What's "do"? I asked.
She said, "You know, 'Making do'--pulling together something quick from whatever you have on hand.
She explained that they'd started using this recipe name "Do" years ago in her family when her now 11 year old was about 5 and had a little friend over. He asked if his friend could stay for dinner, and she said sure.
He asked what they were having, and she said, "Oh, I don't know, we're just making do."
And the little visitor said, "I'm not sure I like 'Do.'" And there you go. . . a family phrase was born. (BTW, her response to that was, "Oh sure you will! Do is GREAT!" Some people were just meant to have 4 kids like she does. . .!)
So Hubby & I are trying to get back to a healthy eating kick. I've been making "Do" with leftovers from the holidays, and I wouldn't call that healthy. He really wants to cut back to only vegetarian dishes and fish (we'll eat eggs and stuff because otherwise I'd be at a complete loss).
So the things I try to keep on hand and use when I make "Do" are:
- Whole wheat pasta or spaghetti squash with jarred tomato sauce (prefer to add some mushrooms & extra spices to this) or I can make a quick sauce on my own with canned tomatoes
- Omelets (again with mushrooms and/or peppers or spinach or whatever I've got)
- Stir fry veggies (any single or combos), often with frozen shrimp that I boil first before tossing in with the veggies
My other not so great fall backs are ordering Chinese food or pizza (or a salad I get from the pizza place but that comes with a bunch of flat bread under it). Hubby can't eat salad at night because it aggravates his GERD (he can eat tomatoes or cooked spinach, just not lettuce or cucumbers).
Hubby loves to just eat cheese & crackers. Cheese is a killer in terms of calories and fat. . . but we are trying to be more natural food oriented--not so much fat free and packaged and such. . . so I'm wondering if I can possibly use cheese in moderation and still lose weight. Quesadillas would be easy. . .
So what are your pull-together meals when you make "Do?"
Posts
LOL in the middle of your post -- twice -- I'm not kidding.
ReplyDeleteI love you.
ReplyDeleteMy go-to meal is veggie chili. I keep a couple different types of beans and diced tomatoes w/ jalapenos in the pantry, and then throw in whatever veggies I have leftover - carrots, peppers, squash, etc. I like to serve it over grilled polenta slices. So easy!
ReplyDeletePasta with pancetta and broccoli. If you don't have pancetta, use bacon or ham. You can put sauce on it, but we just eat it as is.
ReplyDeleteQuick, easy and I usually have that stuff on hand.
Peace -Rene
I always have eggs in the house, "Toddler Fast Food" as we call them here as I can whip up a quick scrambled egg, omelette or whatever with those. I also always have pasta & frozen pasta sauce. Tins of Baked Beans are also great stand-by's to have on toast, or as a filling for baked potato (done quickly in the micorwave) with grated cheese on the top. Interesting to read what everyone else's "Do" meals are - I love the "Do Meal" concept !
ReplyDeleteLynda, Kilimanjaro, East Africa
I can make an omlette out of anything that needs to be used up, also pasta or pizza! hmmmm, hungry now! :)
ReplyDeleteMaking DO... cute. We have that every night.
ReplyDeleteThe way I do it is rice with whatever veggie I have in the fridge. Or a salad. My standard can good add-ins when I don't have fresh stuff are tuna, corn, several varieties of beans, lentils...
My husband also recently went vegetarian so I've done a few varieties of the beans and rice.
A recent hit was bow tie pasta with fresh cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters, throw the tomatoes in the boiling water one minute before the pasta is done, strain it all and toss with olive oil and tuna. I add pepper to mine (but I add pepper to everything).
The only draw back of making "do" is I rarely can repeat a dish precisely, I just don't remember all I tossed in.
I'm 45, too! And, from Malaysia. That's halfway across the globe. I'm glad you like to read overseas blogs. I do, too! So much to learn and share ...
ReplyDelete