See there, you went and ruined it by wanting tasty AND nutritious. If I go to the trouble of cooking just for me you can bet it probably won't be nutritious. SO, I guess my contribution will be a Mandarin Chicken Salad from Wendy's using my own V&O dressing. (picked up on the way home) This is one of the few salads I can tolerate without crackers, breadsticks or some such thing. It's filling and lower in calories than any of the other takeout I can find around here.

I love a mixture of salad greens, topped with a salmon steak (or chicken breast) seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and fresh lemon juice. I use Bernstein's Restaurant Recipe Italian dressing on it -- yummy! Other big favorites are: Soup with lots of veggies and chicken breast with PACE picante sauce added to the bowl, and cheese enchiladas topped with a fried egg and shredded lettuce on the side. It's 6 AM and just writing this is making me hungry, LOL!

I have gotten to LOVE cooking my own meals, just since January 2007! My attempts at various dishes keep changing, sometimes more advanced, sometimes more simple. Last night it was chicken thighs I wanted to use up, dipped into Italian seasoned bread crumbs, with parmesan cheese and more thyme mixed into the crumbs, then baked. Steamed red potatoes tossed with olive oil, more parmesan cheese, and parsley, then a spinach salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. I have a couple of different pasta and meat combos, ground turkey or ground chicken, browned then combined with Classico Spicy Tomato and Basil sauce, garlic, lots of oregano, then mixed with multi color rotini, last of all, melting shredded cheese on top. then there is the whole wheat pasta, (I think it is rigatoni) with Classico garlic alfredo sauce, pieces of baked chicken thrown in, sauteed mushrooms in it, and then wilting fresh spinach into it. That one is a variation on a Giada DeLaurentis recipe from the Food Network. And so many more dishes... grilled or baked seasoned fish, steamed asparagus with olive oil and lemon juice dressing...mmm...what is there to try next?? :)

I LOVE cooking now, going out alone to feel uncomfortable in a restaurant, no way, not since discovering that I can make my own delicious (and healthier) meals...

I have been cooking up a storm lately and dug out all my gramma's old recipes. The current favorite is a killer clam chowder. If anyone wants, I'll post the recipe. I've also been making homemade spaghetti and linguini noodles. Can't beat 'em!

But, I have to be careful to not enjoy them too much. After years of having way too many extra pounds, I got down to the same weight I was in college. I need to keep it there.

Doc

You are all posting wonderful ideas - keep them coming! My husband cooked when I was married, so I got out of the habit. I am always looking for recipes that are easy and nutritious - I have a 17-yr. old stepson still at home, and I like for him to have SOME good food. I am going to keep your ideas - THANKS!

Beef barley soup made with short-ribs. Serve with toasted home-made bread and a good Merlot. Takes most of the day to put it together and make it right but my girl-guests remember it for years -- long after they've forgotten whether they actually liked me much or not. Freezes well, too, so I don't hesitate to make a big pot. Friendship-food.

Hello all, and especially hello Doc. I am nuts about clam chowder and would love to have your killer recipe. Please, oh please!

Kaye

Okay Kaye - here you go but be aware there is nothing low-cal or fat free here. What the heck, you have to die of something, right?

Saute 2 medium yellow onions and six stalks celery (diced) until mix is translucent. Blanch half pound of bacon (diced). Add bacon, onions and celery to 1 quart chicken stock. Simmer. Add salt, 1/4 tsp thyme and alot of ground pepper. Cube 1 1/2 pound potatoes (with skin) and add to pot.

In a separate pan, melt 1 stick butter and add 1/2 cup flour. Cook until thick. In another pan, heat 4 cups milk until pretty warm and then whisk the flour and butter mixture into it. Don't cook the milk while whisking. Cook milk mixture until thick.

Add thick milk mixture into stock pot along with juice only from three 6 1/2 oz. cans of minced clams. Let the stock pot get pretty hot and add clams from 3 cans into it. Cook 10 more minutes and serve. Parsely to garnish.

Should serve eight.

One of my favorite quick meals;
Boil a couple cups of elbow macaroni(or spaghetti) with some frozen mixed veggies and diced onion, and when done mix in a can of microwave heated chilli with beans, maybe some added crumbled up burger.
The Left-Overs are even better after a day or two in fridge.

How can I cook red potatoes, let me count the ways...

1. quartered, steamed 8-10 minutes then tossed with light sour cream, light butter, and dried dill.

2. Quartered, tossed with olive oil, very crumbled dried rosemary, garlic powder, and salt and pepper, then roasted for 30-40 minutes in a 450 degrees. (tip--supposedly 1/4 teaspoon of Garlic powder = 1 garlic clove)
3. Cut into dollars, 1/4" thick, coated in Worcestershire sauce, melted butter, and salt and pepper, then broiled for 5-6 minutes on each side, served with light sour cream for dipping.
4. The breakfast side dish version, cubed up, cooked in a light amount of vegetable oil, onions included, and dried thyme, cooked until the potatoes are the right softness/firmness, the onions end up kind of caramelized.

Oh, those potatoes sound yummy!

I like to make hungarian paparika goulash served with spatzel! That is my favorite!

