Bachelor Meals

[nalto]

I need a couple of simple recipes that are pretty fool proof. Any suggestions??

[Deleted]

Buy the cookbook "a man a can a plan" by David Joachim ;D

[Apple]

1 box stuffing mix, prepare according to box instructions
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1/3 of that can of milk (around 4 ounces?)
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (makes good leftovers so I never worry about making "too much")

Mix milk and cream of mushroom (or cream of chicken) soup. Lay stuffing in bottom of a 9x13 baking dish, lay chicken breasts on top of stuffing, pour soup mixture over the top. You can sprinkle with paprika if you have it. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, uncover and bake about 15 more minutes until chicken is done. It's not much to look at but it's really good.

[msbuffy]

Onion Mushroom Salisbury Steak

Ingredients
1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
1 cup Fresh Bread Crumbs (2 slices)
1 Egg - slightly beaten
3 Tablespoons Milk
1/8 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/8 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Pkg. Mrs. Grass Onion-Mushroom Soup Mix
1 Tablespoon Flour
2 Cups Water
Directions
1.In bowl, combine meat, crumbs, egg, milk, garlic powder and pepper. Mix well.
2.Shape into 4 patties. In skillet, brown and cook patties; remove from skillet. Pour off fat; stir in soup mix, flour and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cook and stir until thickened; add patties and heat through.

[nalto]

Mar 2, 2011 18:28:51 GMT -5 @chef241 said:

Well, what types of meals do you like to eat? People can be more helpful if you give us some clues.

Really anything. English muffin with ketchup and bolgna on it as a make shift pizza? Done and done

[Deleted]

Rice and ketchup was a friend of mine's favorite bachelor meals.

[chiver78]

do you grill? you can freeze individual servings of marinated meats, and you'll only have to make a mess once. check out the seasonings packets at your grocery store. I love Weber's "black peppercorn" marinade on chicken breast. I'm told it's excellent on steaks too.

grill some meat, add a box of rice pilaf, and nuke a steamer bag of veggies. this should get you one meal hot, and one meal for leftovers.

[Deleted]

One I learned from my dad is 1 lb ground beef a few white potatoes cubed maybe some chopped onion if you've got it, salt, pepper, garlic powder (to taste). Throw it all in a skillet - meat on the bottom (one that's 3-4 inches deep w/ a lid works best). Cook over med/high heat until meat is browned, stirring just enough to make sure the meat's browning. Cover to cook the potatoes about 10 minutes, uncover and cook another 15 mins or so to brown the potatoes. Remove from pan onto a paper towel lined plate (to drain grease). Serve with a can of green beans and/or salad. We normally put ketchup on the meat and potatoes.

Quick, easy and actually pretty good if you're a meat and potatoes eater!

ETA: since this is not a measured recipe, you can make as much or little as you need.

[Apple]

english muffin, ketchup and balogna? Ok, you're easy...

Chicken cordon bleu can actually be pretty easy if you buy those pre-breaded chicken patties. Bake like directed but about the last five minutes put a slice of ham and a slice of swiss cheese on top. If you make it "from scratch" you can roll thawed chicken breast in breading then bake on 325 for 30 minutes (if you cover it with tin foil it will stay more moist) and then uncover and add the ham and swiss cheese on top. Just make sure the chicken is not pink in the middle, if it is, increase cook time.

Stroganoff-- brown 1 lb hamburger with chopped onion and garlic powder (onion powder will work fine if you don't have onions), throw in a can of cream of mushroom soup, add a little sour cream (half cup? more or less to taste--I never measure), a few drops of worcheshire sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Oh, you can also add a little ketchup if you want. Serve on mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

Tater tot casserole--put a layer of tater tots in the bottom of a 9x13 pan or casserole dish, put another layer of cooked ground beef on top of that (as much or as little as you want--I often make my ground beef with garlic powder and onion powder). Mix a can of cream of mushroom soup, a can of cream of chicken soup and a can of evaporated milk (or just regular milk, taste isn't too far off that way--if you do regular milk just pour into one of the empty cans til about half full). Pour mixture over tater tots and hamburger, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. You can also top with grated cheese and throw in some veggies (corn, peas, etc) I always have leftovers but those are really good reheated.

