Your favorite "easy, but tasty" recipes

[chefbecky]

I'm sure there's been a thread like this before, but I'm new to the board, and I couldn't find one.

Here's my question: What are your favorite fallbacks when you need something easy, but tasty, for a weeknight dinner?

I cook almost every night, and usually look forward to my nightly hour in the kitchen. But there are some nights when I just want something on the table immediately (or almost immediately, anyway). I've got a few on my "easy, but tasty" list, but I need inspiration!

Here are a few of mine (some are quicker than others):

Hominy Chili with Jiffy cornbread (that's tonight's meal!)
Mediterranean Chickpea, Tomato and Pasta Soup with bread
Gardenburgers (the frozen kind) with sweet potato fries and salad
Winter Tomato Soup (from "The Occasional Vegetarian")
Red Curried Tofu (a little chopping, but otherwise easy)
Greek Pasta with Tomatoes and White Beans
Fettuccine and Tofu with Finger-Licking Peanut Sauce
Trader Joe's frozen Pumpkin Ravioli or Gnocchi with some kind of sauce
Chickpeas in Trader Joe's Spinach Simmer Sauce with rice

[Kelli Kerrigan]

Cajun Chicken pasta
Quick and tasty!

Bird's Eye vegis and Pasta, garlic flavor (bag in the freezer)
cut up chicken breast
1 can evaporated ff milk
cumin
cayenne
salt to taste

Brown chicken in a skillet coated with cooking spray. Add frozen vegis and pasta, stir in spices. Cook for a few minutes then add the milk. Cook til heat through and it thickens a bit.

[cookinator]

You mean those nights when everthing is still in the freezer frozen like a rock and you've been on the run all day kind of nights?? The other night I made

Crab Burgers

7 1/2 0z can crabmeat (flaked)
1/4 c. diced celery
2 tsp. diced onion
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Mix together with 1/2 c. lite mayonnaise. Spread on English muffins and broil until browned.
Usually I use less mayo and add a few shakes of worcesterhire sauce. Be sure to cut the muffins in half and put the filling on the cut half.

I serve with rice and a salad on the side.
I have figured out to make a large salad of some sort on Sunday that can take us part way though the week. Something like a coleslaw or carrot salad that gets better with age. That really helps. Oh by the way, very nice to meet you,chefbecky:D .

[RebeccaT]

New favorite - Capellini with Spinach, White Beans, and Fontina, from CL Complete. On the table in 15 minutes.

Other super quick meals:

- Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice with 1/2 lb. of Light Smoked Sausage
- Crispy Salmon Cakes with Lemon Caper Mayo (CL 4/01)
- Barbeque Pork Chops (CL, can't remember when! Here's the recipe...)

Barbeque Pork Chops

Ingredients
Sauce:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

Remaining ingredients:
6 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Cooking spray

Directions:
Prepare grill or broiler.

To prepare sauce, combine the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Place 1/4 cup sauce in a small bowl, and set aside.
Trim fat from pork. Combine the thyme, garlic salt, and pepper; sprinkle over pork. Place pork on a grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook 6 minutes on each side, basting with remaining sauce. Serve pork chops with reserved 1/4 cup sauce.

[Jewel]

I found a recipe on Epicurious a few months back and tinkered with it awhile, and came up with Chicken Divan! It's a complete meal in a casserole dish, with meat, veggies and pasta in a lowfat creamy sauce! ;) Here's the thread with the recipe:

http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15750&highlight=chicken+divan

There's quite a bit of debate on that thread about serving sizes and calorie/fat content, but if you read through you'll get the idea! :rolleyes: If you cut up the chicken pieces into chunks or strips it'll make 6 healthy servings! About 15 minutes of prep and another 20 or so in the oven! YUM!

[aggie94]

Sorry, Jewel, but as much as we love your Chicken Divan recipe, 15 minutes of prep and 20 minutes in the oven?? :eek: No way! This one easily takes me at least an hour to get ready. For one, you have to pre-cook the chicken. And steam the broccoli. And boil the pasta. And make the sauce. Are you some kind of bionic woman in kitchen, or what?? :p

[jjlmay]

Chefbecky, the Greek pasta with tomatoes and white beans sounds like something we would like. Would you like to share the recipe? Thanks.

