by Sorah Devlin

Created on: September 12, 2009   Last Updated: September 17, 2009

It's the typical end of the day question that you hear as soon as the family comes in the door: "What's for dinner?" If you've found yourself debating that question and finding that even you don't know the answer, it's nice to have a few fall-back recipes to have on hand; meals that are easy, quick, and a far better alternative than the fast food drive through.

One of the best staple items to have in your pantry in case of emergency dinners are soups. From cream of mushroom providing a great starter for a casserole or tomato soup making a base for a Tex-Mex quickie dish, you can create some very interesting and tasty meals in a short time with a few cans of the right soups. Best of all, condensed soups are inexpensive! Having a good number of the cans on hand is a cheap and easy way to start a quick meal.

Pasta and rice are also a wonderful addition to the emergency dinner supply list. Quick to cook and healthy for you, they also can be used in various dishes in a variety of ways. A stir fry with left over meat and frozen vegetables poured over rice can be a delicious quick meal that leaves everyone's stomach and taste buds satisfied. Egg noodles are a perfect "filler" for the casseroles started with your cream of mushroom soup base!

As mentioned above, holding onto your leftover meat from previous meals can be a pure blessing when it comes to whipping up dinner in a pinch. Made too much steak a few nights ago and have it in the freezer? Thaw it in the microwave, slice it thin, and add it to a stir fry or casserole. Too many burgers over the weekend? Thaw them out and crumble them up to make shepherd's pie or add to spaghetti sauce. Even mashed potatoes left over from the night prior can be turned into something new; potato pancakes or as a topping for a casserole. Lots of different items left over from dinner over the last few days? Why not turn them into soup? Vegetables, meat, a little chicken or beef broth from a can or some bouillon cubes plus some time to rest on the stove can turn into a very tasty quick soup to warm up the family's tummies. Creative cooking with leftovers can lead to some interesting meals that your family will fall in love with.

Have a pantry full of all these quick starters, but still have no idea on what to do with them? The internet has lots of great resources available to turn that pile of cans and bunches of boxes into something tasty. The website RecipePuppy.com can help you plan out a meal based on what's available in your pantry. Just type in what you have on hand, and it will suggest countless recipes with these as their base items, as well as the other ingredients needed to complete the dishes. Cooks.com can also provide you with meal ideas that come from what's in your pantry, as well as reviews of the dishes by other pressed-for-time chefs.

Being short on time doesn't mean having to sacrifice taste on dinner, nor does it mean having to rely on take out or fast food. A little exploration on what you have available in your own kitchen can lead to delicious meals that are not only fast but healthy as well. Quick food ideas make it far easier to enjoy your dinner, and most of all, the time you spend with your family. We all wish there was more time in the day, but when the hours you already have seem shorter and shorter, knowing that you can quickly come up with a dinner game plan in just a few minutes can help to ease even the most stressed parent's life- at least while you're seated at the dinner table.

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