[Anne_in_VA]

Beef Crust Pie

Preheat oven to 350°

Pie Crust

½ of an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
½ cup dry bread crumbs
1 lb. ground beef
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped green pepper
1 teaspoon salt (I use about ½ tsp.)
1/8 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients above together and pat meat into a 9” pie pan making sure to pinch a 1” fluting at the edges.

Filling

2 cups cooked rice
1 and ½ 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
1 cup grated cheese
½ teaspoon salt

Combine the rice, tomato sauce, salt and ¼ cup of the cheese in a bowl. Spoon the filling into the meat pie crust shell and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for approximately 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the foil. Sprinkle with the remaining ¾ cup cheese over the top. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered for 10 – 15 minutes more or until the cheese it hot and bubbly.

Slice and serve immediately.


Chicken Francaise

Chicken cutlets (boneless, skinless chicken pieces)
1 egg
1 cup water
1 cup flour
Salt & Pepper
2 lemons – Cut one into thin slices and cut the other in half and squeeze out the juice into a cup - remove any seeds (you can add more lemon juice if you wish to the sauce)
Vegetable oil (Crisco oil or any other brand)


Place oil in skillet to barely cover the bottom of the pan and heat on medium until oil is hot.

Combine the flour and salt and pepper in paper or plastic bag. Beat the egg and water together in a bowl and add the chicken. Take one piece of chicken at a time and put it in the bag with the flour mixture, then turn or shake to coat the chicken with the flour. Remove the first piece of chicken and put on a plate and repeat with all of the chicken pieces.

When the oil is hot, lay each piece of chicken in the hot pan and cook 4 – 5 minutes on each side or until browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate and keep it warm in a 200 degree oven. Drain off any remaining oil and add a little water and the lemon juice to the pan. Cook over Medium heat until bubbling and slightly thickened.

Serve the chicken with the sauce over it and put a slice or two of lemon on top. I also like to serve it with additional wedges of lemon.

This is good with buttered noodles and green beans or peas.


Macaroni and Cheese

1 lb. macaroni – cooked according to package directions
1 to 1-1/2 lb. cheddar cheese (I use Cracker Barrel’s white extra-sharp cheese and yellow medium sharp cheese) shredded with a grater (you can also cut it up into small chunks if you don’t have a grater).
2 cups milk
3 Tablespoons flour
3 Tablespoons butter
dash salt
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dry mustard (from the spice aisle in the supermarket)
1 cup dry bread crumbs
½ stick butter
1 cup cubed ham (optional)
1 small can diced tomatoes – drained (optional)


Butter a baking dish (I use a 2-1/2 quart one) and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the macaroni and drain in a colander then set aside in a large bowl – if adding ham or tomatoes, mix in with the macaroni. Melt the ½ stick butter in a skillet or saucepan over medium heat and add the breadcrumbs. Remove from the heat and mix until the butter has melted and the breadcrumbs have absorbed the butter.

Melt the 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour, salt, pepper and dry mustard and stir until there are no more lumps. Return to the heat and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until bubbly and well combined. Add ½ the milk and stir constantly until all ingredients are combined and there are no lumps. Keep cooking and stirring until milk mixture is hot but not bubbling, then add the rest of the milk. Cook and stir until mixture begins to thicken (it should look like a thick soup). Remove from the heat and add the cheese, stirring until the cheese begins to melt.

Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and mix well. Pour all into the baking dish. Cover the top evenly with the buttered bread crumbs and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the cheese begins to bubble and the breadcrumbs are nicely browned.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

I usually serve this with a salad and green vegetable.

[Anne_in_VA]

Here's a couple more recipes:

Shrimp Scampi

1 to 1-1/2 pounds of peeled uncooked shrimp (I get large ones)
1 stick butter
4 – 5 cloves of garlic (that’s the little pieces that come off the bulb of garlic)
1 lemon cut up in wedges
white wine to taste (I use about ¼ cup)

If you don’t have a garlic press, chop the garlic up really finely (tiny, tiny pieces).

