What Are Some "I Don't Really Cook" Decent Dinners?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Empty a bag of tortilla chips onto a baking tray, cover with with grated cheddar and mozzarella, put in a hot oven for about 6 minutes, take them out splodge salsa sour cream and chopped jalapenos on the top and eat.

Chop potatoes, boil for about 17mins, add salt once the water is boiling, drain, dry mash then add loads of good quality butter, mash some more, stick in a couple of dollops of extra thick double cream, put pan back on heat and whisk till smooth and hot.
Eat it as it is, or mix with sauteed spring onions to have with something else. Or just add grated cheese for that baked potato taste without the skin.

Cook pasta shells, Mix in a bowl with two tins of ratatouille, two tins of tuna. Layer in a dish with grated cheese betwixt every layer, finish with cheese on top and bake till top is the way you like it.

Cut strips of jalapeno peppers, roll with mozzarella into a long pinkie finger sized cylinder,dip in flour then coat in beer batter and deep fry the bastards, serve with garlic mayo or sour cream and chive.

Always pre-heat plates, whatever you cook already will taste better with a hot plate underneath it, especially pasta and sauce.

22

Quick and Easy:

Bake chicken in Italain Dressing. Use light dressing for less oil.
Plop chicken in baking pan, pour dressing, and bake.

My favorite is baked chicken in Ken’s light ceasar dressing over rice and steamed veggies. Take about forty-five minutes to bake.
ohh, ohh
just thought of

Supreme Mac and Cheese
Make regular Mac & cheese box dinner and add steamed or stir fried veggies. Just made it this weekend with mushrooms, onions, broccoli, tomatoes, and extra cheese. When I make it I use 1/2 the milk and butter recommended, but I’m a rebel.

23

Another good one with Chicken is baking it with BBQ sauce.

24

Or rub it with garlic and butter and stick halved lemons up its bum.

25

Looks to me like the OP does “really cook”. Most of the people I know just defrost and heat. And, don’t need to be rude, but a lot of the posters seem to be the typical American “can of mushroom soup” cooks.

To me, cooking is about using good ingredients. Buy some good extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar and make your salad dressings from scratch. It just takes a few seconds to mix together 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar in the bottom of the salad bowl. Add some salt and pepper to taste and you are done. You can vary things by adding Dijon mustard, fresh or dried thyme, garlic, etc. Most supermarkets have excellent salad ingredients these days. Try using something other than iceberg lettuce and add some thinly sliced onions or peppers.

Some other good staples to keep around: good quality canned tomatoes and chicken broth, arborio rice, dried porcini mushrooms, and a variety of pastas. We always have eggs, fresh garlic, onions, and shallots on hand. A good chunk of real Parmesean cheese is also a must.

We make a lot of risottos and pastas from the staples above and vary things by adding different meats and vegetables.

26

For just a snack, take a flour tortilla, sprinkle with pre-grated cheese (I use cheddar), microwave briefly to melt the cheese, put some salsa on top, fold over and eat.

27

Fondue. Cheese or Chinese or Bourgingon…all good.

One of our favorites is salsa chicken - really easy to make, and really good. We cook chicken breast, then when its just about done, cover it with salsa and then add cheese on top, and return it to the oven to melt the cheese. We make a mexian-flavoured rice to go with it, or really anything we might have handy.

Similarly, our “BBQ chicken” is just a chicken breast slathered in BBQ sauce and cooked. Quite simple, and quite yummy.

28

Lemon Pepper Shrimp and Pasta
Ingredients:

1 8-oz package linguini
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon lemon pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan
Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic, lemon pepper seasoning and shrimp in oil until shrimp is cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Drain pasta; toss with shrimp mixture and parmesan cheese.

29

Even though this has a long list of ingredients, it goes together pretty quickly.

Shrimp Creole

Ingredients:

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced (I use minced garlic I find in a jar in the refrigerated section in the produce area)

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained (I use the Del Monte tomatoes with jalapeno peppers to make it more spicy; use whichever ones you prefer)

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (I use about 1/2 teaspoon, but my husband likes it really spicy)

2 tablespoons cold water

4 teaspoons cornstarch

2 cups hot cooked rice
Directions

In a large skillet, cook onion, celery, green pepper and garlic in margarine or butter until tender. Stir in undrained tomatoes, parsley, salt, paprika and red pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir together cold water and cornstarch. Stir shrimp and cornstarch mixture into tomato mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 to 3 minutes more or until shrimp turn pink.

