Go to, easy dishes you cook (with basic recipes)

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21

Chicken soup is stupid easy, and cheap if you do it right (although it’s a bit more time consuming).

Heat up a half-gallon or so of chicken stock to a good solid simmer. Add cooked chicken, fresh vegetables(we’re partial to celery, carrots and squash/zucchini) and either pasta or pieces of waxy potatoes (starchy ones will dissolve and turn your nice broth into a mealy mess).
Add dried thyme to taste- maybe 1/2 tsp. Summer savory works well in it also.
Simmer soup until veggies and potatoes/pasta are tender, then taste and season with salt. Fish sauce isn’t a terrible idea either, for a little umami kick.

Another dish that we eat fairly regularly is roasted vegetables. We like potatoes, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, onions, and carrots in ours.

Chop vegetables into 1" chunks. Parboil or nuke the potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Toss vegetables together with olive oil, salt, pepper and your choice of herbs. Dried thyme, basil and rosemary are all 3 good here.
Bake @ 375 until everything’s a little brown around the edges- maybe up to an hour.

The final stupid-easy dish we eat regularly is roast chicken.

Unpack chicken, rinse, dry. Rub with oil, and salt liberally, inside and out. Like a LOT of salt. If you can, leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry. This’ll help the skin crisp up good, but it’s not necessary.
Put in oven @ 500 for roughly an hour. You can stuff the cavity with lemons and herbs if you like, but it’s not necessary.
Take out, tent with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes. Serve.
The beauty of this dish, is that when you’re done eating the roast chicken, you can take what’s left, strip the actual meat off, and then use the carcass & leftover skin to make your stock for the chicken soup I mentioned above, and use the leftover meat in it.

22

I concocted this as something for my teenage son to make for dinner if I was going to be home late from work. Lo these many years later, we both still make it, with many customizations and substitutions over the years.

The ‘Setters’ Family Layered Casserole

1 lb ground beef, or 1/2 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb italian sausage
1 bottle marinara sauce
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 package dry pasta (we usually use ziti or penne, but any dry pasta works)
8-oz package shredded mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste

First brown and drain the meat, onion and garlic. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a 1 1/2 or 2 quart casserole dish, layer the ingredients, starting with sauce, then meat mixture, then pasta, then cheese. Repeat as needed until ingredients are gone or you’ve reached the top of the dish. Make sure you finish with a nice thick layer of cheese. Cover the casserole and cook for between 45 mins to an hour. Cooking time depends on the pasta you choose. Some are denser and take a little longer. Lifting the lid and poking down into the dish with a fork will tell you if the pasta is cooked.

You may want to remove the lid for the last 5 mins to firm up the cheese a bit, but it’s not necessary if you like your cheese gooey.

Clearly there are infinite ways you can customize this dish. We’ve added mushrooms, done an alfredo version with white sauce and chicken instead of marinara and ground beef/sausage. My son also does a mexican version with flour tortilla layers instead of the pasta. I’ve also used chicken, gravy, rice, cooked broccoli, and cheddar.

23

EASY SHRIMP CREOLE

Cut up an onion and saute in olive oil in a large pan.

Take a bowlful of peeled and deveined shrimp and dump them into the pan. Saute lightly, stirring.

Dump in a big jar of salsa (mild or hot, depending on your tastes).

Heat until bubbly and serve over white rice.

Substitute sliced chicken for the shrimp and you have EASY CHICKEN PIQUANTE.

Add some Cajun seasoning and/or red pepper sauce to liven things up a bit. Use dehydrated onion flakes if you’re pressed for time.

TUNA HOT DISH

Boil a generous portion of broad egg noodles in salted water. Drain when done al dente (after 6 or 7 minutes).

Dump in a can of tuna (preferably in oil), a can of cream of mushroom soup, and a can of cream of celery. Stir well to combine. Heat thoroughly and serve with crusty bread and a salad, if you want.

Optional additions: sauteed onion, peas, chopped red bell pepper, or store-bought pimento strips.

HAMBURGER HOT DISH

Fry a pound of ground beef in a pan until crumbly. Stir in some chopped onion and garlic.

Boil 1 1/2 cups of white rice. Transfer to a casserole dish when done.