Melt the butter in a large skillet over Medium heat (don’t let it foam up – if it does that, the heat is too high and you need to remove the pan from the burner and let it cool off a couple of minutes) and add the garlic. Cook the garlic butter for a couple of minutes, then add the shrimp. Cook the shrimp stirring every minute or so until it’s pink and no longer opaque.

I serve this over angel hair pasta with a salad and Italian or French bread (heat the bread up in the oven – I usually slice enough for us and wrap it in foil and put in a 350 degree oven for about 10 – 15 minutes.

Two Alarm Chili

1 lb. ground beef (use chuck or sirloin)
8 oz. tomato sauce + 2 full cans of water
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
1 Tablespoon paprika
½ to ¾ Tablespoon Cumin (spice – I use less, usually about ¼ tsp.)
1 Tablespoon Masa or Flour (Masa is a type of Spanish flour made from corn and it can be found in most supermarkets)
¼ cup chili powder (I use less)
1 teaspoon red pepper powder (cayenne)
½ Tablespoon oregano
pinch of cinnamon
23 oz. Pinto or other beans (canned) (I use kidney beans)


Brown the beef in a large heavy skillet. Remove the browned beef and drain off the fat left in the skillet. Return 2 Tablespoons of the drained fat to the skillet and sauté the onion and garlic until cooked but not browned. Add the tomato sauce and 2 cans of water, then stir in the chili powder, paprika, red pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and oregano and simmer for 30 minutes.

Mix the Masa or flour with ¼ cup very cold water until smooth. Add to the chili and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Add the beans and heat until everything is hot.

Good served with cheese, sour cream, minced onion, and cornbread.

For Four-alarm chili – add 2 Tablespoons red pepper powder
For False Alarm chili – omit the red pepper


The following crock pot recipe was on the old MSN boards - I don't know who posted it but it's a good one if you have a crock pot.

Beef Pot Roast for Crock Pot

1 (12-ounce) bag frozen onions
1 (8-ounce) bag frozen baby carrots
1 (8-ounce) package sliced mushrooms
1/2 pound small new potatoes, halved
4 pounds beef chuck roast, rinsed and patted dry
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1 packet onion soup mix
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
1/4 cup steak sauce
Into a slow cooker, put the onions, carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes. Season the roast with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the meat on all sides in oil. When it is browned, put it in the slow cooker on top of the vegetables.
In a small bowl, stir together the cream of celery soup, onion soup mix, beef broth, and steak sauce. Pour over top of roast. Cover and cook on high setting for 3 to 4 hours or low for 8 to 9 hours.
The recipe calls for frozen carrots and onions. I always use fresh stuff. For convenience I buy the baby carrots and just the bag in, and I get two sweet onions and cut them into thick wedges. The second thing I do differently is that I put the vegetables on top of the roast and then pour the liquid over everything. The recipe calls for putting the veggies and potatoes on the bottom of the crock pot, but I think they get kind of smushed and mushy that way.

[chiver78]

another tater tot casserole:

tater tots
2 eggs
milk or water as needed
1 cups diced veggies of your choosing
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choosing
salt and pepper to taste

bake 1 serving of tater tots on a cookie sheet, about 12 minutes (pkg directions say about 18 min) at 450 degrees
in the meantime, beat eggs and milk or water. saute your veggies for a few minutes until cooked, but still a little crunchy. add the eggs and scramble-cook until the eggs are almost done. you'll want them to be a little runny still, it's OK.
when the tater tots are done with the 12-minute cook, remove from the oven. layer the bottom of a casserole dish with the tots, then add the egg mixture, top with cheese. bake at the same temp for the tots, for another 5 minutes or so until the cheese melts and starts to brown.

I use an 24oz corningware casserole dish, pepper jack cheese, and my veggies are onion, pepper, white mushroom, tomato, cilantro. but really, anything you have in the fridge is fine.

