I love cooking and trying new meals…many that I share with you here on It All Changes. They tend to be the exception when I have some free time to play in the kitchen.

The day-to-day dinners come from our pantry staples. We have a rotation of 10 or so quick and easy meals I can throw together with little or no time and feed us. They will not earn me a spot on TOP CHEF but I can watch re-runs for ideas on new recipes.

Dawn at Healthy Living Summit called this method a dinner deck and it saves me when I don’t have time to cook…or make excuses. Each meal is made with ingredients we keep in the pantry almost all the time.

This makes choosing dinner much simpler. I keep a list of the meals on the fridge and on busy days give it a glance on the way out the door so I have a plan of attack. *It’s also a Google doc for redirecting dinner when stuck at my desk and I know my plans won’t work

Tortilla pizzas
- plain tortilla topped with pasta sauce, some cheese (Daiya) & lots of veggies. No need to make dough and toppings are only limited by what’s in the house.

Egg Scramble
- 2 eggs and anything I can think of from the fridge. Basic scrambles are salsa, frozen veggies & nutritional yeast. Some of the strangest and best include leftovers from previous meals like Crockpot chili.

Bean and veggie stir-fry
- frozen veggies with a can of drained beans makes almost any stir-fry. I vary the spices and vinegars depending on the area of the world I want to visit. There’s always leftover rice in the fridge or quick to make gluten-free pasta as a base.

Egg Sandwiches
- this breakfast favorite has been known to make appearances at dinner. Microwave an egg in a ramekin with some salt, pepper and a bit of salsa. Meanwhile, toast an english muffin and spread on some hummus or avocado. Add the egg and it’s dinner.

Southwest pasta
- cook gluten-free pasta according to instructions. Meanwhile, in a skillet sauté chopped garlic and add frozen onion and pepper mix. Stir and add salt, pepper, cumin, chile powder, and dried cilantro. Add a can of diced tomatoes, black beans, and canned chiles. Stir together and add to finished pasta.

Slow cooker quinoa – toss it in the rice cooker and let it go to the beep. Anything from Italian flair to the Caribbean.

Veggie Quesadillas – corn tortillas give a gluten-free quesadilla a bit of an edge. Serve with a salsa & hummus mixture instead of sour cream.

Souped up Soup (soup with added veggies and pasta/grain) - Boxed or canned soup will do if I don’t have any frozen.

Pancakes – easy as pie, er… Well pancakes…With any topping you desire.

Veggie burgers and steamed veggies – Just as it says with a toasted bun and hummus to make it different.