[aggie94]

I recently made an older CL recipe that I pulled off Mastercook: Tuna with Bow Ties. Basically, just fresh tuna sauteed in some olive oil, garlic, and S&P, then tossed with bow tie pasta, feta, roasted red bell peppers, maybe a few other ingredients. It was delicious and super easy!

[Jewel]

Originally posted by aggie94
Sorry, Jewel, but as much as we love your Chicken Divan recipe, 15 minutes of prep and 20 minutes in the oven?? :eek: No way! This one easily takes me at least an hour to get ready. For one, you have to pre-cook the chicken. And steam the broccoli. And boil the pasta. And make the sauce. Are you some kind of bionic woman in kitchen, or what?? :p

Whoops! :o I guess I was thinking because I usually use leftover roast chicken, and boil the pasta the same time I'm steaming the broccoli...OK, you're right, it's takes a while and I'm not bionic! :rolleyes:

It's still really good though Becky!!! :D

[crc77]

My new fave quick and easy is the stuffed pepper with couscous and chickpeas from last year. I can't remember the exact name but its from the issue with several stuffed pepper recipes. I also love black beans and rice with a dribble of hot sauce. tonight we're having the stir fry pork with green beans and cashews from the cl recipe search- yummy easy and quick.
Cheryl

[Karen M]

I just made the Zippy Black Bean Burritos from the 2002 Annual. These were super quick and very tasty. I think we'll be adding them to the rotation.

[kima]

Jewel isn't bionic????:( :eek:

[lhall]

Originally posted by kima
Jewel isn't bionic????:( :eek:

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Shock, Horror!!!

Say it isn't so.....


Leigh

:D

[Jewel]

Originally posted by kima
Jewel isn't bionic????:( :eek:

Only the boobs Baby...only the boobs! DH nicknamed 'em 'Smith & Wesson', so I guess that's about as bionic as you can get! :rolleyes:

:p

[DmOrtega]

Funny - - - This reminded me of the fembots in the Austin Powers movies. Those are very funny movies.

[linda andrews]

I feel the same way at times I just want a super easy dinner to put together. I have found in most issues of CL there is a section for easy dinners, in the last isssue Jan/Feb, on pg 144 called Superfast ( ready in just about 20 min). In the 1998 book of annual recipes there are some fast Chicken dinners pg 154-155. The Hot Licks Chicken is great. If I need a really quick dinner I buy a cooked roasted Chicken and a bag of salad.

[m4star]

There are lots of nights when I just can't bare to spend very long in the kitchen. On those nights I make one of the following:

pork tenderloin (I just plop it into a casserole dish with some cut up sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion. Pour 1/4 cup apple juice or water over it all. Bake for 45 minutes and serve.) Ok this does take a while to bake but usually I'm "unwinding" from the day with a glass of wine.

black bean and spinach quesadillas

pasta with spinach, white beans, tomatoes, garlic and olive oil

tuna melts- fast and easy, gotta love that!

fajitas

[KathrynY]

This is my standard end-of-the-week, too tired to cook recipe. I always have the ingredients on hand, serve with some cooked rice and top with a bit of shredded cheese. I've served it with any sort of salad, leftover cooked veggies and even the emergency side of applesauce from a jar! Quick and easy, cheap too. :)

Home Alone Beans
from The Grilling Encyclopedia, by A. Cort Sinnes

When you're home alone, the object of preparing dinner should be to make something so good that you won't start whining about being alone. A tasty bowl of beans is usually the last thing the single
diner thinks about preparing, simply because most recipes for beans produce enough for a battalion or two. This recipe, such that it is, makes just enough for those occasions when you find yourself home alone. Eat them too often, and you may be home alone a lot. Excellent with any leftover grilled meat, or as a fast side dish. Note: If canned Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies are not available where you live, think about moving or write to Ro-Tel directly and tell them to get on the stick.

1 - 16 ounce can of your favorite beans (pinto, black, kidney, you name it)
1 - 10 ounce can of Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin

Pour the beans into a sieve or colander. Rinse under cold water.
Put rinsed beans, Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, chili powder and cumin into a saucepan.
Bring beans to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow the beans to cook for 30 minutes or so. Stir
every once in a while.
Serves 1 as a main course, 2 as a side dish.

My notes: Makes 3 main dish servings when paired with rice.

[Rae]

Easy Asian Beef and Noodles

I usually double the recipe because I like the leftovers and I like to use as much of the prepackaged coleslaw as possible. Very easy and the leftovers heat up fabulously!