Add the beef mixture. Dump in a can each of cream of mushroom and cream of celery. Stir well.

Heat thoroughly in the oven and serve with crusty bread and a salad.

CREAMY CHICKEN LIVERS

Saute a bowlful of chicken livers in olive oil with some chopped onion and garlic. Add a cupful of frozen peas and carrots and some chopped celery.

Dump in a can each of cheddar cheese and cream of tomato soup. Stir well to combine.

Heat until bubbly and serve over white rice.

Sprinkle with whatever seasoning you like to jazz it up. One guy I used to know would add peanuts to the mix, just because he had them at hand.

ITALIAN CHICKEN LIVERS

Saute a bowlful of chicken livers in olive oil, along with some chopped onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.

Dump in a large can of crushed tomatoes and a small can of tomato paste. Add some Italian seasoning (oregano and basil, at least) and stir well to combine.

Serve over pasta or white rice.

24

That’s cheddar cheese soup, to be precise. Not shredded cheddar cheese.

Depression food at its finest! :o

25

Chicken in a pan with asparagus and mushrooms and tomatoes and shallots. Put all the veggies in first, with evoo and butter and a dollop of sambal oelek and then about halfway through add the chicken breast and sprinkle with chopped garlic.

26

I have so many of these, I could fill up a cook book. I’ll give you what I did last night: Pulled Pork.

Pork shoulder, 4 lbs
Onion, 1/2
Garlic, 2 cloves, crushed
Salt and Pepper.
Water, 1/2 cup (or broth, Coke or beer if you prefer)

Put it all in a crockpot before you go to work. Dinner is ready when you get home.

Now, I intentionally season it lightly because I like to be able to repurpose it as I eat it. I can’t do 4 lbs all in one sitting! Last night, I served it plain over rice; I just added a little extra salt. For lunch today, I added BBQ sauce to some and made a sandwich. Tomorrow night, I’ll add some taco seasonings and do something Mexican; tostadas, probably. I’ll probably freeze a pound or two for later.

The key is that the salt, pepper, garlic, onion combo go with basically any cuisine you can think of. Once you’ve cooked the meat, you can take it anywhere in the world with the right additions.

27

You said easy so this one hits that to a tee. I don’t really have an exact recipe, but it is simple to toss together with minimal ingredients. We just call it Pepper Steak.

Take about a 1.5 lb sirloin steak and cut into bite sized cubes (about 1 inch). Heat a bit of oil in a skillet and brown the beef. I season it with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, ground black pepper and a liberal amount of Worcestershire sauce. While beef is browning, cut 3-4 bell peppers of various colors into roughly 1 inch squares (basically just bite sized pieces. Do the same with about a half of a large sweet onion. Mince Garlic (amount depends on your tastes). Remove the beef when browned and if needed add a touch of oil to the skillet. Toss in the garlic briefly being careful not to burn. Toss the peppers and onion in and stir occasionally. Re-add the Beef, adjust seasoning, add some red pepper flakes and maybe some more Worcestershire if you like it (I do). Add a can or two of petite diced tomatoes. Red Gold makes several with seasonings like celery, onion and green pepper, or roasted garlic. I just use whatever I have on hand. Toss in some mushrooms if you want. Stir occasionally, cover and let the flavors blend. Serve over your favorite type of rice (I like Long Grain and Wild Rice).

About as easy as you can get without just opening a box and putting it in the microwave. One Skillet, One Knife, ingredients… Chop, Cook, Eat. We almost always have everything but the beef in the pantry so a quick trip to grab a steak and we are set.

If the weather permits you can do the steak on the grill and also the peppers/onion if you have a grill basket. then cube the steak and finish with the tomatoes in a skillet.

28

Split Pea soup
Split peas one bag
onion
potato Russets for stove top, Reds for crock pot
carrots
for the meat
Ham or
Bacon or
Sausage
Seasonings
Salt
pepper
thyme
you can also sub chicken stock for the water if you like.

cut up your ingredients,
medium heat
I have a large stock pot so I cook the bacon/ham/sausage in that with a bit of oil perhaps, Remove the meat
drop in the carrots for 5 min ish because they cook the slowest
potatoes in with the carrots for another 5 min or so
then add the rest of the list with 6-8 cups of water/chicken stock and bring to a roiling boil for 3 or 4 min lower temp to a good simmer and come back and check things out in 30 minutes, if the peas are still firm check again in 15 or 20 min. You can leave the bacon out til the end if you like, it will soften up quite a bit if its in the pot the whole time but it makes little difference in taste.

crock pot version is even easier, cook the meat or at least brown it then dump everything in the crock pot and come back in 8 hours or so.

