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Quick n dirty recipes
One of my LJ friends was asking for quick-n-dirty recipes. My response got a bit long, so I'm posting it over here. If you've got any very quick-n-dirty recipes, feel free to add them in comments!
These are pretty much the simple basics that Mom fed me and Dad (she fed us more elaborate, nutritious, foods also!), or ones that I've come up with on my own, and are quick because they mostly involve opening bags, cans, or jars and throwing stuff together. :) To increase our vegetable intake, Mom tended to feed us a green salad with everything, usually made of chopped-up iceberg lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and some chopped green onion. If you want more actual nutrition, use something other than iceberg lettuce, but I find dark green lettuces to be too bitter to eat. Bag salad will do just as well -- slightly more expensive, but if you find yourself leaving the vegetables to rot because you can't be bothered to chop them, worth it.
Stocking your freezer with frozen vegetables gives you quick-n-dirty side dishes. They even have some that come in steam packages to go into the microwave, or you can buy plastic bags in which to steam them.
Funny spaghetti
This is the same one that everyone does, with pasta and a jar of red sauce, occasionally with sauteed ground beef thrown in. And French bread, if you remembered to get it from the store. But you said you're sick of pasta in the comments on your post, so oh well. XD We called it funny spaghetti because it was made with whatever pasta shapes Mom bought that week.
Bean and cheese chalupas
1 box tostada shells
1 can refried beans (fat-free if you want to be slightly healthier)
1 bag shredded cheese (or grate it yourself if you want cheaper)
Chopped-up lettuce and tomatoes
Jar of salsa (optional)
Cumin (optional)
Lime juice (optional)
The amounts above will probably feed you three two meals. Preheat oven to 350°. If you want to spice up the beans, open the can and put them in a bowl, then sprinkle cumin and lime juice to taste into them and mix them up (may be slightly easier if you nuke them for a few second first). If you can't be bothered, no biggie. Spread the beans onto the tostada shells (1 can will do 12 tostada shells nicely), placing them on a cookie sheet. Top with shredded cheese to taste. Throw in oven for 8-12 minutes - you want the cheese nicely melted, but not hardened and browned. Unless you like it that way. While they're heating up, set the table and chop the lettuce and tomatoes, and mix them together in a bowl. Serve, allowing people to top with salsa and salad as desired.
Can be made with tortilla chips instead of tostada shells, in which case they're nachos. But take a bit more work.
Chicken and rice soup
Chicken stock/broth/bouillon
Precooked roast chicken (or leftover cooked chicken)
Leftover cooked rice
Green onion (optional)
Tomato, chopped small (optional)
Avocado (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
I tend to make this with chicken stock I made from scratch, but that is NOT NECESSARY. You can use boxed or canned soup, or even bouillon cubes to make it if you want. (Recipe at the bottom in case you want to try, though :D) So. Get one of those precooked roast chickens from the grocery store, or use leftover cooked chicken from a previous meal or stockmaking. Shred the meat up. Put it in a pot with stock. How much stock and meat you use depends on how thick you like it. I encountered it first in a restaurant where it was mostly stock, with a little bit of chicken and rice, but I also make it very thick, depending on how I feel. Throw in some of the cooked rice (same thing applies - you can make it very thick or very thin, depending on how hearty you want it and how much leftover rice you've got to get rid of). Bring it to a simmer. While heating, chop up your onion and tomato and cilantro, if you want them, and slice your avocado, if you're using it. When heated through, ladle into bowls. Float the veggies on top, in whatever amount you want.
Alternately, you can poach raw chicken pieces in the stock, but using leftover chicken is easier. :)
Tacos
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 pound ground beef, chicken or turkey
1 can chopped tomatoes (optional)
1 box taco shells
Toppings (all optional)
Shredded cheese
Shredded lettuce
Chopped tomatoes
Sour cream
Salsa
Will probably also make 2 meals for you three. Sautee ground meat, drain if necessary (lean beef doesn't need it). If using tomatoes, open can and drain liquid into a measuring cup. Add taco seasoning mix and tomatoes, and use tomato water in place of the water asked for on the mix packet (add more water if encessary). Cook as indicated on the mix packet. Read directions on taco shell box and heat as directed. Shred lettuce and chop tomatoes, mix together.
Spoon meat mix into shells. Top with whatever you want.
Alternate: chalupas Make chalupas, as above, minus cheese. Top beans after they're heated with taco meat, cheese, other toppings as desired.
