Your Favorite Recipes (Only the cheap, simple and quick ones please)

[Squish]

Kapusta and Kielbasa
Peel and quarter about four or five small to medium potatoes. Rinse and throw in bottom of large stew pot.
Cut one ring of kielbasa (polish sausage) into two-inch chunks; throw that on top of the potatoes.
Cut the stem out of a head of cabbage, take off the outer leaves; throw that stuff out. Cut cabbage into wedges, throw that on top of the kielbasa.
Add water to about two inches below the top of the cabbage.
Boil for 20 minutes; drain.

Haven’t met anybody yet who doesn’t love this.

Unstuffed Peppers
Brown a pound-and-a-half to two pounds of ground beef. Add about half a chopped onion, and two or three sliced green peppers. When the beef is browned and the onions are clear, drain the excess fat. Add one can of diced tomatoes and two cups of cooked rice; stir it alll up so the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Shrimp Kinda-scampi
Crush two cloves of garlic and sauteed them in about two tablespoons of butter. Add a pound of small (salad size) shrimp. Cook untl shrimp are lightly browned; serve over cooked white or wild rice with a salad.

Tuna Noodles
Boil about two cups of egg noodles. Drain most of the water off; add a can of mushroom soup, some frozen mixed vegetables, and a can of tuna. Stir it all together over medium-low heat until hot.

I highly recommend www.recipezaar.com . They’ve got tons of recipes.

[angelicate]

Stew
Packet of stew meat from the store. It’s usually really cheap, and already chopped.
Random cans of veggies (I use corn and green beans)
Carrots
Potatoes
A couple of cans of beef broth

First, toss the meat into a bag with some flour, salt and pepper, just to coat it. Then, heat a little bit of oil in a skillet and brown the meat. I usually throw in a little bit of garlic and onion while doing this.
Next, put the meat into a big pot, pour in the cans of broth and the veggies (I just dump it all in, undrained), and then cut up the carrots and potatoes and throw them in too.
(I think I might also add a can of tomato sauce. I haven’t made it in a while.)
Now just set it to cook for a couple of hours, and you’re good for a couple of meals. You can also make some cornbread to go along with this.
Another quick and very easy recipe that I like is just zucchini, onions, rice and soy sauce.
Cut up the veggies and stir fry them with a little bit of soy sauce. You can also throw in sesame seeds if you have them. Cook the rice, and when it’s done, add a little bit of soy sauce for flavor. Very easy, and only takes as long as it takes you to cook the rice.

[Grrr]

Heres my fav:

Pull out car keys
start car
drive to Micky-D’s
order the number # (insert fav combo here.)
Pull out money and pay cashier.

Then BAM! You got dinner now.

Ok,OK, I’ll shut up now. … Carry on…

[nightshadea]

We need a forumn just for recipies heh

[blinx]

Minced Turkey meat with salad and bearnaice(sp?) sauce
Fry the turkey meat, chop the salat and heat the sauce, then mix.

mmmh!

[godogsgo13]

Absolute favorite!

In Americanese, we know it as Lazy Pierogi.

Ingredients:
2 lbs spiral pasta noodles
1 1/2 - 2 lbs bacon (bacon is soooo good)
2- 3 cans of sliced mushrooms
1 lb saurkraut (typical package size will do)

Steps:

Fill a large pot with water enough to cook the noodles (takes maybe 25-30 minutes) Cook the noodles.

While the noodles are cooking, open the cans of mushrooms and saurkraut and strain away the juices. (I dilute the saurkraut in running tap water for 15 secs b/c I don’t like strong saurkraut)

lso, fry up the bacon so it brown and is crsipy to yout likingi n a frying pan.

After the bacon is finished, put it on a plate covered with napkins and let cool for a few minutes. (SAVE THE BACON GREASE!)

After the bacon cools, break it up into small pieces (on preference only, but I like about 1 in pieces)

After the noodles finish cooking, drain them in a colander and put them in the empty pot.

Add the bacon pieces, mushrooms and (un)diluted saurkraut to the pot, along with a fair amount of salt and/or pepper.

