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.

[jennielynn1970]

I love this... it's like Fettuccini Alfredo, but without the fuss (and without the fat sauce)

Low Fat Seafood Alfredo


1/4 c. margerine or butter
1 lb. scallops or shrimps
1 pkg. softened cream cheese
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 c. - 1/3 c. hot water
1/3 c. parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic minced
Box of linguine or fettuccini

In a large pot, add pasta to boiling, salted water.

In a saute pan, cook garlic in margerine or butter on low heat. Add scallops or shrimps. Cook short time until scallops are done. Do not over cook(about 5 mins. if using bay scallops, the small ones). If using shrimps, you can use the pre-cooked salad size, and you just need to pop them in the butter to heat them through. Set on back burner to keep warm.

In a bowl, mix softened cream cheese with parsley and basil. Add the hot water. Stir until creamy. Set aside.

Add seafood-garlic mixture to pasta. Add parmesan cheese, and toss to mix. Add in the cream cheese mixture. Stir to combine.

Serve immediately with garlic bread.

This whole meal takes about 30 minutes to complete, because you can have different parts cooking at the same time.

[jennielynn1970]

One of my favorites!

Mom’s Meatloaf


1 lb. ground turkey
1 lb ground beef
1 lb. ground venison
1 pkg. french onion soup
2 egg whites
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. wheat germ(optional)
1/4 c. bread crumbs
BBQ sauce

Mix all ingredients (except bbq sauce) together with fork or hands. Put mixture into an oblong casserole dish and bake for 45-55 minutes at 350*. Top with BBQ sauce when almost done.

Serve with baked potatoes and a salad, and you're golden!

If you don't like or use ground venison or ground turkey, use all beef.

[jennielynn1970]

Yummy side dish


Spiced Moroccan Carrots


1 1/2 lbs. baby carrots
1/4 c. olive oil
4 Tsp. lime juice
1/2 Tsp. cumin
1/2 Tsp. cinnamon
1 Tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced

Steam carrots until tender but not soft. Drain and cool slightly.

Whisk together oil, lime juice, spices and salt in a bowl. Add cooled carrots into the bowl. Stir in parsley when ready to eat. Can eat warm or room temp.

[jennielynn1970]

Another side dish, and it is so yummy! Zucchini is in season now too!

Zucchini Casserole


4 medium zucchini, sliced
3.4 c. carrots sliced in 1/4” pieces
1 onion, chopped
6 Tbsp. margerine
2 1/2 c. herb stuffing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. sour cream

Microwave zucchini until slightly transparent. Saute onion and carrots in 4 Tbsp. margerine. Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 c. stuffing mix and soup. Gently stir in sour cream. Pour into large casserole dish. Melt remaining margerine. Add remaining stuffing cubes to margerine, toss together and top casserole with them.
Bake at 350* for 35-40 minutes.

[jennielynn1970]

Another quick zucchini recipe.

Zucchini Souffle


3 c. grated raw zucchini
1 small onion chopped
1 c. bisquick
4 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 Tsp. parsley
1/2 Tsp. salt
1/8 Tsp. pepper


Mix all together. Put into greased baking casserole dish approx 8 x 11 inches. Bake at 350* for about 1hr.

[boomersooner]

Okay, love this thread because I'm right in the same boat! Hate to cook!!

I have a super easy potato and pork chop meal, but I need to go and check the oven temp on the recipe, so I'll get back with it.....

[kuhio98]

First of all, you don't HAVE to cook EVERY night just 'cuz he's home at dinner time. Make a deal with him that he's in charge of dinner at least 1 night a week.

Secondly, if you hate to cook every night, make a large meal 1 night and heat the leftovers for the next night. We do that all the time.

Thirdly, get a crockpot. Throw in a roast and a bunch of veggies the night before. Plug it in when you get up in the morning and go on with your day. There are some great crock pot/one pot meal cookbooks out there.

I love to cook, but if I knew I had to do it EVERY day, I'd start to hate it too.

[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