keep a close eye at this stage).  Then I flip it over and onto the other side of the grill.  Cover the grill and let it cook for another forty minutes or so while I cook the beans and potatoes.  During the last twenty minutes I baste it with the following:

Rip’s Grilled Chicken Baste

Juice from ½ lime
4 ounces butter (a stick)
1-1/2 tablespoons Coleman’s powdered mustard
1 tablespoon dried tarragon
1 tablespoon minced shallot

Squeeze the lime juice into a small sauce pan and place it over high heat.  When the juice is warm, add the butter and swirl it in the juice constantly over the high heat until the butter is melted (you can just melt the butter if you want, but the swirling keeps the butter emulsified, which helps to keep the ingredients well distributed).  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients.  That’s it.

Serve the grilled chicken with a chilli lime mayonnaise or simply squeeze some juice from the other half of the lime over the chicken.  Serve with potatoes and green beans.

UPDATE 6/25: Thank you everyone for taking the time to comment.  Your enthusiastic responses have been fascinating and a number of people have told me they've come away with new ideas for themselves. I'm thrilled by the quality and diversity of the kinds of meals you've described here.  Again, thanks.

Comments

[Joel]

One of our "weeknight staples" is Bittman's Spaghetti with Fried Eggs. A lot of what I see in food blogs isn't attainable in Southwest Ohio (Ohioans unite!), but ever since I found a farmer with amazing eggs about 10 miles from my house, I've been trying to stretch those suckers into every corner of my diet. It's usually served with steamed broccoli, asparagus, kale or some other kind of greenish, local veg.

Ingredients

* Salt
* 1/2 pound thin spaghetti
* 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or lard
* 2 large cloves garlic, lightly smashed and peeled
* 4 eggs
* Freshly ground black pepper
* Freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese, optional

Method

* 1. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Start the sauce in the next step, and start cooking the pasta when the water boils.
* 2. Combine garlic and 4 tablespoons of the oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the garlic, pressing it into the oil occasionally to release its flavor; it should barely color on both sides. Remove the garlic, and add the remaining oil.
* 3. Fry the eggs gently in the oil, until the whites are just about set and the yolks still quite runny. Drain the pasta, and toss with the eggs and oil, breaking up the whites as you do. (The eggs will finish cooking in the heat of the pasta.) Season to taste, and serve immediately, with cheese if you like.

[Shana]

One of my staples is simply sauteed fresh veggies over hot pasta tossed with some nice Parmesan cheese. When I can I use fresh pasta from the Italian Market. This is also good for using up those bits of veggies in the fridge.

Ingredients:
olive oil
butter
garlic, minced
onion, chopped
veggies, chopped (whatever is in season, or needs to get used)
salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Everything is optional. If your veggies lend themselves to blending well with onion great. If not, leave the onion out. Same with the garlic.

Heat equal parts olive oil and butter in a pan. Add the onion and cook over low to medium heat until starting to caramelize. Add garlic and cook briefly. Add remaining veggies and cook through, but don't overcook (they should still have a bit of crispness to them). Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss with hot pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

And veggie combination will work. My favorite combo right now is halved grape tomatoes and zucchini with garlic (no onion). The tomatoes start to give up their juice and blend with the butter and oil to make this wonderful sauce.

Asparagus and onion is also excellent. If you're feeling really bold, add a beaten egg to the pan at the last minute, pull the pan off the heat, and toss the asparagus and onion with the egg and pasta. The heat from the veggies and pasta should cook the egg.

Drat. Now I need a snack.

[OneEyedCarmen]

Even though it's early in the season, I've been lucky enough to find some amazing local tomatoes for one of our staples.

We have a nice little neighborhood market a block and a half from our house in downtown Baltimore (cuz I'm gangsta) where we pick up some nice fresh fish. Flounder is great for this one.

Just a light dusting in flour and Old Bay (I AM from Baltimore!), and a quick pan fry. In the meantime, I dice up the nice ripe, juicy tomatoes and add in some roughly torn fresh basil, salt and pepper. Drain the fish for a minute or two on paper towels and top it with the "salsa."

Simple, VERY fast, one pan meal that is absolutely delicious.

[OneEyedCarmen]

Oops...forgot about the olive oil in the tomato/basil mix. Use a nice one, it's worth it.

[That Girl]

Our staple (other than Thomas Keller's Favorite Roast Chicken served at least once a week with potatoes, vegetables and salad) is a pasta dish with tuna, capers, lemon and olive oil. The very best thing about this dish is that I can clean out my produce drawer by adding any type of vegetable from zucchini and asparagus to eggplant and tomatoes. Or I can just go out to the garden for a smattering of fresh herbs and/or arugula. Sometimes I add parmesan, most of the time not. But there is always fresh ground pepper. In mid winter we may use frozen vegetables (broccoli, green beans). It's the versatility that keeps it fresh, but the it's the basics (pasta, tuna, lemon, capers, olive oil) keep it quick and a constant at our family table.

[Victoria]

Two simple staple meals:

Grilled lamb chops - loin or rib; asparagus vinaigrette; steamed new potatoes with butter and parsley.

Walter eats mint jelly with lamb; I use Edmond Fallot Moutarde de Bourgogne.

Thin loin pork chops on the bone, bound with a breading of Wondra flour, eggs (beaten and strained to get rid of the chalaza), and Ian's panko, cooked in olive oil; cucumber salad with a sweetened vinegar dressing (Hungarian style); lima beans braised in heavy cream.

Walter eats apple sauce with pork. Homemade is best, but I don't always do that. If not, I use the best organic, unsweetened I can find.

[mel]

For us, it's certain combos that stay in the rotation

Lamb rib chops & HdP roasted new potatoes
single bone chps with all fat removed and brushed with a garlic, HdP, evoo, S&P paste and grilled to rare. Potatoes get a similar treatment but some butter too.

flank steak & mac and cheese
lime, ginger, garlic, soy, sesame & honey marinade
Anne's white cheddar ( OMG a box!) kids love it...

blackened catfish & satuéed spinach
Paul P's spice blend on the catfish & evoo and garlic & lemon on the spinach

[Maura]

One of my favorites is roasted pork tenderloin. Sometimes I'll just brine it, but I usually marinate it:

1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce or balsamic vinegar (I prefer the soy sauce)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsps. honey
Rosemary or thyme, whichever I have on hand or am in the mood for
2 bay leaves
2 or 3 crushed garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large measuring cup. Marinate the pork for at least 1 hour. I use a ziplock bag and turn the bag halfway through the marinating time.
Roast at 400 for 27-35 minutes.

In the winter, I serve this with roasted vegetables - onions, potatoes, peppers and garlic, and some couscous; in the summer with a salad; and always with homemade bread. And beer, of course.

These proportions are perfect for me. I've used a whole cup of orange juice, and more honey, but it's too sweet.

[Neal L.]

Braised short rib is a staple at my house. With mirepoix, stock, tomato paste, white wine, wild mushrooms, and herbs. Even when it's hot outside we have to have it at least once a month with some baguette and a lot of iced tea. Keller's roast chicken recipe with a green salad and mashed potatoes is on the menu every week. My 2 yr old pulls his foot stool up to the counter while I'm carving so he can steal the little butt piece and some crispy skin. Friday we always have seafood whether it's poached halibut with peas and bacon or mixed ceviche with tortilla chips and cold beer.

[The J Train]

Grilled salmon, usually with a lemon/mustard/shallot sauce, with baked potatoes (usually roasted on the grill), often with broccoli (simple, with lemon and olive oil).

Burgers and corn on the cob grilled with Bacon Salt.

Boneless chicken thighs (grilled or sauteed), pasta, and green beans (steamed over the pasta water) with garlic, a little white wine, and whatever herbs look good out back.

Chicken breasts coated liberally with Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning and sauteed with some lemon juice and served over salad greens (romaine, green leaf, red onion) with whatever dressing I have. (This was dinner about three nights a week in med school.)

[Mia]

One of our staple meals is Indian-style lentils and vegetables, served with spiced brown basmati rice. The combinations vary, but there are always legumes (lentils, chana dahl, chickpeas), vegetables (usually spinach, often tomatoes, cauliflower, okra, or peas), and a starch (usually rice, sometimes homemade naan). I serve it all with plain yogurt to soak up some of those Indian spices. This meal is so healthy and filling, and is good in the summer or in the winter. In fact, we had it last night!

[amy]

My staple meals tend to be either Dumplings, Fried Rice and/or soup...Sometimes I'll stir fry some veggies on the side.... Everything homemade ; )

Nice, easy, quick. : P

[mirinblue]

Wow! This is sure to be a lengthy remark! I have always admired families that serve the same dish (or variations of) on the same day of the week! Not so in my home. Here menus are planned 2-4 weeks in advance so shopping can be done and leftovers used. (Wasting food is a pet peeve!) And that being said...what do I cook often?

Pasta with olive oil, parsley and salt cured anchovy. Or w/tomato sauce(marzanos, olive oil, garlic, onion, oregano and the secret ingredient..lemon juice (just a bit)

Chicken-many, many ways. A family favorite is skin seared in hot pan, flipped to sear other side, dump 1 cup lemon juice (fresh-abt 7 or 8 lemons)1/3 cup olive oil, 6 or 7 cloves garlic, sliced, 2 tbs red wine vinegar, oregano, pop into 450 oven abt 30 minutes, serve w/orzo or rice (must be a lemon lover for this one!)

Bagna cuda with wonderful crusty bread and an array of fresh veg (especially endive)(leftovers easily converted to pasta w/anchovy..just add cauliflower,too!)

Fresh fish lightly seasoned and pan seared or broiled-often with a new potato and fresh green bean salad (tossed with vinegar, oil, dill, mustard, s&p)(leftover fish used for fish tacos)

Steak (grilled or quickly sauteed), sometimes with fresh mushrooms and red wine, somtimes just s&p. LOVE! it served with fresh tomato slices and sweet raw onion slices. Sometimes mashed potatoes.

Meatloaf, mac -n- cheese (has to have shallot in the white sauce), burgers, bean soup, homemade baked beans, ribs, salads, soups.

Lemon, lemon, lemon!

[schlake]

My staple food is "pot pie" ("Popeye" when I was a child). As an adult I've tracked it back to originating in Pennsylvanian Dutch "bot boi". I have no idea how it came into the family. My father was from upstate New York, and my mother from Missouri. My mother always cooked it, and my father never did. I asked my aunt about it, but she said grandma never cooked it and that my mother never cooked while at home. It is likely that my mother got it from her first husband, and my aunt will try to find out.

