Easy, Quick, Beginner Meals?
last year
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last yearlast modified: last yearI was thinking about sheet pan dinners since they’re quick/easy and can be very tasty. I just made this one and liked the flavors. I used boneless breasts (halved) instead of thighs.
https://www.thekitchn.com/sheet-pan-greek-chicken-recipe-23707450
I don’t have this book but have heard it’s good.
Also, if they’d appeal, I was thinking of Ina G’s Meatloaf and Linguine With Shrimp. Both are very easy, quick and good. For the two of us I often halve both recipes. However, leftovers can be nice, too.👍🏻https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/meat-loaf-recipe-1921718
https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/linguine-with-shrimp-scampi
plllog thanked chloebudRelated Discussions
Favorite very quick and easy meals?
Comments (25)Here's one I recently (re)posted that garners great reviews every time I serve it. The ingredient list looks long but it only takes about 10 minutes to throw together. Sorta-Greekish Couscous salad 2 boxes Near East garlic-flavor couscous, prepared per box directions and set aside to cool (stir occasionally with a fork to keep from clumping) 1 European cucumber, peeled if the skin is thick/tough and diced 3 Roma/plum tomatoes, seeded and diced (peel if you like) 2 small red, yellow or orange bell peppers, diced (try to mix colors for a prettier dish) 1 large carrot, coarsely grated handful of thawed frozen petite peas big handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley 2-3 large cloves garlic, minced (confession time: I buy it in the jar) a dozen or so chives (or 2-3 green onions), minced 1 6-oz container feta cheese, crumbled; if you buy the stuff in brine, drain it before crumbling and pat dry after crumbling, but I am lazy and just buy the pre-crumbled kind Newman's Own Greek Vinaigrette salt and pepper to taste (once I tossed in about half a pound of cooked, peeled, deveined-if-necessary small shrimp - designated in the fish market as 51/60 or 61/70 - and it was delicious) (a friend of mine adds finely chopped pitted Greek black olives, but I think olives are one of the most revolting foods on the planet so I don't!) Mix couscous, veggies, and cheese being careful not to mush the couscous. Slosh on some of the vinaigrette until everything's nicely coated and it tastes yummy - we tend to use around 1/3 of a (small) bottle. Salt and pepper to taste. Holds in the fridge about 4 days, although the feta flavor can get a little rugged eventually. (If this stands for more than 48 hours you will need to add more vinaigrette as the couscous will absorb it and the salad will be a tad dry.) Best served cool rather than chilled, but don't leave it out of the fridge for more than an hour. At home I serve this as a main dish and it feeds about 6 people, for a party it serves 12 or so as a side depending on how much other stuff there is. Chicken Tortellini Soup 2 32-oz. containers good-tasting chicken broth* 1 16-oz. bag frozen cheese tortellini (regular or tricolor) 1/4 cup any hard Italian grating cheese like Parmesan, Pecorino or Asiago, grated (NOT the stuff in the can!) Bring broth to a boil. Dump in tortellini and cook per timing on the package until done. Ladle into bowls or mugs and top with Parmesan. Although it's wonderful in the colder months, of course, it's light enough to be good on the chilly, rainy summer days when you don't want something really heavy but you need to warm up some. You can stop there if you're really tired, or you can add any or all of the following: 1 cup chopped cooked chicken 1 cup frozen petite peas a few shredded basil leaves 1/2 a roasted red pepper, finely chopped (many supermarkets now have roasted peppers in the deli area, either in the deli case or in an "olive bar" setup) *Commercial broth has gotten a LOT better in recent years. Less salty and has actual flavor. Try a bunch and see which ones you like. I hate "celebrity products" but I have to admit the broths sold under the Wolfgang Puck and Rachael Ray names are pretty good. If you're vegetarian, Pacific's "No-Chicken" broth is pretty decent, and obviously you'd leave out the chicken. DH's Mother's "Drunk Chicken" (b@st@rdized crockpot version of Coq au Vin) Remove any big chunks of fat from about a dozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs and chuck them into the crockpot along with: 1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon (we cheat and use the Oscar Mayer precooked crumbles in the yellow bag from the salad dressing aisle) - that's 6-8 slices if you cook it yourself but make sure to drain it VERY well 1/2 bag or 1 box frozen peeled pearl onions 1 small bag baby carrots (I think they're 12 oz. bags?) 1 good handful garlic cloves - I buy containers of already-peeled ones in the produce department 2 celery stalks, sliced a few bay leaves 1 tsp black peppercorns 2 tsp salt 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme (fresh is really best here if you can swing it) 2 10-oz packages of brown mushrooms (aka crimini or "baby bella"), rinsed and trimmed if they need it. Get the smallest ones you can, halve or quarter large ones. Dump in 1/2 bottle of red wine (nothing fancy!), or 2 of the small bottles that come in the 4-packs, along with 1/2 can (about 3/4 cup) chicken broth. