Quick and Simple Recipes

Faith316 · May 2010

I'm starting a thread for quick and simple recipes. For when your family needs to eat, but your energy is AWOL and you want somethng good, healthy but that takes few ingredients and little prep time. I'll go first. I just popped these in the oven. They are really good and take very little time to make and my kids love them.

Mini-Mexican Meat Loaves

1 box (6 oz.) Stovetop cornbread stuffing mix

1 cup water

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 (19 oz.) pkg. ground turkey breast

2 cups salsa

1 cup shredded 2% Mexican blend cheese

-----------------------------------------------------

Stir in a bowl stuffing mix, water, chili powder until blended. Add turkey and mix well.

Divide mixture into 12 equal portions; place one portion in each cup of a greased muffin pan. Press down bottom and up sides forming a shell.

Fill with salsa. (about 3 tablespoons per shell)

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until set.

Remove from oven; sprinkle each with cheese. Let stand for 10 minutes for cheese to melt.

Makes 12.

Faith316 · May 2010

Doesn't anyone else have any good, simple recipes they would like to share?

Claire_in_Seattle · May 2010

I am on an asparagus binge as just amazing right now.

Take off hard tips of asparagus spears.

Roll in a bit of olive oil.

Broil until a bit charred and tender.

Eat yourself silly.

NatureGrrl · May 2010

Some of these threads seem to take awhile before they catch on... but here's a few from me to get you started.

Summer Pasta: While pasta is cooking (your choice what kind), heat a little olive oil in a pan, throw in some garlic (amount depends on your love of garlic), let it saute a few minutes; drain the pasta, set aside; throw halved cherry tomatoes into the pan with the garlic and saute only long enough to warm the tomatoes. Toss in some fresh basil. Serve over pasta with parmesan cheese. This is really best with garden-fresh tomatoes and fresh basil.

Tacos or burritos are always easy for a quick dinner. I like veggie tacos best and use combinations like sweet potato and black bean (with onion, corn, cilantro); pinto beans, corn, jalpenos, and cheese; black beans with rice and cheese... you get the idea. Toss together whatever you have that sounds good, add seasonings of choice (I almost always add garlic and cumin, plus fresh cilantro), cheese or not... filling can be heated in a pan or burritos can be filled and heated in the oven. Serve with whatever sides you like -- my fav is plain Greek yogurt.

Beans and rice: I keep a variety of cooked beans in the freezer, plus some cans of various kinds to use in a pinch... and I love just about any kind of beans and rice. While the rice is cooking I throw beans in a pot with whatever seasonings are appropriate for those beans: red beans -- I add green peppers, onions, tomatoes, Creole-type seasonings; pintos, I add cumin, chili powder, onion, jalapenos; black beans I usually don't do a lot to -- one of my favs is black beans with just a little coconut milk. OMG what a great combo. While the rice cooks (I usually make brown rice so I have a good hour), I let the beans simmer, and I put my feet up.

My favorite easy dinner is cereal with fruit and toast. Talk about lazy! Probably wouldn't fly for those with families to please! Second favorite is Swiss cheese, honey mustard, and leaf lettuce on pita. A sandwich bar is always easy and fun, ditto for a home salad bar.

Hope this helps....

Caroljl · August 2010

Hi Everyone, I don't know if any of you ever heard of the Nuwave Pro infrared oven, but they advertise these on the info mercial on TV. My husband and I have had one of these going on 3 years and love it.. Healthy , easy way to cook meats, vegs,among other things. The best thing about it is, you don't have to thaw anything it cooks the meat when it is frozen.Check it out, especily when you don't feel like cooking at all

Just_V · May 2011

great - quick recipe from chirunning.com

Bean and Chicken Sausage Stew

This quick and savory stew serves up the protein your body needs after a great cardio workout. Filled with items that are already in the pantry, this recipe won't take you more than 20 minutes to make. Great for the whole family on a busy evening!

Ingredients Amount

Olive oil 1 Tbs

Fully cooked chicken sausage links 1 12 oz package, sliced

Garlic 2 cloves, thinly sliced

Yellow onion 1 sm., chopped

Cannellini or navy beans 1 19 oz can, rinsed

Low-sodium chicken broth 1 14.5 oz can

Diced tomatoes 1 14.5 oz can

Kale 1 bunch leaves, torn into 2" pieces

Salt and pepper To taste

Red pepper flakes (opt) To taste

Wheat bread loaf (opt) For taste!

Directions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring once, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
Add the beans, broth, tomatoes and their liquid and bring to a boil.
Add the kale, ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until kale is wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.
Serve with the bread, if desired.

Laurie08 · May 2011

You should come check out the thread So Whats for dinner? There is a great group of women there. Here is a very simple recipe I love. Two minutes prep time and it's healthy.