As a child, it was always made with yesterdays roast beef. I liked roast beef, but I liked pot pie even more. The leftover roast be chopped up and would go into a pot of water and be brought to a boil. A dough was made of eggs, milk, flour, and red chile. (my father used salt to cook and eat with, but neither me or my mother ever did). The dough rolled flat and cut into 1 or 2 inch strips 8 to 12 inches long, and boiled in the thin broth. It was fabulous.

As an adult I've never really been able to replicate the dough. I've started adding baking powder to it, and that really triggers a memory, but I don't remember it being an ingredient.

I never have leftover roast (I don't make roast), and my attempts to improvise the broth with fresh beef never taste right. I've started to make chicken broth for it in a pressure cooker. Just chicken in water for an hour of pressure, then I strain it.

Pho has made me start to season my broth with star anise from time to time.

My noodles are made from eggs, water, bread flour, black pepper, paprika, and salt (I've been forced to cook with salt by salt-addicted people who eat my food, and after Dr. Forgey connected my iodine allergy with my salt and seafood aversions I've acquired safe salt).

I roll my noodles in the pasta roller of my kitchen-aid, and just made random strips of dough pinches from the ball.

[Heather]

I live alone - so meals with multiple courses are almost exclusively weekend treats and tend to be when I go all out (therefore, not staples).

Weekday staples are omelets (ingredients vary with leftovers), fried rice (ditto), and at least 2-3 times a month I have a simple dumpling soup my family calls "gnepsh":

good, homemade chicken stock (or turkey, or duck)

plus dumplings made of eggs and flour mixed to the consistency of pudding and dropped into the soup.

It's my if-I-had-to-eat-one-thing-forever dish

[Cheryl Fuller]

We make pizza every Friday -- toppings vary according to our whim.

Chicken with lemon and olives is frequently on our menu -- from one of the Silver Palette cookbooks

In winter, pot roast -- braised in a small amount of red wine, a dash of soy sauce, for at least 3 hours -- served with roasted potatoes and a salad.

clam, bacon, potato pot pie from a recipe I found somewhere -- clams are plentiful most of the year here on the coast of Maine

[Connor]

Grilled chicken is a staple in our household during the summer months. We often smoke whole chickens on our Big Green Egg (sometimes we brine them first and/or use the bourbon glaze in Charcuterie) or when we have less time, we grill whole butterflied chicken or chicken thighs on our gas grill. The variations are endless but lately we've been using rubs with lots of smoked Spanish paprika, chili powder, fennel, mustard powder, cumin, and salt and pepper.

The side dishes vary, but one that makes frequent appearances is a grain or pasta (e.g., farro, wheat berries, orzo, mixed grains) tossed with fresh vegetables and herbs we have on hand (e.g., cherry tomatoes, basil, spinach) and a simple vinaigrette.

[French Laundry at Home]

Because I often eat more at lunch (business meetings, etc.) and because I'm single, I tend to go lighter at dinner. One of my year-round dinnertime staples is Heidi's wheatberry salad. I make it at least twice a month. Another frequent go-to is mixed grill -- I do this year-round (I love to grill in the wintertime), and make this when I have friends or neighbors over during the week: steak, sausage, chicken, lamb on the grill -- just seasoned with salt (no marinade or any of that nonsense), and I serve it with grilled zucchini and squash in the summer and roasted baby potatoes with olive oil, salt, and thyme in the winter. No matter what I make, though, I always set a place at the table for myself when I'm dining alone. Sometimes I read while I eat, but most of the time, I just listen to music and enjoy the solitude after a busy day.

[David]

A standard is 'Kathy Roast Chicken,' which usually means chicken roasted in some new and unique way. An example is to lift the skin from the breast and add butter which has been infused with herbs from the garden (whatever is fresh today).

Always served with roasted potatoes and braised carrots. Salad is required with a simple vinegar/mustard dressing.

The other which is in standard rotation is 'personal pizza.' This is fresh dough from Julia Child's book 'The Way To Cook' any tomato sauce you like and a collection of onions and bell peppers cooked in olive oil until tender, toss in finely chopped garlic (if you like it) right at the end to just soften up. Add whatever the butcher has in fresh sausage that you like today, cooked in the same skillet you just did the veg in.

Make the dough into 8" rounds, pre-cook them in a 450 oven until just not raw. Top with the sauce, meat, veg and a little Parmigiano Reggiano, back into the oven until the cheese is melted and everything is hot. You could easily eat 2 of these things. Served with Red wine, usually a Zin or a Chianti.

[Rich]

With two kids under 3, weeknight meals have to be fast and simple. These are the ones I keep going to the well for.

Pan seared strip steak
- usually seasoned simply with kosher salt and cracked pepper, maybe a quick a la minute sauce if I'm feeling ambitious (wine to deglaze, add stock (or cream), reduce)
- "fried baked potato" - microwave (!) 2 whole potatoes for about 5 minutes, cut in half and pan fry in a little olive oil until the surface gets golden and crispy, season with coarse salt - so easy and so good
- steamed broccoli - again, microwave (!!) in a vented dish for about 3 minutes, season with olive oil, salt, and some shredded Parmigiano Reggiano

Fish Tacos
- Get some fresh white fish (halibut is really good, but tilapia will work too), season with salt, sautee in a nonstick pan with some olive oil, squeeze some lime juice on it when you remove it from the pan. Meanwhile, chop up some tomato, shallot or green onion, and pick off a few leaves of lettuce. I like to make a quick sauce from an avocado and thick greek yogurt, whizzed in the food processor with a little lime or lemon juice and a pinch of ceyenne.

Penne with reta, fresh tomato, and basil
- While the penne is cooking, dice some tomatoes, crumble some feta, and chiffonade some basil. Combine all together and dress liberally with olive oil, maybe add some black pepper if you like.

The key to all of these is to start with good produce and proteins. They are all fairly simple, so poor ingredients will be apparent.

[luis]

My week usually goes one part pasta which always yields left overs. My pasta is typically bow tie or sometimes tortellini.
veggies chopped such as peppers red green and yellow and black olives and tomatoes(love the firm ones). The sauce if pressed for time I use newman's own basil. Otherwise I make a vinaigrette (very light on vinegar)with onion and garlic or a basil pesto with the pine nuts and the olive oil. For the herbs I will typically use fresh basil from my patio.

Then usually two parts stir fry: Typically for protein I use skinless chicken breast and lots of sweet peppers, poblanos ginger garlic onions. Sometimes I have green beans with onions and sometimes I use mushrooms with broccoli. The vegetables vary and the sauces vary although I am steering away from heavy saucing and just a sprinkling of olive oil and seasoning brings out the flavor of the veggies best. Also I will use meat in the stir fry's which I marinate the night before with some home made sauce or whatever is on hand.

Then one part fish/shrimp. I will have a fish or shrimp dish with brown rice or sweet plantains caramelized in the oven. I lay the plantains with chorizo in a shallow pizza pan and caramelize them. I drain any excess oil and then I season the filet of fish brush with olive oil and cook it next to the other ingredients.
Sometimes I make eggrolls which is nice, everyone loves eggrolls. This is a dish I am still perfecting. I am moving away from frying them and trending towards oven baking them. This works so so... My next batch I will steam the components of filling that needd pre-cooking(blanching) in the wok rather than sautee them. Then I will roast the spring rolls and finish the eggrolls in the steamer for a few min to prevent the eggroll from becoming tough as it cools. Always experimenting..every week I work on something I need to perfect. Either I perfect it like in the case of oven made eggrolls or I leave it alone as a dish I must fry period.

Then there are the crockpot days in wich I will stew a nice couple of pork ribs/or stew meat in stock with carrots potatoes whatever is on hand. And no matter how you slice it..there are always sandwich days in which you just don't have the time to cook and clean.

For the weekend, If I have a nice plump chicken, I brine it on say Saturday and butterfly it and roast it on Sunday. Typically I will use olive oil and oregano with garlic black pepper and salt for seasoning. The chicken will lay on sliced potatoes or carrots halved lengthwise.
Sometimes If I have a turkey breast I will brine it and roast it with guava shells for a nice caramelization and taste.(I get guava shells that don't come in sugary syrup,they are naturally sweet)
Or if I have a nice piece of salmon I will roast it with tomatoes and sliced potatoes in a tamarind sauce.
Or even a nice steak or fish with a typically red wine vinegar gastrique... Guess there is also something new in my kitchen.. a sauce, a protein and combination of veggies....And the to do list is longer than my arm. I the asian kick series...I still have wontons and potstickers to work on...On the American kick series I am still not happy with my chicken wings..again..fry or roast? And I have barelly scratched the surface on breading proteins. For the french kick so far this year I have succesfully deboned chickens and the only thing that is keeping me from doing another galantine is the stuffing?. Need good stuffing suggestions for one. In the latin kick department I need to work on my shrimp seviche. I took some notes to improve my last seviche but I never followed through with them.
then there is the new series I incorporate from time to time which I am hot on this week. Something salad. I recently enjoyed a fiesta salad on the road and I realize that salads are tasty and so healthy. Basically I will make some salad at least one day a week.
I am thinking a dab of sourcream, a dab of guacamole and some chicken fajitas in mild salsa with broken in tiny pcs corn chips over a bed of lettuce coarsly shredded and studded with black beans. Also a bit of bleucheese or ranch dressing on the side in case its needed.

[Jen in NJ]

Angel hair pasta with either chicken or shrimp, broccoli , either fresh or frozen, with a lemon/caper sauce.

It's so simple, filling and quick. I can make a lot or a little and have it on the table in less than 1/2 an hour.

This is a once-a-week weeknight staple.

[beaniegrrl]

I make foccacia pizzas at least once a week, usually with mushrooms, very thinly sliced onions, garlic and peppers and some fresh herbs sauteed in olive oil and butter. Add some green shrimp cooked with the veggies and herbs for a minute or two, and then (depending if I have them or not) some sliced artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes. Top with enough cheese to hold it all together. My husband pours a bit of chili-infused oil on top (he likes the spice). Less than 20 minutes total prep (if I don't have to peel the shrimp), and it's great at room temp if people are stopping over.

[Darius K.]

Like others here, the staple in my house is veggies and pasta. More often, though, I'll just make something relatively complicated every other day and in between just enjoy the left overs.

[beaniegrrl]

The other once-a week is flank steak on the grill, dressed onion and garlic, served with green salad and soba noodles (because my six-year-old LOVES soba).

[Tags]

I like to roast a chicken with wide-sliced lemon peel (using a potato peeler) under the breast, leg & thigh skin. Joining the peel under the skin is some Angostura bitters & nutmeg, sometimes shallots. Of course, salt & pepper on the skin.

[JB]

Nothing novel here, but along the lines of simple, economical, and reliable meals (with some detail)...

