5 Ingredient Meals + $100 visa giftcard giveaway
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Today’s post is part of a series from BlogHer and Perdue Chicken called K.I.S.S. — “Keep It Simply Smart.”
A bunch of bloggers are going to be making their own lists about simplicity and time-saving inspiration in the kitchen. I don’t know about you, but this series is totally up my alley. Simplicity and time-saving ideas? Check and check.
So I’m super excited that my topic to share is…(did the cover graphic possibly give it away?)…5-Ingredient Meals!
Yep! No turning your kitchen into a tornado full of cutting boards, open cartons, spices and cans with these recipes. All you need are 5 simple ingredients to make some speedy meals that you, your friends and your family will love!
And even better, I’m really hoping that these simple guidelines will encourage some of you by-the-book recipe devotees to give improvising a try. Really, most dishes we all love boil down to similar ingredient patterns. Once you learn those, you can mix and match and start creating some of your own original recipes. I promise you can do it, and it’s really fun to get creative! So read on for my top ten list of ideas. AND enter to win a $100 Cooking.com gift card!!!
Prosciutto, Pineapple & Pesto Paninis — A fantastic 5-Ingredient Meal!
Again, these are just the basics, people. But trust me that if you follow these directions, the options are pretty much limitless for the deliciousness you can create. Also, for you vegetarians out there, just substitute your favorite hearty vegetables or tofu whenever the recipe calls for meat, seafood, etc. And now…drumroll please…Ali’s “Keep It Simply Smart” Top Ten List of 5-Ingredient Meals:
- Paninis — Bread + Meat/Chicken/Seafood + Veggies/Greens + Cheese + Sauce
- Quesadillas — Tortillas + Meat/Chicken/Seafood + Veggies/Greens + Cheese + Salsa
- Pizzas — Crust + Cheese + Meat/Chicken/Seafood + Veggies/Greens + Sauce
- Green salads — Greens + Cheese + Veggies/Fruit + Meat/Chicken/Seafood + Dressing
- Quinoa salads — Quinoa + Meat/Chicken/Seafood + Veggies/Greens + Nuts/Cheese + Sauce
- Omelettes — Eggs + Cheese + Veggies/Greens + Bacon/Ham + Herbs
- Kabobs — Meat/Chicken/Seafood + Veggies + Marinade
- Grilled meats or veggies — Main Meat/Chicken/Seafood/Veggies + Marinade + Side
- Pastas — Pasta + Sauce + Veggies/Greens + Meat/Chicken/Seafood + Cheese
- Trifles — Crumbled Cake/Brownies + Whipped Cream/Pudding + Candy/Chocolate/Nuts + Fruit Sauce
$100 Cooking.com Gift Card Giveaway
How To Enter:
- Leave a comment telling me how you like to “keep it simply smart” in the kitchen! Feel free to discuss meal preparation, pantry organization, time management, etc.
- a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
Rules:
- NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
- No duplicate comments.
- This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. Winners will have 72 hours to claim the prize, or an alternative winner will be selected.
- The Official Rules are available here.
- This sweepstakes runs from 7/23/12 to 8/23/12.
Be sure to visit the Perdue Simply Smart Chicken brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggersí reviews and find more chances to win!
Like the PERDUE SIMPLY SMART Facebook page where you’ll find product info, recipes, and other tips from bloggers.
Chicken Caprese — Another Delicious 5-Ingredient (plus olive oil) Meal!
I love that you included trifles as one of your meal options – I think we could be great friends ;) Great series!
I cook extra chicken or ground meat and freeze it to use on pizza, or omelettes or quesadillas to save time down the road!
I recently reorganized our pantry using quart masons jars I have aquired through the years. Making finding a grain or bean much easier than my previous stainless steel canisters. My husband built me some great shelves to hold all my spices that makes finding them and brainstorming for a meal so much eaiser. Organization is my biggest key to success making smart simple meals.
I keep it simple by using a lot of raw veggies, especially in the summer. A lot of salads with fresh tomatoes and spinach.
We keep it simple & smart by meal planning each week! This way, I can coordinate meals that might share similar ingredients and get the most out of my purchases! I can also make more intricate meals by planning it out and breaking up prep throughout the week/day!
Tweeted!!
https://bit.ly/Oj5P4c via @savings_steward
I plan 4-5 meals at the beginning of each week, at least 2 of them are ‘pantry-only’, no special purchases needed. That allows us to have a homecooked meal every night but gives us flexibility if something fun comes up one evening, or we aren’t hungry and just whip up some smoothies for dinner.
Almost all of my get-togethers are pot-luck. We agreed years ago that we don’t want any one person to have to do a ton of work – so everyone brings food so we can spend more time talking and the hostess isn’t too busy to join in.
I try to “keep it simply smart” by limiting my perishable grocery shopping in the summer to maybe three days worth. I pick a protein, a grain, and a fruit and veggie and try to combine it a few different ways for dinner, so there’s not much waste in the hot weather.
