Anyone know of any SUPER simple meals?

[kt_luvs_kitties]

I will admit it, I am not a cook. I hate cooking, everything about it. My husband used to work nights, so when he got home he would have those frozen meals *hungry man* and that is what he ate. I would just pack him a lunch otherwise.

Now that he works a "normal" schedule. I have to cook dinner EVERY night, usually Mon- Thur, and then once on the weekends.

I need super simple recipes, without a million ingredients. So far I make very easy dishes, like baked or fried chicken, hot dogs, burgers, tacos etc...

Anyone know of any that are good and easy for a beginner? Thank you so much! Katie

[Sirrahsim]

Taco Chili

1 can corn, undrained
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1.2 ounce package taco seasoning
1 lb ground beef.

Brown meat until cooked through, drain fat. Dump everything in the slow cooker. Cook low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.

I usally serve it over fritos and top it with cheese, onions, or sour cream.

[Sirrahsim]

EASY Chicken Enchiladas

6oz southwest seasoned chicken strips (found near lunchmeats)
10 oz red enchilada sauce, divided
8 oz refried beans
4: 7 inch tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided


Toss together chicken, half of the cheese, and half of the enchilada sauce. Spread 1/4 cup refried beans down the center of each tortilla. Top with chicken mixture. Roll up and place seam side down in an 8x8 baking dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 400 for about 25 minutes or until heated through.

This can easily be doubled and put into a 13x9 pan.

[Sirrahsim]

Bourbon Chicken

4 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup bourbon
1/2 tsp garlic powder


Mix all ingredients together in a big ziploc bag or covered bowl and marinate overnight. (Adds flavor but not neccessary to let it sit that long)
Pour into baking pan and cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes.

We serve it over rice.

[Sirrahsim]

Cream Cheese Chicken

1.2lbs boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1 cup salsa
3 oz light cream cheese


Place chicen tenders, salsa, and taco seasoning in 3 quart slow cooker. Cook on low 5-7 hours. One hour before serving add the cream cheese. To serve, shred the chicken and serve it on toritllas.

Depending on the salsa you use you may need to thicken it by dissolving some corn starch in water and then mixing it in, but I've never had to.

[Medusa]

Get yourself a copy of Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cookbook. There are so many good recipes in it that you can prepare quickly at the end of a work day or that you can make ahead and freeze to be served later. Many of them take only 5 minutes to prepare and only 30 minutes or so to cook. There are lots of good quick soup and stew recipes, casserole dishes and skillet dinners, too. And if you and/or hubby like rice (I LOVE RICE), you're in luck. There's one skillet dish that takes only 5 minutes to prepare and 9 minutes to cook. You'll love this cookbook! Also, log on to www.foodnetwork.com. There are lots of quick meals on that site. (Can you tell that I love to cook? LOL)

Here's an example of a recipe; it's one of my favorites:

Ranch Chicken (serves 4)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 C ranch dressing
1/3 C Italian style dry bread crumbs
2 T olive or vegetable oil

1. Dip chicken into dressing; then coat w/bread crumbs.
2. Heat oil in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.

Cook chicken in oil 12-15 minutes, turning once, until outside is golden brown and juice is no
longer pink when center of chicken is cut.

Serve w/your favorite pasta or vegetables.

[carole]

This one is nice and easy.

You take a leek and chop at least half of it and line a casserole dish, then chop up enough mushrooms to also line the dish, take two breasts of chicken and sprinkle with paprika place in dish and then a can of creamy mushroom soup, use the whole can and mix with about 3/4 can of water, and pour over chicken, bake for about an hour in a reasonably hot oven, hubby loves it.

[moosmom]

Hey Katie,

How about goulash?? It's browned hamburg mixed with elbow macaroni and tomato sauce. It's easy and quick.

[columbine]

I like to cook BIG batches of one-dish meals and then freeze them in meal-sized portions. There's a certain smug sense of satisfaction that comes with pulling out a labeled block, pushing a few buttons, and dishing out a fabulous home-cooked meal...

Here's allrecipes.com's Dinner in an Instant selection, sorted into 20, 30, and 45-minute meals.

One of my favorite "speed dinners" is pasta-n-sausage - stick a million knife holes in the sausage (or get a trustworthy kid to do that part) and microwave in a covered Pyrex container, cook your noodles or spaghetti al dente, and open a can of your favorite crushed or diced tomatoes. Add the sausage juice to the pasta too, chop up the sausages, serve with Parmesan cheese, and mangia!