Interestingly, dinner last night looked just like your pictures, a (brined) butterflied whole chicken cooked on the grill with a simple glaze of honey and dijon mustard (another common glaze is honey mixed with ancho chile powder). Another summer staple is grilled pork tenderloin with a hoisin/soy glaze. Another popular summer meal that doesn't heat up the kitchen is slow cooking really inexpensive pork loin "scraps" from the grocery store (or a large beef roast). I sear them on the grill in the morning and then put them in the slow cooker with celery/carrots/onions/garlic. Sometimes I strain and thicken the "braising liquid" with a beurre maniee and we have "meat with gravy". Other times the meat is cut/pulled and mixed with cooked onions, chiles, cilantro and black beans and eaten in a tortilla. Pasta is another quick family favorite--everyone gets to pick their own sauce (simple red for my son, bread crumbs/garlic and parmesan for my daughter, and a quick genovese pesto cream sauce for mom and dad). I also keep a zipper bag full of meatballs in the freezer so I can crank out spaghetti with meatballs to change things up. Just a few easy, economical and reliable entrees that came to mind.

Side dishes for the summer are frequently raw veggies from the garden (peas and beans) or corn on the cob (sometimes a corn salad--corn cut from the cob+red onion+cilantro+garlic+cider vinegar/oil vinaigrette). Most frequently, we have fruit for a side dish in the summer (a popular fruit salad that my kids devour is strawberries mixed with mango, drizzled with honey and lime juice). Again, these are a few quick staples that I can crank out after I get home. If I had time to make a simple bread dough (usually a weekend affair), I grill rounds of flatbread on the grill to serve on the side.

My kids aren't much into salads, but we've had oodles of lettuce and spinach coming in from the garden the last few weeks. A nice dressing for mixed salad greens that I make is canola oil/rice wine vinegar/mirin/fresh grated ginger and garlic (plus a bit of dijon to emulsify the lot). For a spinach salad, I like to make a simple dressing of bacon fat and honey, and the spinach gets tossed with the dressing, raisins and sometimes topped with a poached egg if I'm feeling crazy...

[latenac]

We recently added butterflied grilled chicken to our rotation. We use Mark Bittman's recipe marinating in 1 tbs each of garlic, rosemary and olive oil and salt putting most of it under the skin. I like how you tied the legs, I'll be doing that next time. I usually serve rice and a salad with it. If we roast chicken in the oven I'll add potatoes.

We also do my combination of Mark Bittman's variations for quick tomato sauce for pasta. I usually add carrots to the garlic sauteeing and reduce 1/2 cup of wine before adding tomatoes and this time of year add fresh oregano or basil to the sauce while it simmers. We also usually add sausage. I also do bacon pasta as a staple and Penne with Vodka sauce from Silver Spoon. (this helps 4 yr old go to sleep early, j/k)

We've also been doing more dinner salads whether regular garden salad with poached chicken or shrimp or taco salad.

And then typical stir fry with whatever I have around. Tonight it will have beet greens, garlic scapes, pork and probably a red pepper. They get served with brown or white rice. Sometimes we do rice noodles.

And we have 2 coconut curry dishes Quick Red Curry, I use mint instead of Thai Basil since I rarely have it and Chiang Mai noodles both from Hot Sour Salty Sweet.

Once it stops raining every hour on the hour we'll be continuing our culinary adventures with our Weber charcoal grill. Flank steak, chicken, corn on the cob, veggies, pork tenderloin, leg of lamb, s'mores, etc., etc, etc.

[dan s.]

My wife is a serious soup and chili fan so I make this at least once a month:

White Chicken Chili

Olive Oil
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 large white onion
2-3 lbs. tomatillos, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
Cayenne pepper, to taste
3 4oz cans chopped green chiles
1 can (15 1/2 oz.) Great Northern beans, drained & rinsed
1 can (15 1/2 oz.) Cannellini Beans, drained & rinsed
6 tbsp shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup homemade chicken stock

1. Grill chicken breasts, let cool then shred.
2. In large pot heat olive oil.
3. Cook and stir the onion until tender.
4. Mix in the garlic, green chiles, cumin, oregano, cayenne, chicken stock, tomatillos and beans.
5. Add chicken and cook for 20-30 minutes
6. Garnish with cheese and cilantro

[Darcie]

At our house the staple meals (meals I make when I've had a long day and don't want to fuss) tend to be pasta, usually carbonara, amatriciana (with home-cured bacon, of course), or with a simple tomato sauce. We usually serve it with garlic toast and a simple salad and lots of Parm-Reggiano.

During the summer, we eat a lot of burgers on the grill. We've been perfecting our recipe for Double Butter Burgers, which include peanut butter and butter mixed with ~90% lean chuck that is ground fresh (plus a very few other seasonings). Sides with the burgers tend to be sparse - roasted potatoes, sometimes a salad, maybe even tortilla chips and salsa, and often we just eat the burgers with a lot of stuff on them. My favorite condiments are pickle, onion, cilantro, ketchup and mustard.

And when we really don't want to fuss, we head to our favorite Mexican place. It's like Cheers - when they see us, the staff greets us in unison.

[latenac]

Sorry to serial post, beaniegrrl, what do you dress your soba noodles with? I'd love to add that more to our rotation. During the winter we use them for do it yourself asian soup.

[Jenny]

My favorite staple growing up was actually my favorite comfort food - my mom's meatloaf. Since I live alone, I rarely make it for myself. Instead, I always keep chicken breast in the freezer (I buy in bulk when they're on sale) and make chicken stir-fry once a week or so (varying the chicken prep and choice of veggies). Nothing like a garlic-and-soy-sauce-infused chicken over rice, plus I can stretch it out over several days for lunch and/or dinner.

[CrispyGirl]

We roast chickens a lot, generally served with potatoes (roasted alongside or mashed) and green beans, lima beans, or creamed spinach. Most weeknights vegetable sides are frozen (however, we do cream our own spinach) because we're 2 adults working outside the home who have to feed 2 hungry kids.

When my younger child was small, we got into the habit of cooking things that could be quickly & easily reheated the night before, so that's still a large part of our repetoire even though this child's nearly 6. We love pot roast (braised in leftover red wine, with potatoes, frozen pearl onions, baby carrots, and mushrooms tossed in the pot). Edna Lewis' catfish stew is great year-round because it's not real heavy and full of vegetables, and generally served with fresh Cuban bread from one of the local bakeries.

We use the crockpot a lot, too, for faux Cuban pork (braised with mojo sauce, served with black beans & a quick salad) and faux Italian beef (braised in 1:1 beer & water mixture with dried oregano & parsley, served on crusty bread with carmelized peppers & onions on top).

During the school year, we make lots of soup for nights my son has karate. One of our favorites is a pasta & chickpea soup based on a Nigella Lawson recipe, served with bread & a salad.

[The Cheesemonger's Wife]

Every night must be quick and delicious if we are staying in. M'jaddara (lentils & rice with carmelized onions) and tabbouleh is always a quick go to meal. Who doesn't ever have lentils and rice and an onion in the pantry. Tabbouleh is made on saturdays and will last almost the week. We also have pork steaks almost weakly....for you non-St. Louisians it's a pork butt cut up into thin steaks (or thick if you have time to braise),grilled and served with green salad and applesauce. We eat our weight in eggs. Breakfast for dinner is always a treat. And risottos...we eat that twice a week...easy to make and you can put anything you want into it. Last night we had truffle and mushrooms. And fajitas....whatever meat we eat for the week is what we use.

[Nayiri]

I love a nice tomato-based salad in the summer like this one. I make it constantly during tomato season. Sometimes I'll throw some feta in there, sometimes some herbs... It's quick, easy and delicious.

Broccoli, Chick pea and Tomato Salad

1 pound broccoli
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small red onion, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper for seasoning
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed

Chop broccoli and steam until crisp-tender. While steaming, whisk mustard with vinegar, olive oil and onion, then season with salt and pepper. Toss with tomatoes, chick peas and broccoli; toss to coat. Serve at room temperature, or chilled.

[lisa]

We have so frequently had the same meal on Monday nights it has come to be known as "Monday" even if we have it on Tuesday. "Monday" is Penne with Broccoli and Parmesan from The New Basics Cookbook.

Other staple meals:
--Big Salad with hardboiled eggs, kalamata olives, and lemon vinaigrette

--Veggie burgers on whole wheat buns with tofu fries

--homemade pizza with mushrooms, red bell pepper, and olives

[amber]

i love reading all the comments so far.

we have a couple meals that i keep in heavy rotation for those nights that we need something yummy, but that won't take hours to get on the table. most of these meals also use a lot of canned ingredients (low sodium varieties) so i can pull stuff out last minute:

* turkey chili with a mix of black beans and kidney beans. i adapted this recipe from real simple and it's a winner every time. topped with whatever cheese we have on hand, some onion and a side of french bread or tortilla chips, it's great during the winter months when you want something warm and comforting. i usually have a serving or 2 of this also in the freezer at all times as it makes a great easy to pack lunch for the office.

* pasta with vodka cream sauce. best recipe, hands down, i've ever stumbled across from cooking light. fancy enough for company, but simple enough for a weeknight, i make this at least once a month. a green salad and homemade garlic bread on the side and it's delish!

* orzo pasta with broiled shrimp. the pasta contains fresh basil and parmesan and then the shrimp may get a marinade or sometimes it's just salt and pepper. a salad or a veggie on the side and we're sitting down to dinner in under 30 minutes.

[Charlotte]

Another single chick here -- when I'm blue, the only cure is to roast a chicken. A good roast chicken can restore one's will to live. In the summer I'll often do one on a weekend, sometimes on the grill, and eat it cold all week. Because I buy shares of meat animals (or get game from friends) I always have a lot of packages of ground meat. I do a bunch of different mixed-meat burgers: lamb/antelope, pork/elk etc ... you want something fatty to cut the lean game meat with. I do 2 variations, one with asian flavors: garlic, ginger, fish sauce, chiles and one sort of Mediterranean: garlic, mint, fresh young onion from the garden, aleppo pepper, and a Georgian spice mix I got from World Spice in Seattle that I can never remember the name of. Those are easy -- I do up a big batch and freeze burgers individually. I grow a lot of my own greens and put them up for winter, so nearly everything has some kind of braised green: kale, broccoli rabe, roma beans -- sometimes I freeze them in the muffin tin so I've got individual-sized "hockey pucks" I can pull out when it's been a long day (really, tastes much better than it sounds). And I couldn't live without my rice cooker -- I have the really cheap one and when it's gruesome-hot, you can steam dinner in the compartment above the rice. Rice, chicken or game or local meat, and a side of (mostly) my own veggies is the weekday go-to meal.

[Kovalic]

What an interesting question.

Here are the recipes I'll fall back on, on a time and time again, if I've no time to think about something special.