Critical Now add about half (on preference) of the bacon grease to the pot w/ ingredients and stir generously.

Refridgerate. This dish tastes better after being reheated (trust me)

Total prep time: 45 min-1 hour

A great quick meal or side dish.

This serving size would feed a small army, and is great for parties but two people can finish an entire pot in a week’s time. Also great for feeding the family!

I also have a great homemade chicken noodle soup recipe and my own version of of beef dip for football games etc. if anyone wants them.

[Synnove]

Quick Chicken Parmesan

Any of Tyson’s breaded chicken strips/chicken breasts
1 Jar of your favourite tomato-based pasta sauce
Package of sliced provolone

Put chicken (yes, frozen) into big pan
Pour sauce on top
Bake according to chicken package directions
Cut one of the chicken bits open to ensure it’s cooked, so long as it’s mostly white you can move onto the next step:
Lay the cheese over the chicken and replace into oven for 5 more minutes until cheese is bubbly and turning a bit golden

I don’t do it this way - I use frozen skinless chicken breasts and I don’t bread them, because it’s healthier than fried/breaded chicken - but there’s no reason it wouldn’t be good Serve it with a nice salad and some breadsticks or crusty garlicky Italian bread.

Tomato Soup, Healthy-Style

1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
2 small cans “tomato sauce” (from the same grocery aisle)
1 bunch fresh basil
1 15-oz package silken tofu
4 cloves garlic
1 onion, chopped

In a large soup pot over high heat, saute onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil until the onions are soft. Transfer to blender along with the rest of ingredients (do this in two stages though if you don’t have a huge blender). Blend until smooth. Pour back into giant pot and heat until warm, adding salt and pepper to taste.

You don’t taste anything different due to the tofu, and it’s a very low-fat and high-protein way to make it creamy, instead of using milk. If you do need to thin it out - which you shouldn’t if you use silken tofu, if you just get soft tofu it might need some thinning - you can use milk. I tend to serve this with “Potato Express” pre-cooked diced potatoes (the rosemary-garlic kind is really yummy) and some baby carrots, steamed in a microwave steamer or in an aluminum-foil packet with a little water in the oven, tossed with some melted butter. Mmm.

[lauramarlane]

What Violet said! A crock pot is a huge time saver! I’ve found lots of recipes at http://www.justcrockpotrecipes.com/ . I don’t get home till 6pm so to take two hours to make a meal for everyone is just not gonna happen. With the crock pot, I throw it all together the night before (or the morning of), turn it on and it’s all ready when I get home.

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

A friend gave me this crockpot recipe for chicken breasts.

Put each chicken breast on its own sheet of foil. Sprinle over the top some powdered salad dressing mix. Italian is good, but you can try others as well. Wrap up the little foil packets and carefully arrange in crockpot. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.

[Daerlyn]

Tuna Casserole (even if you don’t like tuna, give it a try . . . I’ve made several converts with this recipe)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a casserole mix:

one melted/softened full-sized block of cream cheese
1-2 cans of tuna
1 can of cream of mushroom condensed soup

Chop up one small-to-medium sized onion and sautee. (lightly fry, more or less, for the non-chef-inclined)

in a pot of boiling water, cook about half a package of elbow macaroni (depending on the size of your casserole).

toss the macaroni and onions into the casserole with everything else, mix everything evenly, top with breadcrumbs and/or parmesan cheese, and stick in the oven for 25 to 30 mins. If you wish, you can take the lid off the casserole for the last five minutes of baking to give it a bit of a crust.

You can make two at a time if your kitchen supplies allow . . . this stuff reheats well.

[Daerlyn]

OOPS . . . I forgot one item: half cup of milk (or so, I rarely bother to measure) in with the soup/tune/cheese mix.

[NurseCarmen]

Beware of dopers bearing false gifts…

Sure they’re smart, that’s what makes their practical jokes so funny. Avoid any of the above recipes that require Vinegar and Baking Soda. One or the other alone is okey dokey, both together is a foaming mess.