Alternate: Taco Salad/Frito Pie
If you don't want to mess with holding taco shells, either heat them up and crumble them into bowls, or put tortilla chips into bowls. Top with meat, desired toppings. If you substitute Fritos for the taco chips, you get Frito Pie. If you decide to add refried beans, you'll need to heat them up a bit over the stove or in the microwave, as they don't get a really creamy consistency until they're heated.
Alternate: Chili Dogs
Heat up hot dogs. Put them in buns. Spoon taco meat over them, top with cheese. Or you can even just open and heat up a can of chili, but I like taco meat on them. :)
Mac and cheese served with tomatoes
Exactly what it sounds like: mac and cheese on one side of the plate, tomatoes on the other. Or whatever vegetables you like. My mom made this when my dad was out of town, because he hated mac and cheese, so it's a comfort meal for me. XD
Quick-n-dirty mashed potatoes
Nuke potatoes until soft. Scoop innards out. Mix with butter and milk. Add whatever else floats your boat: onions, garlic, chives, bacon, cheese, sour cream, etc.
Breaded chicken thighs
1 package boneless chicken thighs (4-6 thighs)
1/2 box panko bread crumbs (or regular, but panko is crispier)
Dijon mustard
Optional:
salt
pepper
dried thyme
Preheat oven to 350°. Mix salt, pepper, and thyme into panko crumbs if desired, put them on a plate. Lightly grease a pan - not a cookie sheet, as the chicken fat and juices will tend to run off and you want them contained, so sides of at least an inch are good. Squirt Dijon mustard into a bowl. For the messy part, take each thigh, slather it in Dijon mustard, then roll it in panko crumbs. Place in pan. After all the chicken is coated, go ahead and pat the leftover crumbs into the tops.
Bake, uncovered, in oven for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Reheats better in oven than microwave, as crumbs get soft and wimpy when nuked.
Simple Meatloaf
1 pound ground meat (beef, pork, turkey, chicken)
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Dried herbs: thyme, parsley, oregano, cumin, whatever you like
optional:
leftover vegetables - peas, carrots, corn, etc.
Worcestershire sauce
Ketchup
Bacon
Preheat oven to 325°. Mix meat, egg, breadcrumbs, herbs, veg, Worcestershire sauce in bowl with hands, not squeezing too tightly. Place on cookie sheet, in mounded loaf shape. Optionally, brush with ketchup, cover with bacon. Place in oven, cook for 30-45 minutes (shorter if smaller or thinner, longer if thicker). If you've got a meat thermomoeter, cook to 155° internally.
Scales up well, just adjust cooking times. You can mix types of meat also - a pound of ground beef and a pound of ground pork tastes good. The egg helps bind it all together, and the crumbs stretch it. Check out Alton Brown's meatloaf recipe for ideas for ingredients and glaze (beware of his serving sizes - we easily got 12 servings out of that recipe!).
Alternate: Bento Version
If you've got some time, make the meat into small loaves, or put into muffin tins. Bake about 20 minutes. Freeze. They reheat by nuking quite well.
Easy - but long - double chicken stock
Loosely based on a recipe from The China Moon Cookbook, a cookbook by a woman running a Chinese bistro in San Francisco. Easy to make, but takes a long time. Plan to devote a day to it, although you don't have to do much work as it simmers by itself most of the time.
Chicken bones (leftover from precooked roast chicken, stored in the freezer)
Whole chicken (optional - the meat adds flavor, and you can use the meat in the soup above or chicken salad. Try to get an older bird if you can - a roaster or a stewing/baking hen, or even an old, tough rooster if you can find it. The older birds have more flavor in the meat, and require ong, moist cooking.)
Water or low-sodium chicken stock (making stock using stock makes it double stock)
Any or all of the below:
Fresh ginger, roughly sliced in rounds. OK to leave skin on
Lemongrass (in big chunks, as you will fish it out later)
Red Thai chilis or japalenos
Garlic cloves
Cloves
Carrots, roughly chopped
Celery, roughly chopped
Onion, roughly chopped
Any vegetable trimmings you've got (asparagus ends, mushroom stems, whatever)
2 or 3 bay leaves
Parsley
Whatever other herbs or vegetable sound good to you
First, put the bones (or whole chicken) into a big stockpot. Add water or stock to cover. Bring just to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer 30 or so minutes, skimming off the scum that rises to the top.
