The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

Several of you have offered to share quick, easy recipes with me . . . I thought I'd create a thread so everybody can enjoy them.

I made Shepherd's Pie last night (that's something I know well), and can do Shake'N'Bake chicken, crock pot roast beef and a beef stroganoff. Otherwise I need some meals to feed my dad that are healthy, tasty and EASY.

Thank you!

That's funny because when I read your thread I thought the same thing....we need a recipe thread!

Okay - here are a couple....

1 and 1/2 Cup part-skim Ricotta cheese
2/3 Cup low-fat Sour cream
2 Tablespoons butter or margerine
1 Tablespoon parsley
1 clove garlic
1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese (grated)

Melt butter and crush garlic into it. Toss in ricotta and heat through. Toss in sour cream and heat through. Toss in parsley and parmesan cheese. Toss in 1/2 pound cooked pasta. If you want add peas or diced ham - or broccoli. You can adjust the ricotta or sour cream till you like the flavor. Great "alfredo" sauce. Serve with a salad or, if you didn't add broccoli, steamed broccoli on the side.

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Crock-Pot Chicken Pie

4 to 6 chicken breasts
1 Cup carrots
1 can low-sodium cream of chicken soup
1/2 can water
1 12 oz. bag of peas
1 "tube" biscuits

Place about 6 chicken breasts into crock-pot. Add about 1 cup sliced carrots. Add one sliced onion. Mix one can of low-sodium cream of chicken soup to 1/2 can water and stir. Toss over mixture in crock pot. Cook on high about 4 hours. About 1/2 hour before serving, throw in a bag of frozen peas. Make oven-ready dinner biscuits. Cut in half and spoon mixture over. Serve with a salad.

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Stuffed Steak

1 Flank steak
3 slices bread
2 tablespoons butter (melted)
1 diced onion
1 Tablespoon parsley
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can water
1 can mushrooms

Dice bread and mix with butter, onion and parsley until "stuffing like". Unroll flank steak and place mixture on it and roll up. Using twine tie the steak roll. Place in crock pot. Put mushrooms on top. Mix soup with water and pour over steak. Cook on high for 6 hours. Slice steak into "wheels" (similar to making cinammon rolls) and spoon gravy over slices. Goes really well with mashed potatoes.

Mr. Stir fry

3 pkg oriental mr. Noodles cooked without adding seasoning (leave slightly wet)
Chopped chicken
Vegetables

Cook chopped chicken and vegetables(I usually use shredded carrots,green peppers and celery),but you can use whatever you want

Add the cooked noodles and now add seasoning mixture and it's done or you can use honey garlic sauce instead.


Stovetop casserole

In a rectangle casserole dish,place a layer of cooked diced chicken /turkey about an inch thick
Add a layer of frozen vegetables( your favorites)but I use carrot,corn and peas usually half a bag
Mix in a can of mushroom soup,stir everything together and level out
Mix a box of stovetop dressing according to box directions then spread on top of chicken mixture
Bake in 350 F oven for 30-45 minutes or until top is golden

Potatoe boats

6 small potatoes,cut in half and hollow out center
Cook some ground meat(beef,chicken etc) add smokey BBQ sauce
place in hollow of potato
Sprinkle with grated cheese
Bake on cookie sheet until potatoes are crispy about 45 mins

Oven baked chicken

3/4 c. Breadcrumbs
1/2 c. Grated parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper
2 heaping Ts. Dijon mustard
1/2 stick Margarine, melted
4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (slightly flattened)

Mix breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese with salt and pepper on wax paper.

Melt margarine in microwave, then stir in the mustard. Brush mixture on chicken breasts and roll in breadcrumb mixture.

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 375, turning once.


Rice casserole

1 c. Uncle Ben's rice (uncooked)
1 can beef consomme
1/2 stick margarine
1/2 chopped onion
1 can mushrooms with liquid

Saute chopped onion in margarine until soft. Pour in the consomme and mushrooms with liquid. Stir in the rice. Sprinkle top with salt, pepper and a little bit of oregano (if you like it). Bake, uncovered, for 35-45 minutes at 350, or until all liquid is absorbed.