I didn’t follow any of the links, but I have a sneaking suspiscion that someone might try to sneak it in.

It would have been me, but I’m feeling honest today.

[skot]

My wife loves this one:

Ingredients:

10 oz. Fettucini Noodles (300 g)
20 Cherry tomatoes
4 Bocconcini Cheese
10 Leaves Fresh Basil
1 Clove Garlic
1/3 cup Olive Oil
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Salt (to taste)

Directions:

• Cook pasta as per directions, drain and rinse (best al dente)
• Cut Cherry tomotoes in half, mince garlic, chop up basil and cut each Bocconcini into 8 pcs
• Heat oil on med./hi heat, add tomotoes, cook for 1 minute (stir frequently)
• Add garlic and basil to tomatoes, reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes.
• Add pasta, salt, pepper and bocconcini, mix well until cheese begins to melt.
• Serve with fresh crusty bread and a nice red wine.

[evolutionbaby]

MEXICAN LASAGNE
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 tea ground cumin
1 tbl chili powder
1/4 tea garlic powder
1 tea salt and pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
12 corn tortillas
2 C cottage cheese
1 C shredded monterey jack w/ peppers
1 egg

COLD TOPPINGS: chopped tomato, cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced olives, chopped green onions (use whatever of these you like, leave off what you don’t like)

Brown beef; drain. Add spices and canned tomatoes, heat through. Cover bottom of casserole dish with about 6 tortillas. Pour beef mixture over tortillas; place layer of about 6 more tortillas over meat. Combine monterey jack, cottage cheese, and egg; pour over top layer of tortillas. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and place your toppings in a diagonal pattern or really, any 'ole way you like.

Evbaby

[Squish]

Damnitall, I posted this to the wrong thread. Apologies if anyone has to read it more than once:

Buy a bone-in ham, preferably when it’s on sale. Bake it with appropriate side dishes. After you’ve had that meal–
-Slice all the “large” slices off to make sandwiches. Wrap in smaller packages, freeze.
-Cut off the smaller, “unsliceable” chunks. Dice, package, freeze to make scalloped potatoes
-There should still be meat on the hambone. Throw the hambone in a stewpot with peeled and quartered potatoes and cabbage wedges. Boil until potatoes and cabbage are done.

That’s a lot of meals!

And then, there’s quiche. Despite the mystique, quiche is a peasant dish and nothing more than an omelet in a pie shell.

Quiche

• For the crust, combine 4 ounces of cream cheese, 4 ounces of butter or margarine, and just a little more than a cup of flour. Mix together with your hands until you have a dough. If you can’t get it off your fingers, add more flour.
• Pat the dough evenly into a pie plate. Put a piece of aluminum foil on the dough and weight it down with a handful or two of dried beas, peas or lentils. Stick it in the oven at about 325F.
• Scramble three eggs, add 1/2 of a small onion (chopped), a cup of milk, about 1/2 pound grated cheese (cheddar, swiss or monterey jack). Look in the fridge and throw in some leftover ham, bacon or chicken, chopped in small pieces. If you don’t have any, don’t worry about it. Add some chopped red or green pepper if you have it; again, if you don’t, don’t worry about it.
• Take the crust out of the oven, let it cool (remove the beans and aluminum foil, of course).
• Dump the scrambled egg mixture into the pie shell and bake at 325-350 until done.

[LifeOnWry]

Find out if your local elementary schools do a “Market Day” fundraiser. These are generally held once a month, and you can order online if you don’t have a grade-schooler. Check out the website, www.marketday.com They’ll tell you which of your area schools do this. They sell frozen stuff in bulk, and their ChicNSteakes (wincing at the spelling is allowed) are quite good, very tender, can be defrosted in minutes as needed, and usually run about $10 for a box of twelve. The ground beef is good, too, and they have lots of other good-quality meats frozen in individual portions. I have noticed their frozen veggies are a bit pricey, though.

Now on to the recipes:
This is my variation of an Italian classic soup, and it is very cheap and very good for you - high in fiber, protein and vitamin C, totally vegetarian, and this recipe makes enough for several meals. When you reheat, add some water, as the pasta absorbs a lot of it.