I keep it simply smart by having sandwich ingredients and fresh fruits available. A sandwich with a side of fruit makes a quick and easy meal in the summer.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/Kellydinpa/status/227399456679682048
Having fewer ingredients saves me time in the grocery store and time in the kitchen! Keeping it simple helps me spend more time on things I love & with people I love!
I like to KISS it in the kitchen by planning meals that do not require copious amounts of chopping or cooking it time. I want to be able to come home from work, make dinner and eat within 30 minutes. If that means that I don’t have a lovely sauce on my chicken, so be it. I’d rather buy a fantastic piece of meat and let that flavor shine.
I tend to make huge batches of things and store in the fridge or freezer! Easy warm-up foods. :)
I keep it simple in two ways. I always plan out my meals for the week. I also like to cook meat ahead of time and freeze so it’s ready to go for those ten-minute lunches!
We are in the process of redoing our pantry….in order to try and make things simple in our kitchen. Since each shelf is too deep we’ve decided to cut them down in size so that items don’t get lost in the back. Hoping it helps.
great give away.
I keep it simple by prepping 1 large grain salad on Sunday, then scooping a portion out for lunch each day. I even keep the same container day-to-day! :)
I like to cook as much from scratch as I can-using as few of ingredients as I can. And I like to always have the necessities to quickly throw something together available in my pantry.
I freeze any leftover chopped onions or peppers in the freezer to save and use for another recipe later on. Saves time too!
I tweeted about the giveaway https://twitter.com/thespiffycookie/status/227429489456590848
I’m single, so I cook in large batches and freeze individual meals. Makes weeknight dinners a cinch!
If we’re grilling some chicken, we just grill the whole bag. It freezes great and is ready later to slice or chop into soups, salads, quesadillas, burritos, whatever. And the grilling makes the chicken more flavorful. Gotta love those grill marks!
Keeping it simple for me is making my own chicken/vegetable broth for use is so many dishes. I keep all of my scraps from veggies and chicken bones which with some seasoning makes a wonderful broth for cooking rice, potatoes or pasta.
I keep it simply smart by using reusable containers and labels for items I keep in stock regularly.
Tweeted https://twitter.com/lguilbo/status/227475256141545473
I like to BBQ chicken and steak on Sundays and then cut it into strips to top a salad, put in a wrap or quesadilla, etc. It gives me some easy meal options for the next few days!
I keep it simple by cooking simple foods that do not take too much time, like pasta, hambugers etc.
https://twitter.com/ElenaIstomina/status/227495024399638528
Awesome giveaway! My simple strategy for the kitchen is mise-en-place. I have a teeeeeeny tiny kitchen, and so if I’m trying to get all my ingredients out while also cooking, it gets totally crazy and frantic. I try to set out/prep as much as possible before I turn on the stove!
Every Sunday, I like to have a prep day (chopping veggies, marinating meats) so that homemade meals can make it in the table stress free during the week.
I cook a lot in big batches and freeze the food so I can easily heat up dinner each night
During the warmer months especially lately We have fresh raw veggies and fruit for dinner with a sandwich. I go to the store and get things that work well together.
I like to make big batches of grains or veggies at once so that I can utilize them during the week for quick and easy meals!
I keep it simple by planning out meals a week ahead of time and sauteing fresh veggies with a little oil for dinner each night.
https://twitter.com/aes529/status/227596160301424640
make meals ahead of time and freeze!
I separate foods in my pantry by food type. IE dinners, dinner sides, can goods, breakfast foods, and snacks. I put the snacks on the highest shelf so that little hands cant get to them, lol
Tweeted https://twitter.com/StaceyRenee711/status/227608235589398528
It sounds silly but looking in the fridge at what I have helps me eat all the food in my fridge. There’s always something i’ve forgotten about
I like to buy in bulk at Sam’s!
i keep it simple on Fridays (our busiest day of the week) by keeping pizza dough in the freezer and then making some quick pizzas for dinner.
i tweeted – https://twitter.com/onitnaram/status/227664501804261376
I’m big on having everything organized so that it’s place is established. No more hunting for where I put something! I also really love to meal plan and also freeze meals ahead when I have the space. Canning is another thing I make time for as it’s a big time and money saver in the long run
https://twitter.com/immortalb4/status/227675709039079424
One of the easiest ways I keep it simple is to make an extra serving and freeze it for later. So that way I get two meals out of one time cooking.
What an awesome giveaway! I like to have pesto around because you could make so many simple meals from one jar of homemade pesto!
It’s a struggle!
tweeted – https://twitter.com/thesweepswinner/status/227809674584551424
I try to keep it simple by keeping my meals simple.
This all sounds AMAZING! I definitely want to try some of the recipes. I keep it smart by using coupons, freezing as much as I can and using old family recipes to feed my family of 6 on one income while my boyfriend serves in the US military to proudly serve his Country.