If you want extra flavor, while that's going on, sautee your vegetables in butter, oil, or olive oil. But not necessary. Add your vegetables (minus the peppers!) to the chicken stock or water, make sure it stays at a simmer, then go do something else for several hours. Check back occasionally to see if the water level's dropped a lot, if so add more stock or water (you can add water even if you started with stock).
Chili peppers/jalapenos: These are a bit special, obviously. If you like a LOT of heat, add them early and keep them in there. If you only like a LITTLE heat, add them for a short time and pull them out. If you like NO heat, don't add them at all. I like it JUUUST barely hot enough to make my lips tingle, so I tend to take 4 or 5 red Thai chilis and plop them in, whole, for about 15-20 minutes, then take them out: taste-testing evry 5 minutes, until it hits the heat level I want. I also do it near the end of cooking.
If you're using a whole chicken, poke it with a fork every so often. When the meat starts coming off easily, which may be after 2 or 3 hours of gentle simmering, dig off as much as you can. It's OK to leave some in there - it'll keep adding flavor. You can leave it all in there and let it impart all its flavor to the stock, but you'll end up with tasteless hunks of chicken at the end.
The point at which to stop making the stock is the point at which the whole house smells so good you can't stand it any longer. Alton Brown recommends leaving it in until all the collagen's cooked out of the bones and they're soft, which will give you a full-bodied, smooth stock and takes 10-12 hours, but I never make it that long and stop after 4-6 hours.
The tricky part is pouring the stock out. It's easiest to first scoop out as much of the debris as you can. Then pour the stock into another container through a colander to sieve out most of the smaller pieces. Then line the colander with a few layers of cheesecloth and strain the stock again. Repeat that for a while until you're satisfied with the results.
Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 3 or 4 days. Freezes well. If you want a less fatty version, put the container in the fridge overnight and chip off the fat layer that's risen to the top. The more collagen leached out of the bones and into the stock, the more like meat-flavored Jell-O it will look when cold. :) You can also freeze it in ice trays and use a cube or two in sauces.
If you are a snooty chef, you never want the stock to boil, and you want to strain it to hell and gone in order to keep in clear. I am not a snooty chef and don't give a damn, because to my unrefined palate, cloudy stock tastes just as good as clear stock and is a heckuva lot easier to make.
These are pretty much the simple basics that Mom fed me and Dad (she fed us more elaborate, nutritious, foods also!), or ones that I've come up with on my own, and are quick because they mostly involve opening bags, cans, or jars and throwing stuff together. :) To increase our vegetable intake, Mom tended to feed us a green salad with everything, usually made of chopped-up iceberg lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and some chopped green onion. If you want more actual nutrition, use something other than iceberg lettuce, but I find dark green lettuces to be too bitter to eat. Bag salad will do just as well -- slightly more expensive, but if you find yourself leaving the vegetables to rot because you can't be bothered to chop them, worth it.
Stocking your freezer with frozen vegetables gives you quick-n-dirty side dishes. They even have some that come in steam packages to go into the microwave, or you can buy plastic bags in which to steam them.
Funny spaghetti
This is the same one that everyone does, with pasta and a jar of red sauce, occasionally with sauteed ground beef thrown in. And French bread, if you remembered to get it from the store. But you said you're sick of pasta in the comments on your post, so oh well. XD We called it funny spaghetti because it was made with whatever pasta shapes Mom bought that week.
Bean and cheese chalupas
1 box tostada shells
1 can refried beans (fat-free if you want to be slightly healthier)
1 bag shredded cheese (or grate it yourself if you want cheaper)
Chopped-up lettuce and tomatoes
Jar of salsa (optional)
Cumin (optional)
Lime juice (optional)
The amounts above will probably feed you three two meals. Preheat oven to 350°. If you want to spice up the beans, open the can and put them in a bowl, then sprinkle cumin and lime juice to taste into them and mix them up (may be slightly easier if you nuke them for a few second first). If you can't be bothered, no biggie. Spread the beans onto the tostada shells (1 can will do 12 tostada shells nicely), placing them on a cookie sheet. Top with shredded cheese to taste. Throw in oven for 8-12 minutes - you want the cheese nicely melted, but not hardened and browned. Unless you like it that way. While they're heating up, set the table and chop the lettuce and tomatoes, and mix them together in a bowl. Serve, allowing people to top with salsa and salad as desired.