Pasta e Fagioli (a/k/a pasta fazool)

Boil three quarts of water, with about a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add a pound of ditalini, shell macaroni, elbow noodles, or chili mac noodles, and cook until tender. IMPORTANT PART - drain off some of the water, but leave enough in the pot so that the noodles are covered by about a half inch. Add one large can (14-16 ounces) of tomato paste, one large can (14-16 ounce) of Great Northern Beans (look on the bottom shelf in the canned vegetable aisle), a handful of chopped fresh or dried parsley, and garlic powder to taste. Stir thoroughly. Serve with lots of parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Note - this soup is thick - you may dilute with water if you prefer a “soupier” soup.

This one is very quick, and pretty cheap, plus it’s a LOT yummier than it sounds.
Chili-Mac Mix Up
Cook 1/2 pound of chili mac, ditalini or elbow noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. In the meantime, brown one pound of ground beef in a large pot (not a frying pan) with half a cup of chopped onions. Drain off fat. Add one can of Brooks Chili Hot Beans. Add one large can of diced tomatoes. Add one small can of Niblets corn. Add the cooked noodles. Stir over a medium flame until well-mixed and hot throughout. Add as much chili powder, garlic, pepper, cumin or other spices as you like (hint: a mere 1/8 teaspoon - and no more - of cinnamon here sounds disgusting, but tastes VERY GOOD). Serve with shredded cheddar cheese on top (and sour cream, if you like), and taco chips on the side.

[Jackknifed_Juggernaut]

Thanks guys. You’ve all been helpful and I look forward to tasting all of the recipes that you’ve provided. Some are a little complicated for me, but I’m sure that my wife could whip those up.

[Guinastasia]

Cook some pasta and then pour Italian dressing over it. Then grate some cheddar or mozarella cheese over top, sprinkle some parmesan or whatever and voila!

[longjohn]

Grilled / BBQ’d salmon:

peel a one inch long bit of ginger root
peel 4 or 5 cloves of garlic
de-seed a chilli (or multiple chillis if you like your food hot)

pop into a blender with a tablespoon of olive (or any other sort of oil). Add juice of a lime, and some/all of the rind, if you like lime. Add some lemongrass and coriander, if you want or can be bothered. Blend the lot. You should now have a thick, wonderfully aromatic paste.

Smear all over salmon fillets/steaks - the above will do about two salmon fillets.

Put into grill or on BBQ. cook until coating goes a bit crispy.

Serve with rice or pasta. Takes about 20 minutes start to finish.

[pulykamell]

Mmm…A recipe for Kapusta and Kielbasa and Pierogi Leniwe (lazy pierogi). I’m starting to feel homesick.

I won’t give any actual recipes. But some general suggestions:

1. Stews and pot roasts are your friend. They are generally impossible to screw up. Just remember to keep the heat low, have enough liquid and use a brisket, rump roast or bottom round and you will be fine.

2. Roast chicken is your friend. Everybody loves roast chicken and it, too, is extremely difficult to screw up. Stick half a lemon in the cavity (along with some herbs if you wish - rosemary and/or thyme work well). Dust with salt and maybe some paprika, stick it in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Turn down to 325 and let finish cooking another, oh, 45 minutes or so. Baste every 15 minutes.

3. The cool thing about roasts is you can roast your vegetables along with 'em. Chop up some potatoes, carrots, garlic, turnips, whatever, douse 'em with some olive oil and stick 'em in the oven along with your roast chicken.

4. Fennel pork roast - My all time favorite pork roast. Get yourself a tenderloin roast. Grind up some fennel seeds with a bit of black pepper and some salt. Cover roast in this spice mixture. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 40-45 minutes for a one-pound cut. I also actually like using a Boston butt cut as well, and roasting it in one of those roasting bags at low heat (325) for a much longer time. Boston butt is cheaper, but responds better to slow-roasting. (Plus I’d add a bit of water or stock to the cooking bag to keep the meat moist.)