Easy Recipes

[MartiesMom2B]

Now that I have a month to go, I find that I'm exhausted when I get home and don't have the energy to cook. Unfortunately DH can't cook (except omlets). I was wondering if anyone out there has any really easy simple recipes that I can cook up and feed myself and DH. I would really appreciate any help. Simple because somehow my brain has decided to stop functioning and if its quick even better. I would appreciate any websites referrals too. You can e-mail me at [email protected].

Thank you so much!!!

Sonia
EDD 4/14/03

[alkagift]

Hi, Sonia!
I like Cooking Light's recipes. The way to do it is to go to their website and click on the "browse recipe categories" link under the search block on the left. Make sure to look under "THEMES", "Quick and Easy." The others are good too, but may include ingredients you don't have on hand. The quick and easy ones are great. My husband's a big fan of this beef stir-fry one with soba noodles. Most things take 20 minutes, and they tell you how long the prep time is too, so you can take that into account. Southern Living, (southernliving.com)which operates Cooking Light, has the same search system, but without the low-fat criteria (they include them, but aren't dominated by them). Most everything is pretty simple and msot stuff is just sitting in your pantry.

BTW, my DH doesn't cook well either, but I use him without reservation to prep everything (chopping, defrosting, measuring, etc) which cuts the overall time by a 1/3, if not more!


Allison
Expecting #1 5/27/03

[Rachels]

Check www.epicurious.com -- they have a section under "browse" with quick recipes. Also, order the Bavarian Seasoning at www.penzeys.com and sprinkle it liberally on chicken poeces. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes, and it's FABULOUS.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[mharling]

Real Simple magazine has some great ideas on their website. Here is a link to their meals archive page:

http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/meals/meals_archive.html

I particularly like their 'fake it, don't make it' recipes. You'll see some sprinkled throughout this page.

Dh and I really like the Shepherd's Pie 'fake it, don't make it' that was in their March issue (I didn't find it on the website). Basically, brown 1 to 1/2 pounds of ground turkey, add a packet of Knorr chicken gravy mix and 1 cup of water. Put in a square pan and then layer with frozen peas (thawed) and either pre-made or instant mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with Romano cheese and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Yummy!

Mary
EDD 4/5/03

[mamahill]

I love love love www.allrecipes.com. I've been perusing their recipes for about 3 years now and have come up with many family favorites. They have reviews, which makes it even better to get an idea for what you'd like to try.

As far as easy recipes go, I'll email you a few tonight. I totally know how you're feeling! Take it easy - I was due 4/18, and ended up delivering early... good luck!

[brubeck]

Here is my favourite super-easy recipe. I use it to make dinner for my husband while he is travelling home and I am trying to feed 2 kids.

Line baking dish with one piece of foil.
Take a raw chicken breast or piece of fish and place it in the middle of the pan (1" thick or less).
Place raw baby carrots around meat.
Pour BBQ sauce (or other marinade) over meat & carrots.
Wrap foil around meat & carrots.
Bake for 25 minutes (350 F for chicken, 425 F for fish).
Serve.

Another thing I like is making a big pot of homemade soup. I chop up veggies and chicken and boil them in stock. I make enough that it lasts for a few days and I serve it with hot bread. My toddler loves to eat the semi-mushy vegetables that come out of the soup pot so it is dinner for her too.

[cuca_]

I vote for epicurious.com as well. It has great and easy recipes, plus reviews from users, which are very helpful. I also like allrecipes.com.

[August Mom]

I second the recommendation for Cooking Light and cookinglight.com (http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking/). Recipes from Cooking Light are WONDERFUL and good for you too. However, if you go outside the quick and easy section, the recipes may contain more unusual ingredients and have more complicated preparation. Just keep that in mind when you're browsing.

If you like cooking with Campbell's soup products, you might like to sign up for Tasty Tuesday Tip of the Week. Each week (not necessarily Tuesday...go figure) you'll get an e-mail with a recipe using a Campbell's soup product. This includes Swanson broth and some other products owned by Campbell's. These recipes are VERY easy. To sign up, go to http://www.tastytuesday.com/. If you don't want the e-mail, you can just visit the site each week as well to see the recipes.

I'll e-mail you some recipes as well. HTH

[Annette_C]

Hi Sonia,
I agree that cooking light is a great source for healthy recipes (I've been a subscriber for years) but I LOVE foodtv.com! If you do a search by show and fill in "30 Minute Meals" (one of my favorite shows!!), you'll get a list of quick and easy recipes that are also delicious!
HTH,
Annette
SAHM to Sabrina 6/24/02

[sweetbasil]

Hi Sonia~
After graduating college and job hunting for several months, I compiled a list of quick Crock-Pot recipes...now, 5 years later, we still eat (and enjoy) them often. I'll go to the grocery store (usually, and ideally) once every 2 weeks. That day's a lot of work, but it pays off. I'll buy a couple of onions, celery, bell pepper, and whatever the other veggies are in the recipes, get them all diced and baggied up, and freeze them. Then I'll do the same for the chicken/beef/meat in the recipes- trim off the fat, baggie them in portion size (2 people eating = 2 chicken breasts/bag, etc.), and freeze them. The crockpot goes on low for 6-8 hours (or high for 3-4 if you're in a bigger hurry), so when you're leaving for work in the morning (or after your favorite morning news show is over if you're staying at home :)), just dump everything in (literally!), turn it on, put on the lid, and dinner's ready when you are. SO easy and quite healthy (DH and I each lost about 10# doing this instead of spontaneous eating/snacking at dinnertime). I will e-mail you the Word Doc I saved them all in, if that's helpful.

