Recipe help?
Feb. 21st, 2010 09:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trinityofoneSo, I am wanting to try to learn how to cook more. The problem is that every recipe book or site I consult, even when I am specifically looking for "quick & easy" type recipes, seems to assume that I have money for fancy ingredients (no) or already own fancy equipment (really no). Bah! Bah on them and their Chilean sea bass and their food processors and grills. I turn to you instead for advice!
Do you have any favorite recipes you'd be willing to share? Specifically, quick, easy, and CHEAP recipes?
Here's what I do not have:
1. Very much money.
2. Very much equipment.
3. Very much skill.
On the plus side, however, I like almost everything. Except beets. I HATE BEETS.
So, any non-beet, non-expensive, non-excessively difficult involving twelve types of pans and a magic wand you could share with me?
In return, here's my favorite, failproof recipe. (Well, failproof unless you are![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
siriaeve and hate cheese. Sorry.)
ROMAN HOLIDAY
a.k.a., OMG Trin, you are a BAD JEW
Ingredients:
1 box penne or rigatoni (I used to prefer the latter, but have since been reconverted to the former)
1 pound ground beef (I've also made it with both ground turkey and with that fake vegetarian soy beef stuff, and both versions work pretty well)
1 large package of American Cheese (I like the Kraft Deluxe, as it is not individually wrapped in plastic. That is some B.S.)
1 jar tomato sauce
1 large yellow onion
salt and pepper
Start water boiling for pasta. Dice onion—my mom dices it finely, but I suck at chopping, have cheap knives, and like big chunks of onion anyway so that works too. Saute onion in a deep pan with olive oil. Add beef in chunks without thinking of the latest episode of SPN. Add a dash of salt and pepper; cook until beef is browned and onion is soft.
The water is probably ready by now, so add the pasta and cook as directed by the package.
Cut the cheese into cubes and distribute on the bottom of a large casserole dish. Add beef and onion mixture. (You can drain the grease first if you want, but I usually don't bother. It's flavor! Also I am gross.) When pasta is done, drain and add. Struggle with the stupid jar of pasta sauce for a ridiculously long time; when it finally opens, pour it over pasta. Stir. Put lid on casserole dish and place in oven, which if you are like me you have probably forgotten to preheat to 350°. But whatever, this recipe is almost impossible to screw up. Cook for 20ish minutes. Basically, you want the cheese to be all lovely and melty and bubbly. Stir and serve. Reheats really well. (But better in the oven than in the microwave,turtlespeaks!)
I should add that this is a Depression-era recipe of my (not Jewish) great-aunt Hopie, who passed away this past December. It was originally made with macaroni, Velveeta, and canned tomato soup, so in comparison, you can feel really sophisticated eating the current version.
Also, if through some odd cosmic circumstance, I was ever given the opportunity to seduce Dean Winchester, I would make him this.
So yes, please hit me with your own failproof recipes! And, er, it should be mentioned: I like healthy stuff, too. I love vegetables! (EXCEPT BEETS.) Mushrooms are good! Or, well, just about anything. I only know how to make this casserole and like three other dishes. It's sad.
Do you have any favorite recipes you'd be willing to share? Specifically, quick, easy, and CHEAP recipes?
Here's what I do not have:
1. Very much money.
2. Very much equipment.
3. Very much skill.
On the plus side, however, I like almost everything. Except beets. I HATE BEETS.
So, any non-beet, non-expensive, non-excessively difficult involving twelve types of pans and a magic wand you could share with me?
In return, here's my favorite, failproof recipe. (Well, failproof unless you are
siriaeve and hate cheese. Sorry.)ROMAN HOLIDAY
a.k.a., OMG Trin, you are a BAD JEW
Ingredients:
1 box penne or rigatoni (I used to prefer the latter, but have since been reconverted to the former)
1 pound ground beef (I've also made it with both ground turkey and with that fake vegetarian soy beef stuff, and both versions work pretty well)
1 large package of American Cheese (I like the Kraft Deluxe, as it is not individually wrapped in plastic. That is some B.S.)
1 jar tomato sauce
1 large yellow onion
salt and pepper
Start water boiling for pasta. Dice onion—my mom dices it finely, but I suck at chopping, have cheap knives, and like big chunks of onion anyway so that works too. Saute onion in a deep pan with olive oil. Add beef in chunks without thinking of the latest episode of SPN. Add a dash of salt and pepper; cook until beef is browned and onion is soft.
The water is probably ready by now, so add the pasta and cook as directed by the package.