Can be made with tortilla chips instead of tostada shells, in which case they're nachos. But take a bit more work.
Chicken and rice soup
Chicken stock/broth/bouillon
Precooked roast chicken (or leftover cooked chicken)
Leftover cooked rice
Green onion (optional)
Tomato, chopped small (optional)
Avocado (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
I tend to make this with chicken stock I made from scratch, but that is NOT NECESSARY. You can use boxed or canned soup, or even bouillon cubes to make it if you want. (Recipe at the bottom in case you want to try, though :D) So. Get one of those precooked roast chickens from the grocery store, or use leftover cooked chicken from a previous meal or stockmaking. Shred the meat up. Put it in a pot with stock. How much stock and meat you use depends on how thick you like it. I encountered it first in a restaurant where it was mostly stock, with a little bit of chicken and rice, but I also make it very thick, depending on how I feel. Throw in some of the cooked rice (same thing applies - you can make it very thick or very thin, depending on how hearty you want it and how much leftover rice you've got to get rid of). Bring it to a simmer. While heating, chop up your onion and tomato and cilantro, if you want them, and slice your avocado, if you're using it. When heated through, ladle into bowls. Float the veggies on top, in whatever amount you want.
Alternately, you can poach raw chicken pieces in the stock, but using leftover chicken is easier. :)
Tacos
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 pound ground beef, chicken or turkey
1 can chopped tomatoes (optional)
1 box taco shells
Toppings (all optional)
Shredded cheese
Shredded lettuce
Chopped tomatoes
Sour cream
Salsa
Will probably also make 2 meals for you three. Sautee ground meat, drain if necessary (lean beef doesn't need it). If using tomatoes, open can and drain liquid into a measuring cup. Add taco seasoning mix and tomatoes, and use tomato water in place of the water asked for on the mix packet (add more water if encessary). Cook as indicated on the mix packet. Read directions on taco shell box and heat as directed. Shred lettuce and chop tomatoes, mix together.
Spoon meat mix into shells. Top with whatever you want.
Alternate: chalupas Make chalupas, as above, minus cheese. Top beans after they're heated with taco meat, cheese, other toppings as desired.
Alternate: Taco Salad/Frito Pie
If you don't want to mess with holding taco shells, either heat them up and crumble them into bowls, or put tortilla chips into bowls. Top with meat, desired toppings. If you substitute Fritos for the taco chips, you get Frito Pie. If you decide to add refried beans, you'll need to heat them up a bit over the stove or in the microwave, as they don't get a really creamy consistency until they're heated.
Alternate: Chili Dogs
Heat up hot dogs. Put them in buns. Spoon taco meat over them, top with cheese. Or you can even just open and heat up a can of chili, but I like taco meat on them. :)
Mac and cheese served with tomatoes
Exactly what it sounds like: mac and cheese on one side of the plate, tomatoes on the other. Or whatever vegetables you like. My mom made this when my dad was out of town, because he hated mac and cheese, so it's a comfort meal for me. XD
Quick-n-dirty mashed potatoes
Nuke potatoes until soft. Scoop innards out. Mix with butter and milk. Add whatever else floats your boat: onions, garlic, chives, bacon, cheese, sour cream, etc.
Breaded chicken thighs
1 package boneless chicken thighs (4-6 thighs)
1/2 box panko bread crumbs (or regular, but panko is crispier)
Dijon mustard
Optional:
salt
pepper
dried thyme
Preheat oven to 350°. Mix salt, pepper, and thyme into panko crumbs if desired, put them on a plate. Lightly grease a pan - not a cookie sheet, as the chicken fat and juices will tend to run off and you want them contained, so sides of at least an inch are good. Squirt Dijon mustard into a bowl. For the messy part, take each thigh, slather it in Dijon mustard, then roll it in panko crumbs. Place in pan. After all the chicken is coated, go ahead and pat the leftover crumbs into the tops.
Bake, uncovered, in oven for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Reheats better in oven than microwave, as crumbs get soft and wimpy when nuked.
Simple Meatloaf
1 pound ground meat (beef, pork, turkey, chicken)
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Dried herbs: thyme, parsley, oregano, cumin, whatever you like
optional:
leftover vegetables - peas, carrots, corn, etc.