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours until chicken is done but not falling apart. Exact time will vary depending on your crockpot. If you wish, remove the chicken and stick the liquid in the fridge so the fat will solidify. Scrape off the fat, return the chicken to the sauce and rewarm. Serve with rice, little boiled potatoes (my preference), crusty bread or egg noodles. Shrimp and White Bean Salad - this started out as a fairly typical "Tuscan-style" tuna and white bean salad, but I'm not a huge fan of tuna and we get amazing shrimp from Maine. Grilled fresh tuna, chunked up after cooking, is the best way IMO to do the tuna version though. Again, looks daunting but it goes together fast. 2 cans cannellini beans (aka white kidney beans), drained and rinsed 1 cup quartered grape tomatoes 1 cup chopped roasted bell peppers (see note above - if you make them, yellow peppers are particularly pretty here) 1/2 cup chopped celery 1/2 cup thawed frozen peas 2 green onions, thinly sliced 1 shallot, minced (can substitute 1/4 cup minced sweet onion but the shallot is so much better) 1 tsp. minced garlic 1/4 cup finely shredded basil or baby spinach (stack several leaves, roll them up tight like a cigar, slice across the roll to make fine shreds - the fancy types call this "chiffonade") 12 oz. small cooked shrimp, tails removed vinaigrette dressing, homemade or bottled (we love Newman's Own dressings) Combine ingredients, adding dressing to taste, and marinate 3-12 hours before serving. I like this with a garlicky focaccia bread. It looks very fancy in butter-lettuce cups or whole leaves from a romaine heart which make a "canoe" shape. Frittata is a really "loose" dish in that you can toss many different things into it, and serve it hot, room temperature or chilled, as an appetizer, a main dish or a late-night snack. Alton Brown of "Good Eats" calls it "refrigerator velcro" because it's a great way to use up little dribs and drabs of leftovers. It's quichelike but much easier to make and less fattening because there's no crust. Preheat oven to 350F. Heat a 10-12" nonstick skillet with curved sides over medium heat with 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil of your choice. Saute 2 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed, and 1 small onion, diced, until the onion is translucent. While this is cooking, assemble your other ingredients: 1 cup cooked meat or poultry, chopped, or 1/4 cup crumbled, crisp-cooked bacon 2-3 cups cooked veggies, whatever you have around that looks good, chopped to about 1/2" pieces if necessary - potatoes, asparagus, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms whatever Toss them in the pan to warm while you make the custard. You should have a nice even layer on the bottom of the pan but not packed tight. Whisk together until completely combined: 8 eggs or the equivalent (I like to use 3 whole eggs and the egg whites from the other 9 in the dozen to cut back on the cholesterol and fat but a little yolk is necessary for flavor. If you use something like Egg Beaters, unless you're on a severely restricted diet add one whole egg for better taste) 1/4 cup milk several turns of the pepper grinder 1 tsp salt 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese Pour over the meat-veggie mixture in the pan, stirring around a bit to get the egg stuff onto the bottom of the pan and everything evenly distributed. If you would like more cheese, feel free to top with any kind of cheese you like, about 1/2 cup. If your frying pan's handle is not ovenproof, wrap it in aluminum foil. Cook on the stovetop over medium heat until the underside is just starting to brown, then pop it in the oven for 10-15 minutes until set and starting to brown. A knife inserted about 1 inch from the center will come out damp but not slimy or drippy. Remove from the oven and slide the frittata out of the pan onto a plate. Even if serving hot it should stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Obviously if you are a vegetarian ditch the meat and add more veggies. This makes a great supper with a piece of good country bread, salad or simple soup. This does not reheat well because it turns rubbery and watery, but try tucking a chunk of cold frittata into a pita or tortilla with some dijon mustard or salsa (depending on what you put in the frittata). Yum! I love Welsh rabbit, but not the gloppy, runny kind. I prefer the version from Arthur Schwartz' "What To Cook When You Think There's Nothing In The House To Eat" (an all-around great book IMO) that is light and puffy and sticks to the toast well enough that you can even pick it up to eat with your fingers. This is for 2 servings but it is very expandable. Not for everyday fare but oh so good. Preheat broiler. Slice a good country-style bread (not that normal American baled-fog sandwich crap) about 3/4" thick. I have also used French bread sliced on the bias to make long oval slices, which looks pretty. Toast it lightly - it should only color a very little. Mix well: 1 1/2 cups good sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (Cabot in the bag!) 2 splashes Worcestershire sauce 1 egg yolk (necessary for texture, no substitutions) 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 2 tbsp. milk or beer a few drops of Tabasco Divide the mixture between the bread slices. Grind on plenty of fresh pepper. Put the bread on a foil-lined cookie sheet and broil carefully until the cheese mixture is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately as it can get leathery when