Most of these come originally from my favorite cookbooks, but have gotten to the point with me where I'll seldom if ever go back and look at the cookbooks when making them. Most have evolved slightly.

My go-to recipes:

Black Bean Soup with Jalapeno
(Gleaned from the Whole Chile Pepper cookbook)
Mushroom Soup
(Gleaned from the Les Halles cookbook)
French Onion Soup
(Gleaned from Le Cordon Bleu at Home)
Potato and Leek Soup
(Gleaned from Le Cordon Bleu at Home)
Sweet and Sour Soup
(Gleaned from Soups and Stews)

Spaghetti Arabiata
(A simple sauce that can morph into many different sauces with additions. I think I originally found it in Bugialli on Pasta - it reminded me of the sauces I had when my dad worked in Milan)
Fettucini Carbonara
(Gleaned from the Silver Spoon cookbook)
Risotto (Either mushroom or gorgonzola, but whatever's on hand)
(again, using the basic Silver Spoon recipe)
Pizza
(Trying to match the Neapolitan style as best as possible)
Lasagne or Canelloni
(A variation on my mom's recipe, with the America's Test Kitchen twist on canelloni)

Chicken Picata or Milanese
(Gleaned from watching my mom and grandma make it)
Tacos, rice and Beans
(Gleaned from Rick Bayless' Everyday Mexican)
Pan-fried Trout
(When available and fresh, of course)
Grilled/roast fish (usually Sea Bass)
(From a L'Etoile class I once took)
Catfish, coated in flour and pan-fried
Moules Marnier
(And all the variations this can lead to. Cleaning the mussles is a pain, though...)
Curries
(Using curry pastes, but I'm learning how to create my own)
Roast Chicken
(Gleaned from Thomas Keller's recipe)

Looking back over the list, I see it's it's odder and more eclectic than I'd have guessed...

[Eric the Read]

I will throw together a basic fried rice recipe of my own devising if I just can't think of anything else; my wife loves a recipe my sister stole from a relative, which is a sort of chicken-egg-potato-chip casserole-like-thing (I don't have a great memory for

In the winter I'll do a spinach lasagna with bechamel, which is fantastic, but doesn't reheat all that well.

If I want a light dinner, I have a rice noodle salad recipe I got from Vegetarian Times that is cool and refreshing on a hot summer night.

My wife and I both love to do an open-faced cheeseburger that's really more like a patty melt-- mix a couple of cups of cheese with some sour cream, as much horseradish as you can stand, and a jalapeno or two, and pour over burgers on buns toasted with garlic butter. The original recipe called for pickles instead of jalapenos, but we like it better our way.

For dessert, chocolate oatmeal bars are pretty much trivial, but I have found, interestingly enough, that using natural peanut butter doesn't work right-- you need the really crappy stuff (Jif or Peter Pan or something equally nasty) to make them come out right. Don't ask me why.

[Megan]

My husband and I bought a fixer upper a couple of years ago, and this season we've been slowly chipping away at a kitchen renovation. So, recently we have waves of some serious kitchen downtime. To get through those days, I always have lots of frozen lasange and meatloaf in the freezer in single or double portions. I made large batches a few months back, and we're chipping away at our stash.

On the nights when we can cook, our most frequent meals involve roasted chicken legs. We both love dark meat. He usually handles the chicken, and I'll do some sort of sauteed greens and some potato dish (generally, either roasted or mashed). If I'm in charge of the chicken, I will generally braise.

We found a polish place in the neighborhood that makes their own kielbasa, so we've been eating that a lot recently. It's easy enough to grill, which keeps us out of the construction zone. On those nights, I'll usually cook up some pierogis using a potsticker method on the grill's side burner.

Lastly, my other big go-to dish is shrimp sauteed with a little garlic and oil. I can get it cheap at the grocery store frozen. It thaws quickly and is easy to prep.

Other big sides in our house are braised carrots and also braised brussel sprouts.

Did I mention that I like to braise?

[Cooking Zuni]

Interesting comments. It's fun to see what everyone else makes.

A Saturday night staple dinner for two is a D'Artagnon chicken purchased on Friday, washed, dried, salted, and refrigerated overnight upside down on a rack, turned over right side up in the morning, then rotisseried Saturday evening until very crisp. I serve each person one leg, one thigh, and one wing with sides of cucumber salad with sour cream dressing, green beans cooked in tons of boiling salted water, drained, and seasoned with chicken fat and Maldon Salt, and sweet potatoes from The Gotham Bar and Grill Cookbook - mashed with butter and maple syrup (from my own maple trees, no kidding.) Dessert in the summer is usually vanilla ice cream and macerated strawberries; the winter, baked apples with vanilla ice cream.

The before-dinner treat here is the person I am eating with gets the chicken liver that was inside the chicken cooked in butter and sprinkled with salt and a little paprika.

The leftover white meat is used for chicken salad sandwiches on Sunday.

[Sara]

I feel like everything I eat is a staple meal. I guess that's what happens when you're single and po'.

But here are the absolute repeaters, standbys, things I can't live without:

Spaghetti Sauce:
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of whole stewed tomatoes and their juice, tomatoes chopped up according to how I want them that night
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped up
1/2 white or Vidalia onion, chopped
A couple handfuls of sugar (yes, SWEET tomato sauce)
A couple bay leaves, depending on how much sauce
A few sprigs of fresh Thyme from my herb garden
Dried oregano and dried basil (sometimes fresh, but not usually)
Chili powder and red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

I go a touch heavier on the olive oil, and definitly "heavy" on the sugar (I'm apparently, like, the only person who makes sweet tomato sauce in my group of friends -- ironic, because it is easily the most popular sauce anyone makes and everyone always has me cook the sauce when we're doing "family" dinners). It goes with any kind of pasta, and you can easily add either ground meat or meatballs (I make mine out of ground veal usually) if you'd like. Seafood, too -- it's a good Fra Diavolo sauce.

Vegetable Stir Fry. There's no igrediants list here, just whatever vegetables I have handy (I've become a fan of Kohlrabi lately, it's like water chestnuts, but better) (fresh and canned, btw... I keep bamboo shoots and water chestnuts around because I love Asian food), and stir fry them with chili-sesame oil, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Lately I've been serving them over udon noodles I got from the Japanese market, which cook way faster than rice or normal pasta and are delicious, but you can eat it plain, or with rice, or with bread... it's stir fry. It's flexible.

And, finally, risotto. I keep a large plastic canister of arborrio rice around, and I've usually got at least one bottle of open wine (I'm a drinker, yesiree Bob), and I'll throw in just about anything I have laying around, and tada! Dinner.

[Sara]

I should also note that I've lately become very enamored of poaching eggs and putting them on arugula salads. That is rapidly becoming a staple meal.

[Natalie Sztern]

This dish is my signature and the one I prepare over and over.

1 bottle 1000 Island salad dressing
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 small bottle apricot jam.

Stir together and shmear over chicken or chicken pieces and bake 350 basting often until the sugar carmelizes and the chicken is dark brown.

[applehome]

The weber with 1/2 charcoal (lump) is virtually a daily routine during the summer. Next to it is a gas grill and a 50kbtu/2-burner camp stove. All on the deck right outside the kitchen. So we hardly ever cook inside during the summer. (btw, I have a 5-minute start the charcoal method - I use the standard chimney, but rather than put newspaper in it, I just put it over one of the burners and light up the gas. About 2 minutes of gas is all you need, then shut off and let it burn - 5 minutes and your coals are red and ready to be put down on the weber)

Favorite grills are teriyaki (not the thick goopy sweet stuff americans like, but a vinegar/mirin/shoyu + spices marinade - so more sweet and sour - what I grew up with as teriyaki) - good for flank steak, chicken.

I'm Japanese so the rice cooker is always full. OK, a baked potato once in a while... maybe some pasta. Starches almost take care of themselves.

Hot days call for cold soba noodles. I always have 2-qt jars of home made dashi in the fridge, so mixing up a little dipping sauce (tsuyu) is quick. Also may boil some spinach, then drain and soak in the same tsuyu for 2 hours+ (overnight is good). Drain, squeeze, form and cut into a log and cut the log into cubes. A sprinkle of katsuobushi and sesame seeds - and you have ohitashi to go along with the soba noodles.

I'll have to try the butterfly chicken. My favorite chicken grill is "beer-can". Actually use the ceramic units. Inside in the oven, or indirect on the weber. Butter & spice the birds (I do 2 at a time) inside skin on breasts and all over skin outside, as well as inside the cavity. Place on "beer cans" (water works as well as beer) and roast - nothing could be easier - moist, delicious bird.

Gas grill is very useful in conjunction with the weber. It's my summer oven. Turn off 2 burners, top down. As a grill it's not so useful - just doesn't get hot enough - but who needs it, when you have a weber you can get up to heat in 5 minutes?

Veg's are simple & quick. I have a set of bamboo steamers (more than one, actually) - in the wok, I steam green beans, asparagus, brussel sprouts (I like Lydia Bastianich's deconstructuted method). Then I dump the water out of the wok, put back on the burner - add a little oo and/or butter, (oh - you thought this was going to be healthy...) some minced garlic, dump the veg in from the steamer - a quick saute and on a serving dish.

Often make ratatouille with summer squashes & eggplant (Chinese). Have made Keller's confit byaldi a few times now - the kids love it, I'm held in the same esteem as Remy the rat. Pipperade takes time (my standard ratatouille is quick and dirty) but it's really worth it - not just to please the kids.

For some fish, I prefer using the donnabe (Japanese ceramic pot) - in summer, in the gas grill "oven". Poached salmon with ginger, garlic, scallions. Really good the next day cold - my fav for picnics, with hollandaise. Some salumi, bread, a bottle of wine or two...

Also should mention the rotisserie attachment for the weber - most useful add-on for anything, ever, ever. Roasts of all sorts get really good smoked flavor (wood ring) from using lump charcoal alone - without adding any wood chips. Favorite is rib roast (bone in/out), chicken (truss up well), boneless leg of lamb... get coals really, really hot and don't worry about anything burning - what a great way to cook.

[Mer]

Summertime, 2 staples:

1. Grilled, marinated pork tenderloin kebabs with sweet onions and sweet Italian red peppers. The pork is marinated overnight in fresh squeezed lemon juice, white wine, olive oil, 6 garlic cloves, dried rosemary, thyme and sage (I put this in the blender and then pour over the pork).

2. Grilled flank steak marinated with beer, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. If I'm bad, I'll serve on toasted french bread with a sour cream/horseradish sauce.

Wintertime - brisket, also cooked with beer and beef broth, garlic, bay leaf, dash of marjoram and 6 large onions. I use the immersion blender to integrate the onions into the gravy.

[Schultz]

A recipe I more or less lifted from a restaurant in Florence. We eat this once a week or so.