29

Tonight’s dinner: almond tilapia.
(You can use any thin mild fish: flounder etc.) Thaw if need and place on foil-lined baking sheet, or toaster oven tray if cooking for one. Season with salt + whatever you like (Old Bay, onion/garlic powder, hell, go crazy and try curry powder) and then thinly coat with mayonnaise. You can mix in or swirl some mustard if you like. Top with coarsely chopped almonds (or other nut of choice) and bake at 350F for 10 minutes or so, until the almonds are toasty brown but before they’ve blackened.

You can’t taste mayo in the final dish, but it melts into the fish so the meat is incredibly juicy and luscious.

30

TEX-MEX BEAN BAKE

Cover the bottom of a deep pot with a layer of crushed corn chips. Cover that with shredded cheese.

Dump in a can of beans with their liquid. Add some chopped onion and garlic and drizzle with olive or corn oil. Sprinkle generously with chili powder.

Repeat the process until you reach the top with a layer of beans covered with cheese. Bake in the oven until hot and bubbly, with the cheese just starting to brown. Serve over white rice if you wish.

Cheese should be either plain cheddar or a Tex-Mex blend.

Beans can be either black, kidney, or pinto. Be daring and use all three.

Chunks of bacon or salt pork can be added, if you want to go the extra mile.

31

If you use Italian sausage and rapini (broccoli rabe) for the greens this is a very old Italian recipe and quite good.

32

Zucchini soup

Chop onion and lightly brown in olive oil. Chop zuccini and add to pan, stir so zuchini gets a little oil and just al little baked. Add water and boullon cube. Boil ten minutes. Put out the heat. Make the soup creamy and silken with a put-in-the-pan-puree-mixer gizmo. Fancy it up with diced cucumber, milk, cream, bread, nutmeg, fancy bread or none of the above .

33

Some of these look excellent! I do a variant of August West’s sausage, beans and greens dish with sweet potatoes instead of beans. An easy, healthful staple either way!
Being single, I have a plethora of go-to easy recipes; often ones that can be easily taken to work and re-heated for lunch.

Crock pot creamy chicken and black beans. (basic recipe - use chicken breasts for lower fat, extra can of beans for more fiber, etc.) I get requests for this and take it to pot lucks.
4-5 bone-in chicken thighs. Leave the skin on one or two of them.
One can black beans, drained.
One can corn, drained.
I large jar salsa, whatever flavor and heat you like.

Dump all in crock pot, cook about 6 hours on high, 8-10 on low.
An hour before it’s done cooking, add a package of cream cheese. The cream cheese will melt through. Serve plain, or over rice/barley/grain of your choice. Garnish with chopped green onions, cilantro, etc if you want.

34

I came up with this last night as a way to use up leftover spiral ham:

~ Ham cut into bits (maybe 2 cups total, or a little more?)
~ 1 pkg. No Yolks noodles
~ 2 small bags frozen mixed veggies (we buy a bulk bag of them at Costco – there’s 4 small bags in one large bag) OR maybe 1/3rd of a large supermarket bag, it’s totallly flexible
~ 1 carton portabello mushroom soup (low sodium)
~ maybe 1/2 can regular mushroom soup (low sodium)
~ seasonings! I used paprika, poppy seeds, Mrs. Dash garlic/herb blend, some crushed dried thyme, and a smidge of cayenne
~ seasoned panko

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add noodles. Let them come to a boil, cover, turn off heat, and move to another burner (they’ll cook in the pot because the water will be hot enough). While they’re cooking, defrost your veggies by putting them in a colander and running cold water over them. Also get yourself a 9x13 pan and preheat the oven to 350F. When the noodles are done, drain under cold water to stop the cooking and add them to a large bowl. Add ham, defrosted veggies, the soups, and seasonings. Mix well with your hands. Put the entire mixture in the 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with panko. Lightly spray panko with Pam so it doesn’t burn. Bake for roughly 30-35 minutes.