Best wishes,

[juliasdad]

Epicurious is a great site. And, my gosh, Penzey's is one of my all-time favorite companies!! They also have recipes in their catalogs and on their site, and they tend to be right on (though they also tend to make frequent use of their own products, and so some recipes may have to be adjusted to use what you have on hand). I refuse to buy peppercorns or cinammon anywhere else!

For other quick ideas, try the "30 minute meals" program with Rachel Ray on the FoodTV network (or look up her recipes at www.foodtv.com); she's got plenty of good, simple ideas.

AllRecipes.com is a good site, but be selective with it; it's all user-submitted and user-reviewed, and I've found that the average user isn't entirely trustworthy with their recipe opinions. I've found good recipes there, and ones that IMO completely did not work.

-dan

[MartiesMom2B]

I just want to thank everyone for their suggestions and their support. If you have more recipes, feel free to keep sending them. I'm bookmarking all the websites too.

It's funny because I love Rachel Ray on the food network and when I was cooking yesterday I had my trash bowl out and got some prewashed salad ingredients. I tell you it made dinner much easier.

I just can't wait for my dad to come after Martie is born. He's a student at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in Hyde Park, NY. He's going to cook and freeze for us. However I know I'll need these recipes after all of his food is used up, so thank you once again.

Sonia
EDD 4/14/03

[sntm]

I'd love a copy too! I don't use my crockpot nearly enough.

And Sonia, lucky you! My MIL is a fabulous cook and toured the CIA when on vacation once. I'm hoping to get her down to cook for us again (plus she always brings breads and cookies.)

shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03

[memedee]

I love the crockpot.
It is sooo easy and fat free and healthy. .
Chili and meat loaf are very easy as is chicken cacciatore.
I would love the word doc also
[email protected]
Thanks

[suzska]

I have a few recipes that I got from http://www.bhg.com (Better Homes and Gardens) and http://www.kraftfoods.com. I think I have some from Campbell's (mentioned by someone else). Kraft has a Food and Family magazine that you can sign up for, for free. I think it's quarterly. I like their "Dinner on Hand" ideas--they show a recipe 4 different ways based on what main ingredients (meat, cheese, vegetables, etc.) you have on hand. Better Homes and Gardens has an entire category for Slow Cooker recipes.

I don't cook much. I can cook, I just don't. I keep hoping to become "Suzie Homemaker" and do more cooking.

I actually made two of them this past weekend, and they were well received by my family.

Here's the one from Kraft: 15 Minute Vegetable Beef & Rice Skillet Dinner
http://web.kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=recipe&m=recipe/knet_recipe_display&u1=keyword&u2=vegetable%20rice%20&u3=**20*24&wf=9&recipe_id=51135
I made it without the cheese, and it was fine. I also used tomatoes with basil, gralic, and oregano instead of plain diced tomatoes.

Here's the one from Better Homes and Gardens: Beef Pot Roast (in the Crock Pot)
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/recipe/recipedetail.jhtml?recipeId=R015511
I used "stew beef" instead of the roast, onion flakes instead of the onions, and increased the number of potatoes (since DH loves potatoes in beef broth). I also used baby carrots.

HTH!

[mabuckles]

Can you send me the crockpot recipes?

[email protected]


Thanks!

[juliasdad]

For those who don't happen to have crockpots but have an electric oven that they feel is reliable enough, you don't need a dedicated crockpot. Just take a heavy 4-6 qt. dutch oven/casserole type pot. Enameled cast iron (e.g. Le Creuset) is perfect for this. Set your oven at 250F, put the covered pot in, et voila: instant crockpot. I do this once in a while even though we have a crockpot. Most often when either:

1) Something in the crockpot recipe needs to get cooked first, like browning/searing (saves having to wash both a crockpot *and* a separate cooking vessel), or

2) When I need to leave the house early enough that I'd like to delay the start of cooking for an hour or two, since my oven has a time-delay bake feature. Just be aware of common food safety if you do this, since it entails leaving food at room temp for a while (if I'm worried about it, I refrigerate the entire assembly, pot included, overnight so that everything has a good chance of staying cold for an hour or two before the oven comes on).

-dan

[August Mom]

That's a great idea, Dan. DH won't be very happy when I tell him I have to have a Le Creuset dutch oven. LOL

By the way, if you have a crockpot but want to delay its starting time, you can do so with an electric housewares timer (like those that people use when they want their lights to come on when they're not home). Just set the timer, plug it into the wall and plug your crockpot into the timer. It works great.

[juliasdad]

>By the way, if you have a crockpot but want to delay its
>starting time, you can do so with an electric housewares
>timer (like those that people use when they want their
>lights to come on when they're not home). Just set the
>timer, plug it into the wall and plug your crockpot into the
>timer. It works great.

True enough, but just be careful and check the wattage that the timer will handle against the crockpot's wattage. You'll probably need to use a heavy-duty appliance timer; otherwise, you could end up cooking more than a chuck roast...

-dan

[SASM]

I will email you a few recipes that are great for freezing. Good luck with the upcoming weeks :-)