Take a skirt or flank steak. (Flank is the more common, but due to my wife's preference of more well done meat, I've started using skirt more.) Pat with rosemary and garlic, drizzle with olive oil and S&P. Grill on high heat to desired doneness.

Take a bed of arugula. You can also use spinach, but it lacks the peppery goodness. You can dress it very lightly with olive oil and balsamic if you want, but it doesn't really need it. Slice meat and place over bed of greens. Shave high quality parmesean over it, preferably reasonably large curls.

Yes, its basically an Italian warm steak salad. But, its a very good one and takes about 20 minutes. You can also do endless of number of variations, although I like it simple if its quality ingrediants.

[Natalie Sztern]

1 whole chicken or as many as u eat
2 lemons for each chicken, spiked full of holes with fork tines)
Salt, pepper to taste inside and out.

salt and pepper chicken. Fill cavity with 2 lemons and sew closed. 400 oven until chicken is done...usually 1-1/4 hours or till leg moves easy. Put it in and forgedda bout id...JUICY

[Natalie Sztern]

one more:

go buy a metal chicken holder that holds chicken upright...forget the beer can bullshit, in my opinion nothing replaces the 'obscene chicken holder'-what is more is that with this recipe the beer can ruins it.

1 chicken whole
salt pepper
1 pge onion soup mix
2-3 oz water

again mix together and just massage into chicken inside and out. Place chicken on 'obscene holder' and bake 350 till done...so juicy that one chicken is not enough for a family of 2. I have 4 obscene chicken holders...

[evil chef mom]

With four kids doing all sorts of things that require me to run them around, what I really wanted to say is stale nachos and cold hot dogs from whatever snack bar they are playing a game at is my staple but that would be a really easy way out. When it's crazy busy we eat a lot of simple pastas tossed in olive oil and fresh herbs, omelets, grilled cheese sandwiches, mac and cheese, udon, rice and beans, or anything that can be made in a crock pot. When it's not busy at least once a week we have some type of tacos or homemade pizzas. Not very complicated but it's better than mac n' cheese out of the blue box we had every Wednesday night when I was a little kid. Yuck!

[Maryann]

Well, for my bloke, it's got to be eggs, beans, and chips.
For me..a pasta is standard. So many ways to prepare it and so many shapes and sauces. My favorite is a thin spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, marinated artichokes, olives,a little parm cheese and fresh basil or Italian parsley. Alongside is a nice fresh salad with only olive oil and red wine vinegar, a good crusty loaf and a glass of table red :)

[somethingclever]

Ah, roasted chicken over here, too. Just last week I think I cooked my best roasted chicken ever. It's usually served with roasted carrots and whatever potato is in season (new potatoes are fantastic right now), and a salad with a basic balsamic vinaigrette.
Our other staples at home are fish burritos (perfecting the recipe - can't give it out yet), and donburi (stuff on rice). The donburi is usually of ground meat or salmon, minced green pepper (red for salmon), onion, and carrot, and mixed with a miso mixture. I usually make a huge pot of this for later freezing and using in bento lunches later. Of course, there's always the leftover chicken from the previous roasting, so I make a lot of chicken salad (curried), and serve it on bread or homemade bagels with a salad or summery soup (Creamy Avocado or gazpacho, usually). We've also started eating a lot of pizza at home, now that I've got the crust to a good point, which is usually served with whatever leftovers are in the fridge, and sometimes some roasted beet/greens salad or a Caesar salad. Okay, getting hungry now...

[Michael Obertone]

We plan a menu 2 weeks in advance and try to get our 8yr old daughter to cook at least once in that time period. Sloppy toms, tacos, crescent pie are a staple for those days. The other staple, having myself and a wife who is Italian, is pasta and gravy. The pasta is usually hand made(my absolute requirement) and gravy which my wife and I make in about 20 minutes in large batches to freeze. Garlic toast is the accompaniment.

[Jennifer Rice Epstein]

What a great post! So many wonderful comments to look through.

In the winter, we are also of the roast chicken/potato/veg camp (using Alice Waters' method from The Art of Simple Food). But we live in Tucson, Arizona, so in summer we look for good meals that can be prepared on the stovetop (even grilling can get to be too much in 110-degree heat). Some favorites include poached fish (water, herbs, and some sherry vinegar or white wine) served alongside vegetables; Mark Bittman's shrimp and white beans with dressed greens on the side; or some take on Provencal salad.

[Garrett]

Right now? Pea soup with garlic. Frozen peas, veggie stock, and some garlic that I may or may not roast first. Afterwards garnish with cream or sour cream if I have it, black pepper and always some bacon.

To fancy it up for people, I recently rolled the bacon up into a palmier and served the palmiers along side the soup.

However, I go to work during the day, grad school at night, and hold another side job so stir frys are always super simple.

[CDT]

For the last 3 months, we have been having red beans and rice on Mondays. I read about this Louisiana tradition (Monday was traditionally wash day) and liked the idea of a simple, wholesome and cheap meal. I begin soaking the beans on Sunday, and sometimes start simmering them Sunday night if Monday looks to be busy. Rice will vary between white or brown, jasmine to basmati.

This dish varies a lot, and we use it clean out the pantry/fridge. Sometimes we use leftovers to make a simple broth/stock for cooking the beans. We tend to always add celery/onions/garlic, but have added carrots, green peppers, pork, sausage, beef, eggplant, cabbage, you name it. Its a veritable garde manger all in itself.

Its amazing how such a simple dish changes based on slight ingredient shifts. The beans taste different with a whole green pepper vs a half of a green pepper. Its really been kind of enjoyable developing your palate to taste the differences.

Its been fun, and we will continue. Of course the teenager rolls his eyes, but is appeased with a quick burger on the grill with a side of beans.

[faustianbargain]

wow..finally, a topic that i can contribute to and it doesnt even have to do with foie gras.

we come from rice. what i cook is mostly the food i grew up with..unless of course, i am cooking for people who i didnt grow up with.

my grandmother had it down to a routine. daily meals are of two types..a rice based 'meal' and a 'tiffin'. rice based meals feature rice, of course. a traditional south indian meal would consists of rice which is mixed with some kind of tamarind+pulse "soup".

generally, we'd have two types...a soupy watery rasam and a slighter thicker sauce-like sambhar. the difference in texture comes from the quantity of lentils(toor dhal) used. rasam = tamarind water + toor dhal + spices + tomatoes(usually). sambhar = tamraind water + toor dhal + spices + chunky boiled vegetables. sambhar and rasam spices are family secrets. no two households would grind it the same way. mine comes from my grandmother. i dont make mine anymore. it needs to be fresh and cant be stored for long...and since i dont need massive quantities, my mother sends me some from her batch if i need any.

while rasam is a staple, sambhar isnt made everyday. instead of sambhar, we'd have a buttermilk based sauce(moar kozambu, butter milk with coconut, cumin and green chillies), spicy tamarind sauce(thickened tamarind with red chillies and dried/preserved seeds of certain plants or just any kind of boiled vegetables..this doesnt have the toor dhal as with sambhar and is thicker) etc.

as a side to the rice dishes, we'd usually have two kinds of vegetables...one would be a dry preparation and the other a wet preparation(generally mixed with moong dhal). not too many spice additions here except maybe for dried red chillies for heat. as we also have kerala roots, at least one of the vegetables will have grated coconut as an ingredient(sometimes even in the sambhar). the wet preparations include avial, kootu, keerai(greens..sometimes with pulses, sometimes not) etc.

ending the meal is yogurt/curd/buttermilk mixed well with rice along with pickles. the pickes are preserved, made once or twice a year in huge batches and are always at hand. i buy mine now. it really isnt the same when you make certain things in small batches. it is easier to cook for 20 people than for 2. and the whole meal for 8-10 people usually took her 40-60 minutes to prepare. it takes me the same time to cook for two. the dhals are cooked in the pressure cooker. as it is cooking, the rasam and sambhar base will be boiling. by this time, the vegetables can be cut and prepped. and then its a matter of finishing off each dish. the problem with making south indian food quickly is not the actual effort spent, but the space one has...if there are two stoves and enough space to move from stove to stove, its all a breeze. in our home, my grandmother would cook and finish them off..and the rest of us...my aunt, mother and anyone else who is around with a free pair of hands.. will do the prep work. the dishes pile up like little mountains which the maid will clean in the outside courtyard as the cooking goes on. its a neat system and not quite the same when there is a single person cooking in the kitchen.

as my grandmother was religious in a rather orthodox way, the maid wasnt allowed inside the kitchen. i had no such qualms when i ran my own kitchen. but then again, i didnt have to cook for 10 people, so i'd cook for two days and 'rotate' the food. also, i dont do the whole sambhar(etc) *and* rasam thing. its either one or the other. and only one kind of vegetable a day. making the rice is a breeze, of course.

full rice meals are for the afternoon lunches(usually on weekends) and for dinner. mornings and weekday packed lunches are the 'tiffin' component. tiffin can be anything that isnt a rice meal. even today, we plan our weekly tiffins by our grandmother's template.

here is how it goes. sunday, the rice and urad dhal will be soaked for monday morning tiffin. monday is always..*always*..idli. because the idli batter has to be made after soaking the rice and dhal for several hours. then they are ground to a batter and then left out to 'rise' overnight. since idli is really a two day prep, sundays afternoons are when the rice is left to soak. by sunday evening, they are ground. they rise overnight and its ready for monday morning. of course, it makes sense to plan it this way when cooking for a lot of people. even though i can refridgerate my batter and cook it the whole week, i like to follow the old routine. there is something comforting about routines.

so its idli on mondays. with sambhar and some kind of chutney...coconut or tomato or ground pulses or mint-cilantro etc. the day after idli is always dosa. even though dosa batter is different, we usually made a huge batch of idli batter and when it 'falls flat', it became dosa batter. tuesdays are dosas..by tuesday evening, if there is any batter remaining, it becomes sour...and we get rid of it before it goes bad by making 'uthapam' which is a thick, spongy dosa topped with chopped onions, cilantro and green chillies. the rest of the week, tiffin is made from what ingredients are available. upma, chapati, a variety of mixed rices(coconut rice, lemon rice, pongal etc). tiffins are decadent and glisten with ghee at the beginning fo the month when the pantry is overflowing with groceries and they become more humble towards the end of the month.

