Ugh…
It’s Penne all’arrabiata.
I should add that basil usually isn’t in the traditional recipe. I just happen to like fresh basil a lot. But it might clash with the hot pepper flakes, so feel free to use one or the other if you wish. Also, a small or medium-sized onion is usually used in this dish as well. But this is how I make it.
Mustard Marmalade Chicken
You’ll need:
1 to 2 pounds chicken (I use skinless, boneless breasts because it’s easiest to deal with)
A jar of mustard (I use Grey Poupon Country Dijon, for no particularly good reason)
A jar of marmalade (I use Robertson’s Original English Thick Cut orange marmalade, because that’s what’s available in my local store)
An 8x8 baking dish
A small mixing bowl (I just use a soup bowl)
Aluminum foil
A mixing spoon (I just use a soup spoon)
Two teaspoons (for scooping the mustard and marmalade)
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Put about 6 oz (i.e., about 2/3 or 3/4 of a jar of Grey Poupon–this ain’t rocket science) of mustard in the mixing bowl, then add the same amount of marmalade. Stir till they’re well-mixed (i.e., till the color is uniform). Spread a little of the mixture in the bottom of the baking dish, then put the chicken in. Spoon the rest of the mixture over the chicken pieces–it’ll mostly run off, but that’s okay. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake it for about 40-45 minutes. Take the foil off, baste the chicken, and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so. To check whether it’s done, you can cut into the thickest piece and see if the flesh is pinkish–if so, stick it back in the oven for a few minutes and then check again.
Be sure to make extra–the leftovers make great chicken salad.
Garlic Noodles
A favorite comfort food for me.
Boil up some spaghetti.
Drain it.
Add some olive oil to the same pot you boiled the spaghetti in.
Using a garlic press, press an absurd amount of garlic into the oil – I use around ten or so cloves for one pound of spaghetti.
Add some salt if you’re so inclined. If you’re all fancy-pants, add black pepper. If you’re like some hoity-toity, “Oh, please pass the hors doeuvres,” holier-than-thou ponce, throw in some basil.
Fry that garlic up until it just starts to turn golden.
Schlep the noodles back in the pot and stir them up real good.
Put the noodles into a bowl, great a whole bunch of parmesan on top, and eat. Don’t be some crass, “Maw, cook me up some pickled spam feet!” trashy git, and don’t use “parmesan” from a green can. Use the real stuff.
Daniel
hey, you must use the same recipe book I do !
This recipe is great, and improved (texture and flavour-wise) with a stick of cinnamon (remove before eating) and a can of chick peas (don’t forget to drain them. forgetting to rinse them isn’t such a big deal).
Two more notes:
Black bean & garlic paste and red curry paste (both found at your local Asian grocer) are perhaps the two greatest foodstuffs to come in a jar. Add black bean paste to any kind of stir fry, or even salads, and you’re golden.
As for red curry paste, fry it with some chicken & veggies, add a can of coconut milk and voila! Red curry. Or add it to some chicken soup or broth with a twist of lime or lemon and you have some kind of Thai-ish hot and sour soup. Sometimes, if I’m feeling like junk fooding it (don’t tell anyone), I take some chicken or shrimp ramen noodles, cook them up with about half the flavor packet, add curry paste, coconut milk, and cooked chicken or shrimp. So quick. So good (in that overly-salted chemical sort of way). And so bad for you.
Black Bean And Red Pepper Dip Stuff
One drained can black beans.
Two roasted red peppers, fished out of a convenient red-pepper jar.
Six cloves garlic.
Two glugs olive oil.
Put the peppers, garlic, and oil in your food processor. Blitz them. Add the beans. Grind it all up.
It’s kind of a gross colour, but it tastes wonderful with pita, and it makes a good hummus alternative. We eat a lot of hummus. Especially good with fried halloumi as a sandwich.
