If you can plan ahead a bit on this one, you’ll find that it is a very easy last-minute no-brainer during a busy week. In fact, this is what we’re having at my house tonight because we’re low on groceries since my husband was out of town most of the week, and I didn’t want to fill the fridge with foods that would go bad.

This dinner has three elements:

1. Marinated Chicken Breasts or Lightly Seasoned Fish
2. Vegetable or Salad
3. Cous Cous, Quinoa, Rice, etc

On the weekend we go to the grocery store and on Sundays we cook dinner together. One of the things we try to always have on-hand is chicken breasts. When the price is good, we get a large package of chicken breasts, and while we cook Sunday dinner, we divide the chicken breasts into freezer bags (two each for our two person household) and make a marinate or two to divide into the bags for use later in the week or month. We usually put one bag in the fridge and the rest in the freezer for whenever the time is right to thaw and grill on the George Foreman Grill.

We almost always have some kind of vegetable to steam or a container of salad greens. These are both quick and simple. Try tossing steamed broccoli or green beans in a teaspoon of lemon juice for a nice twist.

Cous Cous is the speediest, but not healthiest of the grain/pasta options. So if you want something that takes all of ten minutes, go for the cous cous. We always keep a couple of boxes in the cupboard. If you have a little more time, make quinoa or wild rice (use chicken or veggie stock instead of water to get more flavor into it).

Alternative for #1: Fresh fish such as salmon, swordfish, tuna steaks. Also easy to throw on the GF grill with a little bit of olive oil, lemon juice and pepper.

Alternatives for either #2 or #3: Canned corn or other vegetables, canned baked beans, corn on the cob, frozen vegetables (my least favorite option).

You can also make cold salads ahead with quinoa, cous cous, corn, cucumbers, tomatoes or other grains or vegetables.

This is a mix-and-match concept that comes to mind easily when you open the cupboard to some random ingredients.