Cut the cheese into cubes and distribute on the bottom of a large casserole dish. Add beef and onion mixture. (You can drain the grease first if you want, but I usually don't bother. It's flavor! Also I am gross.) When pasta is done, drain and add. Struggle with the stupid jar of pasta sauce for a ridiculously long time; when it finally opens, pour it over pasta. Stir. Put lid on casserole dish and place in oven, which if you are like me you have probably forgotten to preheat to 350°. But whatever, this recipe is almost impossible to screw up. Cook for 20ish minutes. Basically, you want the cheese to be all lovely and melty and bubbly. Stir and serve. Reheats really well. (But better in the oven than in the microwave,
turtlespeaks!)I should add that this is a Depression-era recipe of my (not Jewish) great-aunt Hopie, who passed away this past December. It was originally made with macaroni, Velveeta, and canned tomato soup, so in comparison, you can feel really sophisticated eating the current version.
Also, if through some odd cosmic circumstance, I was ever given the opportunity to seduce Dean Winchester, I would make him this.
So yes, please hit me with your own failproof recipes! And, er, it should be mentioned: I like healthy stuff, too. I love vegetables! (EXCEPT BEETS.) Mushrooms are good! Or, well, just about anything. I only know how to make this casserole and like three other dishes. It's sad.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 05:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 05:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:01 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:03 am (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:04 am (UTC)This made me lol. Also, your recipe looks tasty and I will try it!
The following kugel recipe is from my Jewish grandmother, who got it from Shirley Pearlstein at Shelter Rock Tennis Club in Long Island sometime in the 70s. :)
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb Pennsylvania Dutch Noodles
4 eggs
5 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp vanilla
1/3 box golden raisins
1 pint sour cream
1 bar butter (melted)
A lot of Frosted Flakes
DIRECTIONS:
1. Boil pasta
2. Split bar of butter into two and melt in separate bowls in the microwave
3. Mix all ingredients together except for half of the melted butter
4. Pour that half at the bottom of a big cake dish thing (around the size of this?) and then plop the mixed ingredients on top
5. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes
6. Add enough crushed Frosted Flakes on top to cover with a pretty good layer
7. Remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes
Yay! Best kugel ever (though not exactly healthy), and really easy. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:09 am (UTC)Ingredients:
2 pieces boneless chicken thigh
1 large onion
2 peppers, any color
1 can water chestnuts
1 cup frozen peas
Terriaky sauce to taste
Cut the chicken into small pieces and start grilling in skillet. While you are grilling, cut up the onions and peppers. Once the chicken is almost thoroughly cooked, add the onions and peppers, water chestnuts and peas. Add terriaky sauce to flavor. Cook another 5 to ten minutes.
I like to eat this over brown rice or Chines rice noodles. Both are really cheap and easy to cook. It makes a lot, and is pretty healthy. Enjoy!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:16 am (UTC)Can I ask one Moron Question? Do you grill the chicken with anything initially—I mean, do you put some olive oil in there, or? (My—perhaps unfortunate—instinct is just to put olive oil in everything.)
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:19 am (UTC)My other favourite meal is a thick spicy sweet potato soup: http://abbylee.livejournal.com/38708.html
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:26 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:24 am (UTC)Ooh, there is a livejournal community, that I found through the spotlight, http://community.livejournal.com/what_a_crock/ I have found at least a dozen, wonderful crockpot recipes, and I'd never used a crock in my life. You should check this wonderful community out. Some of the recipes are fancy, but most are made with basic ingredients or can take substitutions.
Here are some nice examples:
Hobo Stew
I've been making this stuff since I was a kid, so this is super easy. My boyfriend literally begs me to make this stuff all fall/winter long. I haven't yet tried it in the crock pot but plan to this weekend, so try it with me. =)
It's called Hobo Stew because, I don't know, even a hobo can make it? I'll give you the recepie that I use and you can remove/add anything that sounds good to you because that's what I did.
1 package of boneless/skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes, season & brown in pan
2 large cans of condensed tomato soup, then fill cans with water & add to crock
1 large onion diced (sometimes I cook this with the chicken)
4 cloves garlic diced (same)
If I'm cooking it on the stove I tend to use roughly 2 cups (or less) of elbow macaroni, but since we're crocking it I'm going to sub potatoes. Any kind you'd like, however you'd like to cut them, my personal preference since I don't really love cooking are the pre-sliced pre-cooked canned potatoes.
As many veggies as you'd like, I use corn, mushrooms, peas, lima beans, and I may even try some peppers of some sort this time and see how that goes.
Salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar, basil, oregano, and if you like spicy try some pepper flakes also.
Mix it all up, and cook on high for roughly 2 hours.
Enjoy!
Chicken-and-Wild Rice Hot Dish
4 skinned and boned chicken breasts (about 2 lbs.)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
5 garlic cloves, pressed
2 (6-ounce) packages uncooked long-grain and wild rice mix (Uncle Ben’s used in test recipe)
2 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth with roasted garlic
2 (10 ¾ oz.) cans cream of mushroom soup
1 (8 oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms (I used 8 oz. canned mushrooms)
1 (8 oz.) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
2 Tbsp. butter
1. Brown chicken in a lightly greased large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from pan and cut into ½ inch pieces. Add onion, celery and garlic to pan; sauté 3-4 minutes or until tender.