it's cold. Since I can't drink beer or wine (a sharpish white is best) I LOVE this with apple or pear cider. Green salad with a vinegary dressing or perfectly-ripe fresh tomatoes with salt and pepper make a refreshing accompaniment but I prefer a mixture of marinated cooked veggies since raw veg does not agree with me, and a dessert of not-too-sweet baked (okay, microwaved) apples with walnuts and honey. For the last few weeks DH and I have been spending an hour or so on a weekend afternoon prepping ingredients for meals that we can throw together in a matter of minutes during the week. I've been pretty busy lately and the weather is doing me no favors so we were finding we were eating too many frozen pizzas and too much takeaway. Many veggies can hold 5 days in scrupulously clean, airtight containers in the coldest part of the fridge (usually bottom shelf in the back). I purchased a whole bunch of small 1, 2, and 4 cup containers and we prep our ingedients right into those. For instance I have a potato and veggie salad set up in the fridge awaiting its dressing, the aforementioned shrimp salad just waiting for shrimp and dressing. A couple of days ago we had fish and veggies baked in foil and it literally took 5 minutes to assemble because all the veggies were already chopped up and ready to go. We watch the grocery store circulars for loss-leader meat sales, particularly for things that grill well. We buy a lot, fire up the grill, and grill it all so that we have it on hand for throw-together meals - for example today we grilled 4 pounds of boneless, well-trimmed pork loin chops seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic. It will find its way into several different meals over the next few days. We do the same thing with certain vegetables - for instance when asparagus gets to $1/lb. about 5 lbs. of it hits the grill, waiting to be marinated for a salad or chopped into a frittata. I don't really like leftovers very much but this is better for me because it is just a handy ingredient that can be used in so many ways instead of just eating the same dish again....See MoreQuick and Easy Snacks?
Comments (24)Fast and easy and satisfying: bread without butter but with a small sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar; a rolled up lettuce leaf with annie's terrific salsa in the middle; toasted pecans with teeny bit of cayenne pepper and kosher salt; whole dill pickles, bok choy, carrot and celery sticks - always in the fridge; freshly popped corn 3 nights a week; leftover cold pizza. Decadent and good for the soul - but not for the hips: warmed giant blueberry muffin; sugar cookies; a handful of chocolate chips; soft biscotti (mandelbrot); cheddar cheese fingers dipped in homemade jam; toasted pine nuts on Swiss cheese fingers; crackers with anything on top; and my all time favorite - pretzels or bread sticks dipped in microwaved cheddar and jack cheese with a dab of mustard. I don't know about you but I find I snack more in the winter - maybe from boredom, and eat those that are mostly the hip size additions like the above. In the summer there are plenty of veggies, fruits, and tomatoes to snack on right outside my door and I don't crave as many sweets except for sweet iced tea because it is required in the South. I don't buy any prepackaged snacks - too many chemical preservatives, corn syrup, and heavy doses of salt. I make my own crackers, pretzels, and breads for the same reason (but I do also buy some), plus homemade jams and reduced salt pickles. Before I retired I was snickered about because I'd pull out some cheese and crackers or a pile of carrot sticks and a dill pickle for snacks at my desk where they'd munch on a bag of potato chips or candy bars from the vending machine. It took a little effort to package snacks from home instead of from the machine, but I'd make up enough baggies for a couple of weeks in about 10 minutes, plus - I saved a huge ton of money over the years. I still do crave candy bars though and that treat is what I get for my birthday instead of a cake. In my 20's I'd eat two or three a day! Nancy...See MoreQuick, easy recipes for first-time cook
Comments (20)Terry, you remind me of myself when I was first married. My mother did not want anyone in her kitchen except to clean up or to make an occasional batch of cookies, so I didn't know much. Poor DH ate so many flops! Looking back, I would give you several pieces of advice. The first is that you invest in some tools. A portable mixer, a food processor, a nice marble rolling pin, some silicone mats, some nice heavy cookware (I use cast iron skillets and a dutch oven. For my saucepans, I use nice heavy ones that I bought at a flea market. For bakeware, I like those insulated pans.), measuring cups and spoons, and a good set of knives. The mixer can be an inexpensive one. It needs to be lightweight enough that you can bring it to the stove and use it to mash potatoes and make 7-minute frosting, if you want to someday. I had a big MixMaster for years, but I found it too cumbersome and heavy. The food processor can be an inexpensive one, too, but get one that has a big bowl if you can. I use a Cuisinart. It was killer expensive and if I had it to do over again I would've bought something else, due to the fact that once in awhile the blade gets jammed down onto the bowl and it has to be shipped to get it repaired, and they take their sweet time. I have Cutco knives, simply because I