This is somewhat like a stew. No name to it, but it is good. In a Dutch oven, put in 1 can golden mushroom soup and 1 can water and 1 cup tomato soup and 1 can water. Stir well. To this add carrots, potatoes, onion. Season a chuck roast with seasoned salt, garlic salt, and a bit of onion salt. Place in dutch oven with vegetables. I usually put the roast on the bottom with veggies and potatoes on top. Place lid on top and cook in a 325 degree oven for about 4-5 hours. (Probably could use a crock pot-I never did.) The soup flavors the meat and potatoes. For a bit less sodium, I'm sure seasoning with different flavors of Mrs. Dash would work, too.

For my friends
easy veggie dump tortilla soup:
3 leg quarters or equivalent (tonight's rendition used 8 skinless, boneless chicken tenders as its what I had)
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can Mexican stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 cans chicken broth
3 cans whole corn, UNDRAINED
1 can black beans, optional
(I added 3 small yellow squash instead as I needed to use)
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves or equivalent
1/2 t sweet basil
1/2 t crushed rosemary
Crushed red pepper to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Dump all ingredients into crockpot on low over night (4-6 hrs)
Before serving, pull chicken off bones and remove bones or dice chicken tenders then add back to soup
After soup in bowl crush tortilla chips, grated cheddar cheese and add to soup, then serve and ENJOY!!!!

Of course, no one should really eat this. But it is yummy, and almost no work. the hardest part is waiting for it to be ready:

Crush a bag of potato chips and put 1/3 of the crumbs in a small greased casserole dish. Add a layer of tuna - 1/2 of a can. Next layer - 1/2 can mushroom soup. Then chips, tuna, soup. End up with the last of the chips. Bake until bubbly and slightly browned on top.

Sorry....

In our house we called this "Shipwreak":

1 large potato
1 large onion
1 lb. chopped meat
1 can diced tomatoes (you can use the seasoned ones; tomatoes with green chilies, tomatoes with basil and oregano, etc.)
1/4 cup water

Grease a baking dish. Slice onion and place layer in baking dish. Slice potato and place on top of onion. "Smush" the chop meat down to make next layer. Top with can of tomatoes and water. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for about an hour (or until meat is cooked through).

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Lasagna Rolls

1 box lasagna noodles
1 pound chopped meat (browned)
1 small container of ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzerella
Tomato Sauce

Cook noodles. Lay out one noodle and spread with ricotta cheese then sprinkle chopped meat and mozzerella. Roll up and place in baking dish. Repeat this with all the other noodles. Pour tomato sauce over the top and place in oven at 350 degrees until heated through.

Kelly,

Remember a few years ago when you wanted an easy recipe to make
for Mother's Day? How about another one of those breakfast casseroles?
Breakfast for dinner is always great and so are the leftovers!

I'm not really a casserole person, so typically I'll marinate chicken breasts
in something..Italian dressing or Mojo and then broil them and serve with
some kind of nuked frozen veggie and a salad. This can also be done with
pork chops and steaks.

Or..mix a few tablespoons of flour with salt, pepper and some other spice (sometimes rosemary or basil or thyme, whatever smells good) and then drege chicken breasts in to give a light coating and pan fry/saute the meat in a medium/high skillet in a tablespoon of olive oil w/a dab of butter. again with frozen veggies and salad.

Good luck with it!

Egg and Pepper Bake

1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 onion
2 potatoes
6 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (although I use the "blend" of cheddar, monteray jack)

Grease a 10 x 14 inch backing dis. SLice potato and make layer. Dice peppers and onion and scatter over potato layer. Mix eggs and pour over whole. Scatter cheese over top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes (or until egg is firmly set).

While this is a nice, meatless meal you can add diced ham, chopped and browned sausage or browned chop meat to this.

One of the easiest:

STUFF OVER FRITOS

1 pound of ground beef (or turkey)
1 medium onion diced (or use pre-diced onion)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can tomato sauce (the soup can size - 15 oz?)
1 can tomato paste
2-4 tablespoons of chili powder
cayenne pepper to taste if you like it spicy
1/2 teaspoon of sugar (or 1/2 pkt. of Splenda)
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar
1 package of Fritos

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, and onion. Add the garlic powder, tomato sauce, tomato paste, chili powder and sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over Fritos and top with shredded cheese.

If you are on a diet, you can put this over shredded lettuce instead of Fritos.

My sister's favorite:

BAKED SPARERIBS

2-4 lbs of spareribs
1 medium onion, chopped

You can top with the following sauce or your favorite barbeque sauce instead:
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Place ribs in a foiled pan.

Mix remaining ingredients and pour over the ribs. Cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove foil and cook for an additional 1/2 hour.