2. Combine rice mix, and remaining 6 ingredients in a 5-quart slow cooker. Stir in chicken and vegetables.
3. Cover and cook on LOW 4 hours, or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Makes 6 servings.
Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings
Chicken (I use three chicken breasts but you can use more)
2 cans chicken broth
4 cans cream of chicken soup
celery
carrots
red potatoes
Add:
chicken, broth, 2 cans of water, celery, carrots and potatoes to crock pot. Add some salt and pepper. Cook for 4-5 hours.
Add cream of chicken soup
30 minutes before eating add dumplings:
3 cups Bisquick
1 cup milk
Mix into dough. Roll into loose balls and drop into crock pot.
Serves about 4
Chicken in Wine
1 can cream of mushroom soup (undiluted)
1 can French Onion soup (undiluted)
1 cup white wine
2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Combine first three ingredients in crock pot. I use Campbell soups. Place chicken in cook on low 6 to 8 hours.
I normally serve this over mashed potatoes.
Good luck! :D -SB
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:26 am (UTC)Pinto Beans -soak overnight
(amt of beansis up to you, When I'm feeling particularly poor I'll make 2-3 cups and eat it all week. Maybe 1 cup for a first batch)
Bring beans to a boil with:
1 ham hock
1 green chili (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chili_pepper)
Simmer until beans are FULLY cooked, takes several hours - once you add the rest of the ingredients they will not get any softer.
Add:
1 can of tomato sauce
2-3 slices of American or cheddar cheese (oddly enough, American usually tastes better in this)
Louisiana hot sauce to taste
If you're going to be home cook in a cast iron dutch oven, otherwise you can probably crock pot it on low. BE SURE TO START IT BY 11 am if you want it by dinner. Beans take forever to cook.
Serve with tortillas or cornbread.
I figured I'd include an non-ham (but still not kosher) alternative
Enchilada soup
1/2 lb ground beef - fry and add
Tomato Juice (I'd say a 32 oz bottle)
1 can enchilada sauce - medium
corn chips - crumble into a bowl
+ Lettuce/spinach/green onion if wanted
pour soup over chips and top with cheddar cheese.
The Inevitable Tuna Casserole
Date: 2010-02-22 06:27 am (UTC)1 can tuna, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
butter or margerine
salt & pepper
Cook noodles and drain, add butter or marg. add tuna, add cream of mushroom soup and salt & pepper to taste. Mix well.
Pour mixture into a casserole dish and bake at 350 for 1/2 hour or until top starts to brown just a bit.
Eat and enjoy.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:31 am (UTC)Chicken Breasts
Oregano
Curry powder (mild)
Cumin
Cooking oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
1 Onion
Your choice of spaghetti sauce
1. Cut up small portion of onion and add to tops of chicken.
2. Sprinkle mixture of oregano, curry powder and cumin overtop.
3. Bake at 400C for 15 minutes, turn down heat to 300C for 5 minutes.
4. Add cooking oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bake at 300C for 5 minutes.
5. Cut chicken into small portions and add to simmering pan of pasta sauce of choice
6. Medium heat for 5 minutes, then simmer. Serve.
You can add other things in during the baking process. I prefer mushrooms.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:31 am (UTC)(portions for 2 ppl, just in case)
2 chicken breasts
1 can of pineapple chunks
a few of those small red/yellow/orange peppers, or a few chili peppers
some cheap white wine (you drink the rest with the meal, which makes it pretty awesome)
mozarella cheese (no other)
potatoes
bonus: red pepper paste
seasoning: salt, black pepper, GARLIC, red pepper
oil or something to fry stuff on
Season chicken breasts with salt, garlic, black and red pepper, in that order (it will stick better). Make sure the chicken breasts are evenly flat, cut slits in criss-cross in the thickest parts.
Heat some oil in a pan, brown the breasts on both sides on high heat (keep it short, just give them a nice color).
Reduce heat, flood the pan with wine and pineapple juice from the can (don't let it cover the meat: 1/3 of height is enough; you will use probably less pineapple juice than wine; you can also add water), throw in the pineapple chunks and fresh-cut red peppers (or chili peppers, if you like spicy stuff). Cut the peppers thin - the point is NOT to have huge chunks of pepper, just slivers to taste. If you have pepper paste, add a spoon or two.
Cover the pan, keep the thing boiling slowly for a while.
In the meantime, put whole potatoes in the microwave, blast them for 3 minutes, turn, blast them again, until they're soft.
Turn the meat a few times, stir the sauce (it will be quite watery). Pierce the meat where it's thickest to see if it's pink on the inside. It should not be pink, but it should not be firm either. Don't overcook - the whole dinner preparation should take less than 30 minutes if you time it right.
If you have something to thicken the sauce, use it. I use Wondra something. Works pretty well.
Put slices of mozarella on top of each chicken breast. You can place some pineapple underneath for added surprise. Cover and let the cheese melt on v. low heat.
