I didn’t plan to cook dinner tonight, nor did I plan not to cook dinner. This is hardly unusual. Shane and I just aren’t planners. I’m not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing, it’s just how we are.

How do we manage to get dinner on the table every night without a plan? It’s actually not a matter of planning*. It’s a matter of remembering (or keeping a list) and having an arsenal. That is to say, a list of foods you mostly always buy and an arsenal of quick recipes.

Here’s our list – 15 of the most basic of basics things you should try to keep on hand if you want to be able to throw a quick dinner together on a moment’s notice. I’m going to go ahead and assume you already have olive oil, butter, salt, pepper and flour.

  1. Whole Peeled or Chopped Tomatoes in a Can
  2. Pasta
  3. Eggs
  4. Trader Joe’s Handmade Flour Tortillas
  5. Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese (pre-grated is fine)
  6. Parmesan or Pecorino Cheese
  7. Salad Greens and/or Broccoli (but really the more veggies you have on the ready the better)
  8. Eggs
  9. Chicken Tenders (yeah, the raw kind) and/or Extra Firm Tofu
  10. Garlic
  11. Onions
  12. Lemons
  13. Seasoned Rice Vinegar
  14. Rice
  15. Panko Breadcrumbs

Tonight’s dinner was a perfect execution of the list and the arsenal method. Homemade Chicken Nuggets, Baked Tofu, Rice and the remainder of the salad from Saturday—which I had saved, un-dressed so we could have it again.

That’s all for tonight!

*Full disclosure: I have experimented with meal planning pretty extensively in the past. At this point in my life, it seems like too much work.