Serve over rice.
Sometimes I add a little spicy V-8 juice if the Creole needs a little more liquid. That makes it a little saucier.

30

Get yourself a rice cooker.

Put in a box of Mexican Rice mix, add an extra scoop of rice, a can of chicken broth, and a can of water.
Add a sliced-up sausage and a package of frozen vegetables.

This is what I make when my wife says there’s nothing to cook for dinner.

31

I’m a master at really quick and easy soups, especially for those who have any facility whatsoever with a can opener.

Tomato White Bean Soup:

Put a splash of olive oil in the bottom of a large soup pot.
Brown a chopped onion and some garlic.
Add two cans of undrained diced tomatoes (tastier if you get the Basil seasoned kind.)
Add two cans of undrained Cannellini, Navy beans (any white-ish bean will do.)
Simmer for 10 minutes.
Add a box of frozen chopped spinach.

Once the spinach has thawed and the soup is hot, top with parmesan and/or chopped parsley. Served with crusty bread, this makes an excellent dinner.

32

Chicken-Artichoke pasta (serves 2 large servings, or 3-4 with salad, etc.)

3/4-1 lb fettucine, linguine, etc. Cook according to directions
2-3 chicken breasts, grilled and sliced into bite-sized pieces
up to 1 package fresh frozen artichokes or artichoke hearts (not jarred marinated artichoke hearts), defrosted
1 packet Knorr “Parma Rosa” pasta sauce, prepared according to directions.

When sauce is almost ready, drop artichokes into it to warm up(they don’t really need to cook). When they are warm, add chicken to sauce. Serve pasta into plates or shallow bowls, pour sauce over, toss to coat.

Yum! I am such a genius for figuring this out (it is a dish served at a number of local restaurants in various incarnations).

33

I’m about as far from being a gourmet cook as it gets. I have only one qualification for the recipes I use: it tastes good. I don’t care if it’s got cream of mushroom soup or a complicated cream sauce…if I like it I’ll cook it.

Here’s my family’s favorite beef roast

1 3-4 lb. frozen chuck roast
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope onion soup mix
milk

Preheat the oven to about 300º…higher if you have less than all afternoon to cook it, lower if you’re starting it in the morning.

Put the frozen chuck roast in a baking dish that it fits into with lots of room to spare for the gravy.

Mix together the onion soup mix, the cream of mushroom soup, and one soup can of milk. Pour it over the roast.

Do not further season and do not stir it.

Cover tightly with foil, put it in the oven and ignore it for at least 6 hours. Cooks up nice and juicy. Never dry, tough or stringy. The best part is that the soups, milk and juices from the meat have made you a tasty gravy.

It’s good, but I only make it a couple times a year or so as a big big treat. Darn cholesterol levels. Darn red meat.

Pork roast is also very easy. If you’ve got a boneless loin roast that’s tied or in the stockinette, set it free from it’s binding. Unroll it and lay it flat. Rub the inside with a mixture of olive oil, chopped fresh garlic and some fresh rosemary. Tie it back up (you’ll never get it back in that stockinette), give the ouside the same treatment with the oil and herbs and sear the daylights out of it before roasting. A splash of balsamic vinegar in the pan and over the roast just before going in the oven makes for good flavor.

Roast chicken is easier yet. Lemons, fresh herbs (whatever you like) olive oil and salt and pepper. I roast on a rack, uncovered. Rub with olive oil, season with herbs and salt and pepper, lots of lemon juice in the bottom of the roasting pan. Season the cavity well, and stuff full of herbs and the lemon halves. Good stuff.

Now. I’ve got a big ol’ slab of smoked salmon here that my husband’s sister sent us from WA for Christmas. What the heck do I do with it?

34

Salmon cream sauce. Dice some onions and sautee in butter till translucent. Take a chunk of the salmon and flake it apart if it is the flakey kind, or slice into bits if it is the more oily, slice-able kind. Toss in the pan to warm up. Add some heavy cream (or evaporated milk for the lo-cal amongst us) and some parmesan cheese till it makes a sauce. Dice up some fresh parsley and stir that in too. Serve over pasta.