Take potatoes out of the microwave, cut them in halves lenghtwise, put them on a plate, lay some mozarella on top, blast them again so the cheese melts here too.
What you should end up with on your plate is a chicken breast covered with melted mozarella cheese, onto which you can scoop up sweet and sour sauce with pineapple and pepper bits in it, and on the side a potato with melted cheese on top.
It may sound harder than it is. The key is not to overcook the chicken. And even if you do, just slice it thin as you eat, and dip in sauce.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 06:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 07:18 am (UTC)And then I moved into my own apartment, and I had, like, a pot and a skillet and a knife, and not much money, and also I was cooking for actual meals and two people, and I had to learn all over again. During this phase of my life, a family friend gave me the More with Less Cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/More-Less-Cookbook-World-Community/dp/083619263X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266821142&sr=1-1), which was a great guide, because it assumes that you want to make very cheap things very easily. It does not turn up its nose at telling you to mix kidney beans, canned tomatoes, onions, green pepper, and grated cheese in a big pot. (This, by the way, is surprisingly delicious, and I will give you the recipe if you think it's something you might like.)
And I have many many easy recipes (all vegetarian, because I am, you know, a vegetarian, and have been since I was 10), if you want to tell me what you like. (Seriously - do you want main-meal salads? Pasta? Beans? The world's best and easiest method of cooking tofu? Tasty things to do with whatever vegetables are in season? Guide me!) In the meantime, here are two pasta recipes. (Pasta is usually easy and usually cheap.)
Not Very Good for You But Incredibly Tasty If You Like Spicier Foods Pasta
1 pound linguine (or fettuccine or whatever)
5 - 6 tablespoons olive oil
4 - 8 garlic cloves
Crushed red pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese in quantity (I recommend the pecorino romano at Trader Joe's, actually - stronger taste, more bang for your buck, and I know you live where I do, in the Trader Joe's Capitol)
Heat water, cook pasta. Salt the water HEAVILY, because it's the only place you can put salt in this recipe.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil on low or medium low, depending on how powerful your oven is - you want it to just bubble a bit - and mince your garlic and add your red pepper. Stir occasionally. Let the garlic get golden brown but not any darker.
Drain your pasta.
If you used a big skillet to cook your garlic, add the pasta directly to it and mix over low heat until the pasta is shiny. Then transfer to serving dish. If you used a small skillet, just transfer the pasta to a serving dish, pour all the oil and tasty spice bits over it, and mix the fuck out of it. Add parmesan. Mix. Add more parmesan. Mix. Serve with the parmesan ready to hand, because you may want even more.
Leftovers are tasty as-is, or can be made easily and tastily into a pasta frittata, the world's best way of using up pasta leftovers if you're averse to eating the same meal on successive days.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 07:18 am (UTC)Better for You (Because There's a Vegetable!) and Very Tasty Pasta
1 pound pasta; for this, I like penne or something else more chunky than stringy
1 or 2 pounds zucchini (I always like a LOT of vegetables, so I go with two pounds, sometimes two and a half, but you may prefer more pasta in your pasta), sliced
Olive oil
Garlic as desired (not necessary)
Fresh basil (absolutely mandatory for this recipe, and you'll want a lot of it - I suggest either hitting the herb place at a farmer's market or going to Trader Joe's and getting their big plastic boxes of basil, which is relatively cheap - do not buy the tiny packets at a regular supermarket, because SO EXPENSIVE and usually really crappy), washed and chopped.
Lemon if you want
Parmesan cheese
Heat water, cook pasta, salting water fairly heavily.
Meanwhile, take a big-ass skillet and add the oil. Heat over medium heat. Add the garlic, if using, and let cook for 30 seconds or a minute, then add all the zucchini. Cook until soft and tasty-looking. Add half the basil, stir, wait a minute, and then pour over the pasta, which you have of course drained in the interim. Add the rest of the basil and the parmesan cheese and a teaspoon or so of lemon juice if you're using it.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 07:30 am (UTC)Fried Rice
Onion
Garlic
Green onions or scallions (same thing, different names)
2 eggs
Salt
Pepper
Some sort of chicken, pork, tofu, beef, bacon, vegetable, whatever you want - you can mix and match too!
Rice, of course, preferably sticky rice/jasmine rice.
Not sure if you own a rice cooker, but you can cook the rice in a pot as well: http://chinesefood.about.com/cs/rice/ht/cookrice.htm
Cut the protein of your choice into bite size pieces and grill/cook until they're done. While they're cooking, chop up the onion, garlic, and green onions. How much you use is really up to your own preference, I usually use about half of a medium sized onion, 3 cloves of garlic, and 3 stalks of green onions.
Remove the meat/veggie aside when they're done cooking, leave the oil in the pan.
Set aside half the amount of green onions and the rest of the green onions, onions, and garlic to the pan.
Cook until the onion turned clear and add the eggs in (you can whisk the eggs beforehand or just whisk them in the pan with the spatula).
