Best, easy recipes

[raeoflyte]

I'm on a roll cooking at home, but honestly haven't found any new recipes that really grab me and make me want to try again. Thank goodness dh likes eats left overs whether he loved the meal or not.

So what are your favorite go-to recipes? Ideally 5 ingredients or less, and pretty low prep time. I'm bound and determined to have at least a months worth of dinner recipes that we know we like and can cook in a hurry before the baby gets here.

[Deleted]

I like to bake/roast a whole chicken. Wash and season the outside and toss some onions inside. Slather with your seasoning like Old bay and olive oil and then roast till done. Then, i take what is leftover, toss in a pot and boil the next day with celery, carrots, and some canned broth, strain and then add some egg noodles and pull the rest of the meat off. It is always a hit.

[Deleted]

Chunk of pork roast, shoulder, etc. Toss in the crockpot with seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic, etc. Cook all day. Pull out and fork shred and cover with BBQ sauce for awesome pulled pork sandwiches.

[Tiny]

Here's a quick meatless dinner - just substitute a meat for the tofu if you must be a carnivore

1and 1/2 tablespoons light olive oil
2 large onions, quartered and thinly sliced (try red or Vidalia)
1 pound firm or extra firm tofu, well drained and diced
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Rays)
Hot cooked rice

Heat the oil in a stir fry pan or large skillet. Add the onions and saute over medium heat until golden.

Add the tofu and BBQ sauce and turn up the heat to medium high. Stir fry for 6 to 8 minutes, and serve on it's own or over rice.

You can substitute bottled peanut sauce or different flavored BBQ sauce for the BBQ sauce.

When I make rice I make alot and keep 2 or 3 cups of cooked rice per zippy bag in the freezer so I can whip this up as a quick dinner in under 30 minutes.
I don't see why you couldn't cut up and saute boneless chicken breasts for this OR use whatever left over meat you have on hand - maybe adding the left over meat at the very end so it just heats thru.

ADDED: You can substitute brocolli for the onion (or add to the onion) Brocolli goes really good with bottled Peanut sauce

[susanb]

I have a chili recipe DH loves and it takes less than 5 minutes.

Put the following things in a crock pot on low for 8 hours

1 package of ground beef or lamb
1 spicy chicken sausage link (meat, not casing)
1 package of taco seasoning
1 container of salsa
2 cans of beans

[susanb]

Like Shooby, I like to bake a whole chicken (425 for 1.5 hours and fill the cavity with 1/2 an onion, garlic cloves and half an orange, I use butter instead of oil).

Sometimes I do soup on day two, other times I

Cook a package of gnocchi (cooks in 5 minutes or less!) and add the following

1/2 jar of pesto
2 handfuls of grape tomatoes
1/2 of a red onion diced
1 can of artichoke hearts or sauteed asparagus or both
cut up chicken

[Deleted]

Lasagna. Brown some ground beef and garlic. Add a jar of prego, then layer that with ricotta and mozarella and bake.

[Tiny]

I make "Glop in a Pot" to go over any type of pasta or rice or just served with crusty bread...

You need at a minimum:
Garlic (fresh or jarred) minced or crushed I use 3 to 4 cloves.
Onion (or more) chopped
a green pepper (or any color or several)
1 pound Eggplant
1 pound of zuchinni
fresh basil - a quarter cup chopped or to taste OR dried Italian seasonings
a 16 oz can of diced tomatoes (or about a pound of fresh tomatoes peeled, seeded, chopped).
optional a tablespoon of tomato paste
any other veggies you go lying around mushrooms are nice, carrots, potatos, whatever

The jist of "Glop in a Pot" is to slowly layer flavors so you may need to order things differently if you have longer cooking veggies (carrots, potatoes, beets) for example see below:

Start with a really big Pot (for the Glop).
add olive oil to cover the bottom. Saute garlic just until it releases it's fragrance. Add the onion and saute until tender. If you have tomato paste add it and stir until it cooks in and you've got stuff sticking to the bottom of the pot. you may need to add a liquid (like water or a bit of broth) to deglaze the pan. Add the pepper, and eggplant at this point. If you have carrots or potatoes or beets add at this point also. The eggplant will slowly start to release it's liquid. You want to get all the veggies in the pot to mingle with this liquid so stir as it's cooking. Add the zuchinni and mushrooms or other quick cooking veggies once the eggplant starts to release it's liquid. Keep stirring you want the veggies to touch as much of the eggplant goo as possible. Once the veggies are tender - add the tomatos and basil and stir until heated thru. Add salt and pepper to taste.

And viola you have Glop in a Pot (might also be mistaken for rattatuieiile) You can substitute a good curry powder for the basil (maybe a tablespoon or two) and some chopped cilantro to give it a different twist.