Gabriel, that goulash takes a long time to make, doesn't it? Is there a quicker way to make it?

the easiest way is to put it in the crock pot, go to work and then it's ready when you get home.

It does take a while though, but mostly because I like the meat to melt in my mouth. The part that takes the most time and energy is the spatzel dumplings.

yo, gabrielesgarden....

I haven't had a good batch of that stuff in 40 years! And I know nothing of spatzel. And I've never understood paprika. Assuming you've got a good, time-tested recipe, may I request it? You've made me hungry!

If you say it's best in a crock-pot, I'm getting one.

hungarian paparika goulash:

check out this website for the proper spice
http://members.aol.com/HungImprts/Paprika.htm

ingredients:

Chopped onion
Minced garlic
Cubed beef
Cubed pork
Hungarian paparika
Caraway seeds
Chicken broth
Self rising flour
Oil

Roll meet in flour, brown in oil with onion, garlic and caraway seeds. Add chicken broth and paparika. Transfer to crock pot and cook on med all day.

Serve with spaetzle.

sorry for the vague direction. I dont really know the amount of ingredient to put in, i just put in what i think it needs, All you vetern cooks out there will know what i'm saying. It's all basically to taste. You do need to use a lot of paparika though, probably about 4 big tablespoons.

Spaetzle Recipe

* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg, well beaten
* 1/4 to 3/4 cup water

Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add egg; mix. Add water gradually until batter is stiff but smooth. Press dough flat on a plate or floured board. With a sharp knife, scrape small pieces of dough off and drop into boiling salted water. There should be only one layer at a time of spaetzle cooking. Boil gently for 5 to 8 minutes, or until done to your taste. Remove with perforated spoon and let drain. Serve as a side dish with meat. Serve right away or sautthe finished spaetzle in butter until golden.

The spaetzle recipe I pulled off the internet, there was no way could put it on paper the way I make it.

I love to cook but rarely have an appreciative audience or the luxury of oodles of time to do it right. My daughter likes my cooking but will eat a few nibbles. My son isn't around much. I sometimes cook for friends. I still am in the habit of cooking for a battalion once I get started. The other day I made portobello/spinach lasagna with a bechamel and homemade noodles. Time consuming but very good.

I also love to bake but am hampered by a broken oven at the moment. I still make bread in the breadmaker, though. I made rosemary bread to go with the lasagna the other day. I prefer hand-formed bread, the texture is far better.

I took up canning this summer when I had access to a bounty of free peaches and apricots. Otherwise, it hardly seems worth the effort. I made peach butter, nectarine butter, and froze apricot and nectarine crisps to bake this winter. I am waiting for my friend's Meyer lemon crop to ripen so I can make lemon marmalade for all of us.

For myself, my meals are snacks at best. A slice of cheese, a piece of fruit, a glass of wine in the evening. I often eat breakfast lunch out while working.

OMG!!!! I would love to have that recipe barnmom, that sounds sooooo yummy!!!!

Gabrielesgarden, I tend to be creative with recipes so bear with me. I began with this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa and added 2 layers of fresh wilted spinach mixed with sauteed (in butter) minced shallots and garlic. I also added 2 layers of ricotta, egg, and grated provolone.

Portobella Lasagna

kosher salt
olive oil
3/4 lb dried lasagna noodles
4 cups whole milk
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 lbs portabella mushrooms
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 T salt and a splash of oil.

3. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally; drain and set aside.

4. For the white sauce, bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan; set aside.

5. Melt 8 T (1 stick) of the butter in large saucepan.

6. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.

7. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once.

8. Add 1 T salt, the pepper and nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring first with the wooden spoon and then with a whisk, for 3-5 minutes, until thick.

9. Set aside off the heat.

10. Separate the mushroom stems from the caps and discard the stems.

11. Slice the caps 1/4-inch thick.

12. Heat 2 T of oil and 2 T of the butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan.

13. When the butter melts, add half the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and they release some of their juices.

14. If they become too dry, add a little more oil.

15. Toss occasionally to make sure the mushrooms cook evenly.

16. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms and set all the mushrooms aside.

17. To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the sauce in the bottom of an 8x12x2-inch baking dish.

18. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce, then one-third of the mushrooms, and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

19. Repeat two more times, layering noodles, sauce, mushrooms and Parmesan.

20. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.

21. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly and hot.

22. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot.

My additions:

Two bunches of fresh spinach, washed, stems removed, wilted in the microwave.

1 medium shallot, minced

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 pint ricotta (I used part skim)

4 ounces provolone, grated

1 egg

1 tablespoon sherry (added to the bechamel)

Mix sauteed shallots and garlic to spinach.

Combine ricotta with egg and grated provolone.

See above instructions for layering and after each mushroom/noodle layer, add spinach layer, then ricotta mix layer, top with noodle layer, and proceed. End as above.

I made my own fresh lasagna noodles so I skipped the noodle boiling part above.

My only recommendation is to make more bechamel if you use no boil or fresh noodles. Mine was a little dry.

Clear as mud?

great, thanks..gonna ghave to paln a dinner night with my BF and try it out! yum!