When the eggs are still slightly wet, add in the rice and toss them in the pan until the rice are evenly coated with the egg.
Turn the heat down and put the meat/veggie back in, along with the green onions you set aside. Keep tossing until everything's mixed well.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
I usually use oyster sauce instead of salt and pepper. Soy sauce works as well. Terriaky sauce probably works as well, I haven't tried yet. My mom used ketchup a couple of times, it's not my favourite but it's not bad.
Hopefully that made sense :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 07:39 am (UTC)Sausage, Leek and Potato Casserole
Ingredients:
At least 4 good pork sausages
2-3 medium to large floury potatoes
1 tart apple
1 onion
1 leek
2 cups chicken stock
Some rosemary or sage
A little olive oil
SAUSAGE TIME:
Dice the onion, and thinly slice the apple, leek and potatoes. Line the bottom of the casserole dish with the potato rounds. Fry the sausages until they're cooked, then remove them to the casserole dish and fry the onions in the leftover fat. When they're soft, add the leek and apple and saute them until a little brown, adding the herbs at the last minute. Add that to the casserole dish, then pour in enough stock to just cover the potatoes; cover and bake in the oven on 180C for about an hour and a half. By the end, the sausages should be on a bed of disintegrating potatoey goodness, and covered by a delicious, fragrant mulch of what you may presume was once discrete vegetable matter.
And also--
Crispy-Coated Stir-Fry Pork
Ingredients:
400-500g lean pork
Corn flour
Dark soy sauce
Honey
1 lump fresh ginger (about the length of your palm)
Some dried chili flakes (or fresh minced if you can get it)
Spring onions
1 carrot
About 150g green beans
Cooking oil (I used rice bran oil, because it's fairly flavourless and has a high smoke point)
Mix together about 1/2 cup of soy sauce with a tablespoon of honey; dice the pork, then toss in a bowl with the sauce and leave to marinate, overnight if possible. When it's time to actually cook it, drain off the excess marinade, and then toss the pork in a bowl with 3 sifted tablespoons of corn flour, and mix to coat thoroughly. Thinly shred the ginger, thinly slice the spring onions, top, tail and quarter the green beans, and cut the carrot into skinny batons. Mix another, smaller batch of honey-soy sauce, and keep to one side.
In a large, shallow wok, heat the oil (about a centimetre on the bottom), and toss in the pork, ginger and chili. Stir thoroughly and cook for 5 minutes (until it's starting to get crispy), then add the greens; after another 5 minutes, add the carrots. Cook for another 5-10 minutes, tossing to make sure nothing sticks, until the pork is cooked and crispy and the vegetables are at least yielding. Stir the spring onions through, then turn off the heat, add the sauce, and stir once more. Have a steamy bed of rice awaiting its arrival.
I hope those help!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 07:44 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 08:09 am (UTC)Chicken -- I use about 4 chicken thighs
1.5 tbs rice vinegar
3 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs sugar (white or brown. I use brown.)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced (I just put them through a garlic press)
Mix it all together. Pour it over the chicken in a casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes @ 350 degrees. YUM. Excellent over rice.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 08:33 am (UTC)Ingredients: anything in your fridge you think would taste good with eggs. Bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, leeks, tomatoes, spinach, asparagus, potatoes, seriously it doesn't matter. Sausage or bacon, something that will produce a lot of fat while cooking. Anywhere from five to eight eggs depending on the size of your baking pan and how much food you want to make.
Cut up all everything into similarly-sized pieces-- I go for a 1/4 to 1/2-inch dice usually.
Crank the oven up to 350-375F.
Fry up your bacon or sausage first. Set aside but leave the liquid fat in the skillet-- you shouldn't need any more oil than that. Leave the heat on medium-high and put in your vegetable ingredients according to how long they take to cook-- i.e. potatoes, broccoli, asparagus first, onions or peppers later, mushrooms or tomatoes or spinach last. (Actually potatoes should be boiled first before they go in the skillet, unless you use hash browns. Which I do because I'm lazy!) Season to taste. I'm a fan of rosemary and paprika and an ungodly amount of black pepper.
When everything is more or less cooked through, mix the bacon or sausage back in and spread it all evenly in the baking pan. Start beating eggs with a little bit of water-- about a tablespoon per two eggs. You want enough liquidy egg-water mixture to mostly cover all your other ingredients in the baking pan, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. I always load up on vegetables and use just enough eggs to hold everything together because I don't actually love eggs that much, but you can make this recipe really heavy on the egg if you like.
Bake it until you can stick a fork in the middle and have it come out clean, which is about the same time that the edges get all golden-brown and crispy.