2 diced chicken breasts - browned
1/2 cup almonds, cashews or pine nuts - toasted
1-2 tbsps curry paste
1-2 tsps garlic chili sauce
1-2 cups yogurt
salt and pepper to taste.
Mix together and heat but don’t let it boil, the yogurt will seperate.
Serve this over rice.
Fast and yummy!
Easy Taco Dip
1 block of cream cheese
1 jar of salsa
1 8-ounce package of finely shedded cheddar/monteray jack cheese (must be the finely shredded type)
Soften the cream cheese. I do it in the microwave so it’s really soft. Mix in the salsa, and then stir in the shredded cheese.
Serve with tortilla chips. I like those Scoops kind, so you get a lot of dip. 
Again, very easy and very, very tasty.
Baked French Toast - A family favourite at Christmas
1 loaf of unsliced white bread (cube in one inch cubes)
1 package of cream cheese (cube in smaller cubes)
1 dozen eggs
1/2 cup of maple syrup
1 cup milk
neat thread.I found one recipie online,it had 6 ingrediants (conjac was optional)
and took 20 minutes in elecrric skillet too cook.I had it saved on a floppy,but it went bad.grr dont know if anyone has simmliar recipie?
rich in seattle
So sorry it took me so long to get in here. Thanks, Robyn! 
My contribution:
Ingredients:
Spinach
Blue Cheese
Pasta
Parmesan
It sounds kind of odd, but it’s very good.
Cook the pasta until almost done. Add in Spinach for a minute or so. Drain but don’t shake all the water out. Place back in pot. Add in the blue cheese (about a cup). Stir. Serve and douse with Parmesan cheese!
I just love that you know Peg Bracken. Everybody needs to own the I Hate To Cook Book.
Here’s a little invention of mine that even Peg would probably blanch at, when you just have to have something chocolate, and all you have is unsweetened baker’s chocolate because you don’t allow yourself to buy sweetened chocolate:
Melt a square of unsweetened chocolate in the microwave with a couple spoons of sugar and a hunk of butter. Eat with a spoon.
Forget I ever said this, please.
Chicken Caesar Sandwiches (this cuts down really easily to serve 2 or 3)
4 1/2 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (if the breasts are too big, cut one in half)
cooking spray (I use my own pump filled with oil)
9 tablespoons lemon juice
6 cloves garlic – minced
6 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
dash Tabasco sauce I skip this one, since I think Tobasco’s yucky
3 tablespoons walnuts – toasted and chopped (optional)
6 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
6 whole wheat sandwich rolls-- sliced
lengthwise (or your choice) 6 Romaine lettuce leaves
Combine flour and pepper. Coat chicken with flour mixture, shaking off excess.
Spray a 10-inch skillet with cooking spray for 2 seconds; over medium heat, lightly brown chicken on both sides. Combine lemon juice, garlic, Worcestershire and hot pepper sauce; pour over chicken. Cover; simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Sprinkle walnuts and cheese over chicken.
Garlic Steak Fries
8 russet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder I think garlic salt works better, but that’s just me.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub potatoes well, then cut into steak fry shapes. In a large bowl, toss raw steak fries with olive oil and garlic powder, tossing till well-coated. On a cookie sheet, lay flat steak fries (not overlapping) and bake for 15 minutes, turn fries, then finish baking another 15 or so minutes (depending on how thick you cut them).
Apple Pork Tenderloin
3 lb. pork tenderloin
6 to 8 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 TBLsps. sugar
1 cup apple cider
2 TBLsps. garlic, minced
Thai Peanut Pasta
8 ozs. uncooked spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 carrot shredded
Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, blend peanut butter, soy sauce and red pepper flakes in medium bowl until smooth. Drain pasta, reserving 5 Tablespoons water. Mix hot pasta water with peanut butter mixture until smooth; toss pasta with sauce. Stir in green onions and carrot. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 4 servings.