was suckered in when I was 18 and not very consumer-savvy (something ELSE I had to learn on my own!). They have served me well for 40 years, but I've broken a couple things and the manufacturer will not make good on the "Lifetime Guarantee" because I lost the certificate somewhere along life's way. There are lots of brands of knives that are still good that don't cost as much. They should feel balanced in your hand when you grip the handle in a cutting position. I use my food processor a lot. I make my own chopped and shredded vegetables, "Shake'n'Bake, graham cracker crumbs,and lots of other things. When a recipe calls for the sugar, eggs and fat to be creamed together, I just drop them all in and turn on the motor. So also when the flour and fat needs to be "mixed till the mixture resembles corn meal". I find I hardly ever use my blender unless I'm making smoothies, and I bet I could make them in the food processor, too. I like wire whisks for when I make gravy, puddings, pie fillings. Christmas is coming up, maybe you can put in a request to Santa. I almost forgot, I use my crockpot a lot, too, and it's one I bought at a thrift shop. I have a microwave I bought at WMT on sale, but mostly I use it for heating up things, melting butter and thawing frozen things, and baking potatoes. I think I could probably do without it easier than some of the other tools I have listed here. The second piece of advice is that you learn certain skills, such as how to cut up a chicken and how to roll out a pie crust. Yes, you can buy cut up chicken and rolled-out pie crust. If you want to cook for your family in order to cut your grocery bills, you'll notice these things are more expensive. The third piece of advice is that you start with casseroles. There are lots of variations, each calling for a pasta, rice or potato ingredient, a meat ingredient, one or more vegetable ingredients, and usually something that binds them together, like tomato sauce or canned soup. Men and kids usually love a good casserole. If you go to Allrecipes.com and do a search on "casseroles", it will return any number of dishes. These are all rated and critiqued, and these are worth reading. No, I'm not connected to Allrecipes in any way, and there are other sites where you can do the same thing, it's just that it's my "Go to" site usually. They even have a section of "How-To Videos". Here's something I make and use a lot. I think I got it off Allrecipes.com. You can use it on chicken, fish, pork cutlets. Pop these in the oven, make a nice salad and bake some potatoes in the microwave: Shake n Bake an 18 oz box of cornflakes yields about 5 cups of fine crumbs. I mix this recipe up and keep it in a quart canning jar in the refrigerator. When I'm ready to use it, I put only about 1/4 cup on a plate and dredge the meat in it. You can always add a little more to the plate if you need to, but this way you don't waste, because you need to throw out whatever comes in contact with raw meat that doesn't get baked. 3-1/2 cups corn flake crumbs 1/4 C all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons paprika 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 teaspoons onion powder Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Prepare chicken following the same technique as described on the box of the original mix using 2 1/2 lb. of bone-in chicken (6 to 8 pieces, with or without skin) or 2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast halves Preheat your oven to 400º, then moisten the chicken with water. Use a large plastic bag for the coating and use the same steps as described on the original package: "Shake moistened chicken, 1 to 2 pieces at a time, in shaker bag with coating mixture. Discard any remaining mixture and bag. Bake at 400º in ungreased or foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan until cooked through --BONE-IN: 45 minutes/BONELESS: 20 minutes" Sorry this is so long! --Ilene...See MoreRECIPE: Quick, easy, delicious and elegant
Comments (3)A great thing about this is that it requires no measuring - a box of pasta, a jar of tomatoes, a bag of spinach, etc. So easy...And, it's very healthy! I hope that you'll try it. Here is a link that might be useful: Our Community Garden Website...See More- last year
- last yearlast modified: last year
last year- last year
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last yearlast modified: last year- last year
last yearOne the quickest meals I make would be a sheet pan roast with precooked chicken sausages. 400F - 425F oven, toss peeled & cubed potatoes, along with onions, peppers with a generous amount of olive oil and any seasoning blend you like, adding salt if necessary, then spread out in the pan and roast for about 20-25 minutes, then add sausages on top and roast for about 10-12 minutes more, or until potatoes are nice and soft when pierced with a knife. I like to sprinkle lemon or lime juice over the veggies when they come out of the oven.
These are my fave sausages:
Of course other meats can be subbed, along with various other veggies. There are many recipes for a variety of sheet pan suppers to be found online.
For someone who likes home cooking but doesn't want to have to prepare something daily, I like making something that can be eaten over several days.
FWIW, I have a vintage copy of Martha Stewart's Quick Cook cookbook and it has a lot of useful recipes too.- last year
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