Love, Columbine

[Suki Wingy]

Make him cook!

[sparks19]

One of my favourites is Italian chicken

You just defrost how ever many chicken breasts you need... cut them into strips and marinade them Italian Salad Dressing with some mushrooms and then cook them in a pan. very yummy and super easy.

Pizza is one that I love to make. I don't do much of the cooking but I ALWAYS do the Pizza. I just get some dough mix from the store (you know the just add water kind lol) and then add whatever toppings and then put it in the oven and you're done.

the Campbell's food website has a lot of good recipes too

[AdoreMyDogs]

Do you like Mac & Cheese? There's a recipe that I throw together that's not terribly healthy, but as long as you add fresh cut veggies (broccoli and/or sweet peas) it's not so bad.

I use the deluxe Kraft Mac&Cheese box (the kind that has the cheese sauce, not poweder).

While the noodles are cooking I add some fresh chopped broccoli and some sugar snap peas and sometimes baby carrots cut in half long ways. I cook the noodles and veggies about 2 or so minutes less then the minimum, to make sure they're al dante (sp?)

after the noodles are done and in strainer, in the pan I add the cheese sauce mix, a can of cream of mushroom or chicken, 3/4 can of milk, a can of tuna. Mix it all together and enjoy. You can also grate some cheddar cheese on top of the caserole, that's yummy too.

Not only is it easy, but it's cheap too!

[jennielynn1970]

How about Scalloped Potatoes

You can add ham and peas to it, and it's a meal, and it's all in one dish and baked.

3-4 cups sliced potatoes.
1 onion, diced
1 1/4 cup hot milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350
Great a 1 1/2 qt. baking dish
Arrange potatoes in layers.
Sprinkle each layer with minced onions, ham, peas, salt and pepper, dot with butter.
Add 1 1/4 cup hot milk.
Bake uncovered about 1 1/4 hours.
Remove from oven, and let set for about 15 minutes.

[Emeraldgreen]

QUICHE AND SALAD

This is a great summer meal and doesn't have to be complicated. You can buy the pie crusts already made. Take a large bowl, crack open 6 eggs, add about 3 or 4 cups of milk and mix it well with a fork. Toss in shredded deli ham and some shredded cheese with some salt and pepper and pour the mixture into the two pie shells and put in the oven for about half an hour or until the top is golden brown and the edges of the crusts too. You can freeze the other quiche for another night!
You can also dice up some green pepper, mushrooms and onions and pour a bit of olive oil on top with seasoning and microwave them for a couple of minutes or until they're soft and add that to the egg mixture.

p.s. when I take the pie shells out of the freezer, I take them out of the box and put them on the counter while I'm creating the mixture. I take a fork and make a bunch of holes in the bottom of both crusts. I pop the shells in the oven for a few minutes until they kind of start bubbling up and the bottom actually starts rising up. Then I take them out and put them on the counter until I'm ready to pour the mixture in. The reason I do this it because sometimes the bottom of the crust is a little underdone even though the rest of the quiche is totally done. I give the bottom a head start by heating it first.

[cassiesmom]

I really like breakfast food as supper -- especially omelets.

Omelet Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Zen and the Art of Omelet Maintenance

3 eggs, warmed in hot water for 5 minutes
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon room temperature butter, plus 1/2 teaspoon for finishing omelet
1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped chives

Crack warm eggs into bowl, add salt, and blend with fork. Heat a 10-inch non-stick aluminum pan over medium-high heat. Once pan is hot add butter and brush around surface of pan. Pour eggs into center of pan and stir vigorously with rubber spatula for 5 seconds. As soon as a semi-solid mass begins to form lift pan and move around until the excess liquid pours off into pan. Using your spatula move around the edge of the egg mixture to help shape into round and loosen edge. Let omelet sit in pan for 10 seconds without touching.
Shake pan to loosen from pan. Lift up the far edge of the pan and snap it back toward you. Using your spatula, fold over 1/3 of the omelet. Slide omelet onto plate and fold over so that omelet is a tri-fold. Coat with remaining butter and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.

(before you fold it into thirds - put cheese in center so it will melt ... any grated cheese will do)