1 lb. sweet onions (Vidalia, preferably)
1/2 stick of butter (1/8 of a pound, not half a pound; use unsalted if you use salted broth or bouillion cubes)
2 T. flour
6 C water + appropriate amount of beef bouillion OR beef broth
fresh ground black pepper to taste
crusty French bread
cheese of your choice
Chop onions into whatever size you want. I like to do half-inch thick slices. Just make sure they don’t get smaller than half-inch square – they’ll turn to mush otherwise. Melt the butter in a stockpot or large saucepan over medium heat, because I cook everything on medium heat. Toss the onions in and cook until soft, but not mushy. Stir in the flour quickly; don’t let it burn. Add the broth/water and bring to boil. Add the bouillion, if required. Turn down to a simmer; cover. Let simmer for about twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. When done, the onions will be transparent. Add salt and black pepper to taste; I also like to add whatever fresh green herb I happen to be enamored of at the moment. Ladle into ovenproof bowls and lay a slice of French bread on top; cover with A LOT of cheese. Slide underneath the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown.
Personally, I skip the whole ovenproof bowl thing and eat the soup with thickly sliced cheese and buttered French bread. It’s also great with sourdough. I also like to add pre-cooked strips ham with five minutes left to go on the simmer time or fry bits of lean bacon before melting the butter. This is seriously the easiest soup I know how to make. It’s pretty forgiving, too.
My Mom’s Goulash (with my own touches)
Brown some onions in olive oil, add fresh garlic and sautee for a few seconds.
Throw in some broken up italian sausage (hot if you prefer).
When brown, add diced tomato, green pepper, oregano, basil and pepper (if you can get these fresh, go for it).
Let simmer as you cook some elbow macaroni. When the mac is done, mix together.
It’s also great reheated if you make too much.
Wow. Two other Peg Bracken fans. I’m happy.
Curried Potato and Cheese Subs
Boil three good-sized mealy potatoes. Let them cool a bit, and then dice them. Fry with curry powder or paste, oloive oil, garlic, a little ginger, and half a diced onion until everything is kind of amorphous.
Spoon it on sub buns, and top with cheese, lettuce and hot sauce. Really really good. There’s a sub place here in Toronto that makes them, and I became addicted.
I used to make this when I was young and poor and lazy. It’s actually pretty yummy.
EZ Ghoulash for lazy bachelor(ette)s
1/2 can V8
Stew beef, 1" cubes
Paprika
1 Onion, chopped
Pepper
butter
In a saucepan, melt a pat of butter, then fry onion until tender. Add beef, cook until just browned. Dump V8, and a coupla tablespoons of paprika, ground pepper to taste. Simmer on low 30-60 minutes until beef is tender.
Serve over egg noodles with dollop of sour cream.
Pasta Salad
Ingredients: Pasta (rigatoni/penne work well), random vegetables (eg carrots, cauliflower, green/red onions, snow peas, bean sprouts), salad dressing, shredded cheese
Boil pasta and chopped carrots (or any other veggie that needs a bit of softening). Drain. Rinse.
Add other vegetables, salad dressing and cheese. Toss.
Red Rice
3 c cooked rice
4 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped
4 tbsp catsup
1 tbsp black pepper
Optional:
Garlic, minced, as much as you like
Peas and/or corn, whatever is handy (frozen, fresh or canned)
Melt butter. Saute onions until limp. Turn up heat and cook until onions start to blacken on edges. Add catsup and pepper. (And garlic, if using it)Cook on high for one minute, stirring constantly. Add rice (and optional veggies). Toss to mix thoroughly.
I just want to add a little tip to this. Take the pan off the heat and add the paprika before you dump the V8. Let it dissolve in the oil for about a minute and then add the V8 and return to the flame. Paprika needs to dissolve in oil for the flavor to come out, and you can’t let it burn (it will turn horribly bitter and brown). Also, please use either Pride of Szeged Hungarian Paprika or Spanish paprika. It’s not expensive, but it’s muchmuchmuch better than McCormick or any generic paprika. Trust me on this.