Save the Snow Day Meals: Quick and easy meals for a snowy day

If its snowy outside you probably don't want to run to the store for ingredients. You also may have the kids home from school and that means more mouths to feed.  

What ingredients should you always have in your arsenal for such an occasion?

The following ingredients can be mixed and matched to make tons of different recipes that will keep you warm on a snowy day.

Freezer: 

• Frozen bag of chicken breasts or tenderloins
• Bake a few of these up to 1 week ahead of time to be used as needed or you could freeze the cooked chicken breasts. 
• Frozen ground beef, turkey, or chicken (90% lean or more)
• Frozen veggies like broccoli, peas, carrots, and diced onions
• Frozen veggie blends: If you like Asian or Mexican food consider stocking up on bags of stir fry style veggies or a bag of mixed peppers. 

Pantry/Canned:

• Chicken broth, fat free, low sodium
• Tomato soup, low sodium
• Pineapple in it's juice
• Black beans (no salt added if available)
• Pinto beans (no salt added if available)
• Canned mushrooms
• Tomato sauce (no salt added) 
• Diced tomatoes (no salt added)
• Pasta sauce
• Salsa 
• If you like Asian foods: water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and baby carrots are good to have around

Grains:

• Heart healthy Bisquick or whole wheat mix
• Whole wheat pasta
• Instant brown rice or tofu shiritake noodles
• Low calorie bread (can be stored for a long time in the fridge or freezer)
• You can buy low calorie wraps and store them in the fridge for a very long time. 

Fridge:

• Cheese: Parmesan cheese, cheese slices or shredded cheese
• Salad dressings: at least keep around fat free Italian which is great for marinading chicken. Consider fat free Asian dressings for stir fry meals.

Extras:

• PB2 and Reduced sugar Jelly
• A variety of dried seasonings like chili powder, Cajun, Italian, garlic powder, basil, ginger, and cilantro 
• If you like Mexican food: 1 packet of taco seasoning

What meals are quick and simple so that you can spend your snow day warming up by the fire instead of by the stove?

Just click the links to get my full recipes. Substitute any of the fresh vegetables for frozen ones.  

Comfort Foods: Grilled cheese and tomato soup is a quick and simple lunch idea. Chili is the most obvious recipe to make when its cold out but to make it healthy requires a little extra thought. Watch your sodium! Get as many "no salt added" canned foods as you can find, they last just as long. If you cant find beans without added salt you can rinse them off to get rid of extra sodium. Beans in chili sauce are usually high in sodium, its better to add your own spices and make your own sauce. 

Mexican: Chicken fajitas, Taco salad, or Turkey Tacos

Asian: Pad Thai, Chicken stir fry. Just throw a bunch of ingredients in a pan together with your favorite sauce and serve over brown rice. 

Italian: Chicken Parmesan or Home made pizza (lower calorie alternative to delivery because you control the toppings). Just use Bisquick to make pizza crusts and use pasta sauce instead of pizza sauce to cut calories. If you have more time you could bake a chicken breast and cut it up for on top of the pizza. Thaw out some veggies in the microwave and add them to the top of the pizza.