Emergency Menu
For Times When Things Don’t Go To Plan
This menu is the easiest, five-ingredient or less recipes that can be made by anyone who can cook at all, in 30 minutes or less. This is for when you forgot to take out the meat for dinner to thaw or you got back too late to make the planned dinner that would take too long or any other unforeseen emergency.
Shopping List
For this menu, you will need to shop for items to store in the pantry or freezer until ready to use.
Pantry
4 cans Tuna in Water
Mayonnaise (small jar?)
1 box Pasta, any shape
1 box Gluten Free Pasta, any shape
1 jar Green olives
1 can Black olives
Italian Salad Dressing, bottled or dry pkt.
Pepperoni (or freezer, depending on what kind you buy)
2 bags Tortilla Chips
3 pkts. taco seasoning
3 cans sliced black olives
3 small jars salsa
3 jars sliced jalapenos
1 large bottle spicy V-8 juice
1 can corned beef
1 small bottle canola oil
2 small bottles Ketchup
1 small bottle lemon juice
2 Small bottles Worcestershire Sauce
1 box spaghetti noodles
1 box gfcf spaghetti noodles
2-3 cans spaghetti sauce
1 small box (10 servings) mashed potato flakes
1 can refried beans or 1 can black or pinto beans and 1 can corn
10 taco shells, hard corn and/or soft wheat
2 cans Pineapple chunks in juice
Rice to make 6 servings
1 package macaroni and cheese
1 large can green beans
2 cans Corned Beef
Freezer
Small loaf Bread
4-6 hamburger Buns
gluten-free buns?
3 (8 oz.) bag Shredded cheese, mixed
2 (1 lb.) bags shredded cheese, mixed
2 lbs. ground beef
2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. ground beef
1-2 lbs ground beef
1 pound ground beef
2 pound lean ground beef
3 lbs. Kielbasa
2-3 lbs breakfast sausage, preferably pre-cut
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 (12-16 oz.) and 1 (8 oz.) bags frozen mixed vegetables (such as carrots, peas, and corn)
1 bag frozen peas
2 bags Ore-Ida Potatoes O' Brien, or the equivalent
Optional Items
Chips
Frozen garlic bread
Canned Fruit
Bread (for toast)
Prep Day
Put items in a separate part of the pantry and freezer so that they won’t be used for other meals.
Menu Plans
LUNCH RECIPE
Tuna Salad
4 cans Low-Salt Tuna in Water (drained)
3/4-1 cup of Mayonnaise
Bread
Chips, optionally
Preparation
Drain tuna, put into a bowl and break up the chunks.
Add mayonnaise and stir thoroughly.
Add anything you would like that you have on hand, such as cheese, onions, celery, olives, pickles, etc.
Serve on bread or toast.
Serve with chips, if you have them on hand.
LUNCH RECIPE
Pasta Salad
1 box Pasta, any shape
1 box Gluten Free Pasta, any shape
1 jar Green olives
1 can Black olives
1/2 pound of grated cheese
Italian Salad Dressing, bottled or dry pkt.
Pepperoni, optional
Preparation
Get the cheese and pepperoni out of the freezer to thaw.
Meanwhile, cook pastas according to package directions.
Make up the dressing, if using the dry pkt. kind.
Put everything else out as a bar for people to make their own bowls.
LUNCH RECIPE
Nachos
Tortilla Chips
2 lbs. ground beef
taco seasoning
Shredded cheese
sliced black olives
salsa
sliced jalapenos
Preparation
Get the shredded cheese out of the freezer to thaw.
Cook ground beef and season as you would for tacos (below).
Put all the items as a bar, so people can make them as they wish.
LUNCH RECIPE
Grandma’s Hamburger Soup
1 lb. hamburger
1 large bottle spicy V-8 juice
1 large bag frozen mixed vegetables, or to taste
Preparation
Brown the hamburger. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for an hour, or cook in a crockpot for 3-4 hours on low.