[cronewitch]

Scrambled eggs. First melt a little butter in a frying pan. Add diced onion, bell pepper, mushrooms or whatever else you have available that you might have put on a pizza. Put in a few eggs then stir with the pancake turner until they are pretty firm. Top with shredded cheese and put under a boiler or on your plate in the microwave until the cheese is melted.

You can wrap some in a tortilla or serve with toast.

[thyme4change]

Buy a thick slice of ham and a can of sweet potatoes. Throw them into an 300 degree oven until warm (maybe 20 minutes.) Goes great with corn and green beans. No salt needed because the ham is salty - although I throw a decent amount of pepper on top. If you are feeling fancy-pants, you can throw in a can of pineapples too.

[Deleted]

Mar 15, 2011 12:30:56 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Buy a thick slice of ham and a can of sweet potatoes. Throw them into an 300 degree oven until warm. Goes great with corn and green beans. No salt needed because the ham is salty - although I throw a decent amount of pepper on top. If you are feeling fancy-pants, you can throw in a can of pineapples too.

And marshmallows.

[thyme4change]

If you have a crock pot, you can buy a roast and let it go all day with some broth. Then you can shred it and put it into a couple of tupperware containers. You can cover the shredded meat with salsa and make a taco, or BBQ sauce and make a pulled pork sandwhich or cheese and make a hoagie - none of them authentic, but all of them will fill the hole.

[Agatha]

Mar 15, 2011 12:33:20 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

If you have a crock pot, you can buy a roast and let it go all day with some broth. Then you can shred it and put it into a couple of tupperware containers. You can cover the shredded meat with salsa and make a taco, or BBQ sauce and make a pulled pork sandwhich or cheese and make a hoagie - none of them authentic, but all of them will fill the hole.

I throw a chuck roast in the crockpot and just pour about a half of a cup of red wine over it. That's called "Auntie's Quick Pot Roast". ;D Just slightly different and the gravy's not bad either.

[The J]

Mar 15, 2011 12:33:20 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

If you have a crock pot, you can buy a roast and let it go all day with some broth. Then you can shred it and put it into a couple of tupperware containers. You can cover the shredded meat with salsa and make a taco, or BBQ sauce and make a pulled pork sandwhich or cheese and make a hoagie - none of them authentic, but all of them will fill the hole.

If you buy a pork shoulder (may also be called a pork butt -- just another name for the shoulder portion), you put it in the crockpot with bbq sauce and you'll have good pulled pork, which can be used for tons of things.

[Deleted]

Any roast, salt and pepper, put in the oven at 400 degrees, cook until meat thermometer shows for medium rare. Take it out of the oven and let sit 10 minutes. That is important, it keeps the meat moist. Get an electronic meat thermometer for really fool proof. Mashed potatoes, boil potatoes until they fall apart when you stick in a fork, drain, add butter and milk and mash until smooth. Serve with a green salad, bagged salad with cut tomato and cucumber added. For dessert get a nice sherbert.

That is about as foolproof as a real meal gets.

[TrixAre4Kids]

This is fast and easy. Put a couple pieces of halibut in a baking dish, dot with butter and sprinkle Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs over the top.

Bake at 400 degrees for appx 10 minutes (measure how deep your fillet or steak is, then figure 10 minutes per inch. So if the fillets are from the tail and thin pieces you might only cook for 6 minutes or so)

Serve with rice, salad, and a nice white wine.

It will really impress your girlfriend!

[Tiny]

Quick meal: Any kind of frozen bag o' veggies, any kind of microwavable bag o' rice, a can o' chicken. Maybe a fancy shmancy salad dressing (like ginger seasame or a not too italian type vinegarette) Nuke the rice, nuke the veggies - combine with the chicken toss with some salad dressing and you're done.

You can substitute fresh for frozen (either steam in the microwave,saute on the stove), use any kind of rice - even leftover take out rice, add any kind of meat - left over roast chicken or beef or something you brought home from a restaurant, and you could make your own "sauce" - some packets of soy sauce and ginger? or bottled teriyaki sauce.. .

