Easy Recipes???

Stir fry is always a big hit at my house. It's VERY fast and easy.

Ingredients:
Shrimp
Stir Fry Veggies (frozen or fresh are available in the grocery store pre-mixed. If using fresh, steam them partially before stir-frying)
Soy Sauce

Simply put all the ingredients in a pan and cook until the shrimp are pink and the veggies are hot.
Add the soy sauce and voila! So simple and healthy too!

Serve with rice.

I tell you what, easy is all I know. I personally hate to cook, but I'm better at it than my husband so it's MY job. I try to find the easiest way to put a meal on the table and run with it. Here are a couple recipes that I found to be easy and surprisingly tasty:

Peachy Pork Picante (4 servings)
(note - I usually double everything except the oil and rice for 4 people and have no leftovers so I think 4 servings with the ingredient list below may be a little overestimated)
Ingredients
* 1 lb boneless pork, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
* 1-2 tablespoons taco seasoning (or 1/2 a 1.25 oz. pkg)
* 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
* 1 cup chunky salsa
* 1/3 cup peach preserves or sugar-free peach preserves
* 3 cups cooked white or brown rice (if you need directions on how to make rice, PM me and I'll give you the details)

Directions
1. In large bowl, toss pork cubes with taco seasoning until evenly coated.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add half of the pork and cook until browned. Repeat with remaining oil and pork.
3. Return all pork to skillet. Stir in salsa and preserves. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 12-15 minutes or until pork is tender and no longer pink, stirring occasionally.
4. Serve over hot cooked rice

Very Easy Chicken and Dumplings (2-4 servings)
(note - the name of this recipe on recipezaar.com, where I got it, is Not-For-Company Chicken and Dumplings [named that "because surely when company comes you'd want to serve them chicken and dumplings that take all day to make. These take 15-20 minutes"], but I'd serve this to company if they happened to come to my house when I made them so I decided to change the name to my liking :-)
Ingredients
* 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth
* 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup
* 1 (12 1/2 ounce) can chicken breasts
* 4-5 6" flour tortillas, cut up (I cut them up into 1 to 2 inch pieces, but you can do larger or smaller)
* salt and pepper, to taste (I find it doesn't really need any more salt so you may want to taste the finished product before adding any)

Directions
1. In a saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil.
2. Add cut-up tortillas first, then the cream of chicken, chicken meat, and salt (if desired) & pepper. Mix well.
3. Continue cooking until all ingredients are well-mixed and heated through. (Personally, I bring it back to a second boil to make sure the flour tortillas are nice and saturated and the canned chicken is warm all the way through.).
4. Serve in bowls and enjoy.

Both of those recipes (above) are great served with a simple tossed or spinach salad.

Southern Louisiana Shrimp & Sausage Boil (Also known as Frogmore Stew in some places. Note - my uncle has made this for me but I have not personally made this myself yet)
INGREDIENTS (4 servings)
* 3 quarts water
* 1 medium onion, halved
* 2 cloves garlic, smashed
* coarse salt to taste (I would do 1 or 2 teaspoons and then season the dish with seasoned salt or Old Bay Seasoning after serving if more seasoning is needed)
* 1 (3 ounce) package dry crab boil
* 1 1/2 pounds medium red potatoes, scrubbed (larger ones should be halved or quartered so they are all about the same size)
* 1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1-2 inch pieces (like andouille or kielbasa, or any sausage like that)
* 4 ears fresh corn, shucked and broken in half (you can use frozen instead)
* 1 1/2 pounds unpeeled, large fresh shrimp
* 1/2 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
1. Bring the water to a boil in a very large pot. Add the onion, garlic, salt and crab boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the potatoes and sausage; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the corn and cook for 10 minutes (some people think the corn needs more time so you might want to add 5 or 10 minutes earlier - if you're using frozen, read the directions on the back of the package as a good indicator). Remove from the heat and stir in the shrimp. Let sit covered for 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink. Drain, and serve with melted butter for dipping. Broth may be reserved and reused for cooking rice or other soups. You can also serve with tobasco or other hot sauce for the adults if desired.

It's fun to spread newspaper out on the table and dump this in the middle (after draining of course) and everyone can eat with their hands. No utensils required. :-)

Bon Appetit!

www.tasteofhome.com has tried and true recipes that are delicious.

I'm a terrible cook too! :)

I love the website www.recipezaar.com for recipes. Most of the time I use it when I have a specific set of ingredients that I want to use, like the leftover steamed rice from the Chinese food take-out we had the other night. You can put in specific ingredients and it will pull up recipes. I also like that it has these "filters" on the site (it's called THE RECIPE SIFTER). You can say that you want a main dish, with 5 ingredients or less, that is low-fat and free of gluten. You can filter it any way you like. I've found so many recipes on this site that I can make and that turn out good, even for a terrible cook like me! :)

Happi-er Cooking! :)

chicken florentine
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 whole chicken breasts, skinned, boned and split
1/2 cup sliced green onion
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine bread crumbs and cheese. Dip chicken breast halves in crumb mixture to coat lightly. Arrange in baking dish.