Serve with bread or rolls.
LUNCH RECIPE
Brenda’s Easy Barbecue
1 can corned beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
Oil for frying
1 cup Ketchup
1 Tab. lemon juice
3 Tab Worcestershire Sauce
4-6 Buns, gluten-free buns
Preparation
In the oil, cook onion and celery until the celery is clear.
Add Ketchup, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Add Corned Beef, breaking it into small pieces. Simmer for another 20 minutes.
Serve on buns.
Alternate Option: HOT CORNED BEEF BARBECUE
1 Tea. Chili powder
2 Tab. Vinegar
2 Tab. Worcestershire Sauce
¼ tea. Cayenne
¾ cup ketchup
¾ cup water
24 oz. corned beef
8 hamburger buns
Mix together in a skillet chili powder, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, ketchup and water. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Add Corned Beef, breaking it into small pieces.
Cook uncovered, for 20 minutes or until water has evaporated and sauce becomes thick.
Serve on buns. This tastes good on toasted buns.
DINNER RECIPE
Spaghetti
1 box spaghetti noodles
1 box gfcf spaghetti noodles
1-2 lbs ground beef
2-3 cans spaghetti sauce
Frozen garlic bread, optional
Frozen vegetable for side, optional
Preparation
Put water in large pots and heat to boiling.
Brown ground beef.
Add noodles to pots when water is boiling and cook according to package instructions.
Add 2 cans of sauce to ground beef and heat until warm. Heat 1 can of plain sauce for those who don't want meat in the sauce.
Optionally, serve with garlic bread/knots and frozen, steamable vegetables.
DINNER RECIPE
Shepherd's Pie
1 pound ground beef
1/3 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
8 ounces frozen mixed vegetables (such as carrots, peas, and corn), thawed
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded Cheddar (or to taste, optional)
10 servings of mashed potatoes
Preparation
Heat oven to 400° F.
Place the beef in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat until no trace of pink remains, about 5 minutes. Spoon off and discard any fat.
Stir in the ketchup and Worcestershire.
Add the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Spoon the beef mixture into a baking dish or into individual ramekins.
Spread the potatoes over the beef and sprinkle with the cheese, if desired,
Bake until heated through, 10-15 minutes.
DINNER RECIPE
Simple Tacos
2 pound lean ground beef and/or refried beans
1 package Taco Seasoning
1 jar salsa and/or taco sauce
10 taco shells, hard corn and/or soft wheat
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1 small can sliced black olives
Pickled Jalapeños
Preparation
Take cheddar cheese from freezer to thaw, if necessary.
Cook beef in skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain.
Stir taco seasoning and water into the beef, as directed on the package. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Heat taco shells as directed on package. Serve taco shells with beef mixture, black olives, pickled jalapeños and cheese.
DINNER RECIPE
Kielbasa and Pineapple Dinner
3 lbs. Kielbasa
2 cans Pineapple chunks in juice
Rice to make 6 servings
1 bag frozen peas
Preparation
Slice kielbasa into rounds and put in large skillet. Add pineapple and cook until pineapple juice has steamed away.
Meanwhile, cook rice and peas together (or cook separately and stir together.)
DINNER RECIPE
Sausage Dinner
3 lbs breakfast sausage, preferably pre-cut
1 package macaroni and cheese
1 large can green beans
Preparation
Fry sausage patties.
Make macaroni and cheese according to directions on package.
Heat green beans.
DINNER RECIPE
Corned Beef Hash Dinner
2 cans Corned Beef
2 bags Ore-Ida Potatoes O' Brien, or the equivalent
Canned Fruit, optionally
Toast, optionally
Eggs, if you have them on hand already, optionally
Preparation
Put canned fruit in refrigerator to chill while you cook the dinner.
Put corned beef in a pan with some oil and break it up.
Add the potatoes and cook until the potatoes are done, stirring frequently
Cook up some eggs to go with the hash, if you have them on hand.
Serve with the chilled fruit.