You can add just about any fresh veggie (green beans? kolirabe? Brocolli?) to this. The magic is in the seasonings and the eggplant and tomatoes and adding the veggies in a good cooking order so you don't over cook the tender-er veggies.

ADDED: not sure how well this freezes... I use it all up over pasta, rice, bread, as an omelet filling, and cold as a side dish. It's really good with italian sausage. mmmmm glop in a pot....

[Deleted]

$10 rice cooker from Target. One cup rice 2 cups water. Then get some boneless skinless chicken breasts and saute in a pan and canned gravy and put over rice . Yum.

[Tiny]

Google recipes for Stuffed Shells - they are alot like lasanga but seem eaiser to make (to me at least). Add spinach for extra umphed. I got a couple versions of this recipe all of them freeze really well. I found it easier to divvy up the shells into workable servings for the freezer too. (versus a big ole pan of lasagna).

[TD2K]

This is a quick appetizer and it's good.

Cut an avocado in half and remove the pit

Cook shrimp 3 minutes and chill in cold water. Fill each avocado half with roughly chopped shrimp or you can keep them whole. Drizzle fresh lemon juice on each and then add a bit of thousand island dressing on top of the shrimp.

I made these for Mich when she was recovering and didn't have any appetite, she loved them.

[weltschmerz]

Maple Baked Salmon.......quick and easy.
Marinate salmon filet (in oven proof dish) in about one third cup of real maple syrup, a couple of tablespoons soy sauce, grated fresh ginger and grated fresh garlic. (Never marinate fish for longer than about 20 minutes, as the flesh is delicate and starts to break down.) Slide the whole thing into a 325-350 oven for another 20 minutes, or until it becomes flakey.
Presto! Few ingredients, no time at all, and unbelievably delicious. Everyone I gave this recipe to raves about it. Women have told me that even their fish-hating husbands love it.
Serve with rice and a simple green salad. Enjoy.

[Deleted]

Nothing wrong with soup and sandwiches either as a meal once a week.

[tcu2003]

Aug 13, 2012 23:45:02 GMT -5 @shooby said:

Chunk of pork roast, shoulder, etc. Toss in the crockpot with seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic, etc. Cook all day. Pull out and fork shred and cover with BBQ sauce for awesome pulled pork sandwiches.

I do this, but I also throw a sliced onion in the crock pot with the meat and seasonings - delicious!

[tcu2003]

Here's a recipe I found on Pinterest a couple of months ago, and have actually cooked it a few times since then, so we like it! Note that I've only tried the crock pot version, but also included the recipe's baked directions. And I usually end up putting in closer to 1-1 1/2 lbs chicken as the sauce makes a lot, so then we'll have leftovers.

Honey Sauced Chicken


3/4 pound chicken (of your choice)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup chopped onion (or 1/16 cup onion flakes)
1/8 cup ketchup
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes


Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1 1/2 hours. Chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.


To bake chicken as a 30 minute meal:
Dice chicken and season both sides with salt and pepper, place in 8x8 pan. Pour sauce over chicken and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.


Serves 2.

[tcu2003]

Do you guys like to grill? We do a lot of quick, easy meals that way. Burgers, hot dogs, and brats are really easy and quick to do, and I can pair them with baked beans, potato salad or coleslaw (usually from the grocery store unless I planned way ahead), chips, corn on the cob, or anything, really. We also like to grill chicken and pork chops - we just pick whatever seasoning we feel like that night, grill away, and enjoy - and we make sure to at least cook 4 instead of 2 so we have leftovers for one additional meal.

[973beachbum]

Now from the lazy person. ;D

Buy boneless skinless chicken breasts. Cut them in three or four strips depending on how large they are. Get a bottle of Ken's Caesar salad dressing. 8 oz or half a 16 oz bottle for a standard 3-4 chicken breasts.

First thing in the morning or even the night before you want to cook them. Put the chicken strips in a zip top bag. Pour Kens caesar salad dressing in the bag and seal. Leave in fridge up to 24 hours to marinate.

Take marinated chicken out of the fridge and cook on a grill pan or cooking vessel of your choice till done. Bon Appetit. ;D

Serve with your choice of vegatables, pasta, potatoes or whatever you like.

[Deleted]

Fajitas! Slice some peppers (you can do different colors if you want to get fancy) and onions and saute them in a pan over high heat.
You can use already cooked chicken, or grill some meat, or cook some chicken breasts in the pan before the veggies (I have done all 3 ways).

Serve on soft tortillas with salsa, sour cream and cheese.

[chiver78]

Black Bean Pulled Chicken

1lb frozen boneless/skinless chicken breasts
2 cans black beans, NOT drained
16oz salsa of choice
1/2 cup uncooked rice, NOT instant

place chicken in slow cooker and top with remaining ingredients. stir to combine wet ingredients.
cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
shred chicken when done and serve in tortillas or on nachos w/desired toppings.