Salsa Chicken

1 container of your favorite salsa

1 can black beans

2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

cheddar cheese

Put chicken in a Pyrex dish, dump the salsa over it and then the black beans. Cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. (works like a fast slow cooker) When time is up top with shredded cheddar cheese and bake for just a few minutes until cheese is melted. I serve it on a bed of brown rice and a scoop of sour cream on top. Left overs are awesome and are great to make burritos a few nights later- the chicken shreds beautifully!

J9W · May 2011

Oven Fries: cut potatos in french fry slices, mix in bowl with a LITTLE olive oil and salt/pepper. We use the pepper to make sure all the fries have been coated with oil; then cook at 425 until crisp. Excellent.

lago · May 2011

Check this out:
5 Easy Dinners in May
Under $3.50 a Serving
By Charlyne Mattox

Asparagus and Ricotta Pizzas Ginger-Marinated Steak and Noodle Salad

Barbecue-Glazed Salmon Grilled Chicken and Orange Skewers With Zucchini Rice
With Green Beans and Corn

Pork Chops With Tangy Rhubarb Chutney

carolehalston · May 2011

Do check out What's for Dinner thread. It's really informative, friendly and fun.

Stanzie · May 2011

I love the recipes. Nice place to come when you want something to fix fast and with things hopefully on hand. Thanks!!! will come back and post some recipes when I can figure out which to post.

Anjanita · May 2011

I keep the ingredients for this quick appetizer on hand in case unexpected company arrives.

One block cream cheese

Small can deviled ham

Our favorite bottled BBQ sauce

Slice cream cheese lengthwise and spread one slice with ham. Top with other slice and spread remaining ham. Lightly drizzle with BBQ sauce and garnish with whatever's handy - sprig of parsely, stuffed olives, pickles etc. Serve with a butter knife for spreading on crackers.

It's addictive.

treesprite · May 2011

I cook brown rice and freeze it; I like Food Network Alton Brown's method for cooking brown rice; fool proof: 1 1/2 cup brown rice, 2 1/2 cups water, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon kosher salt (I use salted butter and cut back the salt). Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put rice in 8 x 8 baking dish. Bring water, butter, and salt to boil, pour into rice and stir. Cover tightly with foil and bake 1 hour on middle rack of oven. Fluff and serve. I freeze it in a bag but you have to shake the bag while its freezer (I set a timer so I don't forget), that way you can scoop out portions of rice. I usually make a double batch. You can use broth instead of water and you can add seasonings to the rice.

I roast up a big batch of veggies; broccoli is a favorite, but every vegetable tastes great roasted! Onion, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, whatever. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, toss veggies with olive oil, salt & pepper. Preheat a baking sheet for about 5 minutes then spread veggies in a single layer; roast about 15 minutes; I put the harder veggies on first and then add the rest according to how quickly they'll cook, so carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.

Brown rice tossed with roasted veggies; sometimes I add feta, sometimes soy sauce or chimichurri sauce, thai curry sauce; whatever sounds good. Good with grilled chicken.

When I grill chicken, I grill a whole bunch; cook just till done; eat some and freeze the rest; cool & wrap tightly. When you have grilled chicken in the freezer you can do grilled chicken ceasar salads, pasta with grilled chicken (& roasted veggies), great for wraps. Tonight we did flat bread pizza with chicken, roasted garlic white sauce (Emeril's recipe), feta and mozzerella.

I buy a big container of crumbled feta cheese at Costco and freeze in a bag, shaking every so often while it freezes (like the rice). Feta thaws really fast, so it is always ready to go. If I have feta cheese and kalamata olives, I'm a happy girl.

I make big batches of soup & freeze flat in ziplock bags; easy to peel off the bags and heat in a saucepan on low.

When I buy ground meat, I brown it, drain it and freeze in bags using the same shake method to keep it loose so I can remove only what I want. This usually gets used for tacos with black beans, corn, and shredded red cabbage.

My solution to quick & easy is to have plenty of things on hand in the freezer & pantry. I eat a lot of salads and keep garbanzo beans on hand to make them more filling; add feta and kalamata olives w/vinaigrette.

Great thread -- I'm all about quick & easy and even better if it is low fat, low carb.

Anjanita · May 2011

I like garbanzos in my salads, too, treesprite. I open a couple of cans and drain them, put them in a storage container and cover with Italian dressing.

Then when it's salad time I scoop out what is desired and my salad is garnished and dressed at the same time. But I hadn't thought to add the olives and cheese. Good idea.

saturn · May 2011

treesprite - I love all your ideas and I am going to steal them! lol...I already roast veggies and absolutely love them that way. I may be starting n 8-5 job soon so I will need to begin making a freezer stash. Thank you so much for all the ideas!

Quick and Simple Recipes

Comments

Categories