Oh geez - now I'm hungry.

Here is my contribution. I love to cook and am constantly making up new recipes. I never measure or use a cookbook (although I own lots).

Chicken chili (more like soup)

2 chicken breasts - diced (you can also use drained canned chicken)
1 can pinto (or red) beans (drained)
1 can white beans (navy or great northern) (drained)
2 cans chicken broth
1 can (4oz) green chilies (UNdrained)
1 teaspoon cumin (I know I add more than this but I don't measure)
1 small onion (finely chopped) not necessary if you don't like onion
black pepper to taste

Cook chicken and drain, cool, chop and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in pot and cook 1/2 hour, add chicken and cook until hot.

I have also added fresh spinach just prior to adding the chicken and that goes with it really well.

Have fun with it to suit your taste!

Do you have a pressure cooker?

Beef Soup

Small beef roast cooked in pressure cooker (about 45 mins)
Barley (follow directions on package for qty and cooking time)
Mushrooms (fresh)
Green Beans
Carrots
Scallions
Celery
(or whatever veggies you and dad like)
salt
pepper
thyme
garlic

Cook beef, cool, shred and set aside. Put all remaining ingredients in a pot and cook until veggies are tender then add in beef.

Soups are easy and I love to experiment. Wish you lived closer!

Kelly I just remembered one of my son's very favorite recipes.
Take some chicken breasts, I do boneless/skinless, lay them in the bottom of a pan, pour one can of cream of mushroom soup over, and bake till done

Simple, and you can use the pan drippings over rice. Very good dish.

Oh! Bake in a covered dish. I either use my smaller size roaster, or, a glass covered baking dish.

One weekend down Kelly... hope you and your Dad made it though and Dad is continuing to recover well. I was gone most of the weekend so here are my contributions to the simple easy recipes.... Bon Appetite!

Quick & Lean Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast (or 2 cups cut up pre cooked chicken)
12 oz mushrooms, sliced (about 3.5 cups)
1 med. onion, chopped
1 tsp. flour
1/2 cup sour cream (use reduced fat if you want to cut calories)
1/2 cup chicken broth (low sodium)
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning (basil and organo mix)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper (or to taste)

Cut chicken into small bite sized pieces. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, add 1 tsp oil and chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken, cover to keep warm. (skip this step if you are using pre cooked chicken)

In the same skillet, add another 1 tsp of oil if needed and cook the mushrooms and onion. Cook stirring until tender, about 5 minutes ~ stir in the flour. Reduce heat to low, stir in sour cream, chicken broth and spices (to taste). Add reserved chicken, cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.

I serve over fettuccine or linguine noodles. Start the water for the noodles BEFORE you start cooking this dish... you can cook this dish in the same amount of time it takes to cook the noodles.

Baked Chicken Tortilla Casserole

2 - 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (diced small) (or you can use pre cooked)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. taco seasonings (buy package and save rest for another day)
1 green pepper (diced small)
1 red pepper (diced small)
1 med. onion (diced small)
1/2 cup low fat cheese (mozzarella or 4 cheese Mexican)
6 9 inch. round tortillas (I use both reg. and whole wheat)

Sour cream
extra cheese
salsa

In a saucepan, cook chicken with olive oil and seasonings. Once chicken has no pink add in peppers and onion. Saute' for about 5-6 minutes and then add the cheese. (if it looks too runny because of the peppers you can put in a sprinkle of flour) Line a 9x13 casserole dish with foil. (a trick to do this easy is to turn pan getting lined in foil upside down... place foil on bottom of pan and smooth to shape. Remove foil and turn pan over... place formed foil into the pan it will fit beautifully)

Put some of the chicken mixture (about 1/3 - 1/2 cup each) into each tortilla and roll up. (it's helpful to place the mixture about 1 inch from one edge and then roll up. Secure with a toothpick and place side by side in your casserole.

Bake a@350 for 20 minutes COVERED with foil. The last 5 minutes uncover and put extra cheese to melt if desired.

Serve with sour cream and salsa


I have a couple more but I need to be somewhere right now.. I'll post later...

Simple Chicken Cacciatore with Fettuccine

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut up (or 2 cups pre cooked chicken)
1 Tbs. flour
2 tsp. olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
1 lb bag carrots, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 Tbs. oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Fettuccine, cooked

In a large skillet or pot sprinkle flour on chicken and saute with onion in olive oil. (if using pre cooked chicken put flour in with onions and don't add the chicken to the skillet till carrots are almost tender)

Add remaining ingredients (except pasta) and simmer covered for 20 minutes or till done. Cook Fettuccine according to directions. Serve over pasta.


