I don’t really cook. Our dinners are not frozen, but jeesum crow, boring. We have the same old thing – I have my “staples” – stir fry, chicken – grilled mostly, cordon bleu is the only thing that’s even half a “dish”, pasta, steaks (we don’t eat fish), meatloaf, and that’s about it.
Any favorite not-too-complicated ideas?
As I posted in another thread,my favorite recipes come from Allrecipes.com
And at the risk of being repititious,why I like the site is because of 2 features there.You can search recipes by ingredients on hand or type(dinnner/side dish/dessert,etc.)
And at each recipe there’s a read reviews link that readers critique the dish and offer helpful hints/tricks to preparing it.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with the site
Hmm… breakfast for supper is any easy fave in my house:
cheesey scrambled eggs, betty crocker hashbrowns, sausages and toast.
or funky shephard’s pie:
from bottom up… hamburger, corn, mashed potato, spaghettios, cheese
Yum
tuna casserole 
. . . if you want my uber simple recipe (45 min from start to finish, and that includes the 25 min of baking!), just email me, it’s in my profile.
Lure’s link has a space in it. Try this one.
Hamburger Helper. It’s what’s for dinner.
An easy favorite of mine, Bernse’s Awsome Spaghetti Carbonara. Time to prepare: About 20 minutes.
A great thing about this is that most of the ingredients are approximate, so you don’t have to be exact.
Boil water and prepare spaghetti (if you need help with this, sorry, and better stop reading the rest!)
As your pasta cooks:
Cut up about 5-8 slices of Bacon into about 1 inch long strips, fry them in big skillet. IMPORTANT!! Make sure the pan is large enough to hold the pasta you are cooking! Drain the fat add about 6 sliced, fresh mushrooms. Continue cooking on low.
In a medium bowl, add about 1/2 cup or so of cream (say, 10%MF) to 3 eggs. Lightly blend. Add and blend in about 1/3 cup or so of grated parmegian or romano cheese. Add and mix in some black pepper (quite a bit)… maybe 1 tablespoon? (just a guess, I do mine by sight).
When spaghetti is done, drain and add to bacon and mushrooms in pan, then add cream/cheese mixture. Stir up and cook for about 1 more minute on medium-ish heat (this just makes sure the Egg is cooked, although the hot pasta usually cooks it on its own).
Serve with some garlic toast.
That is an absolutely AWSOME meal that would cost you big bucks in an Italian resturant.
Pot roast is really easy too and you have lots of leftovers.
bernse thank you so much but I lost you at the cream part. I got 1/2 cup of cream but are eggs involved??
P.S.
If anyone wants to forward a pot-roast recipe, please, by all means, do
Ok. I’m an idiot (who can’t cook). I understand about the 3 eggs now.
The easiest and best pork chops ever!
Brown pork chops in oil and garlic. Cover with large can of crushed tomatoes. Let simmer for 1 1/2- 2 hours.
The meat falls off the bone!
Sorry, I should haven been more clear. Yes, 3 eggs.
Add the 1/2 cup-ish of cream to 3 eggs.
Bernse’s can’t fail Pot Roast
Get a roast. Put it in a pot (duh). (Note: I usually pepper and garlic the outside of the roast).
Put in peeled and sliced Carrots, Potatoes and Onions. Add about 1/2-3/4" of water to bottom of pot. Cover and bake at 375. Depending on the size of the roast, I think it takes about 20 minutes a pound, but I always just slice into it after about 2-3 or so hours and see how its coming. Blood spurting out=not done.
Oh! Almost forgot! In the Carbonara Recipe About 1 tablespoon of Virgin Olive Oil in the cream mixture is really nice.
If you like the taste of Ranch dressing, you could try one of my favorite side dishes with your favorite steak or chicken.
Buy some packets of powdered Ranch dressing. Cut a few potatoes (about a pound) into small cubes, and put them in a large closable baggie. Pour in a few table spoons of oil (as I call it, a “splash”) and one packet of the dressing mix. Shake vigorously. Place on cookie sheet & bake for 30 minutes at 350, or until lightly browned.
This is a very simple recipe, because you can add more potatoes or less, depending on how strong you like the Ranch flavor. I sometimes cook them a bit longer, because to me, they’re even tastier when they’re dark brown on the bottom.
You can also use the powder and some bread crumbs on chicken. It’s interesting, but I like the potatoes better.
If you have either a dutch oven or a crockpot, check out www.justcrockpotrecipes.com and www.justdutchovenrecipes.com.
Both sites are loaded with recipes which only require you to cook a pot of rice or pasta or whip up a quick salad to have a complete meal.
ooh…I’ve got some quick ones for nights when I’m being a lazy person
Pasta Pesto:
You’ll Need:
Pasta
Fresh Basil
Parmesan Cheese
Toasted Pine Nuts (optional, and I don’t use them)
Cook your favorite pasta noodle til it’s al dente. Drain. Tear basil leaves over top of pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese or take a veggie peeler and “peel” little strips of parmesan over top of the pasta. Add pine nuts. Stir and eat.
Chicken Campbell’s Surprise (not from the Campbell’s company)
1-2 Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinless
1 can of Campbell’s soup–Cream of Mushroom or Chicken or Broccolli
1 cup of sour cream
1/2 bag of frozen broccolli
Cook chicken breasts til done. Remove from pan, cut into cubes and set aside. In same pan, add soup and sour cream. Heat. Add broccolli. Cook til broccolli is done. Add chicken cubes. Serve over rice or cooked pasta.
Spaghetti and meatballs! Use canned spaghetti sauce. Cook pasta. Buy frozen breadsticks (I love the New York ones).
Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup italian bread crumbs
1 small onion
1 tsp garlic
3 T italian seasoning
salt
pepper
Each pound of ground beef and each jar of sauce feeds ~4 people, so double or triple the recipe as needed.
The nice thing about having this for a dinner party is that you can make the meatballs the night before. Then just throw them in the spaghetti sauce and heat for an hour or so. 10 minutes before dinner time, throw the breadsticks in the oven. Voila!
I serve mine with salad (bagged salad which you can spruce up using other fresh veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms – whatever you like). I also think it’s nicer if you make one of those ranch dressing mixes the night before. Just be sure to use real mayonnaise (e.g. Hellmann’s) and not salad dressing and 2% or fatter milk.
ADDENDUM to above: You have to cook the pasta, too. 45 minutes to an hour prior to dinner, start boiling water. (It takes 15-20 minutes for a huge pot to boil). 15 minutes before dinner, throw the pasta in. Drain.
Buy a box of Suddenly Salad or any pasta salad mix. Cook veggie & pasta mix and drain (do not rinse with cold water). Add butter and Parmesan cheese. Plus meat or fish if you like.
Expensive, but excellent.
Steam some King Crab legs. Hard to screw up and impressive. As long as you like seafood that is.
Serve with butter and lemon.
I make a pound of spaghetti at at time. Put whatever you don’t eat in one-serving baggies and freeze them. (If you freeze it all, you will get 6-8 servings worth.)
Then, just microwave and put jarred sauce on. Or add shrimp and jarred alfredo sauce. Even if you cook a sauce, like a packet of pesto, it goes quickly if you don’t have to mess with making the pasta.
By the way, frozen spaghetti and frozen shrimp and a jar of sauce is a good gift for new parents–easy quick meals.
(Of course, freshly made pasta is food for the gods.)