After The Funeral Macaroni and Cheese
(well, it was the cat’s funeral) - make macaroni and cheese from the box mix, sprinkle heavily with some shredded sharp cheddar, and serve with ketchup. Or salsa. Hot dogs are a good go-with. (we all felt a lot better after burying Fluffy’s ashes out in front of the birdbath).
Slice of rye toast, buttered.
Sliced hard boiled egg on top.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dillweed.
Dice a small jar of marinated artichoke hearts. Heat over low/med heat
Pour in some of the liquid from the jar.
Add a few slices (maybe 4?) diced proscuitto, stir to warm
Pour over cooked pasta, especially tortellini, top with lots of parmesan.
I call this “poor people’s food”, except I make it with rice instead of noodles. It always gets sucked down fast.
Gazpacho, since I just got done making it:
The other day I wanted pasta, but not with tomato sauce or alfredo sauce, so I got creative. I boiled a box of farfalle (bow ties) and while they were cooking, I dumped 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom and Roasted Garlic Soup, a can’s worth of heavy cream, (I know, but it was about to go bad if I didn’t use it!), a little milk, some rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, a dash of red pepper flake, some paprika…I think that’s it, in a saucepan and heated till bubbly. When the pasta was done, I drained it and tossed it with the sauce and a half cup of frozen peas. I was quite good and my sweetie really liked it and requested I make it again.
Obviously it is still relevant. Keep them coming, people!
But if you like cilantro, this is just the best, and the cilantro in the herb garden should be up about now for you more southern folks.
Indian breakfast bread: A slice of tasty solid bread, a slather of good plain yogurt, a sprinkle to a scatter to a snowstorm (to taste) of chopped fresh cilantro, a sprinkle of salt.
That’s it. You will want seconds. Try putting a little ground cumin on too if you like it that way.
I do endless variations on this theme - swap the pork ribs (which I use often, because they’re quite cheap!) for boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs or any variety of pork chops. Swap the BBQ for any variety of bottled marinade (Lemon pepper, Garlic Herb, and Sesame are my favs). I usually do half a bottle of marinade, and then water to cover, but that’s because I don’t have kids and take the time to boil down the marinade and make gravy.
Serve over mashed potatoes or rice, add a side of roasted or microwaved frozen veg med, and you’re set!
Drunk Dip*
1 can Nalley’s Chili No Beans
1 8 oz. stick/bar Cream Cheese
Nuke. Stir. Dip.
*So named because it’s simple and safe enough to make if you’ve wasted and have the munchies.
here’s mine.
boil up some good quality thick spaghetti, when it is done, drain and pop back into the hot pan.
add a couple of slugs of really good olive oil, a half teaspoon or so of dried flaked hot chili, a tablespoon (or more) of fresh grated parmesan and a twist of pepper. Stir round and serve.
That is it, I promise it is the meatiest non-meat dish you’ll ever have.
Oh, oh! I just made this last month, only I stirred in cooked ground chicken and sauteed mushrooms! It WAS quite good, and it freezes well.
Pralines
This isn’t RIDICULOUSLY stupid-simple but I’ve done it twice now in two days and it’s pretty hard to screw it up.
Melt 3/4 a stick of butter in a non-teflon pot on low heat
mix in
1.5 cups of white sugar
.75 cups of brown sugar
.5 cups of whole milk or cream
Turn it up to Med-High heat. stir continuously until it gets to a boil. Set timer for 3 minutes (you don’t even need a candy thermometer!). Keep stirring.
At timer’s buzz take off heat, mix in a touch of some flavoring (like vanilla extract) and nuts of some kind (like pecans).
Spoon onto parchment paper or sprayed down foil.
Boom. 25 Pralines that they sell in shops for something like $2.00 apiece that can be made for like $4.00 a batch (the highest cost being the nuts you choose).
So, yesterday I invited a friend to join, my husband and I, for dinner, and defrosted 3 fat chicken breasts. Then, later in the day, invited a fourth person to join us! Instantly moving to the very meal I posted up thread!
*
Easiest Dinner Ever:
Boil penne pasta, add some frozen veggies.(frozen green & yellow bean/carrot combo)
Drain, cover with garlic butter. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Diced and pan fried the chicken, to top pasta, salt and pepper.
With garlic bread, side green salad*
It was a snap and a huge hit with everyone! They think I worked hard with meal planning, shopping, prep, etc. Not so much, really.
My non-cooking friends are always surprised by how easy Alfredo sauce is.
Simply sauté some mushrooms and garlic in butter, with a drop of olive oil. Add heavy whipping cream (or half and half, if that’s all you have) the gradualy stir in parmesan cheese untill it reaches desired thickness. Add to favorite pasta. Salt and pepper to taste.
This simple recipe is also a good starting off point for carbonara (add egg and bacon) and Marsala (add carmelized onions and Marsala wine.) Simple, cheap and tasty.
Thanks Musky Moon, I’ve been looking for a simple carbonara sauce to make, instead of from a packet!
You’re welcome. A little trick I use for carbonarais to add the egg to the past, not to sauce. Cook the pasta to your liking then strain and immediatly put pasta back in the pot. Stir the eggs into the pasta. The steam and the hot pot will cook the eggs into the pasta, then mix in the sauce and bacon pieces. Hope that helps.
The pasta carbonara that I make doesn’t contain any cream, and is very simple to make.
Fry up about 8 slices of bacon, chopped up, in a large skillet. Drain all but about 2 tbl. of bacon fat from pan.
Boil up about 12-16 oz of pasta
Mix together 4 eggs, 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Parmesan, fresh ground pepper, and 1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley.
Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the bacon and bacon grease, mix to coat. Pour in the egg mixture and stir until the pasta is coated. The heat of the pasta should cook the egg, but I usually stir it over a low heat for a few minutes just to make sure.
It’s creamy and yummy without the added cream!
Yes, true carbonara does not take cream. This is how I make it, too, except I saute some garlic, adding it in with the bacon when it’s (the bacon) almost done.
Don’t forget to use whole wheat pasta so you don’t die of a heart attack.
oh, I have two to share.
The first is awesome Guacamole. My GF’s mother provided the recipe.
4 Avocados, ripe of course.
cumin, red pepper, salt, good salsa (not pace!).
Clean avocados and scoop them out into a bowl. salt to taste with Kosher salt.
Add cumin till there is a nice mellow cumin flavor (recipe calls for teaspoon, I do it all to taste).
Add red pepper until cumin flavor just starts to disappear(again, a teaspoon, again, all about doing it to taste).
Add two small spoons of salsa.
Use really good corn chips and enjoy, but you must eat it all that day, will not last (not that I ever really have any leftover).
The other one to share is a Shepherds Pie recipe I just found and tried.
1lb minced lamb
1 large onion
1 large carrot
1 celery stalk
beef broth
3 tsp corn starch
salt
pepper
Potatoes
milk
butter
Preheat oven to 275F. Put lamb, chopped onion, chopped carrot, and chopped celery into a pan. Even it all out in the pan and pour in beef broth until it just covers the ingredients. Do a couple rounds of salt and pepper, and stir in the cornstarch. Simmer in oven for 2 hours.
(the alternative is to throw it all in a large frying pan, and simmer on the stove for 30+ minutes, or until carrots and all that are nice and cooked).
Make mashed potatoes with milk and butter.
Now Heat oven to 350F. Drain liquid into container for gravy, put lamb mix into baking pan, and add enough gravy that it is nicely moist. Cover in mashed potatoes and bake for 30 minutes, tops of potatoes should be lightly browned.
(Credit for this one goes to cooks.com)
Hope you all enjoy these.