every friday, there will be a milk based dessert and vada. saturdays, we'll definitely have avial..and sesame rice in the mornings for the crows that are seen as representatives of our ancestors...some hindus wont eat before feeding the crows in the morning...a little rice with a dollop of ghee and a spoon of dhal...but saturdays, the day of saturn whose vehicle is the crow, we make sesame rice..sesame being the favourite of the lord of planet saturn...let's face it, we had idols long before simon, paula and randy gave you american idols...and we like to feed them too... sunday lunches are elaborate and the sambhar is usually a coconut based one. also during the weekends, we'd have fried crisps called vadams. its only appalams or papadums during the weekly dinners. vadams are made from tapioca or rice-tapioca mixtures. lemon juice and green chillies give it a kick. they are usually made in the peak of summer..left out to dry in the scorching sun. usually, these preserved treats are made to cover the entire year's supply. even though its really hot in the south, the window to make vadams is rather narrow. the heat is unbearable, but it makes great vadams..and quickly. they are deep fried and it's crunch goes well with rasam/sambhar.

we probably didnt have fruits everyday. whatever fruits the middle tier(first tier are the grandparents and the third tier consists of the grandkids) brings on the way back from work. it wont be much. if there are three apples, my grandfather would slice them and distribute it evenly amongst us. i pick up crates of fruits now, but the satisfaction of sharing an apple is missing. i suppose nostalgia is cliched, but it is true.

apples are 'exotic', of course. when there is no fruit, there will always be bananas. the tiny yellow bananas(yellaki), fat and no longer than a child's palm is the best. the red ones are also a hot favourite, but not always available. melons, oranges, custard apple and a couple more that i dont know the name in english are the seasons ones. during the summer months, we took down tender coconuts from our trees. every weekend, a barber would come home to give my grandfather a shave and an oil massage. i think its a generational thing and it was one of my grandfather's favourite weekend thing to do. after my grandfather leaves, he'd bring down the coconuts and trim them so that we only have to spike the top to get to the coconut juice. he'd drop them in the well and the well water would keep the coconuts cool. because its surrounded by a fibrous 'shell', it would float in the well..and on any given hot afternoon, coconut water is just a pulley hoist away. cool coconut water is a lifesaver in hot climes because the sweating dehydrates the body very very quickly. i buy mine in cans now. its ok, but not quite the same.

my cooking routine is just a mini version of my grandmother mostly because i dont have to cook for a little army and i dont have the space or helping hands as she did. the kitchen was massive in our home. a dishwasher isnt as handy as a maid and a dishwasher certainly doesnt provide neighbourhood gossip. my ingredient list is the same. my monthly grocery list is the same as my mother's which is the same as my grandmothers'. only difference is that she used to order for a month, had a budget, finished off that month's order by the end of the month and made it a point to order fresh every month. even the smallest quantity i buy lasts me for at least 2-3 months. i discard it after three months. its upsetting, but it really isnt nice when its stored for too long.

[DodgerGirl]

Our go-to meals are spaghetti with marinara sauce and a green salad, or a kitchen-sink style home version of Hamburger Helper. A meat (ground turkey, chicken breast, kielbasa), chopped vegetables (onion, plus whatever I have in the fridge that might work well together), and either rice or noodles. Cover your eyes, because I've been known to use canned cream soups on occasion. Start to finish, it's done in 30 minutes and there is only have one pan to clean.

Well, you asked!

[Chris]

Once a week we make pizza. During the cooler months it's sometimes done in the oven with a stone.. but if the weather cooperates it's done on The Big Green Egg. Perfect pizza every time, and a chance to use left over meat, like that roasted chicken.

[Ed]

One perpetual standard is the Keller roasted chicken with whatever green leafy vegetable looks good at the store or in the garden. Potatoes often or rice cooked in chicken stock made from carcasses from previous staple meals.

We also rotate Bourdain's pork chops with cornichons and pork chops forestiere.

And once a week some kind of fish dinner--this week a variation of Bouchon's trout amandine.

In the fall and winter, there are many more braised things on the normal menu.

Great idea for a post.

[Sara]

I usually make macaroni and cheese once a month, half n'half and paremesean for the sauce with lots of black pepper. I adjusted it from one of Donna Hay's 10 min recipes.

I also make a cauliflower and farmer's cheese soup with croutons (adjusted from a bon appetite cook book) in the winter about once a month.

Weekly I make pasta with crushed tomatoes and whatever herbs look good from my window sill. I also will make pasta tossed with olive oil or butter and parmesean cheese for a quick meal.

[ntsc]

My wife and I probably add two cookbooks/food magazines a week. The last one I picked up was French Laundry, hers was Beyond the Great Wall. So things don't get repeated a lot.

On weekends we try and do dishes that will have left overs, roast chicken shows up every 2-3 weeks as example. Other days we eat the left overs, do fish, and in summer grill a couple of times. The menu is here: http://menu.vldyson.com

In winter I will take a 2" chuck steak and braise at very low temperature in a half bottle of red wine, we drink the other half at dinner, assorted root vegetables and cover the meat with Thomas Keller's French Onion Soup from Bouchan.

[DNash]

I fear to post, but since I live alone and cook mostly just for myself, my summer "staple" meal takes its inspiration from Mr. Ruhlman's dreaded "chicken Caesar salad." But I do leave it open with lots of variables.

This is made much easier by the recent trend of stores selling packages of individually vacuum-sealed chicken breasts. They're the bachelor cook's dream, because they're so easy to make small meals with, that can be varied from day to day so as not to be stuck making some big pot of something and leftovers for days.

So - I'll take a chicken breast, season it with some mixture of herbs or spices depending on my mood, and pan saute or grill it. Meanwhile make a basic vinaigrette dressing, again varying herbage. Toss dressing with salad greens (I usually get the "baby spring mix" or something that's mostly Romaine). Add diced chicken. It can be as simple as that, but I usually add some garnishes - grated Parmesan, homemade croutons (made from leftover sourdough bread usually), and/or bits of diced prosciutto or pancetta that has been sauteed up until crispy like bacon bits.

In the winter, when I don't mind running the oven, I'll take a chicken breast, season it up, wrap it in foil with a handful of mixed frozen (or fresh) veggies (beans, carrots, broccoli, etc.) and a few glugs of white wine or white vermouth. Bake in oven for about 25 minutes. When done, I pour the liquid out into a small saucepan, reduce a bit and then swirl in a touch of butter. You could make rice or potatoes with this, but it's a great low-carb meal without - and adding the bit of butter to the sauce adds just enough richness to make the chicken and veggies feel like a much more "filling" meal than it is.

Usually every fall I make a big batch of French onion soup and store servings of it in the freezer, so when a winter day gets me down I can pull one out and have a super bowl of homemade onion soup at a moment's notice.

[amy]

I hate to post again...but yes I do live alone...and as much as it's difficult to cook alone...I must say...I heart my slow cooker...

And I'd do mac n' cheese if I had a ton of people to feed...tho' I've been having a tendency of freezing a majority of my meals...

[milo]

Mostly pretty predictable stuff. Generally always a side salad unless there's lettuce in the main course.

*pancake dinner! With chicken sausages from Trader Joes, we use the various flavors of those as a side with many different things
*Pasta with jar sauce (sometimes homemade)
*Tacos or enchiladas, side of rice (yeah, it's the stuff in the bag, anyone have a recommendation for a good homemade equivalent? Or even better, a homemade version of the taco seasoning in the envelope?)
*stir fry of some sort - veggies, usually chicken but sometimes some other meat, one of a variety of sauce recipies
*grilled meat (or fish, cooked inside in the winter)/veggie (often grilled zucchini, my favorite)/potato of some sort
*pad thai with chicken, or veggie with eggs

Less often:
*homemade pizza, most often on the grill
*chicken pot pie
*chicken marsala
*BLT
*lamb tikka masala (with jar sauce, but still really good)
*chili in the crock pot, either meat or veggie

My goals for improving the everyday dinner are:
*more homemade
*more veggies (more often, more kinds and bigger portions)
*less meat (less often, smaller portions)
*more variety (particularly meat, less boneless, skinless chicken breast)

I really need to just make a big list of all the things we generally make for dinner to plan for shopping, have more ideas for nights when we can't think of anything, and analyze what we eat to figure out specific improvements for various meals.

[carri]

Salmon on the grill (the man of the house is a fisherman, we eat alot of salmon!) with a little drizzle of honey mixed with cayenne...basmati rice, steamed broccoli. in summer when the fish is freah and the broccoli out of the garden, it just doesn't get any better!

[Matt]

The go to meal in my household is spaghetti alla amatriciana. It's a favorite of my wife's so I try to make it fairly often. When I'm the only one home, I tend to make spaghetti alla carabonara (my wife doesn't like it). Both end up getting made with homemade pancetta from Charcuterie.

[ken paris]

Our once a week meal is a slight variation on Pei Mei's diced chicken with vegetables. It allows me to use up all the odds and ends of leftover veggies from the week:

2 lb Boneless Chicken

Marinade:
1 Egg white
2 Tbs Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Cornstarch

2 Cps Diced Vegetables
10-15 Slices Ginger

Seasoning Sauce:
3 Tbs Soy Sauce
1.5 Tbs Brown Vinegar
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cornstarch
1/2 tsp Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp. chili paste

Dice the Chicken in 2/3" peices
Soak in Marinade for 1/2 to 1 hour

Heat 2" Oil in Wok
Drain the Chicken
Fry the Chicken in the Oil for about 2 minutes

Remove the Chicken and drain all but 2 Tbs of the Oil.

Add the Vegetables and Ginger to the oil and toss for about 1 minute.
Add the Chicken and the Seasoning Sauce.
Toss until sauce is thickened and chicken is cooked through.

[Josh Baugher]

A staple meal for me (single guy), similar to Schultz's:

Saute some red/orange/yellow pepper strips in olive oil, s&p, set aside.

Saute chicken (usually I slice up tenderloin into bite-sized pieces) in minced garlic, olive oil, s&p.

Mound arugula on plate, arrange some strips and chicken, pour on some olive oil & balsamic, add s&p if needed.

Done.

So easy, tasty and filling! Makes 2-3 really big servings. :-)

[Pete O.]

Once a month I'll make a ragu bolognese, which normally ends up in a pasticchiata or arancini or suppli.

The ragu starts with rendering homemade pancetta, followed by a mirepoix. Next ground (or cut into 1" chunks, depending on the final consistency of the ragu you're looking for) beef chuck, pork shoulder, veal shoulder, and chicken liver are browned. The meat is cooked in whole milk until nearly dry, white wine until nearly dry, then tomatoes. Usually I leave it in a low oven for 8-12 hours.

[brandon_w]

A simple vodka cream pasta is a staple at our home. 36 ounces of whole peeled tomatoes (crushed by hand), shallots, garlic, vodka, chicken stock, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and loads of fresh basil. Add in whatever shape noodles I have around Served with fresh italian bread (not homemade). It's satisfying and the leftovers make a great luch to take to work.