[claire797]

One of my favorite things to do is take a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and put hem in a ziplock bag. Next, I pour Lawry's Jerk Chicken marinade on them and throw them in the freezer. When I need a quick meal, I just thaw them out -- marinade and all -- and throw them on the Foreman grill for about 9 minutes. The Lawry's marinades are great.

[chefbecky]

jjlmay ...

Here's the Greek pasta recipe. Very tasty, and good reheated. I usually add a little crushed red pepper to the sauce, but otherwise, I make as posted!

Greek Pasta with Tomatoes and White Beans

Ingredients
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10-ounce) bag fresh spinach, chopped (about 8 cups)
4 cups hot cooked penne (about 1/2-pound uncooked tubular-shaped pasta)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) finely crumbled feta cheese

Directions
Estimated Total Time: 30 minutes

Combine tomatoes and beans in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Add spinach; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring occasionally. Place 1 cup pasta on each of four plates; top each serving with 1 1/4 cup sauce and 2 tablespoons cheese.

[gertdog]

Homemade pizza is definitely one of my "quick and easy meals", but one that I plan for (it requires that I take the dough out of the freezer in the morning and plunk it on the counter to defrost).

Pasta with broccoli sauteed with garlic and red pepper flakes

Pumpkin ravioli (Trader Joe's!) with a no-cook roasted pepper puree

CL's Carribbean Beans and Rice

Veggie burgers with oven fries

Stir-fried broccoli, red peppers and tofu with rice or noodles

Tomato soup and grilled cheese

Oven roasted veggies (eggplant, squash, tomatoes, onion, peppers, garlic) with feta cheese and rice pilaf

Tacos

[aggie94]

Linda mentioned the Superfast section in CL, that has quick easy weeknight dinner ideas that don't have a lot of ingredients and are fast to prepare.

Do you have the Superfast Supplement? It came out a few months ago. It's a whole magazine of CL's fast easy recipes that have been compiled from old issues. Since I've only subscribed to CL for a little over a year, most of the recipes were new to me. You might check your newsstand to see if it's still available. I made a Spicy Black Bean and Sausage Soup from it last night that was very tasty and super quick to throw together. The recipes are especially nice because they're likely to be ingredients that you already have in the house.

[Jennifer D]

I don't think I've ever seen my all-time reliable mentioned on the BB: Tuna-Wild Rice Salad from CL - I think it's Jan/Feb issue 1997 or 1998.

A couple cans of tuna, quick-cook long grain wild rice pilaf, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, cherry tomatos, mustard-y vinaigrette.....

Very tasty, fantastically speedy, typically stuff I have on hand, and the only "cooking" required is the boiling of water for the rice. Great when warm or cool, and the recipe makes a lot - so it's a handy lunch treat later on.

[Curleytop]

CLAIRE797: Our outdoor bbq died, and I am looking for a replacement. Don't need such a big one anymore.
I have a black iron grill pan I use a lot, but it makes a lot of smoke
more than my fan can handle, and then the **** smoke alarm goes off.
Sooo! I was considering the George Forman grill. Can you tell me if you like it? Is it "smokey" is it hard to clean (nonstick finish)
(I have a circulon grill pan which is too hard to clean with the nonstick finish, and you can't use cooking spray on a nonstick pan)
ADVICE NEEDED ASAP

[claire797]

Originally posted by Curleytop
CLAIRE797: Our outdoor bbq died, and I am looking for a replacement. Don't need such a big one anymore.
I have a black iron grill pan I use a lot, but it makes a lot of smoke
more than my fan can handle, and then the **** smoke alarm goes off.
Sooo! I was considering the George Forman grill. Can you tell me if you like it? Is it "smokey" is it hard to clean (nonstick finish)
(I have a circulon grill pan which is too hard to clean with the nonstick finish, and you can't use cooking spray on a nonstick pan)
ADVICE NEEDED ASAP


Curleytop,

The GF grill does not produce much smoke at all...if any. It definitely will not set off any alarms. It's perfect for indoor use and very quick and easy to use. I highly recommend you buy one. I have the mid-sized grill -- the one that use to sell for $59.00 and holds about 4 chicken breasts. You can get a bigger one if you want. The grill takes about 5 minutes to heat up and cooks a boneless chicken breast in 9 minutes....a steak, about 7.