Chicken Broccoli Divan

This recipe is very forgiving... don't have enough broccoli...it's OK... too much chicken... that's good too.... different cheese on hand... go for it! No lemon juice... make it anyway. Gotta a different Cream Of Soup... doesn't matter! I've added, subtracted and messed around with this recipe and it's all good!

1/2 lb broccoli flowerets, cooked
4 to 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (don't have bread crumbs... crush some croutons)
1/2+ cup french fried onions (I use enough to make 2 cups of bread crumb mixture)
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

10-3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Cook broccoli, drain and layer it on the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. In a 2 cup glass measure melt butter in microwave, mix butter with seasoned bread crumbs and French fried onions, set aside. Combine soup, lemon juice, mayonnaise, milk and cheese together. Stir in chicken and spread over broccoli. Top with breadcrumb mixture. Bake @ 350 for 25 minutes or till hot. Cover for the first 20 minutes.


I was going to give you a White Chili recipe but mine is very similar to Dot's. Only I use all white beans for mine, I add a bit of garlic and use corn starch to thicken. When we make White Chili we put it in a bowl add a bit of cheese and a dollop of sour cream and eat it with nacho chips...yummy!

Kelly,

This is more of a "technique" recipe. How to make pork chops that are never dry. This recipe is easiest with a fry pan with a lid that can go into the oven (cast iron or stainless steel).

#1 Preheat oven to 375 - 400 degrees.

#2 Preheat a cast iron/stainless pan (do not use a nonstick fry pan) over medium high heat. Pan is "hot" when it is uncomfortable to hold your hand over it and count to five.

#3 Swill a tablespoon or two of oil in hot pan (oil in a hot pan creates a nonstick function; oil in a cold pan creates a sticking function).

#4 Season pork chops with favorite seasoning: salt, pepper, garlic, mexican seasoning, etc.

#5 Place pork chops in hot frying pan and sear each side 4 minutes. DO NOT MOVE pork chops during each 4 minutes. It is place, leave alone for 4 minutes, flip, leave alone for 4 minutes.

#6 While pork chops are searing, slice a couple of apples. You do not need to peel apples. For a Mexican flavor, use tomatillos (not sure you can get these).

#7 Add apples to seared pork chops. Add a little liquid (1/4 c.). Beer or wine is good and then you can drink the rest. Cover with lid and stick pan in oven for 20 minutes. Set timer and do not open pan until 20 minutes have passed. 20 minutes is baking time for 1" cut pork; if you have the extra think pork chops (or stuffed chops) you may need 25-30 minutes.

#8 Remove from oven and remember the frying pan handle is HOT!!!!!! Let rest 5 minutes covered.

#9 If you want to create a pan sauce you remove chops and wrap them in foil to keep warm.


The technique of "sear" and "finish in the oven" is something I picked up from watching Top Chef. It works for thick pieces of fish as well.

Colleen

An easier version is two cans of chili with 1/2 pound browned ground beef, (or one can with half the beef since it's just the two of you)shredded cheddar and fritos.

Chicken surprise
1/2 yellow onion diced
2 tbsp butter
can of chicken breast (you can used fresh and cook it yourself or even buy the precooked strips)
frozen peas or corn or broccoli or zucchini (if you use zucchini saute for the last minute or so with the onions) fresh or canned works too
1/2 package of egg noodles
1 package of garlic alfredo sauce (Mccormick makes it just follow directions)

After sauteing onions in butter add the alfredo sauce, chicken breast, and veggies. Stir for a few minutes, add cooked egg noodles, mix and enjoy.

You should boil the meatballs in water instead of baking in the oven. This takes all the fat off them when you drain the water and they are so tender.

How about lasagne? Hubby and me don't like onions and aren't keen on huge amounts of tomato, but of course you can add those if you want! I have mince, a small tin of tomato puree, salt, pepper & oregano all mixed in. If it's just me I throw in some chopped mushrooms too. Have a layer or mince mixture using half of it, then a layer of lasagne pasta sheets, then a layer of cheese sauce (I make it from a packet so it's easier), and repeat. Cook in oven for 180 C for about 20-25 minutes. Makes enough for 4 portions, specially with a few chips (sorry, fries!) on the side.