We had this for dinner last night. It ain’t gourmet, but it must have hit the spot because everyone went back for seconds!

35

This is one of the easiest meals I make: Roast pork tenderloin with carrots and potatoes.

Peel, then microwave, potatoes and carrots (large pieces) till nearly cooked. While that’s in the microwave, oil the bottom of the pan, smearing it all around with your fingers. Lay the pork in diagonally. Using ketchup or bbq sauce, add some spices to give it some zing, (pepper, soya sauce, chopped garlic (from a jar), maybe some honey?), just make sure it’s still kinda thick. Just enough to cover the top of the tenderloin, so pretty easy!

Now toss the potatoes in a little oil, then into the pan on one side of the pork. Sprinkle potatoes with parsley flakes. The carrots go on the other side, I like to put a titch of butter onto them.

Now pop into a 275 degree oven. After 45 mins, if you remember and feel so inclined, you can turn the carrots and potatoes. Or not, either way.

Another 40 mins and you will pull a picture perfect, entire delicious meal, from your oven, that will not disappoint. It’s fabulous when you’re having company as it’s no more than a little peeling, then putting into a pan. That easy. And only one dish to clean when you’re done! (I use a Pyrex brownie pan, fits perfectly, easy cleanup.)

I often make this 2 days before I’ll be working a shift over the dinner hour. As we are just two, this meal always leaves a full serving leftover. With a day in between, (so he’s not having the same thing two days in a row!), I simply plate the left overs and Saran. Hubby just microwaves it and, voila, a full meal, hot and yummy.

People are unfailingly impressed if they see it coming out of the oven, and it’s always delicious. But, in fact, really only requires knowing how to peel a couple of vegetables!

36

Now that I think about it, it makes more sense to dump the beans over the chips and cover them with the cheese (the last time I made this was six years ago).

Alternating the oils with the different types of beans also yields tasty results.

37

Spanish Rice:

1 can diced tomatoes
2/3 cup of rice, medium or long grain - Do not use processed rice (Minute Rice, etc.)
1 small onion, diced
1 pound ground beef
Chili powder to taste

Heat a 10-12" skillet and put in a little vegetable oil. Start the onion cooking, then add the ground beef and brown. Drain the excess fat. After draining, add the dry rice, and stir about to toast it for 3-4 minutes. Then add the can of tomatoes, with liquid. Next, add a can of water. Stir again. Add your chili powder to taste; this is going to cook down and get stronger, so start with about a tablespoon and work up depending on how hot you want it. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes. Adjust seasoning and serve.

38

SPANISH RICE

Cook 1 1/2 cups of rice in chicken broth (you can use a boullion cube).

Saute some chopped onion, garlic, and green and red bell peppers in olive or corn oil. Stir into the cooked rice.

Add a tablespoon each of dried oregano, basil, and smoked paprika. Dump in a can of crushed tomatoes and a can of tomato paste. Stir well to combine until heated through.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with grated cheese, sour cream, chopped onion, red pepper sauce, and/or chopped olives (green and black) if desired.

This is great served as a Tex-Mex side dish or as a burrito filling.

39

Chorizo Hash and Eggs

Potatoes
Green Pepper
Onion
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Cholula (or whatever spicy chili sauce)
Spoonful of olive oil

Get the potatoes, peppers, onions, and spices crisp and soft (Pappas Fritas-style)… throw in the chorizo and get that cooked with the veg. A handful or twelve of grated cheddarand couple of over easy eggs on top with warm flour tortillas on the side… .boom, done.

40

Dinner Tonight and Lunch Tomorrow:

6 slices center cut bacon
1 c cooked pasta (maybe a little more)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 c something green (spinach, brussels sprouts, broccoli, etc)
garlic
crushed red pepper
oregano
parmesan cheese

I use center cut bacon because it’s lower in calories and fat. Cook the six slices and remove from pan. Carefully add the pint of cherry tomatoes to the pan. Season as you like. When they have begun to break down, add your green and cook through. Tomatoes and greens should still be bright and fresh. Add to bowl with cooked pasta and stir with parmesan to create a lightish sauce.