[raeoflyte]

Great recipes--I can't wait to try them!

Beerwench--what kind of beef/steak do you buy for your fajitas? I've tried them a couple times, but I think I'm buying the wrong stuff because they always end up tough.

[Deleted]

I mostly sear chicken breasts when I make them, but we've grilled flank steaks and skirt steaks and used them during the summer.

[shanendoah]

We do a lot of curries.

Curry powder or paste
Coconut milk or Greek yogurt
chicken
rice
sometimes mango

This weekend I made mini curried turkey burgers with a yogurt curry dipping sauce

ground turkey, ginger, curry and greek yogurt were the only ingredients.

Our old stand bys are rice, chicken and cream of mushroom, or SOS (made with ground turkey), or pasta and sauce.

[Deleted]

Balsamic glazed pork chops. 7 ingredients, which include sugar, pork chops, salt, and pepper.

www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Balsamic-Glazed-Pork-Chops-233982

Woman's Day has a monthly calendar of recipes online. There are several months available and the recipes are attached to the calendar. I believe you can also create a shopping list from there. Most of the recipes are pretty simple.

www.womansday.com/food-recipes/month-of-menus/

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I just made this recipe last night. It takes awhile to cook but the prep time is super fast and then all the cooking is done by itself in the oven so it was an easy recipe.

www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/beer-mi-asian-meatball-subs/d205c506-3018-4e38-abac-55b6c7295d17

I left the pickles off for DH and he didn't miss them so you could skip that step or you could use store bought sweet pickles. I like making quick pickles so I choose to follow the recipe.

This is another of my go-tos. I pretty much stole the method, I very rarely make the recipe in its entirely. You can put just about anything into or on top of a potato and call it dinner.

www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/ground-beef--and-corn-topped-potato-skins/f6d6caf3-86d8-44e7-b02a-810392a66217

[dividend]

What grabs me from new recipes is a strong savory interesting flavor, and a high enjoyment to effort ratio. One way to get that is to roast vegetables.
Last night I roasted green beans, seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Then sprinkled them with parmesan cheese. They're totally addictive.
Broccoli and cauliflower work the same way, same temp, cut the broccoli into florets, slice the cauliflower thin. Those take 20 minutes. The cauliflower will get browned and a little crispy, and it kind of tastes like french fries. If you season the broccoli with coriander, cumin, and chili powder, and then toss in some seasoned shrimp for the last 10 minutes, you'll have one of my favorite go-to awesome easy, flavor-packed meals.
Carrots are great, seasoned with cumin. If they're thin, they'll take 20 min, the big thicker ones will take 30-40. Drizzle these with a quick glaze made from honey, grated ginger, and butter melted together, and finish with a sprinkle of salt.
Baby bok choi is great cut in half, drizzled with sesame oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes, and roasted cut side down.
Brussel sprouts are AWESOME cut in half, blanched for 3-4 min, shocked, and then seared cut side down in a skillet with some bacon fat in which you coooked some garlic, until they're browning. Deglaze the pan witha little chicken stock, sprinkle with parmesan and cripy bacon bits. This dish was DEVOURED at Thanksgiving last year.
Even kale is good roasted. If you tear the leaves into small-ish pieces, toss with olive oil until just shiny, season with salt and roast in a single layer, it gets crackery-crisp. Roat for 5-10 minutes, then toss it around and roast for another 5 ish.

These are all great, because you can get them in the oven and forget them while you're cooking a quick protein. Those carrots are great with white fish, which you can roaste in the oven (in a parchment packet for a delicate flavor, or on a sheet pan covered with breadcrumbs or almonds) while the carrots cook.

And if you have time to boil water and cook pasta, there are hundreds of great recipes that come together in the time it takes the pasta to cook.

[The Captain]

If you haven't found the website yet allrecipiesdotcom you have to check it out! I get probably 80% of my new recipe ideas from there. The rest comes from cooks illustrated.

[Deleted]

I love allrecipes! The best feature is the ingredient search; you type in what you have on hand and it searches out recipes with those things in it.

[Deleted]

I hate all recipes... All the reviewers change the recipe so you never get an accurate idea...

[Deleted]

HA! I love reading them though "I give it 4 stars! But first I added 50 different things and took out 45 of them and now it is a completely different recipe but it's DELICIOUS! Would make it again for sure!"

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I never find naything good on All recipes. I like Betty Crocker.

I love to read negative reviews "This dish SUCKED. I didn't have Y so I substituted Z, my oven doesn't go that hot so I cooked it at a lower temperature so it took hours instead of minutes like the recipe claims, I left this ingredient out becuase my husband doesn't like it. AWFUL dish!"