Let it cool a bit, cut it up like it's cake and eat the hell out of it.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 09:00 am (UTC)You need:
As much beef stew meat as you want to eat for one meal plus leftovers for however many days you can stand to keep eating them (look, I got this recipe from my dad who got it from my aunt who got it from god knows where-- I'm pretty sure it's not a traditional chinese dish! Anyways, point is, we don't measure things in my family, we just make arbitrary decisions about how long we think we might want to keep eating any given dish)
Tomatoes
White or yellow onions
Soy sauce*
Sugar
optional: cooking oil
Cut the meat into 1/2 to 1-inch cubes. Put it in a large saucepan or soup pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil. Drain and rinse (with warm water!) in a colander, then dump it back in the pot.
Cut the tomatoes and onions into big chunks-- 1 or 1 1/2-inch is fine because they'll break down. I think I use something like... three or four fist-sized tomatoes and one or two medium-large onions to about half a package of beef stew meat? I'm good at eyeballing but bad at actually figuring out measurements. Anyways, you should have like three times as much tomato and onion as meat. Seriously they'll cook down like crazy.
Optional step: saute the tomato and onion lightly with oil and a little garlic. (My dad told me to do this but... I did it once and never again! And it tastes fine without it.)
Cover the meat with the tomatoes and onions in your saucepan and just douse the whole thing in soy sauce-- you want everything to come out about two shades darker than it went in. Start with about a tablespoon of sugar and go from there, it's supposed to just cut the salty-acidness of that much soy sauce and tomato juice, not turn it into dessert.
Cook it on medium-low heat for a few hours, covered. When the beef is falling apart and the tomatoes and onions have been reduced to their constituent atoms and your kitchen smells delicious, it's done.
Goes well over plain white rice, or if you're like me and too lazy to even make rice, throwing in one or two potatoes (in 1-inch chunks) at the beginning will make it even more filling.
* Your garden-variety Kikkoman should be fine, but if you've got a decent Asian grocery somewhere, keep an eye out for something called 'dark soy sauce' or 'mushroom flavored soy sauce'. It'll be very very dark and almost gritty-looking compared to regular soy sauce-- a lot more viscous, almost sludgy. It's more concentrated so it'll give flavor without adding a bunch of liquid that you'll have to cook off.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 11:07 am (UTC)Simple fast dishes for one, ideally healthy and involving vegetables, this I have Thoughts On. Namely that buying a magic wand -- a.k.a. hand blender (http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=289916) -- is one of the best not-very-big investments you can make to help achieve this. My Braun model has been a great help for 6+ years. Do you have a large-ish pan with lid? With it and your hand blender you're pretty much set (for the colder months at least).
Healthy Vegetable Soup
In pan, put:
- several inches of water
- cube or shot of stock base of your preferred flavor (veggie, chicken, beef)
- garlic clove or frozen garlic cube, or bit of sauteed onion if you want to get fancy.
- salt, pepper, other herbs or spices to taste.
- two or three kinds of vegetable you think (would) taste good together, such as pumpkins, carrots, potatoes, or cauliflower and zucchini, or broccoli and summer squash, or..., all cut into chunks of about equivalent size (maybe 1-ish or 1.5-ish inch).
- If one type of vegetable you're using is much denser (slower-cooking) than the other, put it in first, and add the other type of vegetable later (when the first vegetable is almost stabbable with a fork). For example, potatoes, pumpkins, or carrots first, later on add broccoli or zucchini or leafy greens. Root vegetables and dense squashes are okay to cook longer, but leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables (ultra-healthy broccoli) you really want to keep al dente for greatest healthiness.
- With the lid on the pan, cook vegetables until (almost-but-not-quite) tender, usually no more than 20 minutes total, often considerably less.
- Occasionally stir (to make sure there's still enough water in the pan) and test done-ness with fork.
- In the meantime, make sure sink is empty.
- When veggies are done enough, move pan into empty sink, and use hand blender to puree contents of pan into soup. (You may want to wear an apron the first few times as you figure out how to avoid excessive spatter. One trick is to make sure part of your hand blender is always in contact with the bottom of the pan; move it around in slightly tilted circles rather than up and down.)
- If soup is too thick, add more water and reheat. If it's too thin for your taste, let it simmer down for a while (and remember how much water was way too much for next time).
- Put hot soup in big bowl, add sour cream or plain greek yoghurt (Trader Joe's is cheap) to taste, and garnish with grated cheese or pinenuts (also cheap enough to buy at TJ's). Eat with bread or crackers.
- Repeat ad n--I mean, ad infinitum with different vegetables.
(Your hand blender can also come in handy for making smoothies or guacamole/dips, if you like doing that.) Bon appetit!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 11:41 am (UTC)Salmon Tofu Balls
1 Can Salmon (whole is better than flake, but I've used both with fine results)
1 block firm or extra firm tofu (do not get silken, that way lies badness)
1 green onion diced (I have never actually bothered to add this as I am lazy)
1-3 Tbs corn starch
1 egg
combine tofu and salmon (both drained) with egg and corn starch, squishing with your hands (or maybe a fork if you aren't into that sort of thing?) until it's mostly paste with some chunks remaining, mix in green onion. form into balls or patties and deep fry till crispy/golden. I eat em with some hummus on a pita, but they are also good with spicy dipping sauce.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-01 04:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 01:20 pm (UTC)Roast a sweet potato in the toaster over: set it to 450 or so, poke holes in the sides with a fork, put it on the tray on aluminum foil, and leave it in (turning after 20 minutes if you remember) until it is soft. It'll probably take 45 minutes or so. Let it cool, peal off the skin, and mash it up. You can toss it in the fridge at this point, and warm it up with a splash of water in the microwave. (I often do several at a time, and freeze them.)