Burgers are another common meal. Usually they are just basic burgers, beef, salt, and pepper with some worschetshire sauce. Now and then I will switch it up, and some chipotle and ancho powder, or stuff with blue cheese, or stuff with bacon and cheddar. When it's not too hot they are served with oven fries. If it's too hot to run the oven, potatoes and green beans are thrown in an aluminum foil packet with various seasonings or herbs. Possibly fresh thyme and lemon. I never tire of a good cheeseburger.

I think that's enough typing for now.

[Liz C]

I'm on a 'flexitarian' kick, cutting animal products way back to a supporting roll, optimally less than 10% of total calories. Of course I'm blogging about it. :)

My default meal, when it's just me, is what I call a Big-Ass Salad: romaine with some combination of beans, avocado, hummus, peas, other vegs, or leftovers.

Default when I'm feeding my 8yo son is 'Taco Del Mom': toasted cheese quesadilla, refried beans, guacamole, brown rice, chopped tomatoes. I throw mine on a BAS. He also loves Blue Box and peas, which is also good on a BAS.

I'm still working on a quick & easy repertoire of bean/veg based meals that don't use pasta as a base. I have a red beans & (brown) rice recipe I've used and loved for years. Now instead of a lb of sausage I make it with one link, ~1/4 lb, just enough to flavor it. Those leftovers are really good on a BAS.

In the winter I'll make some variation of stracciatella (egg drop) & spinach soup (sans pasta), usually with some sort of whole grain bread on the side. Or a minestrone w/a little ham as flavoring.

It's an interesting project, for sure.

[Ricky]

My wife is Costa Rican...I'm Mexican.

We love our rice and beans.

Protein is usually carne asada. It's beef flap meat seasoned and marinated with onions, cilantro, orange juice and meat seasoning (preferably Chef Merito brand). Throw it on the grill and damn...sweet goodness. Cut it up for some tacos with some homemade salsa and guacamole and an ice cold Negra Modelo.

Quick secret for the guacamole. You guys know those cans of pickled jalapenos, with the carrots and onions? Pour some of that juice in your guac...it's nice.

[stephanie]

A favorite of my boys', usually served once or twice a week is grilled chicken taco's (taco night!) that they get to assemble themselves (always so much fun.) Farm raised chicken breasts grilled and cubed, served along side ramekins filled with tomatoes, avocado, shredded cheese, salsa, and guacomole. Quick and easy for me, and a sure fire hit with them.

[stephanie]

Oh, and both hard and soft taco shells!!

[ErikaK]

With our son in club baseball 3 nights a week now, we have little cooking time :( but I do keep him "carbed" with pasta at least once a week: Carbonara, or homemade marinara most often. Tonnato sauce (From John Ash Cooking one on One) is great too because you can eat it hot or cold.
Roasted chicken, either whole or parts
Sausages (brats, chicken/apple, lamb, kielbasa) with veg & salad is a normal quickie meal for us
It has been 100 degrees for 5 days, so salad & quesadillas (made leftover bbq brisket ones last night!)

[Earl J. Waggadorn]

My personal favorite standby is macaroni and cheese. And you have to include some Velveeta cheese food product in the sauce.

I don't care if people think this stuff ain't real cheese, but it tastes good and makes the macaroni creamy.

[OneEyedCarmen]

Milo-
The pre-packaged taco seasoning is usually just a combination of cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Experiment with proportions a little...I add a pinch of oregano as well.

[Simon]

During the spring and summer, we eat pan-roasted halibut at least once a week. Sometimes we top it with a fruit salsa (peach, tomato and basil), sometimes a drizzle of good olive oil or just a squeeze of lemon. The fish just gets kosher salt and pepper, and if I feel like it I'll truss it in a ring a la "A Return To Cooking". Sides might be potato puree (with olive oil instead of butter), Israeli couscous with asparagus and preserved lemon, carrots, green beans, sauteed asparagus, spinach or whatever else looks good at the supermarket. I can generally put the whole meal together in 30 minutes, tops, depending on the side dish.

In fall and winter, we do the simple roast chicken from the Bouchon cookbook at least once a week, with mashed potatoes and pan-roasted carrots.

[Catherine]

Thank you for this recipe. We eat roast chicken as a staple also, my favorite recipe is from Barbara Kafta's book, Roasting. I serve it with rosemary roasted potatoes, a big green salad with a wealth of cheese, chick peas, and nuts in it, and a loaf of french bread (sliced, wrapped in tin foil, olive oil drizzled over and topped with basil, sage, salt and good grated parm then heated through).

I slow cook a chuck roast with red wine, a little espresso, good tomato paste, (two teaspoons of homemade demiglace... shhhh, don't tell) a host of herbs from the garden and a lot of bay. I serve it over herbed spatzle. With good bread to help clean the plates.

Rosemary and lemon grilled shrimp. Easy peasy.
More bread. (Did I mention I love good bread?)

Finally, the burger: Compound maitre d'butter with a generous helping of hot paprika goes into the center of the chuck/round mixture. The outside of each liberally seasoned. Grilled to medium rare, then covered with manchengo before meeting a brioche roll. Topped with crispy pancetta, arugula, red onion, and arugula mayo. The top of the roll is buttered with caper compund butter. Delish.

[rockandroller]

We have bison burgers about once a week, not always the same day. If it's a weekend, we get the weber going and grill them; if not we broil them inside. The bison is from DH Russ at WSM and we never do anything fancy with them, just our favorite toppings (we put out a sort of "toppings bar" with sliced tomatoes, lettuce, condiments, pickles - whole and sliced). This is usually served with fresh cut/made fries (Idahos - we make them in the wok with canola) and quartered sauteed garlic mushrooms as a side. This is a staple/go-to meal in my home.

We also regularly (3x a month) make chicken thighs piccata style. I think thighs are WAY better for this than breasts, which we never buy anyway by themselves. The thighs are so cheap at Kaufmann's I usually buy 3# of them so we can do the piccata a few times. LOTS of capers in our version. We usually serve these with Barilla plus angel hair (plain) and the veg varies depending on what we have that's in season. If we don't have pasta I make greek/lemony potatoes - peel taters, place in one layer in baking dish, add juice of 2 lemons, salt, pepper, greek oregano and about 1/2 inch of water. Toss regularly. They come out v. tasty.

While the ingredients vary, we regularly have our version of tapas, which depends on what we have on hand. Usually it's some kind of dried or smoked meats like genoa salami or parma prosciutto, which we pair with something like pepperoncini or figs, when at least somewhat in season, we always have on hand the ingredients for our tomato salad - tomatoes, kalamatas, french or greek feta, sometimes fresh herb if we have it in a balsamic vin dressing with lots of S&P. Usually some kind of crudite veg like carrots. Usually Greek cheeses as we always have those on hand, at least a couple. If we have plain almonds, we sautee them in a mix of butter and olive oil and then sprinkle them with coarse sea salt and cayenne and toss them while hot. Usually some crusty sourdourgh and olive oil dip or multi-grain crackers if there's no bread.

[Jen]

I like variety, so there are many main dishes that we never repeat. Our go-to veggies tend to be steamed broccoli or green beans or roasted asparagus. We usually have some sort of fruit, too.

Staple meals, at least in summer, tend to be grilled meat with potatoes and a green salad. My husband does a couple of beer-can chickens a month; in the winter, we roast them -- usually with olive oil, salt, pepper and a halved lemon and some rosemary inside.

Others:
Meatloaf, which must be accompanied by mashed potatoes and peas or green beans. I use half-beef, half-turkey, so it's flavorful and moist without being greasy. Seasonings include garlic, parsley, worcestershire, a little cumin, and ketchup and mustard.

Spaghetti with homemade meat sauce. Sometimes with salad, more often just a big bowl o' pasta.

Something my family calls "pilaf," which is sort of a chicken risotto -- you saute rice and a mixture of egg noodles and spinach noodles with chopped onions until everything starts to brown. Then add chicken broth gradually, stirring often, as the rice and pasta cook. When it's almost done, I add back in the chopped chicken (ideally I stew a whole chicken the day before I make this, and use the resulting meat and broth). Like spaghetti, this is most comforting as a big bowl o' carbs, but if I must, I throw something green on the side.

Steamed shellfish -- shrimp, mussels, clams, whatever is fresh and available -- with corn on the cob, garlic bread and a salad.

Chicken and noodles with parsley, celery and carrots in the broth.

A big chuck roast in the slow cooker with onions, potatoes and carrots cooked alongside.

Swedish meatballs with lots of mushrooms in the sauce, egg noodles, and something green.

For super-quick dinners, there's breakfast-for-dinner or a frittata or pasta with a simple sauce. Or a pizza from the good take-out place right down the street.

[Kate F]

One of the pros AND cons of keeping a food blog is feeling like I have to always cook something new. That said, my fallback meal that I make more than I care to admit is absorption pasta, usually using broccoli or cauliflower and sometimes some sausage.

Basically you make pasta risotto style: sauté shallot or garlic in olive oil; toss around your hard pasta (penne works great) until it toasts a little bit, then add broth to cover, and cook away the stock, adding more as it cooks, and stirring a lot to make sure the pasta cooks evenly. Sometimes I cover it for part of the time to save on stock and speed up cooking. When the pasta is almost done I stir in sautéed or roasted broccoli or cauliflower or whatever else I want, and cooked sausage if I have some. I usually top it with feta or ricotta salata. I should serve this with a salad but I only do about half the time; it's a staple meal for very tired nights.
If you scroll down in this post, you can see the results of one recent pot!

Our other standard meals: Grilled italian sausage with a side of israeli couscous (sometimes with something like cherry tomatoes in it) and a vegetables, usually green beans.

[JBL]

Short Ribs or Oxtails braised in homemade beef stock, red wine and various veggies (usually consisting of carrots, celery and onions) with the reduced braising liquid aided by passing the veggies (cooked to the point of mush) through a fine mesh trainer (and further reduced) with polenta. If it's a payday week, the polenta is usually "truffle-fied" and "mascarponed". A quick sautee of veggies usually rounds off the dish.

Also some simple roasted chicken stuffed with (don't laugh) augmented Stove Top Stuffing (dried cherries and walnuts).

Also the occasional fast food fix and some days just bread and butter or bread and peanut butter or whatever scraps, odds and ends or what-have-yous happen to be around.
Nothing too exciting.

[Mike]

Our "go to" meal in the summer is one of 2.

Grilled London Broil marinated in Italian Dressing Overnight w/roasted Yukon Gold Potatos & Salad with Pine Nuts and a Soy Sauce Dressing.

The other is

Grilled Talapia with Lemon and Chili Powder, Brown Rice with Pine Nuts and Grilled Asparagus with Parmasean.

[e. nassar]

- Canned yellowfin tuna packed in olive oil tossed with garlic, spinach,lemon juice and spaghetti. We make this a lot!