When you get tired of the variations on the heated up 'veggie/rice/meat' theme you can move on to Fried Rice (use already cooked rice and egg(s) and veggies and maybe meat).

[txmover]

Hey Bach, first of all chicks like guys that can cook. Challenge yourself!! Here's one to try for awesome pulled pork. Get a pork butt roast about 3 lb. and a roll of foil.
Rub the pork with Montreal Seasoning.
Take out to the grill and sear it until it is dark brown and crusty on all sides, (30 minutes or so)
Wrap tightly in foil so no moisture gets out.
Throw into oven at 210 degrees or a large crock pot on Medium for 10 hours.
Open foil and chow down!!

[Apple]

txmover--that sounds awesome, I love Montreal Seasoning! (does it matter if I were to use the one for beef?)

And yes, I'd love a guy that can cook My ex-bf could and it was nice to have a meal made for me every now and then. My brother does all the cooking in his house, he started as a kid in 4H and won several awards. He's one of the best cooks I know.

[txmover]

Hi Apple, here is an idea to do a great brisket without much work.

Get a trimmed brisket and sear it over a hot grill maybe 10 min per side. Take it off and rub it with a light coat of spicy mustard. Then put the Montreal on it (or whatever else you like). Put it into a deep disposable aluminum pan and pour 1 cup of black coffee over the top of it. Black coffee like you would drink, not the grounds. Seal the pan tightly with foil and throw it into the oven at 210 degrees for 12 hours.

Remove from the oven and drain off most of the liquid into a bowl to save for later.

Place the brisket (in the pan) into the refridgerator until it is solid enough to cut (across the grain) with an electric knife.

Put the sliced brisket back into the pan and pour some of the saved liquid back over the top. Cover with foil and then rewarm in oven for about 1 hour at 300 degrees.

This makes a really nice presentation since the slices are all uniform and the brisket is so tender your friends won't know how you were able to even slice it.

[lisaflex]

what about CP rotissiere chix? buy a whole chix and wash it well.

ball up some foil in the CP pot that you have sprayed w/ Pam

make a seasoning mix of: garlic salt, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper and any other seasoning you may like

rub mixture on chix. plop in CP on top of foil and turn on low for about 6 - 8 hrs...very good!

do you like pasta? boil linguine. sautee some red onion in OO and sprinkle w/ crshd red ppr, add chpd garlic to your liking, turn off heat. add some spinach leaves. drain pasta. put in bowl. pour "sauce" over and mix. sprinkle w/ frsh parsley and frsh grtd romano and you have one good meal! you can also add some chick peas or some sauteed shrimp to this. great leftover also

pork chops in the CP
coat chops in seasoned flour. sautee in OO.

to the CP, add some large chpd potatoes and some white onions and some whole garlic cloves. put chops on top of that. pour in a jar of nofat mushroom gravy and let cook on low all day. very comforting at the end of a cold day. ;D

[DebMD (banned)]

DEB's RIB MEAT

Season ribs with salt and pepper or dry rub spices

Place ribs bone on edge(bone is in vertical position) in crock pot....fat drips to bottom.

Meat falls off the bone.

Can crisp up in broiler-optional

.

[DebMD (banned)]

My Hungry Man Sandwich

2 slices of bread with large surface area-apply mustard to each slice
Fry Salami
then

bread
cheese
salami
egg-fried/scrambled
salami
cheese
bread

cook sandwich in pan that salami was fried in.
cook on both sides

[DebMD (banned)]

GARBAGE SOUP

After each meal put scraps in ziplock bag and place in freezer.
At end of the week make soup with scraps plus broth/boullion cube and spices.

Each week your soup will be different.

note:
bread scraps can be added to soup as thickener..mash or blenderize
meat scraps can have the fat rendered out.

[nalto]

Thanks everyone!! I no longer have to live on hot dogs and PB & J

[The Virginian]

When I was in College I lived on Instant Mashed Potatoes and canned corn. To spice it up once in a while I would go for Cream Style Corn!

Hey - It kept me alive! ;D