We like to keep extra caramelized onions on hand.

I almost always keep my bean dip on hand so that I can quickly make burritos, migas, tostadas, etc. In Mexico, it is a condiment that is always around, and they use it on tortas (sandwiches made with bolillos). I also keep chili sauce on hand - other than that, I rely on the freezer, which I keep frozen vegetables for when I do not feel like going out to buy fresh ones.

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I also keep a bag or two of snacking carrots on hand. They're great for a dump and roast dinner, cut up into salads, and munching. I also like to have baby scallions because they're so quick and easy to slice up, especially when you just need a little bit. I also always have some kind of pre-washed greens of a tempting variety that I can just grab a handful of.

I always have homemade stock and spaghetti sauce in the freezer, most of it in three cup containers. Cooked and strung brisket is portioned and frozen in vacuum sealed pouches. That's a quick something to put in burritos, sandwiches, etc. There's usually some portioned homemade lasagna in the freezer as well as meatballs. Sometimes enchiladas. Some people hate on frozen foods, but when it's well packed and kept in a good freezer which doesn't thaw frequently, many things last very well. Rush defrosting is never a good idea, but something that's already mushed up like lasagna does better at that than hunks of meat.

Most weeks I buy a chicken and some ground meat on general purposes. I have ways or making them in I-don't-want-to-cook mode (easy to alter flavors with seasoning, but quick and easy to prepare), which are dead easy and provide some leftovers for lunches. If I feel like cooking, I'll do something more interesting with them.

I keep my dry rubs in full supply at all time - standard barbecue, brisket, and especially Jamaican jerk rub. Then it's just a question of picking up some meat at the market. Even a Costco-size container of rub doesn't last long around here.

I forgot to mention, I try to devote an hour or two to general prep while there are still things to eat right out of the fridge. When I get them home, I blanch green beans and asparagus so they're ready to eat. If they're only blanched, they can be heated without going mushy, but they're good cold and crisp. I also make salads like cucumber, brocolli slaw, carrot and corn, etc., which hold well in the fridge, and can be eaten over a number of days. I have friends who prechop onions, peppers and garlic, but I only do that if I'm making a measured out kit for a particular dish that I'll be making later.

Having dehydrated vegetables in the pantry is great for quickie things like omelettes. You don't have to chop and sweat first, just throw them in and let them rehydrate in the moisture of what you're cooking. That's for flavor, though, not nutrition.

We have several groceries with really good butchers. I buy meats that can be seared quickly... steak, lamb chops, hamburger patties, etc. I only buy one or two days worth extra so the meat doesn't go bad. I buy several ready to microwave items from Trader joe's. So, between the quick-sear meats and ready to go rice, etc. (which you could make up packages yourself), I can have a meal on the table for myself in a matter of minutes.

I find that a bag of asparagus and the pre-trimmed french green beans (haricot vert) are great time savers and keep well, as does the pre-washed and bagged baby kale. I think the asparagus lasts as long as the cauliflower you are currently keeping, unless it is the very thin variety. I don't like it frozen.

I like to roast up mixed root vegetables in large batches as well, as a side or something to enliven a basic marinara.

Small cherry tomatoes keep well and can be combined with the frozen basil cubes (Trader Joe's), white wine, garlic, onions and chicken broth (with veg on hand) for a quick spring pasta sauce.

I always have frozen raw or precooked chicken and precleaned shrimp on hand, so that it can be added quickly to a thai curry.

I keep on hand all the fresh basics....celery, carrot, onion, garlic, and one or more of the greens...then something in season or just looks good like cauliflower, cukes, asparagus, artichokes. I've been making fresh fridge pickles these days and most of the late winter for a quick meal to go with meats,cheeses, smoked salmon, pate'.

I'll be experimenting with freeze dried soon. Just received an order. Should be a nice quick addition to a bone broth soup. Years ago, during a demanding work project, i found a 'cup-a-soup' brand i liked from the health food store. I'm planning on making a version of that for quick meals using rice noodles. ...roll up a portion of linguini rice noodles in a kitchen towel and break it up, pour it from the towel into a bowl and cover with hot water to soak., then drain. Or directly into broth and veggies for a quick soup.

My fastest (& simplest) dinner yet is 1 package Applegate chicken & apple sausage(tastes just like ham to me), sliced thin & browned in a bit of butter plus 2 packages frozen broccoli, salt & pepper, covered & cooked for a few minutes until broccoli is just done. Served over buttered white jasmine rice. I start the rice first - takes 25 minutes to cook - just water rice salt, then once it's done I top w/ butter (about 1 Tbsp per cup of cooked rice) & fluff/stir it in.

Of course fresh broccoli is the best, but the frozen is so much faster & actually costs a bit less as well. We eat organic everything & Target has organic frozen broccoli for less than $2/bag.

I like to have tins of organic beans - butter beans, chickpeas etc... great in soups, salads, sausages and lentils are great, etc

Because lots of "quick and easy" recipes call for cream of (usually) mushroom soup, and because lots of people are put off by canned cream of (usually) mushroom soup, here is a recipe that I have tried and found to be very good. Actually, I had lots of trouble portioning and freezing it. I wanted to eat it as soup right then and there!

Once when I made it, DD was going through a "no gluten" phase. I substituted potato starch for the flour. The emulsion broke when it was frozen, but when thawed it came back together just fine with couple of seconds of stirring with a fork.

This is the Mushroom Bechamel Sauce from Robert St. John's Deep South Staples (or how to survive in a southern kitchen without a can of cream of mushroom soup)

Mushroom Bechamel Sauce

1 Tbl olive oil, light
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/4 cup shallot, minced
1/4 cup celery, minced
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic, granulated
1/2 tsp thyme, dry
10 oz Mushrooms, cleaned, sliced (4 cups)
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 cup whipping cream

Heat oil in 3 quart saucepan over low heat. Add onions, shallots, celery, and salt. Cook vegetables until tender. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium. Cook 10 minutes, stirring often. Add chicken broth, garlic, and thyme. Bring back to a simmer and cook 10 more minutes.

In a separate skillet, make a light-blond roux by melting butter and stirring in flour. Add to the simmering broth mixture. Cook 3-4 minutes and add cream. Freezes well.

Yield: 2 quarts.

Robert St. John's Deep South Staples

That's six cans of COM soup! Dang. Good thing it freezes well.

Yep, it makes a bunch! But boy is it good!

I made a similar mushroom soup except that I omit the cream and celery and add some dried mushrooms soaked in water to make one cup total. I use the soaking liquid instead of the cream. If I use potato starch instead of flour, I skip the roux part. I make a recipe that is about 1/3 that volume, and I use it as a sauce for pasta with chicken.

Thanks everybody for the input. Because I have some restrictions, I would probably go like Lars says and do some cutting. Don't have any room in the freezer right now but hope when GDTR graduates from college in a couple of weeks,,, I can unload some of it on her as she hunts for a job from here. Some really good ideas here. Barb