Worcestershire sauce
Ketchup
Bacon
Preheat oven to 325°. Mix meat, egg, breadcrumbs, herbs, veg, Worcestershire sauce in bowl with hands, not squeezing too tightly. Place on cookie sheet, in mounded loaf shape. Optionally, brush with ketchup, cover with bacon. Place in oven, cook for 30-45 minutes (shorter if smaller or thinner, longer if thicker). If you've got a meat thermomoeter, cook to 155° internally.
Scales up well, just adjust cooking times. You can mix types of meat also - a pound of ground beef and a pound of ground pork tastes good. The egg helps bind it all together, and the crumbs stretch it. Check out Alton Brown's meatloaf recipe for ideas for ingredients and glaze (beware of his serving sizes - we easily got 12 servings out of that recipe!).
Alternate: Bento Version
If you've got some time, make the meat into small loaves, or put into muffin tins. Bake about 20 minutes. Freeze. They reheat by nuking quite well.
Easy - but long - double chicken stock
Loosely based on a recipe from The China Moon Cookbook, a cookbook by a woman running a Chinese bistro in San Francisco. Easy to make, but takes a long time. Plan to devote a day to it, although you don't have to do much work as it simmers by itself most of the time.
Chicken bones (leftover from precooked roast chicken, stored in the freezer)
Whole chicken (optional - the meat adds flavor, and you can use the meat in the soup above or chicken salad. Try to get an older bird if you can - a roaster or a stewing/baking hen, or even an old, tough rooster if you can find it. The older birds have more flavor in the meat, and require ong, moist cooking.)
Water or low-sodium chicken stock (making stock using stock makes it double stock)
Any or all of the below:
Fresh ginger, roughly sliced in rounds. OK to leave skin on
Lemongrass (in big chunks, as you will fish it out later)
Red Thai chilis or japalenos
Garlic cloves
Cloves
Carrots, roughly chopped
Celery, roughly chopped
Onion, roughly chopped
Any vegetable trimmings you've got (asparagus ends, mushroom stems, whatever)
2 or 3 bay leaves
Parsley
Whatever other herbs or vegetable sound good to you
First, put the bones (or whole chicken) into a big stockpot. Add water or stock to cover. Bring just to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer 30 or so minutes, skimming off the scum that rises to the top.
If you want extra flavor, while that's going on, sautee your vegetables in butter, oil, or olive oil. But not necessary. Add your vegetables (minus the peppers!) to the chicken stock or water, make sure it stays at a simmer, then go do something else for several hours. Check back occasionally to see if the water level's dropped a lot, if so add more stock or water (you can add water even if you started with stock).
Chili peppers/jalapenos: These are a bit special, obviously. If you like a LOT of heat, add them early and keep them in there. If you only like a LITTLE heat, add them for a short time and pull them out. If you like NO heat, don't add them at all. I like it JUUUST barely hot enough to make my lips tingle, so I tend to take 4 or 5 red Thai chilis and plop them in, whole, for about 15-20 minutes, then take them out: taste-testing evry 5 minutes, until it hits the heat level I want. I also do it near the end of cooking.
If you're using a whole chicken, poke it with a fork every so often. When the meat starts coming off easily, which may be after 2 or 3 hours of gentle simmering, dig off as much as you can. It's OK to leave some in there - it'll keep adding flavor. You can leave it all in there and let it impart all its flavor to the stock, but you'll end up with tasteless hunks of chicken at the end.
The point at which to stop making the stock is the point at which the whole house smells so good you can't stand it any longer. Alton Brown recommends leaving it in until all the collagen's cooked out of the bones and they're soft, which will give you a full-bodied, smooth stock and takes 10-12 hours, but I never make it that long and stop after 4-6 hours.
The tricky part is pouring the stock out. It's easiest to first scoop out as much of the debris as you can. Then pour the stock into another container through a colander to sieve out most of the smaller pieces. Then line the colander with a few layers of cheesecloth and strain the stock again. Repeat that for a while until you're satisfied with the results.
Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 3 or 4 days. Freezes well. If you want a less fatty version, put the container in the fridge overnight and chip off the fat layer that's risen to the top. The more collagen leached out of the bones and into the stock, the more like meat-flavored Jell-O it will look when cold. :) You can also freeze it in ice trays and use a cube or two in sauces.
If you are a snooty chef, you never want the stock to boil, and you want to strain it to hell and gone in order to keep in clear. I am not a snooty chef and don't give a damn, because to my unrefined palate, cloudy stock tastes just as good as clear stock and is a heckuva lot easier to make.
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