- Lentils. I love lentils and we cook them once a week usually. Mostly meatless, but the recipe varies and it can be made in any 'ethnicity'. Lebanese: with lemon juice, garlic, mint and cilantro served with rice and yogurt/tahini sauce. South American: Cumin, plantains, cilantro and green onions are added also served with rice. Italian: a fresh fennel sausage link is added along with garlic and canned San Marzano, served with crusty bread or pasta,...The varieties are endless and we love all of them.

- Lemon chicken made with thighs and drumsticks. Sear the chicken, add lots of whole garlic cloves, lemon juice, white wine, thyme and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. We serve this with pan juices and either rice or some sort of potato dish.

[Greg Turner]

We run through a cycle with our chicken: roast chicken with with vegetables followed the next night by chicken tacos using the leftovers. Paella is a go-to meal for me. It's delicious and I've made it so often now, I can pretty much make it with my eyes closed. Making pizza has also become something of a family thing for us, since the local supermarket started selling dough in their bakery section. I bring it home, hand toss it, and sprinkle on some home-made sauce and plenty of cheese.

[Cameron S]

1) Homemade taco shells (2.5 inches wide) made with masa harina (corn/lime flour), I then either cook a pork shoulder (brined) wrapped in banana leaves or beef slow and low cooked at 225 on the bbq smoker... Fresh pico de gallo (home made of course) or we have seafood tacos.

2) Bittman's short ribs (wine / coffee etc)

3) Alder or maple planked wild salmon

4) Fresh halibut in panko :) with home made french fries and a walnut infused vinaigrette arugula salad (my brother and dad give me hundreds of pounds of halibut and salmon each year they catch)

5) Taking inspiration directly from the Charcuterie book I make the nice home made mexican chorizo but add in some pork loin and tomatillo's and guajillo chili's for visual interest and make a good "mexican" terrine. This goes well with home made tacos :) and some gazpacho on a hot day when I don't want to cook over a hot grill, stove or bbq.

6) A good pot of soup and some no-kneed bread from several standby favorite recipes.

[Martha]

I think out biggest staple meal is baked Ziti. I keep pasta in the pantry and periodically make and freeze my own marinara. Since I typically have some sort of ground meat in the freezer as well it is an excellent easy, what is in the house right this second kind of meal. I might add any sorts of things I have handy like cheese, mushrooms, grated carrot/squash/zucchini....

Now that its summer and my garden is starting to crank up we also rely on all sorts of salads because we can just go out and pick the stuff.

[Val]

Our go to is quesadillas. Whatever looks good in th fridge goes inside and tortillas are always in supply. They can be a snack or a meal,but are always delicious.

[Harry]

I like trying new recipes so there are few items that are month-in, month-out staples. This, alas, is inconsistent with my family situation, which includes a toddler and another on the way. My cooking pattern tends to be a wild rush of cooking on a weekend, followed by a lot of assembly-of-inputs, leftovers, quick meals, and take-out. I'll brine & roast a chicken, or marinate & roast a chunk o' pork so as to have quick protein on hand for later dishes.

During the week I combine the protein with simple veggie dishes. Two I've made a lot in the past year are roast broccoli and braised green beans. Another quick meal is eggs. Interestingly, the broccoli, the green beans and the eggs all have western & asian variations.

Western-Style Roast Broccoli means tossing the broc with, essentially, vinaigrette: garlic olive oil, some interesting wine vinegar, herbs, maybe more garlic. Asian-Style Roast Broccoli means tossing it with plenty of (low salt) soy, some ginger rice wine or plain rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Then put it in a single layer on a jelly roll pan that's been preheating with the oven and roast at 450F till it's done, maybe 10 min. But watch it carefully!

The recipe for Braised Green Beans, Asian or Western, comes straight out of Cook's Illustrated's Best Recipe. There aren't many recipes I use as written but there's not much room for improvement. The recipe calls for about 40 min of braising. I learned the hard way that this only works for whole beans - all that time is needed for the braising liquid to penetrate the tough skin. If you cut the beans reduce the time to about 10 min, as the liquid penetrates the cut end quite quickly.

Western-Style Omlet requires some preparation: the trick is to precook the "additives" and cool them. This keeps the additives from weeping into the omlet and ruining it. So I'll saute whatever veggies need to be used up, then they wait in the fridge till I want a dinner in 10 min. Beat about 3 eggs per person, add the cooked, cooled additives, spices appropriate to mood and additives, and a couple dashes of tabasco or interesting wine vinegar. You won't taste either (unless you overdo it) but it perks up the dish nicely. Cook in a nonstick pan over very low heat, covered for the first 5-6 min so the top cooks as well. You can make a quick tomato sauce to go over it by sauteeing chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned), lots of chopped garlic, and fresh basil while the omlet cooks. (Fair disclosure: the method, if not the details, is courtesy of Cook's Illustrated.)

For an Asian eggs I make donburi. Classic "plain" donburi uses only thinly sliced onion but you can add many other things. You simmer the additives in a mix of about 2 parts chix stock, 1 part soy sauce, and 1 part rice wine over low heat till the onions are translucent. Then add the eggs and cook over very low heat till they're done. This makes a very soupy dish to serve over asian-style rice. IIRC it's 1/4 c. liquid to 2 eggs. I can post the proper proportions later if anyone's interested. Since it's peasant food there's a lot of variation possible while remaining authentic and tasty.

[Val]

Our go to is quesadillas. Whatever looks good in th fridge goes inside and tortillas are always in supply. They can be a snack or a meal,but are always delicious.

[keena]

3 big standards demanded by the spouse and kids. Sunday is ALWAYS spaghetti and meatballs (if I beg, I can substitute with chicken parm). Meatballs always with pork/beef/veal. Sauce always made with San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, splash of white wine and basil. Simple salad of romaine, cukes, onion and tomato dressed only with olive oil and red wine vinegar, S/P.

Roasted chicken with garlic/rosemary/lemons, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots with butter and steamed broccoli with salt and lemon juice.

"Calypso" pork: marinate tenderloins in oj,limejuice, dark rum, bayleaf, onion, garlic, cumin and allspice. Grill outside while making white rice, fried plantains and my black beans: saute garlic and chopped red pepper in bacon grease, add tomato sauce, lime juice, chipotles to taste and simmer rinsed canned black beans until tender and infused with flavor.

Cleanup is a bitch but our rule is: he/she who cooks does not clean up. My victory!

[Maya]

Before I became allergic to wheat, my favorite summer lunch was pasta salad with blueberries. The pasta salad was made from pasta shells, mayo, olive oil, and a few other things I can't remember right now. I wish I could replicate it with non wheat pasta but it's just not the same.

Nowadays for breakfast I eat sliced bananas fried in lemon juice, with yougrt for protein. I'm also the only person I know who eats "breakfast desser", usually local strawberries with whipped cream. All before 9 am. LOL

[Sara]

You know, I'd be curious to see how many people have microwaves and how that affects their staple meals.

I do NOT have a microwave, so I make staple meals I can heat up easily in the oven or in a pan. Anything that really needs a microwave isn't so much of an option.

[Chris Walker]

(Forgive me if someone already mentioned this, I skimmed through the comments.)

Ruhlman,

Do you have a receipt for this Chili Lime Mayonnaise you speak of? I'd love to try it if you wouldn't mind sharing it.

[girlrunner]

My staple meal is kind of more like a picnic. I do cook an eggplant dish and also have some type of bread (baguette, artisan loaf, naan or pita) hummus, a couple of types of cheese and some fruit, usually grapes or an apple, and reduced fat wheat thins, and WINE. My boyfriend needs spicy mac'n'cheese at least once every two weeks.

Here is how I make the eggplant dish (there are similar dishes to this of many ethnicities but I got this from a russian - I eat it hot, room temp or cold):

Ingredients

2 Eggplants (medium to large)
1 Medium Onion (diced/finely chopped)
1 head garlic
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp Cayenne/Chili pepper (or to taste)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Olive oil (approx 2 - 4 tblsp depending on how calorie conscious you are...egg plant can absorb a lot so you can use up to 1/3 cup)

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 425F
2) Puncture eggplant at regular intervals with knife, shove peeled garlic cloves in the slits and bake for 55 - 60 min (turn once after ~30min)
3) Once eggplant is done, take it out and let cool before peeling off the skin
4) Use either a blender or food processor to puree the roasted eggplant and garlic(the consistency shouldn't be too smooth but is up to your taste)
5) Sautee the onions until translucent
6) Add the pureed eggplant and mix well with the onions, cooking for about 2-3 min
7) Add salt and black pepper to taste
8) Add the Cayenne/Chili pepper to taste
9) Add the canned tomatoes, mix in well and turn the heat down to low.
10) Let the mixture cook on low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick or burn
11) Continue to season to taste

[Joel]

A staple meal, several times a week, is either pasta followed by salad, or soup followed by salad, but always with a little cheese, often chevre, with fruit at the end. Lately, lots of Louisiana blueberries and strawberries, we grow the best strawberries, just so y'all know. I try to let those staple meals change with the seasons.

I very much like James Peterson's tomato sauce from his book, Vegetables, for pasta. Very simple, but also very respectable to the tomato. The Creole tomatoes are good this summer.

I've been experimenting with ham hock stocks lately, loving its body in sauces, but also making some wonderful bean and vegetable soups as well.

[matt k.]

Our family usually eats something light, refreshing, and fun during the summer. Although we're Korean, we like to have Vietnamese spring rolls. They're also inexpensive and nutritious. Most of the ingredients can be found at a local Asian market, or Asian food section of Whole Foods. The recipe is adapted to how Koreans like to eat it, so it's not particularly authentic. Here's the recipe we use.

Spring Rolls

1 package large dried circular rice paper
3 bell peppers, (1) red (1) green (1) orange/yellow, julienned
fresh bean sprouts, root snipped off
cilantro
1 pound frozen shrimp, blanched and chilled
1 head of iceberg lettuce, hand-leafed
1/2 pound imitation crab meat

Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup fish sauce
4 tablespoons sugar
juice from half a lime
small handful canned pinapple chunks and 4 tablespoons juice

To prepare dipping sauce, combine ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Prep vegetables, shrimp, and crab meat. Arrange in sections on a large platter.
Head a small pot of boiling water and carefully pour into a large flat ceramic baking pan.

To make spring rolls, dip the circular rice paper into the hot water carefully and set on plate. Arrange filling, starting with meat then moving up with bell peppers, sprouts, lettuce and cilantro. Roll lengthwise like a burrito, squeezing ingredients slightly to hold form. Fold in the ends. It should stick together well at this point.

As a variation, we like to pan fry some floured tilapia seasoned simply with salt and pepper and put some the pieces of diced fish in the spring roll as well.

Dip into sauce and enjoy!