35

Nachos- spead tortilla chips on a cassarole dish. Grate some cheese over it (I use Jack). Pour a can of drained and rinsed beans (I use black beans) mixed with some Mexican spices (I cheat and use Shcillings “Mexican Seasoning” over it. Top with some chopped onions and put in the oven until melted.

Green Enchilatas- Spread a little bit of canned green enchilada sauce into the bottom of a cassarole dish. Fry small corn tortillas in a little bit of oil- just enough to make them soft. Fill the tortillas with shredded jack cheese (or real queso fresco if you can find it), chopped serrano peppers, chopped onions and a spoonful of sauce. Roll up the tortillas and put them in the dish in a line. When the dish is full, pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas. Top with some more cheese and some sliced tomatillos. Cook in oven until cheese is melted.

Pasta in Vodka Sauce- Cut an onion in half. Fry it in olive oil until it’s somewhat soft. Add a can of tomato sauce, some chopped parsley, a bit of fresh grated parmasan or romano cheese, and a little box of cream. Cook until it tastes good. Add some fresh ground pepper. Mix in a splash of vodka. Serve over pasta.

Lentils and rice- Use one cup of lentils, one cup of rice (I use brown jasmine rice, but you can make it work with whatever), and three cups of water. Flavor with salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, maybe some tumeric and ground mustard (just a tiny bit) and some cayenne pepper. Add some lemon juice if you have some. While this cooks, fry some onion in olive oil until it carmelizes (it’ll be brown, crispy and sweet. Add some chopped garlic and fry a bit more. Top the cooked lentils and rice with the onion mixture.

Soups are easy. The Split pea soup on the back of split pea packages is really good and easy. Otherwise just fry veggies in olive oil, add it to some bullion or watered down tomato sauce, throw in a can of rinsed beans or some pasta or rice to make it hearty, spice it with whatever you have on hand and cook until it tastes good.

Most of all, experiement. Most of my meals are something fried in olive oil, perhaps mixed with some beans or tomato sauce, served over something else (rice, pasta, tortillas) and then topped with something else (cheese or onions or something). Buy a good basic cookbook (I like “How to Cook Everything”, and try out a new recipe every week. Pretty soon you’ll feel comfortable improvising and using spices and meals will never be boring again.

36

Super yummy tacos- fill a couple corn tortillas (stacked on top of each other) with some refried beans (or meat if you are into that) and cheese. fold them in half and fry them in some oil while pressing down on them. While they are hot, sprinkle some fresh parmasagne cheese on to the hot greasy torillas. Fill the rest with some shredded lettuce, chopped onion and chopped tomatos.

Chili dogs- Make some chili (mine involves some pinto beans, chopped onions, chopped garlic, coriander, cumin, cayanne pepper, paprika and salt and a lot of tomato sauce cooked in a pressure cooker for a while). Use it to top a hotdog on a bun. Top with shredded cheese and chpped onions.

37

Thank yo so much everyone. This is exactly what I was hoping for, and more.

I definitely don’t really cook (I just mastered fresh garlic this past year and up until then had been using garlic spread in my pasta). I have a few things that I know how to make, but we definitely sup on franks and beans, frozen pizzas, etc.

Thanks, again.

38

Thank you so much, everyone. This is exactly what I was hoping for (and more)

I definitely don’t really cook (I just mastered fresh garlic this past year and up until then had been using garlic spread in my pasta). I have a few things that I know how to make, but we definitely sup on franks and beans, frozen pizzas, etc.

My own contribution to the thread is sauteed mushrooms in White Wine Worcestershire sauce. You need to keep draining the mushrooms because otherwise it gets too watery, but it’s delicious.

Thanks, again.

39

whoops – double post – I added in the mushrooms and corrected a typo :slight_smile:

40

Spicy Sesame Noodles

1 lb. wheat noodles (you can use chinese wheat noodles, even spaghetti or linguine if you like. You could use rice noodles, but I haven’t had very good luck with them)

1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine (you may substitute rice cooking wine, sake or sherry)
¼ to ½ tsp chili paste
1 tbsp brown sugar or honey
3 minced scallions
¼ to ½ of a sweet red pepper, finely minced

blend all sauce ingredients together.
boil the pasta until al dente. Remove from heat and drain. Pour noodles into ceramic bowl
Mix sauce into noodles until evenly coated. Top with minced scallions and red pepper.
Can be served cold or hot.