Open and rinse off a can of beans. Heat them up in the microwave with a pinch of oregano and cumin (if you have it) or, if you're feeling more adventurous, heat up a little oil in a skillet. Add some minced onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add chopped garlic (1-2 cloves) and sautee for another 30 seconds. Add the beans, some cumin, and some oregano; turn down the heat and stir for a few minutes. (You can add some frozen corn to the beans, which is really tasty). This makes enough for about 3 people, and also keep well in the fridge. YOu can add the juice of half a lime, some minced cilantro, and/or a couple tablespoon of some salsa.
Grate some cheese (cheddar or monteray jack work well), or buy grated mexican cheese.
Heat up a couple large tortillas. Put one on your plate, and top with sweet potato, cheese, beans, and salsa if you want.
It takes about 10 minutes if you have the mashed sweet potato, and is a healthy balanced meal.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 01:50 pm (UTC)Spaghetti
Canned tuna (I use white, but if you like like, use that!)
garlic
Olive oil
butter (optional)
White wine (you can buy one of those little four-packs - one bottle will do, and you can save the rest. Or drink it.)
Lemon juice
red pepper flakes (optional)
Parmesan cheese
Start spaghetti water, and cook spaghetti as you do the steps below.
Chop/mince as much garlic as you want. I have been known to use whole bulbs, but my theory of garlic is "more is more." Coat the bottom of a cold pan with olive oil (just a thin layer), add garlic and red pepper flakes (to taste) and turn on to medium heat. Add butter here if you want a little extra oomph. Saute until very fragrant, then add drained tuna. Cook a few minutes then add wine and lemon juice (how much depends on how tart you want it - I add about 1/8 of a cup). Turn up heat to medium-high until liquid is really going, and let reduce to about half. When spaghetti is done, drain and add to pan. Cook for about a minute more, add parm, and eat.
I sometimes add onion early in the cooking process or grape tomatoes late in the process. Both are yummy.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 01:54 pm (UTC)Protein + Vegetable = Food
Protein + Vegetable + Starch = Food
Now, having said that -- Sautee works for low tech, so does broil (that toaster oven is a marvelous thing, isn't it?) Crock pots -are- fabulous, and you can usually find them at thrift shops (start there before Target!)
There is also a community, Solo_Cooking (http://community.livejournal.com/solo_cooking/profile), which talks about easy and single- or double- oriented cooking.
Our New Favorite is Yin's Italian Stuff:
0. Pre-heat oven to 350. Grease a roasting pan with olive oil.
1. Take Italian sausage (we used the kielbasa-type; the regular sausages will work too), cut up into chunks.
2. Cut up your vegetables. We used peppers and onions.
3. Cut up your potatoes.
4. Throw all into roasting pan. Add garlic, spices to taste, salt, pepper.
5. Put in oven. Check after 20 minutes to see if potatoes are done. If not, re-set timer.
6. When fork penetrates potatoes easily, food is ready. Enjoy, have storage thing ready for leftovers.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 01:54 pm (UTC)Put water on to boil for pasta.
cut up two rashers of bacon into tiny bits, fry til crispy. water should be done by now, so chuck pasta in.
cut up two small tomatoes, plus a fingers width of feta, and ten black olives into little bits. mix up with olive oil and salt and pepper.
chuck a handful of spinach into the pasta 30s before it's done, drain the lot then mix it all up.
omelettes - whisk up two eggs. chop up whatever filling you want, fry it. chuck the egg in, mix it up, wait til pan side browns slightly, turn over. ta-da!
chargrilled peppers + red pesto pasta salad. (you need a grill for this)
pre-heat grill. stick red peppers under grill until skins blacken. (while doing this, boil water for pasta and chop and fry 2 rashers of bacon). once skins are black, stick the peppers in a plastic bag. put pasta on. when pasta is nearly done, peel the skins off the peppers and chop into slices. (you can eat the skin) toss pasta, bacon and peppers. add double cream or creme fraiche.
In the UK we have a bunch of Reader's Digest and so on 101 easy chicken/veggie/dessert/pasta books, so it might be looking for those in a charity shop or bargain bin.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 02:03 pm (UTC)A couple of recipes I really like.
Navajo Stew (adapted from the Moosewood "Simple Suppers" Recipe)
- Coat the bottom of a 9X13 pan with olive oil. Just enough so there aren't any dry spots.