2. In a saucepan, cook onion in butter until tender. Blend in flour. Stir in milk all at once. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Stir in spinach. Spoon spinach mixture over chicken and sprinkle with rest of crumb mixture.

3. Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes.

CROCKPOT BOOKS! SUPER easy, get teh "Fix It and Forget It' cookbooks available at lots of places (WAl-mart, etc.). They have one called "5 ingredients or less"....

If you can PM me your personal email address, I have a email that lists tons of crockpot recipes. (I'm just not sure how to attach it now !) I haven't tried them but they look easy and good. To me, using the crock pot is one of the easiest ways to cook !

Here is a great recipe that can be prepared 4 different ways. That way you can always have a different dish to serve. Visit http://snagwiremedia.com/simply-saucy-chicken/ to get the different variations for this recipe.

Simply Saucy Chicken

What You Need

Take 4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.), 1 Tbsp. oil and 1/4 cup chicken broth and mix & match your recipe to customize flavor and add ins with various options Full List of Options.

Make It

COOK chicken in hot oil in large covered skillet on medium-high heat 5 min. on each side or until browned on both sides.

STIR in 1/4 cup KRAFT Dressing, the broth and seasoning until well blended. Bring just to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 3 min. or until chicken is cooked through (165ºF).

ADD vegetables & add-ins; mix well. Cook 2 to 4 min. or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

Try using the slow-cooker...you throw everything in that morning and have a hot meal ready that night.
Here is just ONE super-easy recipe:

Roast
2lb chuck roast
1/2 jar peperoncinis
1 tbsp peperoncini juice
1/2c water
(You can also add veggies...carrots, potatos, etc.)

Place the meat in the slow cooker, pour in water, peperoncini juice & peperoncinis (add vegetables too).
Cover & turn the slow cooker on high.
Cook for 5-6 hours, or until meat is tender.

We ate ours wrapped in tortillas with a little avocado.
So yummy (and EASY!).
Good luck!!!

Spaghetti Bake - Set oven on 350. Spaghetti bake is easy and the kids love it! Cook meat sauce the traditional way and boil spaghetti the traditional way except not all the way through. Boil pasta for about 4 minutes. Take out a baking dish and spoon some meat sauce on the bottom of baking dish (9x11). Spoon some of the pasta on top of meat sauce. Sprinkle grated cheese (parmesean and cheddar mix)over the pasta. Spoon more meat sauce over the cheese and continue to repeat ending with chees mix. Cover with aluminum foil and place in oven to bake for 15 - 20 minutes. I buy the frozen Texas toast garlic bread - really good. Good Luck.

Hi J.,

This is quick and very easy. Not sure even what to call it but here goes:

Get a box of scalloped, au gratin or some kinds of potatoes of that sort. Prepare them according to the box. After you have them in a dish, place on top of the potatoes pork chops that you have seasoned. Place in oven according to the directions on the potato package. Add a veggie and you have dinner.

The meat seasoning goes into the potatoes and makes them very tasty. I have also done this with chicken but you have to make sure the chicken is not to thick. You may have to cook a tad longer if your meat is bigger.

Good luck

J.

I am a mom of a son that has a busy schedule with school and sports. When it comes to making it easy to prepare dinner, I buy the Kroger brand mashed potatoes that cost $2.50. You microwave this for 5 mins only and I only add a little butter and pepper. There is no salt needed as it is already seasoned pretty well. I add a vegetable or two and even buy Braums meat loaf or the Braums Salisbury steak that has to be microwaved as well. My husband and my son love this and it takes only minutes to prepare. Good Luck

J.,
I'm in the same situation...my husband is a wonderful cook & he's owned his own restaurant for the past 17 years (steak, seafood, pastas).

After 8 years, I've learned with him, it doesn't matter what I make...he's glad to have a night off. Try something easy & see...I started out making burgers and simple chicken dishes...now I love it & venture out to more gourmet foods with really cool presentations. He gets a kick out of it.

Good luck!

AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN - pbs as well as on line and they are (in my words) the consumer reports of "kitchen". They test recipes, bakeware, skillets, soy sauce, etc....You can sign up on line for recipes and results of tests, or purchase their books.

Bless you.

I am not going to post my favorites here because there are too many.

I will be glad to share with you if you let me know your interest.

I LOVE the Food Network and I keep up with episodes online. The Dallas morning News has good ideas on Thursdays.

I LOVE to cook and spend all day in my kitchen preparing a great meal.

As far as recipes, I might look at a recipe as I did tonight, read it carefully, then put my twist on it as far as what I know my family enjoys. That is pretty much what I do with any recipe...it is a combo of maybe 1-3 recipes into 1. Then I struggle to make it exactly again, LOL

I LOVE cooking....feel free to ask any question or EASY recipe.