- Chop one onion (I prefer sweet, but yellow or white will also be fine), one red pepper, and one peeled sweet potato into about one-inch segments (one inch cubes for the pepper and potato, bite sized pieces for the onion).
- Combined the chopped onion, red pepper, and sweet potato in a bowl. Add a splash of olive oil (about 1/4 cup, but less is fine). Add 1.5 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon chili pepper, some salt and pepper, and a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg (You can play with all these measurements. I like spice, so I add in lots. If you're not a spice person, add less).
- Pre-heat the oven to 450 F.
- Pour the onion/pepper/potato mixture into the 9x13 pan. Roast at 450 for about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- After 20 minutes the vegetables should be tender to the touch (particularly the potatoes). If not, continue roasting until vegetables are tender and the tops are browning.
- Once it's at that state, pour a can of black beans on top of the mixture. Also pour a can of diced tomatoes on top (I prefer Hunts with jalapeno, but I like spice).
- Roast another 10 minutes.
- Eat it!
I will often serve this on top of cornbread or rice, but it's also awesome on its own. A friend of mine likes to squeeze a bit of lime juice on top as well.
(this should serve about 4 if you add a side salad)
Stracciatella Soup with Spinach
- Take the stems off about two cups of baby spinach. Chop into thin strips. Rinse under cold water. Put aside.
- In a large pot, start to boil about 3 cups of chicken broth. I tend to add about 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic at this point.
- When the chicken broth starts to boil (i.e. bubbles), turn the heat down just enough so it doesn't boil anymore (i.e. "simmer")
- Add the chopped spinach. Stir.
- In a separate bowl, beat two eggs together (like you would for scrambled eggs). Add in 1/3 cup parmesan cheese and a bit of remaining chicken broth.
- Drizzle the egg mixture into the soup. You should see ribbons of scrambled eggs form. Make sure you stir the soup continuously so you don't get a mass of egg forming at the top of the soup.
- Serve. I tend to add a dash of salt before eating, but there's salt in the cheese so it's not necessary.
(I think this serves 2 if you have a roll on the side)
Chinese Stir-Fry
- Thinly slice 3 large carrots and 1 large zucchini (note: I tend to cut out the seeded part of the zucchini, but it's not necessary). Try to make it look like each slice looks like a matchstick.
- Heat in a pan (or better yet, wok) a base oil (canola/vegetable/olive) and a dash of peanut oil (about 2 teaspoons) on med-high.
- Add carrots and zucchini.
- Add 1 clove diced garlic. Add 1/2 teaspoon diced garlic root (peeled)
- Once the veggies have been heated through (they should be soft but not droopy), add in a teaspoon of soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of some stir fry sauce (I like to buy spicy mandarin sauce, but choose your favorite/cheapest from the grocery store).
- Take the veggies off the heat.
- This part is optional. In a separate pan that has enough oil to coat the bottom, either add thinly sliced meat of some type (beef, pork, or chicken) or 1 scrambled egg. The heat again should be medium-high. Expect some oil to jump up (it can hurt!). Cook until meat is no longer pink (2-3 minutes) or eggs are no longer raw (2 minutes) making sure you stir regularly.
- Put the veggies back on the heat, add the meat or eggs back in and stir for a few minutes.
- Taste test. If it doesn't taste right, try adding more soy sauce (for salt) or stir-fry sauce (more savory).
- Serve over rice.
Should serve 2-3 (more if you add other types of veggies or increase the quantity).
I'll add more as I think of them.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-22 02:16 pm (UTC)Broccoli, onion, and tomato quiche:
- Buy pre-made crust. It doesn't really matter which. For the absolute easiest method, buy the frozen crust because it comes with its own pan and then you don't have to find one. Follow it's instructions about pre-baking and temperatures
- Grate 1.5 cups of cheese (I prefer gruyere, but pretty much any soft cheese will do such as mozarella).
- Cut 1 head of broccoli into the florets making sure each piece is bite sized. Put those aside
- Cut 2 small tomatoes into wedges (don't include the seeds, just the rim of the tomatoe).
- Dice 1/2 onion (I prefer sweet, but yellow or white will be fine)
- Bring a small pot to a boil. Toss in all the broccoli and boil for about 2-3 minutes. Drain immediately and rinse with icy water. Hold aside.
- In a large pan, melt about 2 teaspoons of butter over medium heat. Saute the onion until its soft but not brown. If it starts to brown, turn down the heat.
- In the pie-crust (which you should have pre-baked), place the tomato wedges, the sauted onions, and rinsed broccoli into the crust. Toss the grated cheese on top.
- Beat together 3 eggs and 1 cup cream or half-and-half.
- Pour egg mixture over the veggies carefully.
- Cook for about 30 minutes (at 350 F) or until the center of the quiche has set (it doesn't jiggle). The edges should be browned.
- Serve
Should serve 4-6 easily (depending how hungry everyone is)